ACU Foundation

Amber Young is the Community Engagement Specialist at ACU and a native of Thurston County. Amber began her career with America’s Credit Union in 2009 where her position allowed her the opportunity to help members reach their financial goals.

In 2011, Amber took a position in the Marketing Department at ACU where she helped members on a personal level and worked within the community to help support nonprofits, servicemembers and businesses in our area.

Amber is currently the President of the DuPont- Steilacoom subchapter of the Association of the United States Army, holds position on the Yelm Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is involved with multiple committees working with local businesses to bring value to our communities.

With the help of her colleagues and ACU Business Partners, Amber coordinates the ACU Annual Charity Golf Tournament, The Turkey Shoot. This tournament raises an average of $50,000 for Joint Base Lewis McChord charities and has been held since 2000. The success of this tournament has led to the creation of the ACU Foundation. As Chairman, she and the other members of the board will raise funds to improve the lives of all of our community members.

Dan Nicholson, a native of the Tacoma area and a graduate of the University of Washington, started his company Dzines, after years of research and strategic planning. He formed the idea after experiencing a multitude of entry-level and professional careers including healthcare, restaurants, hospitality, and criminal justice to name a few. During this time Dan realized the importance and the need for quality products and services to help businesses, teams and organizations grow. Today, we are supported by a network of sales professionals and product manufacturers with decades of experience in virtually every trade imaginable.

Joshua Howen is a Board member for the ACU Foundation. When he was 19 years old, Joshua became a “Big Brother” for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This sparked his desire for serving his community. Joshua found himself wanting to do more for his community, country and himself and joined the military as a Military Policeman. After his service, Joshua found a new way to engage in the military community through serving on the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited as an executive board member who chairs their Veterans Service Partnership for the State of Washington. Joshua loves spending time exploring the PNW, fishing and hiking with his children. Joshua is excited to further his passion for helping veterans, service-members and their families through his position with the ACU Foundation.

Phil Prothero is the Chief Operations Officer at America’s Credit Union.  During his 10-years at ACU he has managed branch operations, training, call center, facilities and other areas temporarily during organizational changes.  With 16 years of combined banking experience, Phil previously worked for a school district in grant management and human resources.  He graduated from Central Washington University and has completed programs in Human Resources, Strategic Management, and Sales and Service training.  He is passionate about member service and serving the communities ACU is a part of.

Karen Macomb is the ACU Foundation’s Treasurer. Having been born and raised in Yelm, Karen began bookkeeping in 2007 working at a small coastal hotel. Here is where she found her passion, as numbers brought her peace and order. Since then she has worked as a Resident Financial Services Manager for non-profit, serving adults with Developmental Disabilities; the Health Care Authority for the State of Washington, auditing applications for Medicaid and reviewing financial documents; and most recently owns Ingrained Bookkeeping in her hometown of Yelm, WA.

Karen volunteers as the treasurer for her childrens’ Parent-Teacher Organization and has volunteered with the Yelm Chamber of Commerce on several events. She has joined the ACU Foundation because she sees value in serving her local community.

When she isn’t behind the desk, you can find Karen working on her hobby farm or her parents’ farm with her husband and three sons.