Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta Announces 2026 Director Election Results

ATLANTA, Nov. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBank Atlanta) today announced the results of its 2026 director election, which includes the election of three new member directors and the re-election of one independent director to its board of directors. 

The board also named its new Chair and Vice Chair for 2027, reinforcing a strong governance framework and continued focus on serving members and supporting communities across the district.

Effective Jan. 1, 2027:

• Suzanne DeFerie, current Vice Chair of the board, member director representing North Carolina, and member of the board of directors at First Bank, was elected Chair of the board;
• Kathy McKinney, Senior Counsel, Public Finance, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., was named Vice Chair of the board and re-elected as an independent director;
• Kort Brown, Executive Vice President and Treasurer, BankUnited, was elected a member director representing Florida;
• Jim Edwards, CEO, United Bank, was elected a member director representing Georgia; and
• Dave Sweiderk, President & CEO, State Employees Credit Union of Maryland (SECU), was elected a member director representing Maryland.

“We are pleased to welcome Kort, Jim, and Dave to the Board and to continue benefiting from Suzanne’s and Kathy’s service and leadership,” said Thornwell Dunlap, current chair of FHLBank Atlanta’s board of directors. “Together, they bring valuable perspectives and deep industry experience that will strengthen our ability to support members and respond to the evolving needs of the communities they serve.”

“Suzanne and Kathy bring a deep understanding of our cooperative mission, our members, and the role we play in supporting housing finance and community investment throughout our district,” said Reggie O’Shields, President and CEO of FHLBank Atlanta. “As longstanding members of our board, they are well positioned to lead as Chair and Vice Chair. Along with Kort, Jim, and Dave, they will help guide the Bank as we advance our strategic objectives and continue delivering value to our members.”

Biographical Background

Suzanne DeFerie has served as a member of the board of directors of First Bank, a subsidiary of First Bancorp in Southern Pines, North Carolina, since October 1, 2017. She served as president and chief executive officer of Asheville Savings Bank, S.S.B. in Asheville, North Carolina, from 2008 and its holding company, ASB Bancorp, Inc., from 2011 until October 1, 2017, when the bank and holding company were acquired by First Bancorp. DeFerie also serves as a member of the board of directors for First Bancorp and was named audit committee chair in 2023. She formerly served as senior audit manager with Deloitte. DeFerie also is a past member of the Community Depository Advisory Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, past chair of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County, as well as past board member for the Economic Development Coalition of Asheville-Buncombe County, Mission Health System, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, and Asheville Merchants Fund. DeFerie currently serves the Asheville community on the boards of the Community Betterment Foundation and ANC Health Care. DeFerie is a certified public accountant.

Kathy McKinney serves as Senior Counsel, Public Finance, at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A. in Greenville, South Carolina. She was previously elected to a four-year term beginning in 2023 as an independent director of FHLBank Atlanta and currently chairs its Finance Committee. Nationally recognized for her experience in public finance law and tax-exempt financing, McKinney serves as bond counsel to leading healthcare providers, educational institutions, foundations, and continuing care retirement communities, and advises public and nonprofit organizations on corporate governance best practices. In 2010, she was elected to the board of directors of the FHLBanks Office of Finance, where she also served on the Audit and Governance Committees. She is active in charitable board service, including with the South Carolina Historical Society, the Sigal Music Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Textile Conservation Visiting Committee. McKinney earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She was named to South Carolina Lawyers Weekly’s 2026 Influential Women of Law list.

Kort Brown has served as Treasurer of BankUnited, N.A., headquartered in Miami, since 2011. He is responsible for interest rate risk, liquidity management, funding strategy, loan and deposit pricing, and balance sheet optimization. He chairs the Bank’s Asset Liability Committee and oversees its customer interest rate derivatives and foreign exchange businesses. Since joining BankUnited in 2001, Brown has held a variety of treasury and finance leadership positions. He has served on FHLBank Atlanta’s Member Business Team, helping expand the use of FHLBank programs supporting affordable housing and community development, and supported BankUnited’s Heirs’ Property Initiative, which helps homeowners in underserved communities resolve title issues and preserve generational wealth. Brown holds a Bachelor of Science in Managerial Economics from Hampden-Sydney College and a Master of Science in Finance from the Chapman Graduate School of Business at Florida International University. He is a graduate of Columbia Business School Executive Education’s Chief Financial Officer Program and BankUnited’s Leadership Institute, offered in partnership with Florida International University’s Center for Leadership.

Jim Edwards joined United Bank in 1993 and was named CEO in 2002. Headquartered in Zebulon, Georgia, United Bank is a community bank serving nine contiguous suburban and rural counties in central Georgia. During his tenure, Edwards has helped grow the bank into one of the 10 largest Georgia-chartered banks, with more than $2.2 billion in assets, and one of the nation’s largest employee-owned community banks. He is a past chairman of the American Bankers Association, the ABA Community Bankers Council, and the Georgia Bankers Association, and a former member of the FDIC’s Community Bank Advisory Committee. Edwards has also served on numerous local civic and community boards and currently serves as vice chairman of American Bankers Mutual Insurance Company and Upson Regional Medical Center. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Dave Sweiderk has served as President and CEO of SECU of Maryland since 2018. Previously, he served as Chief Operating Officer of OneAZ Credit Union in Arizona, where he led the transformation of the credit union’s member engagement strategy, and held leadership positions with First National Bank of Omaha, Sovereign Bank, and Chevy Chase Bank. Sweiderk currently serves as chair of the board of directors of Special Olympics Maryland and as a member of the boards of the Kennedy Krieger Institute, the Kennedy Krieger Foundation, and the MD|DC Credit Union Association. He has also served on numerous nonprofit and industry boards and committees, including the Consumer Bankers Association’s Home Equity Committee and Fannie Mae’s Advisory Board, and was vice chair of Inclusive Communities in Omaha and a member of the Board and Governance Committee of Special Olympics Arizona. Sweiderk earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University and an MBA from the University of Maryland University College. He also attended the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management at the University of Virginia.

About Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank’s members are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System.

For more information, visit our website at www.fhlbatl.com

CONTACT: Suzanne Vincent
Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
[email protected]

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