Tawana Y. James.  Tawana James is the newly appointed Director of NCUA's Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI), formed in response to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. As Director of OMWI, Tawana will oversee Dodd-Frank Act requirements relating to diversity, civil rights and the promotion of minority and women hiring and contracting practices throughout the credit union industry.

The statutory mission of OMWI relates to diversity in management, employment, and business activities, which includes equal employment opportunity and the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the workforce and senior management of the agency; increased participation of minority-owned and women-owned businesses in the programs and contracts of the agency, including standards for coordinating technical assistance to such businesses;assessing the diversity policies and practices of entities regulated by the agency; and preserving credit unions run by minorities and/or serving minorities.

Prior to this appointment, Tawana served as Director of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives (OSCUI) providing valuable assistance to hundreds of small credit unions serving diverse communities that are underserved by other insured financial institutions.  As a part of OSCUI mission, she was responsible for administering the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund, overseeing NCUA’s national small credit union training; providing one-on-one specialized technical assistance to credit unions; and fostering partnerships.

Ms. James has extensive experience overseeing credit union examination and supervision programs.  She served as Director of NCUA’s Region II Office, responsible for administering the examination program for credit unions throughout the mid-Atlantic region. On a national level, she served as the Deputy Director of NCUA’s Office of the Executive Director, responsible for the daily operations of the entire agency, and was the Deputy Director of NCUA’s Office of Examination and Insurance, responsible for the national examination program for all federally insured credit unions.

James holds a B.S. degree in accounting from Towson State University, Towson, MD. She has completed several higher education courses, most notable is the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Managers. Tawana is married to Reginald E. Stevens and has two children, Reginald and Felicia.