“If you want to know your community, you have to represent your community.” - Jill Nowacki 

Thank you for tuning in to episode 82 of The CUInsight Experience podcast with your host, Randy Smith, co-founder of CUInsight.com. This episode is brought to you by our friends at PSCU. As the nation’s premier payments CUSO, PSCU proudly supports the success of more than 1,500 credit unions.

Over the last few months, human capital, remote work, and efforts surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion have been front and center for credit unions across the country. To learn more about the important conversations and work being done in these areas, I’m sitting down with a regular guest of the show, Jill Nowacki. Jill is the Founder and CEO of Humanidei, a human capital firm serving credit unions, and also my human.

During the episode, Jill and I discuss the well-being of credit union employees and members, and how the pandemic has amplified many of the problems individuals and families are facing. We also talk about the need for credit unions to expand the economic capacity of their communities going forward, why credit unions must be willing to take a meaningful stand, and Jill’s hopes for the credit union movement over the next year. 

Additionally, we also learn about Jill’s passion for credit unions and how the work she’s done over the last year has positioned her to help credit unions navigate our current work environment. We also talk about courageous leadership and taking risks, in which Jill shares an apt Chinese Proverb - “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second-best time is now”. We also talk about some leadership myths, the need for mentors and networks to help us feel normal during this crazy time, and how Jill is balancing being a CEO, teacher, and summer camp counselor.  

We wrap up the show with some revamped rapid-fire questions that I made just for Jill, since she has been on the show a few times already. Jill shares that if she wasn’t working in human capital or with credit unions, she would be a novelist. She also tells us about some of her new daily routines, her current favorite song, and the book she thinks everyone should read. Jill gives us a lot to think about in this episode. Be sure to give it a listen!