WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Credit Union Times welcomes Michelle Samaad as a full-time member of its editorial staff. In her new role as Reporter-at-Large, Samaad will have the flexibility to cover all sorts of credit union news events throughout the country, though she will focus on the investment beat, including trust services, member investment behavior and market watch. Samaad has covered a number of industry topics for Credit Union Times since coming aboard in 2000 as a Correspondent-at-Large. She previously worked as a reporter for bankrate.com, covering retirement and savings, online banking and credit union beats. Her experience also includes reporter positions at the Miami Herald, Tallahassee Democrat, a number of editing and staff writer positions at several industry trade publications and stints as a high school journalism teacher and copywriter for Florida's Governor's Press Office. Samaad has a M.S. in journalism from Florida A&M University and a B.A. in English from Florida State University.