"Do what you love and love what you do." - Linda Bodie

Welcome to episode 25 of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Hosted by Randy Smith, co-founder and publisher of CUInsight.com. Today’s guest is Linda Bodie the president and CEO of Element Federal Credit Union in Charleston, WV. We discuss her path to leadership as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion. Linda also talks about what small credit unions should do to stay relevant and thrive in today’s market.

Linda and I started our conversation at CO-OP Think this year talking about diversity and inclusion — a huge topic in the industry today. Unfortunately, many times the words are used interchangeably but diversity is more of an adjective and inclusion is more indicative of acceptance. We delve into Linda’s path to the top and the challenges she has faced a woman and a lesbian in a male-dominated industry. 

We then move through various topics surrounding the fundamental differences in experience between women and men. From there we discuss the process that Linda feels will have the most impact on changing the culture within credit unions and business in general. Finally, we discuss the role of technology in evening out the playing field between credit unions and larger banking institutions. 

Tune in to today’s episode to learn all about how addressing diversity and inclusion leads to better collaboration and sustainability! After all, sustainability is the goal of every credit union in today’s banking environment.

View the full show notes here.

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How to find Linda:
Linda Bodie
President & CEO of Element Federal Credit Union
[email protected]
www.elementfcu.org
Twitter | LinkedIn 

In This Episode:
[00:03] - Welcome back to the show! Randy introduces Linda Bodie, today’s guest.
[02:05] - We discuss the difference between diversity and inclusion.
[03:27] - What are the biggest challenges to women and the LGBTQ community getting a seat at the table?
[05:41] - We then discuss how education can impact inclusion.
[06:59] - Linda shares the challenges she faced in reaching the top.
[09:24] - Given her experiences, Linda has worked to change the culture of the industry.
[11:30] - At what level should the biggest changes be made, individual, local, or national?
[14:11] - What advice does Linda give to those who want to get involved in the process of change?
[15:45] - Use what you have to get to a solution - Linda talks about what that means.
[17:42] - Element Federal Credit Union was the first institution to have remote deposit capability on the iPhone.
[19:09] - We discuss the Element promise and the employee pledge.
[21:05] - When you hear, that’s what’s always been done, how does that make you feel?
[22:02] - There are three components to Element’s ability to thrive in a shrinking industry, attitude, grit, and collaboration.
[24:21] - Is there a fundamental be