Governance & Staff

Earl Campbell, Chair - Director of Alterna Savings and Vice-Chair of Alterna Bank

Earl Campbell is Chair of the Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation Board.  He is a Director of the Alterna Savings Board and is Vice Chair of the Board of Alterna Bank, having served as Chair of Alterna Savings and the former Metro Credit Union.  The retired Director of Education and CEO of the Scarborough Board of Education, Mr. Campbell is the President of Earl G. Campbell Consulting and is a business coach and mentor for leadership development and strategic planning.  With extensive Board experience and leadership in the community, Mr. Campbell is Secretary of the Board of the Scarborough Walk of Fame Association.  Mr. Campbell is a Tribunal member of the Province’s Consent and Capacity Board, an independent body created under the Health Care Consent Act to conduct hearings under a number of health related Acts.

Mr. Campbell has served as an Executive Committee member for a number of National and International education organizations.  He has been recognized with a number of professional and community awards including a Star on the Scarborough Walk of Fame and as a Distinguished Educator of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

Guido Chezzi, Vice Chair – Retired Executive

Guido Chezzi has been involved with the Credit Union for 50 years. He is Vice Chair of the Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation and has received an achievement award from this organization. He has facilitated with young co-op leaders and has received a “Youth Mentorship Award” from the ON co-op. He was an avid member of Northern Credit Union. In June he received “Safety Recognition” for presenting to co-op students in various high schools about job safety in the workplace. His presentations covered the “Industrial Accident Prevention Association” in Toronto. Guido has managed the Credit Union for 15 years as a founder of the Coniston community. He was the chapter president in Sudbury for 33 different Credit Unions throughout the city. He also sat on the Cumis Board for 10 years on the International Program Committee and spent another10 years being a part of the Canadian Cooperative Association. Guido also dedicated his time in Africa working with various Credit Unions. He was a volunteer fireman for 35 years as well as being a community Lions Club member. He worked at INCO for 38 years. He has been married for 48 years and enjoys spending time with his wife Carol, their 2 daughters and their 5 grandchildren.

Dave Schurman, Secretary-Treasurer – Executive VP and COO, FirstOntario Credit Union

David Schurman brings to the Board 29 years of financial industry experience and achievements. He has held executive positions with First Canadian Title, the CUMIS Group and TCGL. David’s involvement in sports attained many awards at the national level and he has chaired both the Canadian Senior Women and Junior Men’s Softball Championships. The Foundation is wholly funded by credit unions and our Board is responsible for directing the Foundation’s contributions and strategy to align with our members. We welcome David’s influence and expertise on how the Foundation progresses in the next decade.

Liz Arkinstall, Director – Manager Community Relations, United Communities Credit Union

Liz has been employed at United Communities Credit Union for over 10 years and her current role is Manager of Community Relations. In 2007 she received a Scholarship through Credit Union Central of Ontario and attended the WOCCU conference as a WYCUP nominee. She is enrolled in Boston College’s Centre for Corporate Citizenship and is a graduate of Leadership Windsor-Essex. She is active in her local community and is also a Director for the W.E. Care for Kids Foundation.

Mark Ventry, Director - Executive Director, Ontario Co-operative Assoc.

Mark Ventry is the Membership and Communications Manager for the Ontario Co-operative Association, a provincial association that leads, cultivates and connects the province’s co-operatives. Mark has been an active part of the co-op sector since becoming a member of Guelph & Wellington Credit Union (GWCU) in 1976. From 1988-2001 he was a member of GWCU’s board of directors. In 2001 Mark became the credit union’s inaugural Marketing Administrator, overseeing media and communications, and launching the highly successful “unBank yourself” campaign. Mark joined On Co-op in 2005 and leads the Association’s member relations, recruitment strategies as well as communications and marketing efforts. His recent major projects include launching ON Co-op’s social media platforms, editing the award winning Co-op Advantage – a full-colour magazine highlighting the Ontario’s co-operative sector, publication of a bi-weekly electronic newsletter about Ontario’s co-operatives, the completion of Ontario’s first-ever census on credit unions and co-operatives, and the launch of the first online searchable database for co-operatives, credit unions and caisses populaires.

