Employee Spotlight: Kathy Sianis 

Kathy lives in a world of adventure, compassion and doing things because she can. 

Motorcycles, kayaking, nine dogs, and living in Germany aren't the details about Kathy Sianis’ life you would expect. The last thing you should do when it comes to Kathy is have normal expectations. Her ability to captivate a room as she provides color to her richly-lived life are part of what makes her so unique. 

She has since sold the motorcycle, and is caring for her dogs in Florida with her husband, all while partnering with Posh’s clients–something that inspires her each day. 

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Own it all! 

Born and raised in Colorado, Kathy doesn’t recall exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up. She does remember that she loved handling the colorful money in Monopoly, always had to be the banker, and enjoyed counting those fake bills (and cheating shh).

When Kathy graduated from high school, she wanted to be an architect and attend the Colorado School of Mines, but this path wasn’t in the cards for her. Instead, Kathy attended college part-time while she worked in a bank. “The banker in me came out” and Kathy discovered she really enjoyed this world, previously only explored during her childhood Monopoly games. 

While Kathy earned her BA in business management, she dipped her toes into lending and discovered a passion for educating people around building credit and achieving their financial goals. 

During her brief residence in Germany, she continued working towards her degree, and expanded her horizons in ways that education alone cannot achieve. While she lived in Germany, Kathy worked at, you guessed it, a bank. She worked in new accounts and lending and as a foreign currency teller handling different currencies with the same level of curiosity she had when handling Monopoly money.

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Money matters

After Kathy wrapped up her degree, she progressed her career at various credit unions, and even had a white paper published on best practices. 

Following a brief stint working as a finance manager at an auto dealership, where her passion for educating people on their finances helped her build trust and relationships, and ultimately close deals, Kathy decided to get her MBA.

Somewhere along the way, Kathy developed her credo, “Build trust, educate, and do right by people.”

Kathy thrives when she’s being challenged to learn and grow in new ways. 

“I don’t want to chase a dollar, I want to make a difference in your life,” Kathy said. “It’s not about targets, it’s about the relationship.” 

She pursued her MBA with the goal of teaching a college course or opening her own consulting business. Three semesters of teaching personal finance later, the path wasn’t what she expected. 

“I keep thinking I’m going to go back to do it [teaching], I like to facilitate, I like to help people see things differently,” she said. “That’s what I love about working in this type of industry. I get to help them become disruptors and become more than they see themselves.” 

Travels with Charlie

Having worked her way up in the credit union world, Kathy took a VP level position at a CU in Georgia. Not knowing a soul in her new home except for her yellow lab who moved out from Colorado with her, Kathy took a characteristic leap into the unknown and began volunteering at a dog rescue. 

All of Kathy’s dogs are foster fails with an interesting backstory, including one dog whose original adoptive parents lost them not once, but twice. Her compassion for dogs runs deep, even carrying around an emergency kit for dogs in need she may come across. 

“I look into their souls and see they need someone,” Kathy said smiling, as her dogs relaxed in the background behind her. 

During her time in Georgia, she successfully facilitated the adoption of over 300 dogs, managing to keep nine misfits for herself. While in Georgia, Kathy met her husband, Charlie. Her dogs, Charlie, and three step-sons are the happy result of her tenure in Georgia. 

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“Why do I do things? Because I can.” 

Kathy moved to Florida for her role as CXO at USF Federal Credit Union. Moving into this role and earning this title was a huge milestone for Kathy. Having worked for various credit unions across multiple states, Kathy views member experience as the top priority.

Although, she knew there was the possibility for something more, different ways to help people and change the industry. All of her past experiences were learning opportunities, she gained something from everything, 

“My journey has allowed me to meet so many people and gain such incredible exposure and experience. I have been very fortunate. I don’t think I would be the same person if I had stayed in the same place for 25 years,” she said.

Taking the job at Posh was an easy decision for Kathy. She can see down the field, with a passion for consultancy - applying her tenure and passion to Posh clients. She found that people at Posh are curious, willing to try new things and learn from their mistakes. Being at Posh gives Kathy the chance to explore new things. In her role, Kathy gets to help the industry that she loves. As a huge advocate of credit unions, Kathy wants to impact the entire industry in a positive way. 

“I feel like I’m part of something being built. We’re developing something together. I love the pace, the mindset, the people and I love the industry we’re helping,” Kathy said. “We are focused on an experience that makes a difference. We’re a partner, not a vendor.” 

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