In one sense, it was “by design” that Dawn Harris entered the credit union industry: She graduated from LSU with a bachelor’s in fine art, majoring in design. However, Harris says, “I had never heard of a credit union before I went to work for one”—a serendipitous move. And 30 years after Campus Federal Credit Union hired her, she became its president and CEO Jan. 1. Harris credits her predecessor John Milazzo with giving her “many opportunities to work across department lines” and thereby broaden her expertise. Previously, Harris served CFCU as COO, executive vice president of retail services and vice president of marketing. Her fine arts education wasn’t so much left behind as redirected. “My background in design was a basis for problem solving, which worked well in the business setting,” she says. With a leadership style she calls “open” and “consultative,” Harris is guiding CFCU through a period of expansion. Locally, she says, “we are in the design phase of a new branch on the OLOL Regional Hospital campus as well as beginning construction for a larger branch in the LSU Union.”
Baton Rouge
It gives me a profound sense of satisfaction knowing that the organization I lead helps people every day realize their hopes and dreams.
Being a part of building this organization from a $40 million financial institution to a half-billion-dollar institution.
Babysitting for others, but my Dad paid me a penny for every clump of Johnson grass that I shoveled out of our yard when I was a kid.
My father always said that I could do anything I put my mind to—and I believed him!
This was never a conscious choice on my part. I have a bachelor’s degree in fine arts (design) and was good in math, though I never really liked it. Campus Federal is the third credit union I have worked for. I started as a teller, worked as a loan officer, and worked in marketing; from there, budgeting and HR, along the way learning a bit of technology. My background in design was a basis for problem solving, which worked well in the business setting.
LSU … a long time ago when women still had to wear dresses. Sometime in my sophomore year we started wearing pants and blue jeans.
No.
No. I had never heard of a credit union before I went to work for one.
I worked for several years as an interior designer in Alexandria and Jackson, Miss., then worked at Kornmeyer’s Furniture store (which was a great place to work—ask Bill Balhoff). I then went to graduate school at the University of Idaho for one semester, worked as a teacher at Piney Woods Country Life School (a boarding school for at-risk children) in Mississippi, worked for Baton Rouge General in the finance department, and worked temporarily for the Baton Rouge Police Department in Criminal Records, where the captain I worked for was a board member for the City Parish Credit Union. It had an opening, and that was the first credit union I worked for.
I was looking for a place where I could do more marketing than at the smaller credit union I was working for (the second credit union that I worked for, which was hospital based: Bayou Federal Credit Union). The CEO who hired me at Campus Federal left to go to a larger credit union; and the new CEO, John Milazzo, gave me many opportunities to work across department lines. When you start in an organization that is growing and you learn from the ground up, it prepares you for many different situations.
Setting a course that continues Campus Federal’s growth and provides a thriving, secure financial institution for the members and staff.
Open, consultative, and driven to help others.
My mentors include my parents, my childhood pastor, and several good and bad managers (you learn what not to do from them).
I live in the country on seven acres with six dogs, a cat, a herd of deer that my husband feeds daily, and several flocks of birds.
There are always times that these two things are out of balance. I try very hard to leave work at work, meaning that I don’t talk about work at home very much. This gives me a chance to focus on other interests, find out what my husband has been up to during the day (he is retired), and check in on my mom. Additionally, over the years we have built a culture at Campus Federal that embraces family and encourages individuals to take time off to decompress from the job, and gives time for the community service of their choice. This has helped me balance all aspects of my life.
We are in the design phase of a new branch on the OLOL Regional Hospital campus as well as beginning construction for a larger branch in the LSU Union. Additionally, we are working on plans for a new office in New Orleans on Tulane Avenue across from the new hospitals. This is an exciting prospect for that region served by our company. Also, we will be launching a robust remote deposit capture feature usable from mobile devices in the near future. We are looking at various new technologies on the imaging side that will provide not only more efficiency in operations as well as several benefits to our members. These are a few of the exciting things that are going on!
The branching model of the future includes brick-and-mortar alongside a robust mobile delivery methodology: fewer brick-and-mortar sites, designed for more complicated transactions (such as small business lending and mortgage lending), while moving to “at your fingertips” delivery convenience for transactions, account opening, consumer lending, etc.
A greater statewide presence that capitalizes on our ability to do business in all the major marketplaces in the state.
Modifying my belief that everyone is good, that we all have the best interest of others at heart. Learning that this isn’t true, coming to know that there are those in this world who are devious, self-serving and callous, was a shift in my personal beliefs that took some time. Luckily it is a very small percentage of individuals.
Listen more carefully to others.
A set designer for early 20th-century period theatrical productions.
Believe in yourself, love your family, make strong friendships, and laugh a lot!
Any hospital administrator. Balancing the needs of patients, medical and non-medical staff, CEOs, boards and foundations while working in accord with regulations is a herculean task.
Sunshine and laughter (my husband provides both).
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.
In no particular order: Hillary Clinton, Bill & Melissa Gates (counting them as one unit), and Condoleezza Rice. My mother, too, with whom I lunch as many times a week as possible.
I don’t really have a theme song. “Amazing Grace” has always been a favorite.
Sit and watch the birds while drinking a cup of tea.
Watching movies, quilting, and playing in the garden (vegetable and flower).
The LSU campus.
Star Wars (all of them) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
My new car and all of its technology.
Change is very slow. I’m happy to see the move to embrace the arts (“the Creative Capital of the South,” as BRAC terms it). I hope that the traffic issues will one day be resolved (we need one, two or three loops like Shreveport). I dislike the fracturing of our community due to the lack of progress in transforming the public school system.
That the public school system becomes the top-rated system in the country.
