Royce Sutton Becomes ADC Board Chair

Royce Sutton, Senior Vice President, Central Region Community and Economic Development Market Manager at Fifth Third Bank, is the new Avondale Development Corporation’s Board of Trustees chairman. He has been an ADC Board member since 2018 and replaces Henry Brown, who served as chairman for the past 10 years.

“I’m excited about Avondale’s present and future.  ADC’s expanding role as a catalyst for community growth in the city’s most unique and strategically positioned legacy neighborhood will impact housing, business and overall quality of life,” said Mr. Sutton. “Together, ADC and Avondale residents are anticipating transformative work that includes neighborhood investments, growth among its mainstay institutions and additive collaborative partnerships. ADC will lead these exciting growth and investment opportunities.”   

Mr. Sutton is an experienced community reinvestment act (CRA) compliance manager with more than 20 years of regulatory and community development business success. He is currently senior vice president, Ohio CED Market Manager for Fifth Third Bank, where he provides leadership and management for CRA compliance function for the Ohio Region. His work includes everything from creating business development strategies and opportunities with community partners to administering the foundation grants program and maintaining outreach with key community, government, business and non-profit leaders.

Before joining Fifth Third in 2000, Mr. Sutton served as corporate CRA officer at Civitas Bank and executive director of RESPECT, Incorporated in Evansville, Indiana.

Mr. Sutton earned both a Bachelors degree in Urban-Reginal Studies and Master of Public Administration for Indiana State University. He is also a graduate of the ABA National Community Development Lending School at the University of Oklahoma. He served as an elected councilman for the Vanderburgh County Council and a member of both the Evansville Riverboat Gaming Study Commission and Indiana Civil Rights Commission.

Mr. Sutton’s community involvement has been varied and deep, including the UNCF Advisory Council, St. Louis Regional Unbanked Task Force, United Way of Greater St. Louis, Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church and the YMCA of Southwest Indiana.