Marcia Malzahn

Marcia Malzahn (Marci) was born in Nicaragua, Central America. In 1979 she left Nicaragua due to a revolution and moved to the Dominican Republic and lived there for seven years. Marcia moved to Minnesota in 1986 and started a career in banking with Marquette Bank Minneapolis that continued for the next thirteen years in the areas of Treasury Management (Cash Management), Private Banking, and Retail Banking. In 1995 Marcia became the first Online Banking Specialist in the Twin Cities.

In 1999, she moved to the IT field and started working for Living Word Christian Center (LWCC), a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. At LWCC, she held the positions of Y2K Project Manager, Director of IT, Associate in charge of Finance, Human Resources and IT, and was Corporate Assistant Secretary of the Board. She managed a budget of $31.5MM and 28 employees.

In January 2005, Marcia moved back to the community banking field and helped start a community bank in Edina, MN, now at over $900 million in assets. From 2005 to 2013, Marcia was the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. In January 2014, Marcia’s role changed to EVP/COO and was promoted to Chief Risk Officer. Marcia was also the Corporate Secretary of bank’s Board and of the holding company’s Board.

In October 2014, Marcia started a community bank and credit union management consulting firm, Malzahn Strategic, focusing on Strategic Planning, Enterprise Risk Management, Treasury Management, Talent Management and Leadership Coaching for community banks and credit unions. Marcia is also an inspirational keynote speaker and speaks on motivational, inspirational and leadership topics as well as training and education on community banking and credit union topics such as Enterprise Risk Management. She holds an Associates of Arts degree from North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Park, MN and graduated with a B.A. in Business Management from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. Marcia also graduated from the Graduate School of Banking in Madison, WI.

Marcia is involved in the community. She was a member of Financial Women International for sixteen years and held several board positions including president of the local group and of the District. She is a member of the Minnesota Women Economic Roundtable and served as treasurer for two years. Marcia is also a past chair of the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities. Marcia is also on other nonprofit boards such as inFaith Community Foundation. Marcia has also volunteered or served on the boards in other organizations including Matter, Way to Grow, Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA), Feed My Starving Children, Homes for Heroes, HopeKids, Meals on Wheels, and Farmers Market Youth Project.

Marcia is the recipient of many awards including:

• 25 On The Rise award given by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in December, 2005
• Forty Under 40 award given by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal in May, 2006
• Virginia D. H. Furman Outstanding Woman of the Year award from Financial Women International in September, 2006
• Top Women in Finance award from Finance and Commerce Newspaper in November, 2008
• Outstanding Women in Banking award given by the North Western Financial Review magazine in November, 2009

Marcia is the author of five books: Devotions for Working Women – A Daily Inspiration to Live a Successful and Balanced Life, a daily devotional published in 2006, The Fire Within – Connect Your Gifts with Your Calling, helping people answer the question of: How to Find Your Purpose in God, published in October, 2015, and The Friendship Book – Because You Matter to Me, friendship poems published in April, 2016 also translated into Spanish, “El Libro de la Amistad” and published in November, 2017, Bring YOUR Shoes – A Fresh Perspective for Leaders With Big Shoes to Fill, teaching readers how to lead a team, published in October, 2019.

Marcia and her husband Tim live in Minnesota, USA and have two grown children.