The CUInsight Experience podcast: Tonita Webb – Humanizing membership (#108)

Thank you for tuning in to episode 108 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.

Today I sat down with Tonita Webb, the new CEO of Verity Credit Union. We talked about her new role and her journey from the military to credit unions. We also discussed her passion for serving the underserved and creating lending practices that are more inclusive for everyone. 

As we started our conversation, Tonita shared her reaction when getting the call to be the next CEO of Verity Credit Union. Listen in for Tonita’s goals for this next step and what she plans to do to help the next generation of leaders. Tonita believes life prepared credit unions for the pandemic shift and that we can stay relevant by maximizing technology. 

Tonita also talks about the challenges many minority groups face when it comes to lending practices and how it fuels her passion to help the underserved. We chat about ways credit unions have the ability to fill in the gap between opportunities and those that are in need. Tonita shares the importance of teaching people to be different and allowing them to be human, and gives examples of what this looks like when leveraging member risk. 

With the rapid-fire questions, we find out the oddly satisfying item Tonita’s husband purchased that she cannot live without. We discussed an opportunity Tonita said no to that she is so glad she did and what she was like in high school. We learn who Tonita thinks about when she hears the word ‘success’ and how that person has played a vital role in the development of her character. Enjoy my conversation with Tonita Webb!

Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher 

Books mentioned on The CUInsight Experience podcast: Book List

How to find Tonita:
Tonita Webb, CEO of Verity Credit Union
tonita.webb@veritycu.com
www.veritycu.com
LinkedIn | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube 

Show notes from this episode:
A big shout-out to our friends at PSCU, an amazing sponsor of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Thank you!
Check out the awesome work Tonita and her team are doing at Verity Credit Union here.
If you would like to learn more about Red-Lining and its effects on lending practices, click here.
Want to know more about Lupus and how you can help? Click here.
Hear more from Tonita at the CUInsight Mini-Con: Change! Register here.
Shout-out: Chairman Todd Harper
Shout-out: Amazon
Shout-out: Tonita’s husband & children
Shout-out: Jill Nowacki
Shout-out: Tonita’s grandfather & grandmother
Shout-out: Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU)
Place mentioned: Berlin, Germany
Shout-out: Tonita’s mom
Shout-out: Tonita’s family
Shout-out: Tonita’s aunt and uncles
Shout-out: Tonita’s son
Shout-out: Seattle Children’s Hospital
Term mentioned: BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
Shout-out: Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union (now Seattle Credit Union)
Shout-out: Seattle SuperSonics (Sonics)
Shout-out: Kahoot!
Shout-out: Revolution Toaster
Album mentioned: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
Album mentioned: Ready to Die by The Notorious B.I.G.
Album mentioned: Criminal Minded by BDP
Book mentioned: All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Book mentioned: How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Todd Harper, Jill Nowacki (episodes 4, 18, 37, 64, 82 & 101) 

In This Episode:
[02:35] – Welcome to the show, Tonita!
[03:20] – Tonita shares how she felt when she got the call that she was the new CEO of Verity Credit Union.
[05:39] – Is there anything you’ve learned through the pandemic that you will take with you going forward?
[08:34] – Tonita speaks about how she balances her family with a husband and four children with her position as CEO of Verity.
[12:21] – Tonita discusses how she makes time to have strategic thinking sessions even when she is putting out fires left and right.
[15:07] – Who do you surround yourself with and how have they helped you get where you are today?
[18:31] – Tonita talks about the passion she has for serving the underserved has helped guide her vision for the credit union.
[21:00] – Tonita speaks about her family facing discrimination and how that made her angry enough to try to make changes.
[22:52] – How do you stay purpose driven in what you do when you don’t have the same struggles you had when you were young?
[25:06] – Tonita says she is fighting for people like her mom.
[28:25] – Tonita shares what she believes credit unions need to fundamentally change to stay relevant in the future.
[31:02] – Tonita shares a conversation she had about the credit journey.
[33:12] – Tonita discusses when she knew she wanted to make credit unions her career.
[38:08] – Tonita was told one time she would never be CEO because she didn’t come through finance.
[40:40] – Is there something your team at Verity has heard you say so often they can finish your sentence
[41:46] – Tonita talks about what she does when she has a day off.
[44:33] – Tonita speaks about the opportunity she said no to that she is so glad she did.
[45:35] – Tonita’s husband bought a toaster for the house that she can’t imagine living without now.
[46:27] – Tonita talks about the kid she was in high school and if she got into memorable trouble.
[47:26] – Is there a book you think everyone should read?
[49:04] – Tonita’s grandfather is the first person who comes to mind when she hears the word success.
[50:15] – What’s the best album of all time?
[53:05] – Thank you for being on the show!