George De La Rosa, Director – CEO, Luminus Financial Credit Union

George De La Rosa has over 15 years of experience in the Credit Union system. He started working as a High School Co-op student and quickly advanced to various positions within various Credit Unions. In 2005, George became one of the youngest Credit Union CEO’s when he accepted this position at Starnews Credit Union. Since taking on the position, Starnews Credit Union’s assets have grown by close to 40% while their net income doubled within the first year. In 2007, George and Starnews Credit Union received an International Image Enhancement Award from the Credit Union Executive Society (CUES) in recognition of their efforts to boost membership through their “What can we do for you?” recruitment campaign. George has been involved in various committees to help the Credit Union system grow, and most recently was part of the steering committee for the Ontario Young Leaders Think Tank, whose mandate was to develop a youth strategy for credit unions in Ontario.

Deanna C. Basso, Director – Marketing Coordinator, Healthcare & Municipal Employees’ Credit Union

In 2002 Deanna started her credit union adventure with one of the oldest credit unions in Ontario, Healthcare & Municipal Employees’ Credit Union, as the Executive Assistant to the Board of Directors, CEO and Senior Management Team. In 2010 she was promoted to the position of Marketing Coordinator giving her more opportunities to make a difference in the community and continue the many partnerships she established with local charities. Deanna is also one of the driving forces of the Annual Area Credit Union Golf Classic raising well over $50,000 over the last 5 years for organizations such as St. Peters Hospital, Interval House, Camp Bucko and the Y108 CHML Children’s Fund. She has recently been appointed to the position of Director on the MACU (Marketing Association of Credit Unions) Board and continues to have close ties with many organizations in our credit union community.  Her empathy and organization skills go beyond the walls of the credit union as she is a loving wife and caring mother of two young boys and she finds time to continue educating herself as she is obtaining her Marketing Degree at McMaster University, a member of the Parents Council for the Brantford District Catholic School Board and an Event Coordinator for her neighborhood association.

Deanna’s contributions to The Ontario Credit Union Charitable Foundation will consist of her commitment, enthusiasm and compassion for her credit union community. She is a loyal supporter of the fundamental credit union business philosophy of “People Helping People”. She has always felt that helping others makes you a better person, gives you a sense of accomplishment, and provides you with an opportunity to make that difference.

Dan Coldwell, Director - Vice President, Business Development, PACE Credit Union

Bio coming soon!

Joel Lalonde, Director - Executive Vice-President, Your Credit Union

Bio coming soon!

Anthony (Tony) Niessen, Executive Director

Tony Niessen has been involved in the credit union system since 1967 and was CEO of Family Savings & Credit Union until 1999 when he became CEO of FirstOntario. During Tony’s tenure with Family Savings, his credit union was honored at that time, to be the only credit union in Canada to receive the National Economic Community Development Award twice, as well as the St. Catharines Corporate Achievement Award in company with General Motors, TRW and Dana Corporation. Tony initiated the Ontario Group of 12, is Past Chair of the Credit Union Executive Society Ontario Council, and was a director of CUMIS Insurance. Tony’s involvement with the Charitable Foundation began in 1987 as a Director until the board hired him into the position of the Foundation’s first permanent Executive Director in 2005. From its very beginning, Tony has been a strong proponent of the Foundation leveraging its funding through partnerships with Ontario’s credit unions.

Devon Rowan, Administrator

Devon Rowan has achieved an extensive administrative background from working in several different industries including manufacturing, law, real estate, finance and recruitment. Devon has been with the Foundation since 2007, and has also been providing administrative support to the Credit Union Managers Association of Ontario since 2009. Devon has a honors certificate in Human Resource Management from Sheridan College. Devon enjoys spending time with her husband Mike, and their two
young children.