Joe Thomas

Credit Union National Association (CUNA)

Joe Thomas is President and CEO of NextMark Credit Union in Fairfax, Virginia. Serving in that role since 1999, he has coordinated the design and implementation of strategic plans to maximize the growth of NextMark through the successful development and introduction of new products and services.

He was appointed to the World Council Board in 2020 and has served on the Worldwide Foundation Credit Union Board since 2018.

He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), Chairman of the Virginia Credit Union League (VACUL), and WOCCU-as a board director of the Credit Union Mortgage Association (CUMA) and the CU Awareness Committee.

Joe has a strong background in international development work and a long history with World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). In 1985, he was a Peace Corps Volunteer serving as a training director in Malawi before joining World Council’s international development team there in 1987.

His duties for WOCCU included developing management and support services for the Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperatives (MUSCCO). That included strengthening field-service performance by conducting strategic and tactical planning sessions, and directing training in financial analysis, audit services, risk management, insurance and computerization.

Since 1990, Joe also has served as a consultant for World Council on development projects in Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya, Dominica, Belarus and—most recently—Estonia in 2019.

Joe holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Averett University and a Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Affairs from Assumption University.