Women of Banking (formerly Women of Community Banking)

How do you fast-track your career from a part-time teller to Chief Operations Officer (COO) in just 16 years? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking podcast, we sit down with Nicole El-Chami, COO of Credit Union of America (CUA), to unpack her incredible journey of career velocity, operational excellence, and leadership in the credit union and fintech space. Nicole shares her exact fram...

How do progressive financial institutions turn complex, back-end data architectures into seamless, frontline member experiences? In this episode of the Women of Banking podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Holly Reustle, Vice President of Business Intelligence and Member Experience at SECU Credit Union (Maryland’s largest credit union).With a distinguished 14-year career spanning marketin...

How does a financial institution completely eliminate standard bank fees and survive—let alone thrive? In this episode of the Women of Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Stacy Armijo, the Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of Amplify Credit Union based in Austin, Texas. Bringing an unconventional, external perspective from her 17-year career in the public relations and agency world...

How do you fast-track your career from a 30-day temporary contract to Chief Impact Officer (CIO) at a leading credit union? In this episode of the Women of Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Megan Snyder, Chief Impact Officer at Unitus Credit Union, to discuss leadership, career velocity, fintech partnerships, and AI innovation in financial services. Megan shares her inspiring &...

In this episode of the Women of Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Jill Sammons, Senior Vice President of Strategic Growth and Engagement at BCU (Baxter Credit Union), who has spent more than 35 years in the credit union movement. Jill shares what kept her at one organization for three decades, how she navigated career barriers as a working mother, and why BCU deliberately chose...

How does a kindergarten teacher become a financial education leader at one of Virginia's largest credit unions? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee talks with Cherry Dale, Financial Education Director at Virginia Credit Union (VACU) in Richmond, Virginia, about her unconventional career path, the mentors who shaped her, and the community programs tr...

In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Katie Quilligan, Principal at BankTech Ventures, to unpack how community banks are adopting modern technology, what venture capital is doing to back them, and why women leaders in fintech and banking are reshaping the industry from the inside out. This is one of the most candid, insight-packed conversat...

What does it really take to rise from staff accountant to Chief Financial Officer of one of Houston's leading credit unions? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Angela Chan, CFO of Smart Financial Credit Union, for a candid conversation on leadership, career evolution, fintech disruption, and the mindset shifts that define a true exec...

In this episode of the Women of Community Banking (WCB) Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Janis, Vice President of Member Contact Center and Branch Operations at Empower Federal Credit Union in Upstate New York. With over two decades of credit union experience, Janis shares how she accidentally found her calling in the credit union movement, why AI is reshaping member service, and the...

What does it take to walk into a boardroom seven months pregnant, interview for the CEO position, and walk out with the job offer that same evening? That's exactly what Kim Sponem did — and 24 years later, she has grown Summit Credit Union from a 200 million dollar institution into an 8 billion dollar powerhouse, making her one of the most accomplished credit union leaders in the United States...

What does it take to lead 82 credit unions across an entire state — and why does advocacy sit at the top of the pyramid? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Mara Humphrey, President and CEO of the Minnesota Credit Union Network, for a candid conversation about advocacy, leadership, and the credit union difference. Mara shares how her care...

Can a small community bank compete with national giants? Danica Hudson, Head of Partnerships at Coastal Community Bank, joins Anurag Mukherjee to reveal how their CCBX division drove growth from $700M to over $4B in assets through strategic Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) partnerships. In this episode of Women of Community Banking , we debunk the "plug-and-play" myth of BaaS and explore why...

What does it take to bring Silicon Valley marketing thinking into a credit union and actually make it work? Trisha Smith, VP of Marketing at Everwise Credit Union in Indiana, joins host Anurag Mukherjee for one of the most practical conversations about credit union marketing you will hear this year. Trisha came from agencies, tech startups, and healthcare — and brought with her a growth marketer&#...

