Patricia Smith served as president and CEO of Unitus Community Credit Union, one of the oldest credit unions in Oregon, from 2002–2016. Prior to joining Unitus Community Credit Union, Patricia served nearly 22 years with BECU (formerly Boeing Employees’ Credit Union) in Seattle, WA in a variety of executive positions, including Chief Lending Officer.

She was actively involved in the Northwest Credit Union Association and co-chaired the Oregon Governmental Affairs Committee for approximately eight years. She served as chair on the Filene Research Institute’s board of directors for three years and on its board for nine years. She formerly served as treasurer on the Financial Service Centers Cooperatives Shared Branch board and chaired its budget oversight committee prior to the merger with CO-OP Financial Services in December 2011. Patricia served as a member of the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Foundation board of directors and served on the finance and audit committee. She served on the board of the Oregon Business Association (now known as OBI), and currently serves on its former chairs’ council. She earned an executive MBA from the University of Washington, is a graduate of the executive development program at Cornell University, and received her certified senior executive designation from the Credit Union Executive Society.

Patricia has served on the NWEA board since 2014 and currently serves on the NWEA audit and finance committee and compensation committee.