Women in Technology: Commonwealth Credit Union’s Jaynel Christensen

In what is a recurring feature, Finopotamus spotlights innovative women who are positively impacting technology applications in the credit union industry, and beyond.

In the latest installment in our “Women in Technology” series, we visited with Commonwealth Credit Union’s Executive Vice President Jaynel Christensen. The $2.8 billion Frankfort, Ky.-based credit union supports 146,000 members and 18 branches.

By W.B. King

Passionate about leadership development, financial inclusion, and leveraging technology to better serve members and communities, Jaynel Christensen told Finopotamus that her career path wasn’t a traditional “tech-first” journey.

“It evolved through operations, process improvement, and problem-solving within the credit union industry. Early in my career, I was drawn to how technology could remove friction for both employees and members,” said Christensen who joined Commonwealth as a lending officer in 2001. Over the last 25 years, she worked as a vice president of lending, chief growth officer and in 2024, she was named EVP.

Jaynel Christensen

“The real pivot came when digital transformation started accelerating within financial services. I became deeply engaged in initiatives where technology wasn’t just supporting the business, but helping drive strategic outcomes,” said Christensen whose current duties include overseeing operations, lending, and IT. “That intersection of member experience, operational efficiency, and innovation is what really solidified my interest in technology.”

Integrating and Innovating

Among differences she sees today opposed to when she graduated from Georgetown College with a degree in special education and teaching: Technology has moved from a support function to a strategic driver.

“Earlier in my career, tech teams were largely reactive, focused on maintaining systems and supporting business requests. Today, they are part of the leadership table, helping shape strategy, innovation, and growth,” she continued. “The work itself has also changed. There has been a move from building and maintaining to integrating and innovating, with a more agile and cross-functional approach. The skill set has shifted as well, with more emphasis on data, cybersecurity, AI, and user experience.”

Another takeaway: There are more women working in tech roles, both in fintechs and credit unions. Most importantly, she said there is more visibility and opportunity. “Women are becoming key drivers in technology by stepping into leadership roles and influencing strategic direction. In the credit union space specifically, the collaborative and mission-driven culture have helped create more inclusive pathways.”

Despite positive forward motion, there’s still more progress to be made. “Building stronger pipelines, creating more intentional mentorship, and encouraging more women to step forward remain important,” she continued. “The progress is real, and there’s an opportunity to keep building on that momentum.”

Christensen embodies this inclusive perspective because she had leaders who pushed her to “think bigger” and step beyond traditional roles and boundaries. “They didn’t necessarily come from a technical background, but they understood the value of innovation and encouraged me to lean into it,” she said. “Their influence helped me see technology not as a department, but as a capability that touches every part of the organization.”

To pay this ethos forward, she takes every opportunity to serve as a mentor for emerging leaders. “Creating opportunities for people to take on work outside their comfort zone and encouraging women to pursue roles even when they may not feel fully ready,” she said. “Leadership development and empowerment are key to continuing progress in this space.”

Intelligent Member Experiences

Among tech accomplishments she is proud of is cultivating fintech collaborations—beginning in 2017 with Movemint (formerly CuneXus). “We began engaging with fintech partners early, recognizing the importance of being proactive rather than reactive in innovation. This helped build a foundation for future partnerships.”

These steps led to an AI-driven lending platform and partnership with Zest AI in 2021. “We implemented AI-powered underwriting to expand access to credit, improve decisioning, and reduce bias,” she explained. “This was a major step forward in leveraging data responsibly to better serve our members.”

This year, Commonwealth launched a collaborative CUSO designed to bring advanced lending technology – particularly AI capabilities – to small-and mid-sized credit unions that may not have the scale to implement these solutions independently, she noted.

“We continue to invest in advanced data analytics and reporting, improving the digital account opening experience, enhancing digital banking platforms and strengthening fraud detection and prevention capabilities,” she said. “Our goal is to create a seamless, secure, and intelligent member experience across all touchpoints.”

Focus on Relationship-Building

Among tech trends on her radar are AI and machine learning applications that go beyond lending (especially in fraud detection, personalization, and operational efficiency); open banking and data accessibility (enabling better integration and member-centric solutions); digital identity and authentication advancements (which she said is critical for both security and user experience); and automation and workflow optimization that allows teams to focus more on relationship-building and less on manual processes.

“What excites me most is how these technologies can be leveraged to better serve members, not just gain efficiency,” she added.

Credit unions, opposed to other FIs, standalone due to the industry’s purpose-drove innovation, she shared. “Because we are member-owned, our technology decisions are guided by how we improve member outcomes, not just profitability. This creates a different lens for innovation.” To this end, partnering with fintechs has become “increasingly important as the pace of change picks up and expectations continue to evolve,” she added.

Reflecting on the successful partnerships with Movemint and Zest AI, she explained that these collaborations allowed for accelerated innovation, accessing specialized expertise and bringing advanced capabilities to members at faster rates.

“These partnerships are not just about technology,” Christensen told Finopotamus. “They’re about expanding opportunity for members and strengthening the credit union movement as a whole.”