‘Shared Values’

Employee Culture Embeds Pima Federal in the Community

By Jay Gonzales

At Pima Federal Credit Union, community involvement does not begin with a sponsorship check or end with a volunteer event. It starts inside the organization, with the people who serve its members and the community every day.

The credit union’s approach is rooted in a culture that places equal importance on employees, members and the communities they serve. The idea is that if employees genuinely care about their work and the people around them, that commitment will ultimately be reflected in every interaction with a member.

Chief People Officer Sarah Holt said the company’s culture is rooted in five shared values: service excellence, teamwork, integrity, engagement and community involvement.

Those values influence how Pima Federal hires as well as how it develops its employees. Holt said that from the beginning of the hiring process, the organization looks for people who already possess the characteristics that fit its culture.

“We try to keep that conversation present throughout the recruiting process,” Holt said. “While skills can be taught, those innate characteristics and qualities are much harder to develop. When someone already shares those values, they are more likely to be a strong fit, embrace our culture and carry it forward into the community.”

President & CEO Eric Renaud has taken a similarly personal approach to building the workplace culture. To him, that means breaking down the barriers that can come with being the chief executive and encouraging employees to enjoy their work by being themselves.

“I want every person to feel they can bring their whole self to work,” he said. “It is a sentiment that is often repeated, but not every organization truly understands how to make it part of the culture.”

That approach also extends to the way employees interact with members. Unlike a sales-driven model in which employees might be rewarded, for example, for opening particular types of accounts, Renaud said Pima Federal wants employees to focus on the needs of the individual member.

“We’re a not-for-profit, member-owned financial cooperative,” Renaud said. “At the end of the day, it’s our responsibility to do the best we can for our membership.”

Celyna Cervantes, EVP, chief growth and strategy officer who has spent 14 years with the credit union, said that human connection is one of the things she values most about her work.

“For me, what is most meaningful is the opportunity to connect with our members, our community and the people I work alongside every day,” Cervantes said. “Each interaction is a chance to help someone, understand their story and strengthen the relationships that make this work so rewarding.”

Those relationships inside the credit union also help fuel its involvement in the community. Holt said employees have an “intrinsic care” for the communities where they live and work, and the organization encourages them to devote time to causes that matter to them.

As of the end of August, Pima Federal employees had accumulated 2,165 volunteer hours in 2026. Those hours include paid volunteer time, personal volunteer work, company-sponsored activities, and events employees come up with themselves.

That connection between employee culture and community involvement is deliberate.

“I believe our employees all have that intrinsic care for the communities where they live and which they serve,” Holt said.

Lynette Arvizu, Pima Federal marketing director, said that philosophy is particularly important for an organization founded in Tucson and built around serving its members, which initially were education-based.

“We would not be here without our members, and we would not be here without the community,” Arvizu said. “There is a true sense of social responsibility to give back to the people and places that helped build us.”

Founded by teachers, the credit union continues to place education at the center of its community efforts, including school supply drives and financial-literacy programs.

But its definition of community has expanded. Since 2013, the annual Pima Federal Golf Classic has raised almost $900,000 for community organizations, while the credit union also supports causes involving youth, food insecurity, housing and other needs.

Arvizu said the common thread is strengthening the community as a whole.

“We try to let those values guide everything we do,” she said. “I believe our actions are what make that commitment visible. By doing much of the volunteer work ourselves, we are able to truly walk the talk.”

Photo courtesy Pima Federal Credit Union

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