We are shining the spotlight on Andrea Rusnak this month. Andrea is Engage fi’s Director, Payments Consulting Group and has been with us for five months. In that time, Andrea has been a breath of fresh air contributing in many ways from meeting clients to providing meaningful thought leadership in the payments space and for women’s leadership. Andrea’s day-to-day is to work closely with payments consultants to assist the team and Engage fi clients with evaluating their options for payment providers for debit, credit, brand, network, and other solutions.
In addition, Andrea is a subject matter expert that frequently works closely with our Sales team to support discussions on payment trends and strategies.
Andrea says “I love working with our respective teams and our prospects/clients on what we do at Engage fi and how our unique approach supports our clients with their payment’s strategy, growth, and optimization plans.”
An industry veteran of over 20 years, Andrea enjoys working with clients and partners to solve challenges impacting financial institutions and embracing opportunities to sustain the movement. Andrea has a great deal of experience in managing client relationships and counseling clients on strategies that assist with their portfolio growth. Prior to joining Engage fi, Andrea served as a Vice President at PSCU for 6 ½ years, Business Development Manager at Co-op for 6 years, and she previously held management positions with NYCE Payments Network, Harland Financial Solutions, Commercial Capital Bank, and Wells Fargo.
Andrea currently serves as the co-chair for the San Francisco Bay Area Sister Society for the Global Women’s Leadership Network and the Vice Chair for the Southern California & Nevada CUES Council.
In 2020, Andrea became a Credit Union Development Educator through the National Credit Union Foundation. In 2018, Andrea was recognized with the Emerging Leader Award from the GWLN, highlighting her accomplishments of an emerging female leader working in the credit union movement, advancing the mission of the GWLN, and reflective of her efforts to champion women’s leadership in the credit union industry.
We are lucky to have Andrea engaging on behalf of our whole team, and we are excited for you to get to know her better. Read on to learn more about Andrea!
Q & A
Q: What is your personal brand statement? A: My smile is my logo, my personality is my business card, and the way I make others feel is my trademark.
Q: How did you come to work here? A: I was recruited by one of our senior leaders that I have known over the years that always checked in with me a couple of times of year. When this senior leader called me to talk about this amazing opportunity, she didn’t hesitate to call me to say you really need to consider this role. She said I believe this would be a perfect role for you based on your experience and we’d love to have you join us. And as they say, the rest is history!
Q: What do you enjoy most about working here? A: I enjoy working with so many talented, creative, and specialized industry experts that I’m always able to bounce ideas off of at any time.
Q: What are some of your hobbies outside the office? A: I really love spending time with my family, and our yellow lab Tilly, taking road trips, and visiting various places across the U.S. and internationally. I am known for taking hundreds of photographs from our travels to document our adventures and historical places of reference that we’ve visited on each trip.
Q: Is the glass half empty or half full? A: It’s always half full!
Q: What is one thing about you that few people know? A: I almost went to law school, but life had a different plan for me after I graduated from college, and I went straight into financial services.
Q: What makes you laugh? A: I enjoy a good comedy show and people who are just naturally funny.
Q: What inspires you? A: People who are committed to making the world a better place one kind act at a time. I always gravitate to people who are highly emotionally intelligent, warm, friendly, and have a servant-leader heart.
Q: What is your favorite holiday? A: I love Christmas because it’s all about spending time with family and friends, watching those great class movies like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, giving back, and being thankful.
Q: Do you have a motto or a mantra? What is it? A: Carpe Diem – Seize the Day!
Q: What would you do if you won the lottery? A: I would buy my parents their beach house, give back to various charitable organizations that my husband, Chris, and I support, and take a long international vacation.
Q: What is your guilty pleasure? A: I really enjoy a good true crime story documentary and I’ve always been really interested in biography miniseries, movies, or books.
Q: If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? A: I’m an avid Italian fan and if I could have cheese pizza the rest of my life that would work for me.
Q: What is your definition of success? A: My definition of success is being happy with what you do, making a difference in people’s lives, being healthy, and having a wonderful family to share your success in life.
Q: What is the best vacation you’ve taken? A: The best vacation I ever took was to Singapore because I got to see a beautiful country rich with architecture, culture, and so many cool places to visit such as the Gardens by the Bay.
Q: Are you messy or organized? A: Organized always!
Q: Are you a hunter or a gatherer? A: I would say that I’m a little bit of both, but I’m more of a gatherer because I’m all about building a foundation for lasting relationships.
Q: If you were the newest crayon in the box, what color would you be and why? A: I would be turquoise because I love that color and it represents my birthstone for the month of December.
Q: What is on the radio in your car? A: I always have Sirus Satellite Radio going playing 80s tunes.
