OBA Presents Linda Navarro with Inaugural Trailblazer Award

During the Women in Oregon Banking Luncheon held May 2 in Portland, the Oregon Bankers Association (OBA) proudly announced a new award in honor of retiring OBA President and CEO Linda W. Navarro.

The Linda W. Navarro Trailblazer Award has been established to recognize and celebrate women in banking who have not only achieved remarkable success in their careers but have also made lasting contributions to the industry. Navarro, the inaugural recipient of the award, will be retiring from the OBA in July. She has been a trailblazer throughout her career, becoming the first woman to lead the Oregon Bankers Association in its 119-year history. Other recognitions of her success include being honored as a Woman of Influence by the Portland Business Journal in 2012 and receiving the prestigious V.A. McNeil Executive Leadership Award from the Oregon Society of Association Management in 2015.

In addition to serving as CEO of the OBA, Navarro is the chief executive officer of Synergy by Association, a wholly-owned for-profit subsidiary of OBA, and Community Banks of Oregon. She has also held various national positions in her service to the banking industry. She is a past chair and current member of the national Alliance of Bankers Association and currently serves on the American Bankers Association (ABA) Credit Union Administrative Committee. Navarro has held prior positions on the ABA Board of Directors, ABA Foundation Board of Directors, ABA Community Bankers Council, ABA BankPAC Committee, ABA Committee on Housing and Community Affairs, the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Committee on Consumer Financial Services, ICBA Technology Committee and ICBA Legislative Committee. She has also served on various nonprofit and community boards here in Oregon.

In 2013, Navarro led the establishment of the OBA Education Foundation (“Foundation”) in response to shifts in the banking industry that left a hole in state-based banking development programs. The Foundation’s mission includes increasing financial literacy and the education, development and recruitment of future bankers. Through collaborative efforts with Oregon universities, BankWork$, and various other initiatives, the Foundation actively contributes to the attraction and training of diverse new bankers.

Beyond spearheading the establishment of the Women in Oregon Banking Luncheon in 2021 as a way to uplift and celebrate women in the industry, Navarro has long championed women in banking and supported their ascent into leadership positions within the OBA. Under her leadership, many women have climbed the ranks to serve as chair of the OBA and Community Banks of Oregon. Countless others have served on OBA boards and chaired OBA committees.

While presenting the award to Navarro, Stacey Dodson, U.S. Bank‘s market president for Oregon and S.W. Washington, stated, “Linda has been a devoted advocate for Oregon’s banking community for nearly 28 years and has expertly led the OBA with passion, pride and purpose while uplifting all females in her orbit, myself included. Linda embodies what we seek to celebrate with this award: the remarkable achievements and lasting contributions of women in Oregon banking.”