WILD Innovators

Ryan Balts, Vice President of Finance

Royal Credit Union, Eau Claire

Ryan joined Royal Credit Union in 2014 as the Vice President of Finance. He oversees internal and external financial reporting, asset/liability management, financial analysis and budgeting. Prior to Royal, Ryan was the accounting manager for a community bank.

Ryan received his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and is currently pursuing an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Fisnik Lumani, Talent Acquisition Consultant II

UW Credit Union, Madison

Fisnik started his journey with UW Credit Union back in August 2016 as a Human Resources Intern while pursuing a degree in Psychology and minors in Entrepreneurship, French, and Leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Shortly after he graduated in May 2017, he was offered an opportunity to join the HR team as a Talent Management Consultant I. In his current role as a Talent Acquisition Consultant II, Fisnik partners with leaders representing member support and operational areas to fulfill staffing needs through creative recruitment solutions. He also is responsible for recommending and implementing process improvements to enhance the candidate and employee experience.

Fisnik is a co-founder and current co-president of the Helping Young Professionals Engage Employee Community Group at UWCU and is a recent graduate from UWCU’s year-long Emerging Leader Program. Fisnik holds a SHRM-CP, serves as an Executive Board Member of Next Rising Stars of Second Harvest FoodBank, and is in current pursuit of a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership & Change at Edgewood College.

Lydia Lynch, Senior Marketing Specialist

Capital Credit Union, Green Bay

Lydia started in Marketing at Capital Credit Union in 2014. She has worked within the marketing department in a variety of areas, but thrives on enhancing our credit union’s community outreach initiatives, developing campaigns and creating new programs.

She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in economics from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. She is active with nonprofit groups and has volunteered with the Teens2Work program through the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay. In addition, she is a Green Bay Leadership Program alumni, was a Future15 nominee and currently sits on the Young Professionals Advisory Council for the City of Green Bay. In the credit union realm, she has been a presenter for the Wisconsin Credit Union League Young Professionals conference; sat as a Chapter Board President and has encouraged other young professionals within her credit union to join in the movement by sitting on Capital Credit Union’s internal YP Steering Council. She is always ready to learn and to help others join the journey.

Meagan Fleming, Assistant Branch Manager

Heartland Credit Union, Madison

Meagan joined the Credit Union Movement in 2016. She started at Heartland Credit Union as a Member Service Representative and was promoted to the role of Assistant Branch Manager in 2018. Meagan is a past [email protected] participant and has earned a CCUFC designation. Meagan has served as a leader of Heartland Credit Union’s internal YP Network and helped develop an Emerging Leaders Network to promote the growth of Heartland Credit Union employees. She is passionate about financial literacy and making a difference, the two things credit unions are best at!

Jessie Alarcon, Contract Center Manager

Dane County Credit Union, Madison

Jessie is the Contact Center Manager for Dane County Credit Union. Her management experience in retail, property and payday lending led to her credit union career path 15 years ago. Jessie worked her way through member service positions excelling in member relationship building, community involvement and staff mentoring. Her ability to assist members and staff with personal development, as well as sharing her passion of serving the underserved, were recognized in September of 2015 when she was made a Branch Manager in member service.

In 2017 Jessie was promoted to Contact Center manager where she is responsible for the coaching and support of the advanced member service team within the department. When she isn’t busy with work, Jessie enjoys volunteering for local social justice causes, traveling internationally and spending quality time with her husband and 6 children.

Jessica Dreier, Mortgage Loan Processor

Co-Op Credit Union, Black River Falls

Jessica joined the Credit Union Movement in 2018 as a Member Contact Agent at Co-op Credit Union. This is where she found her passion for cooperatives, agriculture, community service and servant leadership blossomed. She currently serves members as part of the Mortgage Loan Processing team where she hopes to learn and develop her skill set in lending operations.

Jessica has been part of the cooperative model since birth. She grew up in and remains a part of the agricultural community and holds a degree in Agricultural Business.

Jessica previously served on the executive team as a Vice President for The National Professional Agricultural Student Organization (PAS), which prepares students with industry-level knowledge and skill sets for agricultural careers and beyond.

Alex Krukowski, Mortgage Lending Specialist

Capital Credit Union, Green Bay

Alex joined the Credit Union Movement in 2012 and currently works as  Mortgage Lending Specialist in the Learning & Development Department at Capital Credit Union. He has a diverse lending background, both within and outside the Credit Union Movement, which includes consumer lending, subprime lending, mortgage lending and secondary marketing analysis.

Alex has been very involved in YP programs at both Capital Credit Union and The League. He was recently a member of a YP group that isolated a need in the community and helped raise $200,000 to purchase a home for children placed in foster care to reconnect with their birth families. Alex holds a BE from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire.

Alexandra Westerhausen, Marketing Coordinator

Simplicity Credit Union, Marshfield

Alex began her Credit Union career in 2015 as a Financial Services Associate at Central City Credit Union (name changed to Simplicity Credit Union in 2016), and later transitioned into an Operations Specialist. After two years of working in the Loan/Operations Department, Alex applied for an open Marketing Generalist Position. Alex’s current title is Marketing Coordinator, and her main roles are managing Simplicity Credit Union’s social media pages and digital marketing, event planning, promotional item inventory management, and assisting with graphic design projects.

Alex attended Filene’s big.bright.minds in 2019 as a crasher through the Cooperative Trust Program and hopes to attend again in the future.

Jacob Fischer, Accounting Manager

Heartland Credit Union, Madison

Jacob graduated in 2016 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with bachelor degrees in Agriculture & Applied Economics and Statistics. He began his career at Heartland Credit Union immediately after as a Member Service Representative. He then joined the Accounting Department and became the Accounting Manager in 2019.

See Natzke, Accounting Specialist

Capital Credit Union, Green Bay

See’s career with Capital Credit Union started in December of 2005. Prior to becoming an Accounting Specialist within the past few years, she was in Mortgage Processing and has held various positions on the front-line including Teller, Teller Supervisor, Member Service Specialist and Member Service Supervisor.  She is actively involved in Capital’s Young Professional Program (YP) and has attended numerous YP events internally and through the Wisconsin Credit Union League. See is obtaining her Associates degree in Accounting at Fox Valley Technical College. See volunteers for local non-profit organizations and many of the credit union's sponsored community events. In her free time, you can find her enjoying the outdoors with her husband and two sons.

Chris Pater, Manager of Real Estate Systems

Altra Federal Credit Union, Onalaska

Chris is a BBA Graduate from The University of South Dakota’s Beacom School of Business. His formal education includes an extensive background in; Accounting, Economics, Finance, Management and Leadership. Chris began his credit union career in 2015 as a Mortgage Loan Officer; after 18 months on the job his talent in secondary marketing was recognized and he was promoted to Secondary Marketing Analyst in 2017; in 2019 Chris was then promoted to Manager of Real Estate Systems where he is responsible for managing Real Estate administration, support and secondary marketing.

Mackenzie Schultz, Innovation Leader

Altra Federal Credit Union, Onalaska

After graduating in 2015 with a BA from Ursuline College, a women-focused school in Cleveland, Mackenzie immediately started in the Credit Union Movement. She has worked through various positions, starting as an intern scanning mortgage files, working up to managing a branch with a staff of seven. She has served as the President of her local Chapter, as a member of the YP Advisory Board through The League and recently graduated from the Wisconsin Leadership Institute. 

Mackenzie recently joined Altra Federal Credit Union as their new Innovation Leader. Mackenzie’s passion for technology, innovation and making a meaningful impact reads through to her work and personal life.