When you are new to a community, you have to take time to learn about it. That is exactly what Jennifer Audette did when she became CEO of POLAM Federal Credit Union.
Being the first non-Polish CEO of the credit union, she took the time to listen to members’ needs and learn about the Polish community. She used her newfound knowledge to help her determine the credit union’s next steps. And, now she’s a strong advocate for her $72.3 million, 2,111-member credit union and its members and all smaller credit unions.
Jennifer sat down with our Host and Founder Sarah Snell Cooke to discuss her experiences leading POLAM and advocating for small credit unions.
Disclosure: Transcript below is automatically generated
Sarah Cooke 0:01
Hello and welcome again. We’re at the America’s Credit Unions GAC 2025. I am here today with the lovely, lovely Jennifer Audette, who is the CEO at POLAM Credit Union, is going to introduce herself now a little more, her background in the credit union.
Jennifer Audette 0:17
I am Jennifer Audette. I’m the CEO and President of POLAM Federal Credit Union in Los Angeles. We’re located in Southern California, and I’ve been in the industry about 30 years, and have quite a passion, especially for advocating for small credit unions. That’s kind of my little niche.
Sarah Cooke 0:36
Yeah, that’s awesome. And you know, oftentimes, after people have been in doing something for 30 years, they lose that energy, or whatever. You, I could tell, you got the you got the eyes.
Jennifer Audette 0:47
I live for GAC. I live for Sacramento visits. I just, I was honored with being a Shapiro Credit Union Advocate of the Year last year in California. And it was, it was the greatest award I could get, because what, what is better than advocating for credit unions? You know, my kids, it’s funny. I have a story with my oldest. She’s, she’s pretty mellow, and she called me very nervous, and was like, Mom, you know what? So everything’s going through my head. Oh no, car accident, oh no pregnancy, oh no. And she was studying abroad in Barcelona for the summer, and they said, you need a bank account. And so this call of panic was about mommy, I said, Oh, really. Oh, really, you need a bank account. Do you realize I have half my members in Poland all the time using, so she was, I knew you were gonna be mad, I knew youwere gonna be mad, so, yes, I am known for my advocacy.
Sarah Cooke 1:51
That’s funny, because when my kid was about five years old, we’re sitting at the dinner table and he’s like, what’s the difference between a bank and a credit union? So your credit union, POLAM, Polish American. You were sharing with me that you’re really digging into that Polish legacy. Talk to me about what that process been like, what you’ve been doing. You
Jennifer Audette 2:55
You know, it was, it was pretty difficult for my board. Honestly, I’m the first non Polish employee in the history of POLAM’s existence. And so that was a hard decision for them to make. My predecessor was there 44 years, very involved in the Polish community. And you know, my entire team has been involved with the Polish community. And so it was hard, and it took a little bit of time for them to understand that the passion surpasses your field of membership. So yes, I love my field of membership. I’m at more Polish events than I think most Polish people. I own more red dresses. I think if anyone searched my Google History, it would be red dress, red dress.
Sarah Cooke 3:41
The lady in red.
Jennifer Audette 3:43
Because, you know, you wear the Polish red. But you know, I’ve learned the culture. You know, I went in without any preconceived notions of what I should be marketing. I wanted to learn my members, and so I listened. I really listened to the membership, and I went to church with them. I went to the Polish events, I went to the choirs, I went to anything, anything I could go to, and I listened. They have my cell. I have more members that, you know, text me on a Sunday with a question or on social media than probably most CEOs out there, but I listened and I learned, and I now have a deep appreciation for the culture, and so, absolutely, that’s our legacy. And I think as much as I advocate for credit unions, I advocate for the Polish community, and that’s that’s important to me. And you know, I think all of us take on that love for our members, for whatever our core membership is. And you know, mine, I’ve been lucky. I’ve been lucky to fall into this wonderful community of Polish immigrants that started in 1969 out of a garage, and I get to continue to fulfill that mission for them today.
Sarah Cooke 5:07
And so, like when you came in, as you were saying, you’re the first non-Polish person running the credit union at all. And so obviously, like you said, you had to go out and get a feel for the culture now, as you learn things, what kind of changes are you making? Like, strategically, within the credit union, if anything.