From teller to VP before 35 — Lisa, Vice President of Marketing at Mid-Florida Credit Union, joins host Anurag Mukherjee for one of the most honest, energizing conversations in community banking this year. With 13+ years in the credit union movement — including nearly a decade at GTE Financial — Lisa has built her career on one simple belief: you don't wait to be invited into leadership. You w...

What does it take for an immigrant from Mexico City to rise to Chief Strategy Officer of Ohio's largest credit union? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast, host Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Andrea Ruiz Rabadan, CSO of Wright-Patt Credit Union, for one of the most candid, inspiring, and insight-packed conversations in the show's history. Andrea's story is anythin...

Episode Title: Pam Piligian, CMO of Navy Federal Credit Union, on Brand Trust, AI in Banking and the Future of the Credit Union Movement What is Navy Federal Credit Union? Navy Federal Credit Union is the world's largest credit union by membership, serving active duty military personnel, veterans, Department of Defense employees, and their families. It operates as a nonprofit financial coopera...

In this episode, Cheryl Dutton , CMO of Altra Credit Union , shares her 39-year journey in marketing—from a national footwear company and a boutique winery to leading an award-winning team at Altra. Cheryl discusses how she built a world-class in-house creative agency, the importance of youth marketing (keeping Altra’s average member age in the early 40s), and how they achieved a 9.22/10 member sa...

What does it take to lead operations at a growing commercial bank in today's rapidly shifting financial landscape? In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast , we sit down with Dana Zeller , Chief Operating Officer at BHI — a US commercial bank backed by an Israel-based parent institution — for one of the most honest, unfiltered conversations we've ever had about banking lea...

What does it take to build a world-class marketing engine at a credit union? Ask Megan Primeau, SVP of Marketing at TruStone Financial Credit Union — a marketing leader with nearly 25 years of experience who has seen it all, done it all, and still shows up every day with the same passion she had on day one. In this episode of Women of Community Banking, Megan sits down with host Anurag Mukherjee t...

25 years. One credit union. One CEO with a lot to say. Linda Armyn didn't parachute into the corner office. She grew up at FourLeaf Credit Union — back when it was Bethpage FCU — working her way through business development, marketing, strategy, and pandemic leadership before stepping into the CEO role. And that lived-in perspective shapes everything about how she leads. In this episode we get...

In this episode of the Women of Community Banking Podcast, Anurag Mukherjee sits down with Tori Eleonora, Vice President of Operations at Langley Federal Credit Union (Virginia), who has spent 22 years growing within the same institution — from teller at age 20 to leading six operational teams today. What you'll learn in this episode:How Tori moved through fraud, data analytics, and business a...

What does it take to balance digital transformation with community banking's human touch? Carla Higgins, SVP of Client and Employee Experience at CNB Bank, breaks it down. In this episode of Women of Community Banking, Carla shares how CNB Bank — a $6 billion institution across six divisions — is navigating one of the most critical questions in community banking today: how do you go digital wi...

Sarah Snell Cooke — founder of Credit Union Connection and former publisher & editor-in-chief of Credit Union Times — joins Anurag Mukherjee for one of the most candid and story-rich conversations on the Women of Community Banking Podcast. With nearly three decades covering the credit union industry, Sarah shares her personal story of how a credit union saved her marriage, why smaller credit u...

In this live episode recorded at GAC 2026 in Washington D.C., Anurag Mukherjee sits down with April Clobes, CEO of MSUFCU and Reseda Group, for a candid, unfiltered conversation on the state of the credit union movement — and where it's headed. April is one of the most consequential figures in credit union history. Under her leadership, MSUFCU has grown into one of the largest university-based...

Join us for an inspiring conversation with Emily Nichols, SVP of Enterprise Operations at Grow Financial, as she shares her 25-year journey in credit union leadership. From building one of the industry's first analytics teams in 2012 to leading digital transformation initiatives, Emily offers candid insights on career resilience, innovation, and the future of financial services. Who is Emily N...