I have been privileged to serve the Credit Union on the Member Services Committee, Finance Committee, and on its Board, as Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer and currently, as Secretary, member of the Investment Committee, and head of the HR Committee. My career has focused on enhancing financial services and inclusion in Latin America and the Caribbean. As a result, I believe that my expertise in finance, financial services regulation, and governance has helped to support the Credit Union’s transition to a larger more technically agile and service-oriented organization. In addition, I am a volunteer with several organizations working with children and immigrants and was fortunate to become the Vice President of the IDB Retirees Association last year.

As a current Board member, I supported the Credit Union’s transition to a virtual environment during the pandemic.  I have recently focused on working with management to ensure modern and equitable HR practices and products and services that reach out to our members, especially mature members, as they adjust to pandemic changes.  As we have reopened the branch facility, the Credit Union benefits from its ability to be a pure hybrid model and serve all of its clients with products and services that address their stage in life.

I have been a Credit Union Member for 40 years, of which more than 15 of them a member of the Board of Directors.

We have an excellent Credit Union: great services and very strong financially. During the last years, the Credit Union has been getting closer to serving more members by modernizing the systems, using more new technologies and more resources to take calls, etc. Still, more is needed. Far more than half of IDB staff, retirees and their family members, including those in the USA, may find it a challenge to physically visit the branch.

If elected, I aspire to devote my efforts to making our Credit Union more accessible and amicable to every member. Within the legal constraints, particularly affecting services that cannot be provided for those outside the USA, I will keep on helping the Credit Union expand the services and new products to all its members.

My family and I have appreciated depending on IDB Global Federal Credit Union for our banking, home, and automobile needs for more than 30 years. However, the financial industry is rapidly changing, and the Credit Union along with it. Launching new products and services while reducing costs and increasing returns is important for the members. Over the past seven years, I have volunteered as a member of its Supervisory Committee and have been a Board member since October 2021. I want to further my efforts on the Board of Directors by supporting and assisting the well-run Credit Union in innovating while balancing risk and rewards. I believe my skills and experience developed over my 30+ year career in banking, cybersecurity, risk management, and information technology will benefit our Credit Union’s continued security, stability, and growth. I graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Master of Engineering Management from the George Washington University. In my current career at the IDB, I have worked in the information technology and finance departments and hold PMP, CISA, CISM, CRISC, CGEIT, and CDPSE professional certificates. 

I am excited to submit my candidacy to become a Member of the Board of Directors of the Credit Union. I have extensive board and director-level experience in the private sector, including board memberships and observer positions in companies in the fintech, agribusiness, online food delivery, digital infrastructure, mobile broadband, pharma, and electronics distribution sectors in the United States, Latin America and Africa.

I have been a member of the Credit Union for five years. In addition, I have volunteered as a member of its Credit Committee for the past three years. In this capacity, I have had a direct insight into and appreciation for the high quality of the services provided by the Credit Union to its members, while simultaneously ensuring that the Credit Union remains financially sustainable and professionally managed.

In my present position at IDB Invest, I see first-hand the transformative impact that financial institutions can have on people’s lives. I presently lead IDB Invest's efforts in the financial technology area. I believe these insights can also provide tangible value to the Credit Union. Finally, I am a firm believer in the mission of our broader IDB Group. I would like to contribute to such mission by serving in Credit Union’s Board of Directors.

I have heard countless stories from friends and IDB colleagues about how the Credit Union has impacted their lives throughout the years. Be it by providing financial resources to support educational opportunities for their children, making homeownership a reality, or enhancing specific family financial goals. The Credit Union has supported its members in good and challenging times. This is my story, too. 

 As the world emerges from the pandemic time, new and more complex challenges are ahead.  As any other institution, our Credit Union is part of this scenario and must transition and adapt more quickly to better serve and accompany its members in these changing times. Now, as a candidate for the Board of the Credit Union - an honor I had in the past - I want to work and advocate to the needs of a sound financial Credit Union; helping in its transition to provide and amplify its digital services, together with a continuous commitment to respond to our members with a more personalized focus given its more diversified membership and new demands. I believe in the idea of “people serving other people”. As proactive in promoting collaboration, committed to results-oriented approaches, skilled in economic development, strategic management, and experience as a project manager, I will serve and work hard to advance the objectives of the Credit Union further.

I have been a part of the family of the Credit Union since my incorporation at the IDB Group more than 17 years ago. Without any doubt, the Credit Union provides invaluable services to its members and for that reason, I have always been interested in collaborating. I have participated as a member of the Nominations Committee, and I am currently a member of the Credit Committee, and I would like to continue contributing to the growth of this family. I am confident that my academic background in finance, my experience as a Loan Officer at the beginning of my professional career, as well as several years of experience in fiduciary matters, and over 11 years at the Finance Department of the IDB, focusing on financial and operational systems, can bring some insights to the Credit Union. I want to thank you for considering my candidacy to the Board of Directors of our Credit Union. I can only hope to have the opportunity to represent your interests at the Board.

Since moving to Washington DC in 2003, credit unions have played an important role in helping me to build a credit history, gain access to affordable finance, and accomplish my life goals. I have been a member of IDB Global Federal Credit Union since 2010. Last year, I was nominated to serve on its Credit Committee in an advisory role to ensure that our credit policies are fairly and prudently applied. It has been a pleasure to serve in this capacity, and I would like to build on this experience by becoming a member of the Board. I started my career in bank regulation at the Central Bank of The Bahamas, where I supervised a portfolio of banks and financial institutions.  At the IDB, and I have more than ten (10) years of experience in credit and financial analysis of loans to private sector clients. To better serve you, I would like to explore new products to meet your financial needs and make the Credit Union more competitive and efficient.  These could include enhanced mobile and digital services as well as expanding investment opportunities by developing partnerships with advisors and brokers. It would be an honor to serve you as an elected member of the Credit Union.

My name is Monica Velásquez, and I am currently serving as the Chair of the Credit Committee and as a Director of the Board of Directors at the Credit Union. I am honored to be running for reelection to continue serving the community during these challenging times that can bring opportunity and transformation.

 I have 15 years of experience in the financial sector. I have been an active member of the Credit Union since 2015. I currently work as a Financial Planning Officer at IDB Invest. I collaboratively design and develop models for the organization’s short-term and long-term financial projections, and I am the liaison for Rating Agencies. Prior to joining IDB Invest, I worked at the Stock Exchange in Colombia and Itau Banco as a Credit Analyst.

 I hold a master's degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a graduate degree in Risk and Asset Management from Los Andes University. In addition, I hold a bachelor's degree in Economics from Universidad Extemado de Colombia.