Profile of Wendy Cleveland, SVP, AltaOne Federal Credit Union ($617MM) in Ridgecrest, California  

By her own admission, Michigan native Wendy Cleveland is not the stereotypical executive in the financial services industry. But the 45-year-old Mom of two (to a twenty-three-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter) is no stranger to doing things with her own style.  As she notes, “I’m not a white male with a middle-class upbringing — I didn’t get a bachelor’s degree from a reputable four-year university right after high school, or marry appropriately. I was raised pretty blue-collar in Michigan, and was the first in my family to graduate college. And I have baggage!”

A brief rundown of her circuitous route into the corporate world: at age twenty-one, Wendy took a break from college to marry an Army soldier, travel the world and have a baby. “It was exciting stuff at twenty-one” she said. “Much to my parents’ horror.” Then, in 1994, she took her first job at a credit union – in Germany, in fact. It was there that a business love story of sorts began – via her first taste of the credit union world, and a peek into the marketing world.

“I just wanted a job because I had been a stay-at-home mom for almost two years, and I was losing my mind,” she said. “I started as a part-time ‘admin clerk,’ which really meant opening new accounts. After a year, I could do anything in the branch, and I trained new employees. I totally fell in love with the credit union concept of helping members have better financial lives. Then I realized that I wanted to major in marketing when I came back to the U.S. because I saw what the marketing director did, and it looked like fun.”

Do you ever still feel like you’re working against an old boys’ club? How have things changed since you started your career?
Without a doubt, there are challenges for women in this industry. Statistically, there are far more women than men in the lower-level positions in credit unions. It tends to even out in middle management. At the C-level, with the exception of very small credit unions, it’s mostly male. Credit union boards of directors, generally older, may contribute to this, as they are the hiring entity for the CEOs.

At one point in my career, I inadvertently discovered that I was making 26% less base salary than a male in basically the same job; bonus was a percentage of base salary, so the total difference was alarmingly even higher than the national average of 70 cents on the dollar.

I embarked on what turned out to be a year-long battle for equivalent pay. I won it, along with three years of back pay for base salary and bonuses. I had to make it clear that I wasn’t going to go away quietly, and I was willing to go as far as necessary to make this right, including legal action. It was a risky move, and one my own mother advised me not to take! But I felt strongly about my position, as well as my responsibility to the women who will come after me. If I don’t stand up for what’s right, I am contributing to the problem. Thankfully my financial situation at the time permitted me to take the risk: if I got fired, I knew I’d be okay to take time to find other employment. Not everyone could take that risk.

What advice would you give women contemplating a big move for their career?
When it came time to move for my career, it was not an easy decision. I was often alone, raising two kids, I was midway through my MBA, and we owned a home. Getting my then-husband on board with the move was a big piece.

For women contemplating a big move for their career, of course you need to weigh all the factors. The obvious ones about the job itself: organizational culture, promotional opportunity, total compensation (especially relative to cost of living). Then consider the local area: quality of life, schools if you have children, major transportation, etc.

Once you’ve addressed the practical stuff, look at the big picture: how do this job, company, and location fit into your short-, mid-, and long-term plans? Not just career plans, but life plans. There’s so much more to life than work!

And finally, don’t let fear hold you back! Yes, you have to give up some things in order to move forward and take on new things. Recognize and mourn if you need to, for those things that will be in the past. Then focus forward. This is YOUR chance! Take it. Own it. 

For a few years, you managed life as single parent alongside your challenging career. Was it tough?
 I don’t know, really. I did what needed to be done. My children are the single biggest blessing in my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Was I exhausted through most of their upbringing? Beyond description. And do I wish I could have been a better parent? Every day — yet I am confident I did my best. It’s cliché to say I learned to “not sweat the small stuff” but really, how important is it for the beds to be made every day? I’d rather spend that ten minutes with a three-year-old singing “C is for Cookie.”

If you had the ability to pop in a DeLorean and address your 20-year-old self, what advice would you give her?
I’ve thought about this. You know, the “what ifs.” For instance, what if I hadn’t gotten married at twenty-one and dropped out of college in my junior year? Well, I wouldn’t have my incredible son and I might not have ever gotten into credit unions! I wouldn’t change either of those. I make a point to try to live my life with no regrets.

I guess I would want myself to think bigger, aim higher, and have more confidence early on. I always tell my children and new employees, “Find your passion.” I think too many people go through each day, going to their jobs, not because it is something they really enjoy and believe in, but because they feel like they don’t have any other options. We live in an incredible place where the options are virtually unlimited. Everyone should find something they truly love doing (and figure out how to make money at it, if it isn’t an existing career). 

Now I’m not being Pollyanna here, a job is a job and no matter how much you love it, there are going to be those moments or tasks that aren’t much fun.  But big picture, if you are really passionate about what you do, when you feel like what you do matters, well, I think that’s the secret to overall happiness.