1. www.i95business.com february/march 2013 37
WOMEN IN DEFENSEWOMEN IN DEFENSE
WOMEN IN BUSINESSWOMEN IN BUSINESS
Susan Kemen is a Maryland native. She
graduated from Aberdeen High School and
received her associate’s degree in business
from Harford Community College. Like
many students, Susan worked a few part-
time jobs through school, including as a
teller for Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal
Credit Union (APGFCU). She has since
moved her way up the ranks to Senior Vice
President of Consumer Lending, a new
role she started in January of this year.“I
became a part-time teller not ever thinking
that it would become a full-time career,”
says Kemen. She progressed from teller
to collector, from accepting deposits to
collecting delinquent loans. It was in this
capacity that Kemen says she learned the
most about the people in her community,
their struggles and stories. She also learned
about herself and how to find a balance
between sympathizing with a neighbor
and accomplishing her job. Kemen was
promoted to collection department manager
and then to consumer loan manager. Later
she became the credit union’s first financial
counselor and then was promoted to senior
vice president of operations, a position she
held for six years.
Kemen knew that if she wanted to
further progress in the business world, she
would need to go back to school. Ten years
after getting her associate’s degree, she
enrolled part-time at the College of Notre
Dame Maryland. As a full-time professional,
a wife, and mother of two – her son works
at Aberdeen Proving Ground and her step-
daughter (recently graduated high school)
will be attending Marine Corps boot camp
in September – it took Kemen 11 years,
one class a semester, to earn her bachelor’s
degree in business management.“I wouldn’t
recommend doing it the way I did; it was
tough,” but it was what she needed to
do. With the support of her family and
the network at APGFCU, she was able to
achieve her goal and continue to better
her position within the company. When
asked why she was so passionate about her
job the conversation quickly turned to the
community. In her new role in lending
it is her mission to help people succeed;
APGFCU is a financial cooperative and is
dedicated to improving the economic and
social position of its members. Kemen is
consistently working to get the message out
to the community that she is there to help.
The credit union is the solution.
Her devotion to the community doesn’t
stop at the office. Kemen is on the board of
directors of the Arc Northern Chesapeake
Region Inc. The goal of the Arc is to give
adults with developmental disabilities
the education and training they need to
enter the job market successfully. Kemen
particularly enjoys her work with the Arc
because of the overwhelming gratitude and
appreciation she receives from those she
helps.
So what keeps this highly successful
businesswomen, wife, mother and volunteer
going? Running. Her passion in life is to
be outside with her husband and a group
of distance runners training for their next
event. Kemen started running after her son
was born 20 years ago to get back into shape.
She and her husband joined the Leukemia
and Lymphoma Society of Maryland. The
organization facilitates training for an event,
like a marathon or triathlon, in exchange
for fundraising. She started out small, but
after watching her husband complete the
Marine Corps Marathon she decided long-
distance events were for her. More than
the physical benefits, it is the camaraderie
and companionship that Kemen finds
fulfilling. She is currently training for her
fifth ultra-marathon (a race over 26.2 miles,
typically 31 miles), which will take place
in March. In 2012, Kemen served as race
director and helped to raise $4,000 for the
Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford County.
When she isn’t on a run, she is volunteering
at her small church where she was the
youth group coordinator for eight years.
She recently passed on this role to another
willing member of her faith community as
her daughter graduated from the program.
Well, except for one last annual mission trip.
This July she will be taking a group of young
adults to areas of Pennsylvania to repair
houses. She came into these roles while
her kids were in school and the previous
coordinator resigned. She saw a need and
filled it.
“When you’re passionate about
something, it’s easy to succeed,” says Kemen.
She certainly has a lot on her plate;
however, she is dedicated completely to
meeting, if not exceeding her goals. She
knows better than to pile on too much
because for Susan Kemen, mediocrity is
not an option. I95
Susan KemenAPG Federal Credit Union
B y Em i l y B a rb o
Susan Kemen
Senior Vice President of
Consumer Lending
APGFCU
www.apgfcu.com
“When you’re passionate about
something, it’s easy to succeed...”