For immediate release: April 17, 2023

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta announces its Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC) chair, Tyler Clinch, and four new council members, Jose R. Vazquez Jr., Macke Mauldin, Clayton Legear, and Alden J. McDonald Jr. They will serve three-year terms that expire in 2025.

CDIAC was established in 2010 by the Board of Governors to provide input to the Board on the economy, lending conditions, and other issues of interest to community depository institutions pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. It provides firsthand input to the Board on the economy, lending conditions, and other issues. Members are selected from representatives of banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions serving on local advisory councils at the 12 Federal Reserve Banks. The council chair represents the Atlanta Fed on the national council, which meets twice a year with the Board in Washington, DC.

Tyler Clinch is president and CEO of First Community Bank of East Tennessee. She serves as the director of the DKA Foundation in Kingsport, Tennessee, and chairperson of the Tennessee Collateral Pool Board for the state's Treasury Department. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Wellesley College and a master's in public affairs from Princeton University.

Jose R. Vazquez Jr. is president, chief lending officer, and a board member of Grove Bank & Trust in Miami, Florida. He has over 30 years of banking experience and was previously with Popular Bank, where he served as director of commercial banking for the Florida region. Vazquez serves on the executive board and finance committee for Junior Achievement and is a past board member of the March of Dimes South Florida Chapter and the Latin Builders Association. He is active with the Florida Bankers Association, Miami-Dade College's Center for Financial Training, Habitat for Humanity, and the South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Vazquez was an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College and holds a bachelor of arts in business administration from Florida International University and a master of business administration from the University of Miami.

Macke Mauldin is president of Bank Independent and chief executive officer of BancIndependent Inc., headquartered in Sheffield, Alabama, and chairman of the board at Interstate Billing Service, a subsidiary of Bank Independent. Mauldin serves on the boards of the Alabama Bankers Association, the Shoals Economic Development Authority, the Southern Development Council, and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, and on the steering committee for A Greater Shoals. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Auburn University.

Clayton Legear is president, chief executive officer, and director of Merchants & Marine Bank and the bank's holding company, Merchants & Marine Bancorp Inc. (MNMB), based in Alabama and Mississippi. Prior to joining MNMB in 2011 as compliance manager, he served as a financial institution examiner with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Legear serves as a governor-appointed member of the Mississippi State Board of Banking Review. He is actively involved in numerous professional, civic, and charitable organizations, including Young President's Organization and Mississippi Banker's Association (Education Chair and ex-officio Board Member). Legear is an alumnus of Leadership Jackson County and Leadership Mississippi and has been recognized as one of the Top 10 Business Leaders Under 40 by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce. Clayton holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Troy University and a graduate banking certificate from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

Alden J. McDonald Jr. is the chief executive officer of Liberty Bank and Trust Company, headquartered in New Orleans and one of the top African American-owned financial institutions in the United States. McDonald has been recognized for his efforts in rebuilding the bank and guiding the recovery of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. He has served on numerous local, regional, and national boards, including Xavier University and the FDIC Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion. McDonald has received several awards, including the 2013 100 Black Men Inc.'s Trailblazer award and the 2012 National Urban League's Business Pioneer Award. He is a Times-Picayune “Loving Cup” honoree and received an honorary doctorate degree from Loyola University New Orleans.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and sections of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks, and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the US government.

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