By Jennifer L. Warren
POUGHKEEPSIE – Jonathan Roberts has arrived home, a place that brings his life journey “all together.”
A self proclaimed “accidental banker,” Roberts who has been the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) for the past two years, could not be more joyful about the position that encapsulates his life’s passion-purpose: Leaving a community better off than he found it.
“My father always instilled in me the idea of leaving things better than you found them,” reflected Roberts, who hails from a military family, his dad an Air Force and Vietnam War veteran, who also stressed the importance of a diligent work ethic and giving back to one’s community. “Coming from a military background, our family moved around a great deal.”
Eventually landing in the state of Ohio, the determined and focused Roberts, secured a football scholarship to the University of Cincinnati’s Division I program, where he also ran track. Guided by his love for-commitment to community as well as leadership skills, Roberts majored in sociology, aspiring to work with at-risk adolescents, developing programs while fostering precious hope. Those goals were pursued early on-while Roberts was still in college, when his then girlfriend and now wife, pioneered a track and field program for city youth, both successfully displaying their impressive leadership and coaching skills.
During this same time, Roberts was developing precious mentor bonds: One with the Assistant Athletic Director, another with a professor, both who jointly led a diversity company, and steered him toward taking an interview with a nearby banking company: Fifth Third Bancorp. Urged by his girlfriend to follow-up on the interview “seed” while not having any genuine stake in whether he got the job or not, Roberts flipped the script during the meeting, asking interviewers bold diversity-related questions about their Board of Directors, posing such queries as redlining and fair hiring practices. Realizing there were huge gaps in these areas, the interview committee was impressed by Roberts’ assertiveness and hired him. Interest started to brew on Roberts’ end, an “accidental banker” was born, and the rest, as they say, was history…. as well as serendipity.
“I realized you can help a lot of people by providing financial education and support,” explained Roberts who worked for seven years, led by the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) on the retail branch level, eventually ascending to the management sphere, a place where he flourished. “Now it was no longer working with individual clients, but developing groups of people, much like coaching what I’ve done in the past and really enjoy; at this level, I got my fulfillment by developing and supporting more people, helping them grow with their skills and providing safe resources.”
Possessing a “genuine interest in people,” Roberts was immediately attracted to the…
Read More: Roberts Comes Full Circle in Banking Industry
