Two credit unions, including SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, announced new additions to their teams, and Luminate announced the recipients of their annual CUDE Scholarship Program.
New Hires:
- FIntegrate Technology announced that Boyce Adams, a fintech strategist and former CEO of BankTEL (later acquired by AvidXchange) has joined the company as a partner. This partnership comes as FIntegrate continues its record growth and market momentum across its Fusion platform suite.
- SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union has hired Michael Pfau in the new role of Senior Vice President of Digital Experience. With more than 1 million Members using online and mobile banking each month, Pfau and his team will focus on these crucial digital platforms to meet the evolving needs of Credit Union Members.
- Royal Credit Union (Royal) has announced David Christiansen as Treasury Management Officer. In this role, Christiansen will collaborate with Royal’s business teams to deliver customized treasury and cash management solutions that help business Members enhance their cash flow, streamline daily operations, and manage financial risk. Based in the Apple Valley office, Christiansen will serve Members throughout the Greater Minneapolis–St. Paul area.
Recognitions:
- The Cooperative Credit Union Association (CCUA) proudly recognized six outstanding credit union leaders during the 2025 Awards of Excellence luncheon, held at APEX 2025. Honorees were celebrated across five categories: Young Professional of the Year, Professional of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, CEO of the Year, and the distinguished CCUA Hall of Fame.
- The 2025 Award of Excellence Honorees and Hall of Fame Inductee:
- CEO of the Year: Devon Lyon, Central One Federal Credit Union
- Professional of the Year: Nancy Zeppa, Rhode Island Credit Union
- Young Professional of the Year: David Fielding, Metro Credit Union
- Volunteers of the Year: Theresa Palumbo, Lighthouse Credit Union; Donald “Lee” Irish, Franklin First Federal Credit Union
- Hall of Fame: Karen Duffy, Worcester Credit Union
- The 2025 Award of Excellence Honorees and Hall of Fame Inductee:
- Royal Credit Union (Royal) Financial Education Supervisor, Rachel Downs and Regional HR Business Partner, Carrie Halvorson, have been named Royal’s 2025 Positive Impact Award winners. The Positive Impact Awards are Royal’s highest team member recognition for a leader and team member who have truly gone above and beyond to make a lasting impact on Royal’s Members, team members, and communities.
- Eglin Federal Credit Union is pleased to announce that Eglin Member Service Supervisor Gerta Hardy has been selected as the 5-Star Performer for the Third Quarter of 2025. Gerta has been employed with the Credit Union since February 2014 and currently resides in Crestview. The 5-Star Performer Award is a quarterly employee recognition program. The nominator provides a written submission describing how the employee embraces Eglin FCU’s Values: Respectful, Trustworthy, Dedicated, Proactive and Engaged.
- Luminate and the Luminate Foundation are proud to announce the recipients of their annual CUDE Scholarship Program. This scholarship program is an initiative of the Luminate Foundation as well as Luminate’s Young Professionals Network. This year’s scholarship recipients are Lauren Callihan of Meritus Credit Union and Shelby Benson of CSE Federal Credit Union.