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NeighborWorks America is sad to announce that its former Board Member and former National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Vice Chairman, Elizabeth Flores Burkhart passed away on July 23, 2009 at age 74, after suffering a severe stroke on July 16.
Burkhart came from very humble beginnings — born in rural Waelder,Texas, the eldest of 13 children, and then moving with her family as a young child, to the Rio Grande Valley where they settled in the town of Donna Texas in Hidalgo County.
Burkhart overcame racial, gender and economic barriers, and:
- Received dual Bachelor degrees from Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, Texas;
- Served in the United States Marines from 1954-1956;
- Became a teacher in the Houston area;
- Earned her MBA from Houston Baptist University at the age of 40.
- Joined Texas Commerce Bank in Houston, Texas as a secretary, elevating to the rank of vice president of lending at that bank.
- While working at Texas Commerce, Burkhart met and became friends with Jeb Bush at a banking management class. He later asked her to join his father's presidential campaign and Burkhart went to work for the George H.W. Bush presidential campaign as assistant treasurer.
- When former President George H.W. Bush joined the Republican presidential ticket with former President Ronald Reagan, Burkhart joined the transition team as deputy treasurer of that campaign.
- President Reagan appointed Burkhart to the position of associate deputy administrator at the Veterans Administration.
- In 1984, President Reagan nominated her as the chairperson of the National Credit Union Administration board.
Throughout her journey from rural Texas to the “Halls of Power” in Washington, Burkhart never forgot her humble roots. And during her tenure as a board member of NeighborWorks America (then known as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation), she always had a keen interest in the corporation’s efforts to help those who were underserved by conventional financial institutions.
“NeighborWorks America will always be indebted to Elizabeth Burkhart for the many contributions she made in leading the corporation, particularly through a transition in executive leadership upon the departure of our founding director Bill Whiteside," said NeighborWorks America CEO Ken Wade. "Elizabeth Burkhart was truly a dedicated public servant, who based upon her own life experiences, saw the potential that exists in every person and every community.”
