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| Yolanda Townsend Wheat |
Eisenhower alumni Yolanda Townsend Wheat returned to the Eisenhower campus on Wednesday, March 23, 2001 to speak to students about her life since leaving Eisenhower High School. Mrs. Wheat spoke with students at a motivational assembly about the importance of staying in school and working hard. "I want to let students know that whatever obstacles they face can be overcome with hard work and determination."
Following her presentation at Eisenhower, Mrs. Wheat visited several schools in the area and was then the guest at a reception given to honor her contributions to credit unions and particularly her efforts to bring a financial institution to San Bernardino's westside. Mrs. Wheat's return to the Inland Empire area was sponsored by the Arrowhead Credit Union.
Eisenhower High School is proud to recognize our alumni's accomplishments. The following is an excerpt from Yolanda Townsend Wheat's biography as presented at the assembly on Wednesday:
Life at Eisenhower High School
Life After Eisenhower High School:
Biography of Yolanda Townsend Wheat
Yolanda Townsend Wheat is a native of San Bernardino, California. Her mother, (the former Mary Sanchez) worked in a law firm and was the inspiration for Wheat's desire to pursue law as a career. Her father, Art Townsend, was the founder and publisher of The Precinct Reporter, a weekly community newspaper.
After practicing law for ten years, Wheat was appointed to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board in April 1996 by President Bill Clinton. Wheat served as NCUA chairwoman for a short term in early 2001.
The three-person NCUA Board is responsible for overseeing more than 10,000 federally insured credit unions with assets totaling over $400 billion. The NCUA is the independent federal agency that insures the deposits of more than 76 million credit union members in the nation's federal credit unions and most state-chartered credit unions.
During her tenure on the NCUA Board, Wheat has been a champion for the interests of consumers, focusing on such issues as access to financial services, privacy and predatory lending practices. She has been instrumental in developing incentives that help credit unions expand their membership base so that as many consumers as possible have access to credit union services. Wheat has worked to empower credit unions to provide more services in the financial marketplace in order to remain competitive and thrive in the 21st century.