About Us

Chairman of the Board, United Bank of Philadelphia

L. Armstead Edwards joined the Board of Directors of United Bank of Philadelphia in March 1992 as a founding director. Mr. Edwards is the President and CEO of Edwards Entertainment Group and has been involved in the entertainment industry for many years.

Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, United Bank of Philadelphia

Rev. William B. Moore joined the Board of Directors of United Bank of Philadelphia in 1992 as a founding director. Rev. Moore has been the Pastor of Tenth Memorial Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA since 1971. He also has served as the Deputy Director at the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Secretary of the Board of Directors, United Bank of Philadelphia

Marionette Y. Wilson joined the Board of Directors of United Bank of Philadelphia in 1992 as a founding director. She is now retired but was formerly the Co-Founder/Partner, John Frazier, Inc., Philadelphia, PA from 1981-2002.

Director, United Bank of Philadelphia

Elvin P. Ross III, Esquire is a founding member of the Legis Group LLC, a Pennsylvania Firm that provides legal counsel services to business clients. He previously was an Associate in the Business & Finance Practice Group of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. In this capacity, he provided general corporate advice including advice to entrepreneurs in matters of corporate structuring and venture financing.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Director
United Bank of Philadelphia

Evelyn F. Smalls has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United Bank of Philadelphia since June of 2000. Prior to this appointment, she was the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Compliance.

Director, United Bank of Philadelphia

Bernard E. Anderson joined on the Board of Directors of United Bank of Philadelphia in 2002. He is a former Whitney E. Young, Jr., Professor of Management, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a former economist at US Department of Labor.

President and Chief Executive Officer

Evelyn Fennell Smalls is President and Chief Executive Officer of United Bank of Philadelphia, a minority-owned and controlled, full service commercial bank. With over 30 years experience in banking and community development, Mrs. Smalls is responsible for the leadership and management of the Bank including setting the direction of the organization, communicating its vision and adapting the culture and operations to achieve success.

Prior to her appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Smalls served as Senior Vice President for Regulatory Compliance and Community Reinvestment. Her leadership helped establish the Bank’s community reinvestment model that has achieved consecutive “Outstanding” ratings from the Federal Reserve and FDIC since the Bank’s inception.

Before joining United Bank of Philadelphia, Mrs. Smalls served as Partner and Consultant with the Community Development Services Group of Pennsylvania from 1984 through 1993. From 1973 through 1984, she was Vice President and Consultant to Executive Management at First Pennsylvania Bank of Philadelphia. Skilled in organizational dynamics, Mrs. Smalls started her career in Philadelphia with the Arco Chemical Company.

Mrs. Smalls received her Bachelor’s degree in Business from North Carolina Central University.  She serves on several boards, including United Bancshares, Inc., where she is a member of the executive, asset liability and loan committees.  She also serves on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, Chairperson for the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID), Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers (PACB), the American Bankers Association (ABA) Foundation and the National Bankers Association.  In addition, Ms. Smalls was appointed by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and served a three-year term on the Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC).  

Mrs. Smalls’ passion includes activities that support women’s issues, economic empowerment and development activities for youth.  In addition, she is an alumni member of the Philadelphia Chapter of The Links, Inc. where she is a member of National Trends and Services facet which focuses on economic opportunities and financial education.

Executive Vice President & CFO

Brenda M. Hudson-Nelson has served as United Bank of Philadelphia’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for twenty-five years. Mrs. Hudson-Nelson has thirty-four years experience within the financial services industry. Mrs. Hudson-Nelson’s responsibilities include directing financial planning, implementing, and overseeing the Bank’s systems of internal controls, managing the Bank’s investment portfolio, and monitoring and managing the Bank’s sensitivity to interest rate risk. Ms. Hudson-Nelson ensures that the Bank’s Annual Report, SEC Reports and other Regulatory Reports are filed accurately and timely. Ms. Hudson-Nelson also oversees the Bank’s operations, including deposit operations and loan accounting. Her background is steeped in bank accounting, reporting, and internal controls. She chairs the Bank’s Technology Committee and is a member of the Bank’s Officers’ Loan Committee, Officers’ ALCO Committee, Directors’ ALCO Committee, and Executive/Senior Management Committee. She also serves as the Corporate Secretary of the Bank and holding company.

Prior to joining United Bank of Philadelphia, Ms. Hudson-Nelson was an Audit Manager for Ernst & Young, a ”Big 6” accounting firm serving clients in the financial services industry with progression from staff to manager. She managed major Philadelphia/New Jersey banking and mutual fund clients, supervised staff persons, reviewed bank system of internal controls in loan processing, check processing, deposits, and investments, and performed bank loan loss review and assessed the adequacy of loan loss reserves. 

Ms. Hudson-Nelson received her Baccalaureate degree in Accounting from Widener University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Hudson-Nelson is the author of “Women in Accounting – Getting to the Top” in the Pennsylvania Journal of Accountancy. She served as Treasurer on the Boards of Director for the South Street Dance Company, CHOICE, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mercer County, and for Prevention Point Philadelphia. She currently serves on the board of the Widener University School of Business Advisory Council.

SVP, Senior Lending Officer

Coston joined the United Bank of Philadelphia in January 2015. He is a seasoned commercial banker with over twenty five years of experience in commercial real estate lending. Coston began his banking career with PSFS Bank where he honed his banking skills and received progressive promotions during his tenure with PSFS. Coston worked for Mellon Bank as Vice President & Financial Advisor where he was responsible for servicing commercial real estate relationships within the Philadelphia market. Prior to joining the Bank, Coston served as Senior Vice President with Citizens Bank for several years. In that role, he was responsible for $140MM in outstanding loan commitments.

Coston fills a critical role in United Bank as we implement the Bank’s business strategy. He is responsible for the development and management of the commercial lending business and credit administration for the Bank. Coston’s leadership is key in the Bank’s overall strategic planning process to ensure that appropriate goals and strategies are outlined ensuring that the loan portfolio grows enabling the Bank to achieve and sustain profitability.

Coston attended Temple University School of Business and Real Estate. He resides in Philadelphia with his wife, Roslyn.

Vice President, Community Banking & Compliance

Dimitria Davenport is a Vice President at United Bank of Philadelphia; a local, community financial institution in Philadelphia. With over 20 years in the financial services industry, she has held key roles within Training, Consumer Banking, Retail Administration and Human Resources.  Dimitria has spent the last eighteen years of her career working diligently to carry out United Bank’s mission of financially empowering people and businesses in the greater Philadelphia region. In her current role, she provides leadership to the Community Banking team which includes oversight of the Bank’s financial service centers and driving community development within the Bank’s footprint. As the Compliance Officer she is responsible for ensuring the Bank’s adherence to all applicable consumer protection laws, and federal and state regulations.

Dimitria’s passion for community development extends beyond United Bank. She is an advocate for education. She serves as a mentor to young adults and maintains an active affiliation with her community church, New Hope Temple Baptist Church where she has served for over 20 years. She has used her banking experience to teach financial education classes throughout the City of Philadelphia.

Dimitria serves on several Boards: The Executive Committee of The African American Chamber of Commerce, The City Schools and The New Hope Community Development Corporation.

Dimitria earned her bachelor’s degree in Economics at West Chester University in 1993 and completed a Consumer Management Training Program with First Union National Bank in 1996.