Tawana Y. James

Tawana James is the Director of the Office of Small Credit Union Initiatives (OSCUI). As Director, James is responsible for overseeing the activities of the OSCUI by assisting in the NCUA’s risk mitigation program and encouraging credit union development, particularly in the expansion of services that small credit unions provide to all eligible consumers. OSCUI provides national training to credit unions; provides one-on-one specialized technical assistance to credit unions; establishes partnerships and administers the Community Development Revolving Loan Funding, including loans and technical assistance grants. Of the nation's more than 8,000 federally insured credit unions, half are defined as small credit unions - 1,000 hold the special low-income designation and over 4,000 have assets less than $10 million.

Prior to becoming the Director of OSCUI, James held several other senior level positions including Regional Director, Deputy Executive Director, Deputy Director of Examination and Insurance, and Associate Regional Director of Operation.  These assignments included assisting the Executive Director in administering the day-to-day operations of NCUA’s 1000-person organization and overseeing Region II which consisted of over 1,000 credit unions.
James started her career with NCUA in 1980 as a temporary accounting technician. She has been primarily based in the Washington DC area and has held positions as principal examiner,  problem case officer, and Director of Supervision.  She also served as a loss case officer in the Office of Examination and Insurance. 

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.  James is married to Reginald Stevens and has two children, Reginald and Felicia.