KENNEWICK, Wash.–The Endangered Small Credit Union Defense (ESCUD), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit dedicated to preserving America’s small, community-focused credit unions through targeted regulatory relief, is reporting it has hit two “significant milestones.”
The milestones include : the appointment of two new board members and official endorsements from 20 small credit unions spanning 10 states.
Sarah McNeil, CEO of the $55-million United Trades Federal Credit Union in Tualatin, Ore., and Joshua Urbick, CEO of the $29-million IBEW 26 Federal Credit Union in Lanham, Md., have joined the ESCUD board.
(Urbick was the author of a very popular post on the CU Daily about small credit unions.)
Both leaders bring years of experience running member-first, not-for-profit cooperatives that prioritize returning value to members over growth for growth’s sake, ESCUD said.
‘Honored’ to Serve
“I am honored to be asked to serve on the board of ESCUD,” said Urbick in a statement. “The work that board President Doug Wadsworth is doing on behalf of small credit unions across the country is not only commendable but impressive. He saw a need and decided to take action. That is the only way we will survive. Action, not excuses.”
According to ESCUC, McNeil echoed that sentiment, noting that her 2026 budget at United Trades FCU is deliberately structured to “break even” so that every possible dollar can be returned to members through better rates, lower fees, and expanded services.
“Small credit unions live the cooperative mission every single day,” McNeil said in a statement. “ESCUD is giving us a unified voice in Washington to protect that mission from one-size-fits-all regulations that threaten our existence.”
Additional Board Members
Also on the board of ESCUD are Scott Prior, CEO of Connection Credit Union ($38 million assets, Silverdale, Wash.), and Brandi Johnson, CEO of GRANCO Federal Credit Union ($93 million assets, Ephrata, Wash.).
“Both are seasoned leaders of small credit unions in Washington State, with Prior bringing over 15 years of experience at Connection CU, where he has championed collaboration and advocacy to ensure small institutions remain viable amid growing regulatory pressures, with credit union organizations like cusunite.org,” ESCUD said. “Johnson, who has been with GRANCO FCU for 23 years, is known for fostering a strong culture of member service and community focus. Together, these board members underscore ESCUD’s commitment to uniting small credit unions nationwide in the fight for regulatory relief that preserves their unique ability to serve underserved communities.”
The Twenty CU Members
According to ESCUD, the 20 small credit unions that have now formally endorsed ESCUD represent nearly $1.5 billion in combined assets and serve communities from Washington State to North Carolina.
The current list of endorsing institutions includes:
- Granco FCU (Ephrata, WA)
- Mint Valley FCU (Longview, WA)
- Nordstrom FCU (Everett, WA)
- Tri-CU FCU (Kennewick, WA)
- Connection CU (Silverdale, WA)
- Spokane Media FCU & Spokane City CU (Spokane, WA)
- evergreenDIRECT CU (Tumwater, WA)
- Prime Source CU (Spokane, WA)
- IBEW 76 FCU (Tacoma, WA)
- Community Healthcare FCU (Everett, WA)
- Waterfront FCU (Seattle, WA)
- United Trades FCU (Tualatin, OR)
- POLAM FCU (Los Angeles, CA)
- American Southwest CU (Sierra Vista, AZ)
- SEG FCU (Laurel, MT)
- Milestones FCU #5144 (Lewiston, ME)
- Good Neighbors FCU (Depew, NY)
- IBEW 26 FCU (Lanham, MD)
- Revity FCU (Greensboro, NC)
Growth Projected to Continue
ESCUD said it anticipates its membership will continue to grow, and grow even faster as the word gets out. It noted that more than 100 small-asset credit unions nationwide now follow or actively participate in ESCUD’s private LinkedIn group, sharing regulatory impact stories, compliance challenges, and encouragement.
The Core Mission
ESCUD said its core mission is straightforward: Encourage small credit unions to live their member centric cooperative values by giving profits back to members, and advocate for common-sense regulatory relief that recognizes the vast differences between small, simple, single-location credit unions and large, complex, multi-state institutions.
Top Priorities
Top priorities include restoring higher HMDA reporting thresholds, raising the CECL exemption limit to $500 million in assets, modernizing BSA currency-transaction reporting rules, and eliminating outdated or redundant requirements that divert scarce resources away from member service, the organization said.
“Every week it seems we hear about another small credit union forced to merge because of strained resources. Why are they so strained? In addition to increased competitive pressure from big institutions, it is because they are forced to comply with so many regulations written for billion-dollar institutions,” said Doug Wadsworth, president of both ESCUD and the $75-million Tri-CU Credit Union in Kennewick, Wash. “When small credit unions disappear, communities lose the most flexible, relationship-driven, mission-focused financial option available—often the only lender willing to say ‘yes’ when big banks say ‘no.’”
‘Poised to Amplify’
With new board leadership and a rapidly growing coalition, ESCUD said it is “poised to amplify the voice of small credit unions, in the fight for regulatory relief. ESCUD is currently working to advance advocacy partnerships with two national trade associations, America’s Credit Unions (ACU) and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC). Wadsworth said he is pleased that both ACU and DCUC have prioritized proportionate small credit union representation on their leadership boards, and they “cap” their membership dues to ensure that a small number of large CUs don’t have unreasonable influence over their priorities.
In addition. Wadsworth reported that following his request ACU agreed to help push forward HMDA regulatory relief for small CUs and that the trade group is working on it.
Open Partnerships
ESCUD said it is open to partnering with regional leagues as well, and is encouraging them to re-prioritize the bulk of their advocacy efforts to save small credit unions, before it is too late.
“Small credit unions are like the canary in the coal mine,” Wadsworth said, “When they are gone, I don’t think the credit union tax exemption will survive for long. If trade associations truly want to protect our movement long-term, they need to spend the bulk of their energy, time and money fighting for small credit union regulatory relief, rather than primarily helping the gigantic credit unions get even bigger.”
For info:
www.endangeredsmallCUdefense.org or contact Doug Wadsworth at [email protected].
