Understanding and meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse membership is essential for credit unions focused on providing a better member experience in today’s dynamic market. At Mountain America Federal Credit Union ($20.3B, Sandy, UT), that commitment to MX takes the shape of a new role: director of multicultural engagement.
Jennifer Tarazon says she is proud to work at a financial institution that cares about the experience of underserved and under-banked communities. In this Q&A, she reflects on her first year in the position by sharing how the credit union fosters meaningful connections across communities, tackles the challenges of serving diverse audiences, and embraces opportunities to deepen its impact.
Describe the role of director of multicultural engagement.
Jennifer Tarazon: My role is a connector inside and outside of the credit union. Within a big organization, it can be challenging to keep everyone aligned, particularly with multicultural initiatives. We collaborate quite a bit, but there’s just so many things going on that it’s nice having a person dedicated to those initiatives.
What led Mountain America to create this position? What goals does it aim to achieve?
JT: The population is changing, and we can either lead the way or fall behind. The goal for the credit union is always to provide an exceptional member experience, but an exceptional member experience for you could be very different from what I consider an exceptional member experience. It’s important to go somewhere that is going to be culturally competent while serving you.
What attracted you to this opportunity? How has your background informed your approach?
JT: I’m a first-generation American. Spanish is my first language. I’m from east LA originally, and I have sort of a typical background of a Chicana in that region. Growing up, while there were a lot of resources in Spanish for my family members, there were times where I’d have to translate for my grandma. It was always a sigh of relief going somewhere where everyone spoke Spanish, and I didn’t have to worry about it.
After law school, I got a job at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where I headed up its education foundation. That changed the trajectory of my career because I saw the kind of economic empowerment that was leading families and individuals out of poverty and helping them build generational wealth. When I saw the post for the job at Mountain America, it hit all these things that I’m interested in. It’s definitely been a personal and professional journey.
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How do you approach relationships with outside organizations such as media outlets and multicultural nonprofits?
JT: My first year I told everybody I was on a listening tour. I visited close to 60 organizations across five different states. I was pounding the pavement meeting people. Especially in communities of color, it’s about building credibility. Without trust and credibility, you’re not going to get anywhere.
The other thing, too, is to work with all organizations, not just multicultural organizations. Many are building their multicultural initiatives, and they want to know how to do outreach. It’s important to meet with them, do presentations, share data. I don’t want those relationships to be transactional or just about the credit union, either. They can call me for anything, and I will help them figure it out. I’ve been very busy the past year, but it’s been a fantastic experience.
What challenges do you face in representing a diverse range of audiences? How do you overcome them?
JT: Sometimes people lump all people of color together like it’s a monolithic group, but it is so diverse. Here in Utah, we have a lot of recent immigrants from different countries, not just Latin America. There’s sometimes this misconception that it’s the Hispanic community that are recent immigrants, but the majority of Latinos in Utah are American born.
So, it’s a constant conversation of having to point out that we’re not a monolithic group. There are Black Americans, and there are recent immigrants coming from Africa, and their needs are very different. We need to look at all of these groups differently to give them that exceptional member experience. We’re getting closer thanks to the data we’re collecting. It’s helping us make more informed decisions about what our members actually need.
What is your long-term vision for multicultural engagement at Mountain America?
JT: Long term, I would love for us to be thought leaders in the multicultural space in the financial industry. A lot of that means being data-driven. I want people to come to us and ask how we did something. When they do, I want us to be able to point to our data and say ‘this is why we did X, Y, and Z.’ I also want us to be the most trusted credit union for communities of color in the states we serve.
What opportunities do you see for credit unions to deepen engagement with multicultural communities?
JT: Mountain America was forward-thinking in creating this role, but we’ve stayed intentional about controlling the growth of our initiatives. We don’t want members to come in and us not be able to support their needs. We have not widely promoted a lot of the work we’ve done, so the success we’ve seen so far has been organic. The community has spread the word for us.
What advice do you have for credit unions considering a similar position or strategy?
JT: This work is definitely the right thing to do, but it’s also an economic imperative for us as an organization, for Utah, for the country. Latinos and other communities of color are fueling a lot of growth, so if we’re not focused on providing them with the resources they need, they’re going to go to someone else. Be authentic and be sure you can meet them where they are.
This interview has been edited and condensed.