Amplify Credit Union launches Changing Austin podcast for business and nonprofit leaders

When you've historically been one of the fastest-growing cities in America, it can sometimes take a moment to measure exactly how far you've come. That's the goal of Changing Austin, a new business podcast produced by Amplify Credit Union. This series brings together leaders from across industries to talk about how businesses and nonprofits can honor the spirit of yesterday's Austin while meeting the needs of the Austin of tomorrow.
At first blush, a podcast may seem like a strange endeavor for a regional credit union. But to hear the Amplify team describe it, Changing Austin is evidence of the good ideas that can come from listening to your customers.
'One of the first things we do with any new member is sit down to better understand their organizational challenges,' Julie Macaluso, vice president of commercial banking at Amplify, said. 'Invariably, these conversations focus on the ways in which each business and nonprofit has adapted to the decade's many challenges. The more stories we heard, the more we wanted to hear, and the seed for something like Changing Austin was planted.'
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Each episode of Changing Austin will run 30 minutes, with episodes released on the first and third Friday of the month. Episodes will be available in video format via YouTube as well as audio-only on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Guests will come from a cross-section of Austin's business, civic and nonprofit communities, with a particular emphasis on the organizations that are transforming or being transformed by Austin's rapid growth.
The first four episodes of Changing Austin will feature conversations with:
Mason Ayer, CEO of Kerbey Lane All Day Cafe
The Honorable Denise Hernández, presiding judge of County Court at Law #6
Davon Barbour, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance
Kara Hanaoka, executive director of Good Work Austin
The series is hosted by Stacy Armijo, chief experience officer at Amplify. With 16 years in public relations and two years as a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communications, she brings deep expertise in media relations to every conversation.
'Our goal for Changing Austin was to recreate the kinds of conversations you have over drinks with an old friend,' Armijo said. 'What Austin means to people is rooted as much in philosophy as it is in business, and I want our audience to feel like they've pulled up a chair to listen to a really smart person wax poetic about our great city.'
Each episode shares how guests and their organizations are bridging the gap between the Austin of yesterday and the one of tomorrow.
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'In our first episode, you'll hear Mason talk about the evolution of Kerbey Lane Cafe from Austin's favorite 2 a.m. hangout to your family's favorite restaurant,' Armijo said. 'That's a great example of changing with our community without sacrificing what made your business special in the first place.'
While Amplify's own community of business and nonprofit leaders will appear throughout the series, the focus of Changing Austin goes far beyond the credit union's book of business.
'Amplify may not be the biggest fish in the pond but our contrarian streak often puts us at the cutting edge of conversations about Austin's future,' Armijo said. 'Changing Austin is about providing a platform for the people who inspire us. I hope our listeners are inspired too.'
Amplify Credit Union offers fee-free banking and award-winning lending to anyone who lives or works in Texas. In 1967, the organization was founded as the credit union for IBM employees in Austin. Today, it provides digital-first banking and lending services to over 50,000 members, including home loans, checking & savings accounts, commercial lending, and more.

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