Member Spotlight: Carolyn James

CUNA Councils
May 28, 2007

Carolyn James joined USA Federal Credit Union in San Diego in April 2005 as vice president of information services. Later that year the board voted to appoint her information service officer. In addition to managing the Information Services department, which includes records management, Carolyn chairs the internal Information Systems Steering Committee at USA Federal. This group meets quarterly to review internal and external security events, regulatory and industry news, and on-going business continuity testing. Since 2005 she has re-organized the IS department, developed board-approved IT policies, and instituted employee and member security awareness programs. Carolyn has been an IT professional in the financial industry since 1986 and has a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University.

Biggest challenge

Multi-factor authentication. We had a successful rollout recently, thanks to efforts of all staff. Our employee-only test period exposed many questions and concerns our committee had not considered. By the time of our member rollout, the employees were experts.

Best advice

Work your technology network. Spend 30-60 minutes a day reading technology news, listservs, networking with an industry peer, or attending free webinars. Continually receive current information about the industry and regulators. Also, the Listserv has proved to be especially helpful to get and share ideas.

Greatest benefit of Council membership

Sharing information on the Listserv.

Best part of my job

Working with our employees, from tellers to executives. I enjoy troubleshooting, brainstorming, and finally executing our plans.

Hardest part of my job

Balancing day-to-day operational management with long-term planning.

Success story

I attribute our successful MFA rollout to learning by others’ mistakes and taking their advice. As a previous banker, I know the struggle of implementing a system change, without support or wisdom from your peers. Being able to share information with other credit unions simplifies and improves project results.

Hobbies and interests

I enjoy walking my dogs or playing with them at the dog park. Also, most Saturdays, you'll find me at my son's baseball game (he plays year-round). Finally, I enjoy a good book and read or listen to audio books every day.

People would be surprised to learn that . . .

I am a volunteer crisis interventionist with the San Diego Police Department.

Recent books

For One More Day by Mitch Albom and The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership by Steve Farber.

Life goal not yet accomplished

Traveling to every continent.

Something that makes me laugh

Almost anything. I always try to find the humor in the moment.

If I had an extra hour in the day . . .

I would spend it with my teenagers.