Makayla Ciminelli

Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Credit Officer, Five Star Bank

This story is part of our July 2026 Young Professionals issue. To read the print version, click here.

Ciminelli, 31, pushed herself through school, working toward a goal to secure scholarships because she knew she’d have to pay for her college education. She worked the 4 a.m. shift as a barista at Peet’s Coffee while taking a full course load. Her first big challenge was when she almost lost a scholarship due to a typo but fought to successfully get it back.

She graduated from the University of the Pacific with a major in international relations and a minor in economics. As part of her international studies, she was required to live abroad for four months, so she shared an apartment with five young women in Stirling, Scotland. She was one of two Americans, with one each from Germany, France, Switzerland and Scotland. “It was really fun, the amount of different things we learned about each other,” she says.

She planned on a career in nonprofits until, during her job search, UOP professor Dr. Sharmila King told her Five Star Bank in Sacramento was recruiting college graduates. She went through a thorough vetting process in the management trainee program, which included an interview with CEO James Beckwith. “I thought it was really amazing that a CEO was willing to sit down with someone who was just looking for their entry-level job out of college,” she says.

“What makes America great is that we really are a country of different cultures, immigrants, people who have different languages, different belief systems, connecting back to everything I enjoy about learning and really wanting the desire to understand different perspectives and where people come from.”

Ciminelli started as a credit analyst in the credit department and quickly rose through the ranks through hard work. “I was always the person who when they needed something done, they wanted somebody to work extra hours, take on an additional project, really be the boots on the ground for something. I volunteered,” she says.

For example, when the bank needed someone to scan thousands of documents to convert them into a new cloud system, Ciminelli volunteered. She credits her parents for that mindset, saying they didn’t have much, but they taught her to work hard.

While at Five Star Bank, Ciminelli developed her skills with banking courses at Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. She now supervises a staff of 34. When the pandemic hit, she was chosen to head up the Paycheck Protection Program loans. She worked 15- to 20-hour days sometimes to make sure Five Star Bank’s small businesses got the financial help they needed. Her hard work in getting 1,500 PPP loans approved was recognized.

“It was a ton of work. I did not sleep. I probably averaged during that time period maybe two or three hours of sleep. They were long days, 20-hour days of just getting the funds out. But I was in it, and I really valued the experience, because you could see the direct impact,” she says.

Ciminelli credits her mentor, the bank’s Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer Jim Dalton for sharing his expertise with her. “He invited me to the table so I could be part of key discussions and contribute to leadership decisions, and gave me the opportunity to learn directly from him, which has been invaluable,” she says.

But after nine years of her “nose to the grindstone” and becoming an expert on credit, Ciminelli says she wants to start giving back more to her community. “Professional growth is more than just where you move in your career, right? Professional growth includes and is holistic of how you’re involved in the community, so I want that to continue,” she says.

Ciminelli is an advocate with the CASA program for foster youth, a member of the Junior Achievement and is a member of the Sacramento Metro Chamber’s leadership program. She’s also helped with the International Rescue Committee by teaching new immigrants business skills, such as learning Excel and navigating job sites.

Ciminelli and her husband, Andrew, a woodworker whom she met at UOP, love the outdoors and enjoy hiking, paddleboarding and kayaking. They have two dogs, Nugget, a beagle-retriever mix, and Butter, a Shiba Inu. “I definitely need to be outside to recharge.”

As for her thoughts on America’s 250th birthday: “What makes America great is that we really are a country of different cultures, immigrants, people who have different languages, different belief systems, connecting back to everything I enjoy about learning and really wanting the desire to understand different perspectives and where people come from.”

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View the list of honorees from 2015 through 2026.

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