MADISON, Wis. – Forty five credit union professionals have been certified as Credit Union Development Educators (CUDEs) after completing the National Credit Union Foundation’s Credit Union Development Education (DE) Training.
The September DE Training was held at the Lowell Center in Madison, Wis. and was attended by employees and volunteers from credit unions and system partners across the United States and the globe.
“The DE experience gave me the opportunity to look at my job through a whole new lens,” said Jamila Collins, development coordinator at the Ohio Credit Union League. “This program has ignited a fire in me to ensure that my community is educated about finances, and specifically knowledgeable of the work of credit unions, the history, and the movement.”
‘Experiential Training’
The National CU Foundation said DE Training is an “experiential training program that provides lessons in credit union structure, purpose and how they differentiate from other financial institutions. During the National Credit Union Foundation’s week-long program, participants are involved in group exercises, field visits and interactive speaker sessions that provide insights into how credit unions can leverage their unique business model to help their members and communities overcome the financial and developmental issues they face.”
The New Grads
The most recent DE graduating class included credit union movement representatives from across the U.S, as well as a representative from Cameroon, Kenya and the Philippines.
The graduates include: Charles Akinbola, Elements Financial Federal Credit Union in Indiana; Scott Albrecht, BCU in Illinois; Ray Black, Advia Credit Union in Michigan; Cathy Boucher, Boston Firefighters Credit Union in Michigan; Jill Carlson, Mid Minnesota Federal Credit Union in Minnesota; Shelly Chinnery, People’s Trust Federal Credit Union in Texas; Gary Chizmadia, Credit Union of New Jersey in New Jersey; Jamila Collins, Ohio Credit Union League in Ohio; Lorraine Davis, Diamond Lakes Federal Credit Union in Arizona; Adrian Duran, FirstLight FCU in Texas; Christian Elden, Midwest Community Federal Credit Union in Ohio; Sandy Flores, GECU in Texas; Deanna Frame, Guardians Credit Union in Florida; Rini Fredette, PSCU in Florida; Kirsten Grimes, Illinois Credit Union System in Illinois; Robert Henson, Credit Union National Association in the District of Columbia; Dulcey Hordge, Suncoast Federal Credit Union in Florida; Stephanie Karr, BECU in Washington; Michael Koceja, Simplicity Credit Union in Wisconsin; Anahi Lopez, Guadalupe Credit Union in New Mexico; Teresa Loy, Central Credit Union of Florida in Florida; Lydia Lozano, CUNA Mutual Group in Wisconsin; Maylene Malapitan, Cebu Mitsumi Multi-Purpose Cooperative in the Philippines; Milai Benson, Mwalimu National SACCO in Kenya; Kolleen Morse, EvergreenDIRECT Credit Union in Washington; Awah Richard Ndoh, Camccul LTD in Cameroon; Joan Nelson, Coastal Federal Credit Union in North Carolina; Mira Ness, New York University Federal Credit Union in New York; Jorge Ortiz, North Side Community Federal Credit Union in Illinois; Nancy Patton, Canvas Credit Union in Colorado; Lindsay Pelletier, Sheboygan Area Credit Union in Wisconsin; Valarie Prillman, Cy-Fair Federal Credit Union in Texas; Amber Reyes, Reliant Federal Credit Union in Wyoming; Tara Roether, Landings Credit Union in Arizona; Trisha Rome, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in California; Valentina Scott, Arizona Federal Credit Union in Arizona; Danielle Smith, Gesa Credit Union in Washington; Rod Snyder, Red Canoe Credit Union in Washington; Jennifer Statham, WSECU in Washington; Kim Steepy, TwinStar Credit Union in Washington; Adam Stewart, Pima Federal Credit Union in Arizona; Betsy Thomas, Unitus Community Credit Union in Oregon; Denyse Vargas, Rio Grande Credit Union in New Mexico, Cindy Wiggins, Peach State Federal Credit Union in Georgia; and Laura Williams, CUNA Mutual Group in Wisconsin.
Training Staff
The program was facilitated by the Foundation’s Chad Helminak and co-facilitated by Jim Morrell from Peninsula Credit Union in Washington. Onsite event coordination was done by Maggie Wolff from the Foundation.
The class was mentored by a group of six credit union professionals and CUDE alumni: Chris Court, Service 1st Federal Credit Union in Pennsylvania; Marnie Gerkhart, Filene Research Institute in Wisconsin; Jimese Harkley, CUES in Alabama; Ken Kelly, Red Canoe Credit Union in Washington; Lindsey Mueller, CoVantage Credit Union in Wisconsin, and Amanda Stevens, TwinStar Credit Union in Washington.
The Foundation said it will host four DE Trainings in 2019. Those interested in participating in an upcoming DE Training are being encouraged to visit ncuf.coop for info, or email cude@ncuf.coop to be put on a notification list for when registration opens up.