Volunteering is deeply imbedded into Stacey Walker's identity.She's been volunteering in some capacity for a third of her life.It began at a young age when Walker attended a high school wherevolunteering was required.

“You had to volunteer for a certain amount of hours and that wasjust instilled in me to do that and continue that,” Walker, boarddirector at the $182 million XCEL Federal Credit Union inBloomfield, N.J., said.

Walker sees it as a way to say thanks and give back for all thepeople who contributed to her development. “People have poured intome from childhood until now. From family members, teachers tovarious professionals, they themselves volunteered. They thoughtenough of me to say I'm going to pour into this lady, I'm going togive her advice, I'm going to coach her and mentor her. I'm goingto work with her and give her a chance and an opportunity, and Ifeel like I need to give that back,” Walker emphasized.

After graduating with her law degree, Walker did just that. Shelater completed a training class at United Way, which taught herthe ins and outs of being a director at a non-profit organization.She then put those skills to use and joined the board of directorsat XCEL.

Twelve years later and Walker is very proud of the work she andher volunteer board have done at XCEL. When she joined in 2005, thecredit union had $83 million in assets and about 12,000 members.Now the credit union has $182 million in assets and 19,000 members,Walker said.

The numerous accolades and awards the credit union and its boardmembers have received are a testament to the collective success ofthe board.

In addition to the multiple recognitions Walker has received,other board members have been recognized as well. In 2015, Chairmanof the Board Dan Moffit received the Volunteer of the Year award bythe New Jersey Credit Union League and NAFCU. In 2014, XCELreceived NAFCU's Credit Union of the Year award.

XCEL was also named one of the Best Places to Work in New Jerseyby NJBiz Magazine for six consecutive years, 2010 to 2015.

“The awards are great, but they're really a testimony to howwell we provide care in terms of service to our members and howmuch effort and work we put into providing for them. I'm reallyproud of that,” she said.

Walker is equally as passionate about traveling as she is aboutcredit unions. Because those in the credit union community knowthis, they often think of her when opportunities arise forinternational credit union engagement.

“The credit union movement and the credit union community arebigger than any political border,” Walker said. “It's not justabout helping myself but also helping people in my community.That's something that I'm still working on, because the world is sobig. I want to learn more about what people do in other countriesand bring those ideas back to the U.S. and my credit union.”

In 2013, Walker spent two weeks interning at a credit union inthe Dominican Republic through the U.S. Department of StateProfessional Fellows Program. In 2014, she completed the NationalCredit Union Foundation's Development Education program. That sameyear, she traveled to Australia and in 2016 to Ireland – all onbehalf of the credit union movement.

In 2016, Walker volunteered as a group mentor for theFoundation's CaribDE program in Jamaica. She later went on avacation to Brazil to attend the Olympics. After returning, anemployee from another credit union learned of her trip and reachedout to Walker to see if her credit union would be interested inhosting a group from Brazilian credit union cooperatives.

In 2017, she's already on the move. In January she went toMontego Bay, Jamaica for CUNA's Volunteer Conference whereattendees were able to network, get connected to volunteer tools,and learn about strategies and perspectives on the industry'sgreatest challenges.

“That was really important to me, my credit union directors andstaff know my family is from Jamaica, so any time I have anopportunity to go to Jamaica and learn more about the credit unionindustry, I try to be a part of that as much as possible,” shesaid.

Through her 12 years on the board at XCEL, Walker has maintainedher spirit of perseverance. The board director said it's importantto grow no matter what position you hold. This year she wants toget more involved with advocacy and collaboration on legislativeaction. “Especially during this time we really need to have more ofa voice so our elected officials know that we support credit unionsand that there are certain things we're in favor of,” sheemphasized.

It's important for credit unions to represent a range of voiceson their boards, and a diverse recruiting strategy results in adiverse board, Walker said. The credit union uses a variety ofrecruitment techniques including repeat banners, popups on XCEL'swebsite, marketing at the yearly volunteer table at the creditunion's annual meeting and direct personal requests. Walker saidall nine of the board members responded to different recruitmentmethods. “On our board, we have a good balance of ethnic, gender,and professional diversity which contributes to a broad range ofperspectives from which informed decisions are made,” Walkersaid.

If you hang out with Walker long enough, she may spread herspirit of volunteerism. For those who helped Walker in her career,she's now paying them forward by encouraging others to do the same,including her Goddaughter, who recently applied for a position on acredit union board.

When her Goddaughter expressed some hesitancy because of herlevel of experience, Walker reminded her she was the ideal boardmember candidate.

“You're the person that's coming out of school, that has a carloan, that's going to buy your first house, that's going torefinance a couple years down the road. You're going to have creditcards. You're the perfect member right now. We want people likeyou, because of that we want people like you sitting at the tablebecause you're a different generation, because you're from themillennial generation. I encouraged her to apply and she did,”recalled Walker.