We're introducing you to our Most Admired CEOs for 2022. Honorees for this award program were nominated by Business Journal readers and staff and chosen through a vote of their peers. Jenee Rawlings is an honoree in the medium-company category.
Yolo Federal Credit Union CEO Jenee Rawlings speaks fondly of both credit union members and fellow workers who’ve supported her through her various transitions at the company. So it’s only natural that, during a tumultuous year for many of her customers, Rawlings has returned the favor by supporting them.
“I still have members that were my members when I was in the teller line or a loan officer or in the member-service department. They’ll call me or stop me at the gym or grocery store,” said Rawlings, who joined the company as a part-time teller in 1989. “It’s part of what I love about the job.”
As Yolo FCU’s chief, the Vacaville native oversees a local, five-branch financial institution with 65 employees, about 21,000 members and an asset base that increased for the year ended October 2021 by about 16% to $420 million.
That growth didn’t come without its challenges, however. Tasked with serving a customer base wary of the longer-term economic impacts of Covid, Yolo FCU, under Rawlings' leadership, refinanced enough of its members' mortgages and auto loans to save them more than $1 million in interest payments last year.
Meanwhile, Rawlings didn’t lay off any Yolo FCU employees and didn’t enforce any pay cuts while instituting a hybrid work environment where employees reduced their health risks by working remotely whenever possible.
“We’ve just navigated this storm by being as flexible and adaptable as possible,” said Rawlings. “It’s a smaller ship to steer.”
This sense of community responsibility has carried over to Rawlings’ work outside of Yolo FCU’s offices.
Among her volunteer activity on local business groups is her work on the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce, a business-networking organization serving local LGBTQ business owners. There, Rawlings has been vital to increasing both membership and financial support, according to Robin D. Shofner, partner at Sacramento-based MOBO Law LLP, who has served with Rawlings on the Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce.
“This was a volunteer board, and everyone’s got other careers, but she treated it like it was a paying job that was top priority. It seems like she has more hours in her day than anyone else,” said Shofner, who also serves on the Yolo FCU board. “We raised a ton of money for various scholarship foundations.”
While allowing that she’s had to evolve from being “the doer” to more of a delegator, Rawlings says that her experience through various ranks at Yolo FCU has been invaluable during the past couple of years and will help the institution and its members continue to navigate the financial landscape going forward.
“Our front-line folks are dealing with more volatile situations, and their normal way of doing business has been disrupted,” Rawlings said. “I’ve been in most of their roles at one time or another, and I think that gives me a really true appreciation for what they bring to the organization.”