Jennifer Audette 5:28
Very, I mean, it is very different. I mean, being in the industry so long I came in, oh, I’ve got all these ideas. I’ve got all these, no, the needs are very different. You know, it’s really true, you, I’m glad I was able to take that time and sit and listen, and I have a wonderful team that’s been there very, you know, for a long time, and they were very informative, and are very informative and helpful, and helped me pronounce some of the difficult names. And, you know, it’s a culture that is very tight knit that, you know, they came from Communism, you know, it really is a feeling of trust, a level of trust that I had to instill. I had to show that I have their best interests at heart. And a lot of that was a lot of one on one meetings with individual members. It was attending, like I said, different events where I was able to sit and talk and listen. I needed to. I’m a big talker. It’s hard to get me to stop talking. And so, you know, it was, it was listening, listening. What are the needs? What? What do you want from your credit union? How can we do better? What can we do that you want your grandkids, you want your neighbors, you want your fellow community members to benefit from and it is different. It’s different. I mean, I came from U.S. Postal Service Federal Credit Union, for 15 years, and that was a completely different field of membership than what I have now. The needs are very different. I recently got into a little conversation with NCUA about my first commercial loan. But you know what? My members, a lot of them are self employed. They’re, they, they’re self made individuals who need commercial lending. So that’s what we’re going to do. POLAM is going to do commercial lending. So we’re about to do our second one. So, you know, I adapt. I adapt. If I don’t know it, the credit union industry is so wonderful, and so many people to call on and ask for help and ask for assistance and, and I’m given that opportunity. So that’s, that’s our next venture. That’s what we’re headed on.
Sarah Cooke 7:56
Right, because it’s important to stay relevant.
Jennifer Audette 7:58
Yep.
Sarah Cooke 7:58
And again, kind of like we were, I was talking earlier about with Tansley. It’s storytelling, when you’re showing people that you’re investing the time…
Jennifer Audette 8:05
Absolutely.
Sarah Cooke 8:06
…and spending time one on one with members, giving them your cell phone.
Jennifer Audette 8:09
Exactly. And, you know, we were just in California impacted by the fires, and so, you know, we, we had to reach out to those members. And because we’re such a tight knit community, it it was easy. It was easy to immediately be there. Do you need help? You know, let’s, let’s post it everywhere. Let’s get it. Let’s get word out. You know, this person had this person cell phone, this person had, and so we were able to assist those that were in need and get them whatever it is that they need, it’s whether it had been gift cards or connections with other family members. So…
Sarah Cooke 8:14
Yeah, and that, that’s awesome, amazing, like, especially, and you’re, you are a smaller credit union. What size is your credit union again?
Jennifer Audette 8:55
We’re 75 million in assets.
Sarah Cooke 8:57
And so obviously a lot of small credit unions are struggling, and there’s lots of mergers. There’s also others larger that are pursuing mergers.
Jennifer Audette 9:06
Yes.
Sarah Cooke 9:08
So, how do you deal with that piece of it? Because obviously you do have limited resources. You do.
Jennifer Audette 9:17
We do, and I’m lucky at the California Credit Union League, that I have a great group of colleagues, and I think a few of them are sorry they got me on the group text. I may start a lot of chats, but there’s a lot of great resources out there for me. And if I’m not the expert, I’m the first to to know that I’m not the expert, and I will ask for help. And that’s, that’s the best thing about the credit union community. We’re not in competition. We, you know, today I’m here at GAC because of Patelco Credit Union. We couldn’t afford it, Patelco stepped up. They said, we’ve got you. We’ve got you, and they stepped in and they sponsored me, and I hope I’m making them proud. But you know, the small credit unions, we need a voice, and we need, we need to advocate for ourselves, and so that’s why I’ve intentionally stayed at a small credit union for as long as I have, simply because it is, it’s in our it’s our own little world, and it’s advocating within advocating. So whereas, you know, we’re less reliant on, we’re very reliant on relationships, maybe more so than fee income. And so, you know, I think that’s an important concept for us to understand. You know, we we need to use those Staples coupons, you know, we need to ask, Does someone have an old, you know, printer that we need, you know, so it’s about connections.
Sarah Cooke 10:58
Absolutely. And I know a lot of small credit union’s leaders are, are, you know, they just have a hard time making those connections. Knowing this is part of why we started The Credit Union Connection is knowing who the partners are out there that you can help, that can help you, but also the smaller ones that don’t have the big, TruStage, you know…
Jennifer Audette 11:17
Absolutely.
Sarah Cooke 11:18
Vendors are here, because there are so many smaller ones that are willing to, like, really help and educate as they’re selling you the widget or whatever, you know.
Jennifer Audette 11:18
Absolutely, and you know, that’s why I think, with us pairing together as small credit unions, we’re able to speak as if more of a united voice get better deals with, you know, different companies, vendors. You know, it helps with policies. It helps with vendor due diligence. So, you know, working together as small credit unions, everyone is free to reach out to me. I’m, I’m not known for being quiet, so I have a loud voice for being a small credit union.
Sarah Cooke 11:55
Okay, so love talking with you today. I always offer my guests final thoughts. What would you like to leave our audience with?
Jennifer Audette 12:01
Please join a credit union. It’s the greatest, I think, it’s the greatest social, economic statement you can make at the moment. You know, there’s boycotts. You know, there was recently, you know, boycott big stores, buy small, you know, shop local. You need to bank local. It all starts with us. It all starts with the financial system. And keep, do your values align with where you bank and I bet you your credit union aligns with your values. So please join, join your credit union.
Sarah Cooke 12:35
Awesome. Thank you.
Jennifer Audette 12:36
Thank you. Good to see you.