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How does your board member selection process compare to your hiring procedures for other positions? Many credit unions have detailed vetting for staff roles that includes background checks and multiple interviews. Could similar rigor benefit board recruitment?

In this episode, hosts Joshua Barclay and Becky Reed welcome Stacie Sloan, COO at Johns Hopkins Federal Credit Union, to explore the impossible choice between digital perfection and community roots, why board recruitment feels like amateur hour compared to executive hiring, and how the GENIUS Act could determine whether credit unions control payments or become glorified middlemen.

Key Topics

• Can you really choose between digital perfection and community roots?
• Why board recruitment feels like amateur hour
• The payments war credit unions are losing by default

Key Takeaways

• Stop treating digital tools and community relationships as competing priorities
• Board recruitment requires the same rigor as executive hiring, with skills matrices replacing referral networks
• Payment innovation through stablecoin technology will separate leaders from followers
• The institutions building payment capabilities now will own their member relationships tomorrow

"Hands down, relationships. That's what credit unions are all about. But if you want to keep them and you want to engage them, we have to deliver digitally as well." - Stacie Sloan

"If credit unions wait to get engaged in this space, they're going to be beholden to the same giant fintechs that provide them technology today." - Becky Reed

Credit unions pride themselves on member service, yet they systematically withhold information about products that could save members thousands annually.

In this episode, hosts Joshua Barclay and Becky Reed welcome Anand Solanki, CFO and head of product management at Citadel Credit Union, to explore why the shift from service to sales culture starts with purpose, how Silicon Valley product thinking can transform credit union innovation, and what really drives merger decisions when there's no financial windfall waiting.

Key Topics

• Sales isn't a dirty word when members are leaving money on the table
• Credit unions move at the speed of snails while fintechs eat their lunch
• The merger question isn't about survival, it's about member impact

Key Takeaways

• Reframe sales as member education and value delivery
• Member expectations are set by their best digital experiences, not banking ones
• Innovation velocity matters more than scale in today's environment
• Merger decisions should be driven by member value, not leadership convenience

"We are doing our own members a disservice if we did not show them all of the value that our product offerings can have." - Anand Solanki

"Selling is service and service is selling." - Becky Reed

Visit growyourcreditunion.com to read the full transcript

Your apps are better, your processes smoother, your metrics stronger. But as members go increasingly digital, are you accidentally engineering yourself out of their lives?

In this episode of Grow Your Credit Union, host Joshua Barclay and co-host Becky Reed welcome Tim Schmitt, Chief Experience Officer at PFP Services, to explore why the biggest member experience mistake might be hiding in plain sight, how protection products can become trust-builders instead of payment-killers, and what's actually driving credit union growth.

A huge thanks to our sponsor, PFP Services.

Credit Unions know that engagement is key to success. PFP Services brings expertise, resources, and passion to help you build strong connections with your members. Our goal is to grow your credit union together, forming lasting bonds every step of the way. Partnering with us means a mutually beneficial relationship with absolutely no cost! Visit familysecurityplan.com/credit-unions/ to learn more.