MEET OUR BOARD
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Susan Bassford-President
Susan Bassford co-founded Pacific Rim Capital, a consumer lending institution, in April of 1989. Susan relocated to San Diego, CA in 1991 to develop and oversee the Washington, Oregon, California, and Denver, Colorado markets. Susan has been very politically active in the states she oversees, particularly in California, and was one of the founding members of the Financial Services Centers of Washington. She is also very active in FISCA and CESA. In 2002 Susan successfully launched Checkmate Express which was one of the first short term consumer lending platforms offered online, by fax or by phone including a re-loading electronic short term consumer loan card. Susan is involved with a number of local and national charities including the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation and United Cerebral Palsy. Susan attended Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
Carlene Barra
Graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in accounting from Townson State University in Baltimore, MD. Carlene worked for T. Rowe Price as an accountant, and served as as Accounting Coordinator for the Fairfield Bay Community Club in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas. Carlene is currently the President of the Board of the Directors for the club. Prior to completing her accounting degree, she owned and operated retail stores for a manufacturing company. As the merchandise manager, she planned the seasonal line, purchased all the raw materials, ordered the production of the finished goods, and hired and trained the sales representatives. Currently she owns and operates "Homes with New Faces", an interior consulting service in Fairfield Bay. She also has a property investment business, "Barra Properties". Carlene's family, the most important facet of her life, consists of two daughters both of which are in the medical field, six grandchildren, and a wonderful husband from Maine.
Stacey McLey
Stacey is currently lead council for Inergy Propane LLC; a national propane company located in Kaunas City, Missouri. She manages and directs Inergy's litigation and claims. Before Inergy, Stacey worked for 11 years as a litigator defending national propane, trucking and insurance companies. She was partner in the law form of Schlee, Huber, and McMullen & Krause P.C. She received her B.S. in Business Administration from Mankato State University in 1991 and her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1994. Stacey was on the National Moot Court team and the National Law Review. Stacey resides in Leawood, Kansas with husband, Kurt and her two children, Mia and Ike. She is active in the community and has served on the Board of the Association for Women Lawyers in Kansas City, the Young Lawyer's Section of the Lawyer's Association of Kansas City, and the Missouri Organization of Defense Lawyers. She is also a member of the National Propane Defense Association.
Tauna McBee
Raised in Southern Idaho, Tauna attended Carroll College in Helena, Montana and College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho. Following college she worked in the food service industry with the Downtowner Hotel and Convention Center in Boise, Idaho and was owner/operator of Abraham's Restaurant in Walla Walla, Washington. In 1984 she became a member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association {LPGA} and has been teaching golf for 25 years in various locations throughout the United States. Tauna resides with her husband in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas and has 3 children and 4 grandchildren.
Debra Kovack
Debra is a lifelong friend of the founders, all growing up in a small town in Iowa. She received a B.A. with high honors from the University of California at Santa Barbara, California and has worked as a paralegal specializing in family law for the last 20 years. She currently resides in San Diego, California with her husband and daughter.
