WASHINGTON — The changes keep coming at CUNA, which late Tuesday confirmed that Susan Newton is expected to leave the trade association some time in the next few months.
Newton is CUNA's chief engagement officer, and serves as executive director of the American Association of Credit Union Leagues (AACUL).
According to the AACUL website, the two positions in which Newton currently sits are combined under the office of the CUNA president and, "provide for maximum coordination of efforts between CUNA and all state credit union leagues in order to best represent the interests of the credit union movement across the United States."
CUNA released a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Credit Union Journal, acknowledging it will "continue to have evolution of what engagement means and how we interact with and define the CUNA value proposition to credit unions."
"We will be optimizing channels and extending our outreach to serve and engage with all members and prospective members more than ever before," the trade association said. "Through this evolution, we've recognized the need to optimize our team structure and continue to transform our membership and engagement processes."
One of these changes, CUNA said, is a decision to "redesign" the roles of the engagement division.
"We've met with Susan Newton and she will stay at CUNA, redirecting her focus to several initiatives for the next few months, and then will leave CUNA to pursue other opportunities within the credit union system," the trade group said. "Susan has played an important role in our evolution and our success and she has been a critical contributor to the success of CUNA; most notably with our league partners as their executive director of AACUL."
In a separate statement, Newton said that CUs as well as CUNA "are dear to my heart. While I will be departing CUNA, I will remain a steadfast believer in and supporter of the credit union movement going forward."
Before joining CUNA in June 1997, Newton served as senior vice president of member services for the Texas Credit Union League. In this position, she provided management leadership over the league's trade association services.
Previously, Newton served as TCUL's vice president of planning and research, where she was instrumental in launching the league's Small Credit Union Development Department.
