WASHINGTON–CUNA will host what is annually the largest meeting of U.S. credit unions beginning this weekend when it kicks off its Governmental Affairs Conference.
According to the trade group, approximately 5,000 people are expected, including credit union representatives, volunteers, vendors and others who will fill the Washington Convention Center.
Numerous league and other association meetings are scheduled to take place in advance of and during the meeting.
The official GAC-related events will begin with a DEI Roundtable at 1130 p.m. on Sunday, followed by the Small CU Roundtable that same afternoon.
In addition to the DEI Roundtable (which has hit its maximum capacity), Samira Salem, VP-diversity, equity and inclusion with CUNA, noted that on Feb. 28 she will be moderating be a session specifically designed to further DEI within credit unions. That session will feature as speakers Monica Belz, president/CEO of Kaua’I FCU; Professor Quinetta Roberson of the Filene Research Institute; John Bissell, president and CEO of Greylock FCU, and Clement Abonyi, CUNA’s director of advocacy.
She said the session and the day will also feature networking opportunities related to DEI and opportunities for attendees to “learn and share different ways to expand their efforts to help underserved and historically marginalized communities achieve financial well-being.”
Meanwhile, Tom Sakash, manager of Small Credit Union Initiatives with CUNA, said NCUA Board Member Rodney Hood will be in attendance at the Small CU Roundtable, which he said is also expected to set a record for attendance with as many as 300 people expected.
He said that event should feature a “lot of great conversations” around generating income, digitizing services and “thinking outside the box.”
Also addressing that session will be Jon Hernandez, who is CEO of four credit unions in California: CalCom, Mattel, Nikkei and Mabuhay CUs. Hernandez will help lead discussion around the issue of sharing employees.
The General Sessions
The first official general session will take place at 4 p.m. with an ED (Filene) Talk with Sekou Andrews, founder/CEO of SekouWorld, Inc., the innovator of “Poetic Voice” and one of the most successful spoken word poets in the world, according to CUNA. General sessions and breakout sessions will continue through Wednesday, when the meeting will conclude at noon after Jennifer Palmieri, the White House communications director for President Obama, and political strategist Karl Rove deliver their keynote remarks.
Attendees will hit Capitol Hill en masse on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday for the annual Hill Hikes.
Also on Agenda
Also taking place in conjunction with or during GAC:
- Mitchell Stankovic Associates will host its Underground Collision: Shattered at the Hay Adams Hotel on Sunday morning.
- The Defense Credit Union Council will host its Defense Matters event on Feb. 26 at the Marriot Marquis. For more info, go here.
- The National Credit Union Foundation will host its annual Herb Wegner Memorial Award dinner on Monday where the highest honors in U.S. credit unions will be presented. This year’s honorees include Linda Bodie of Element FCU; Brian Branch, the former CEO of the World Council of Credit Unions; Bill Cheney, CEO of SchoolsFirst FCU, and Winona Nava, president/CEO of Guadalupe CU.
- The Cooperative Trust said it is expecting its largest-ever number of young CU leaders to attend this year’s GAC, with 58 “Crashers” expected.
- The African American CU Coalition will induct six people into its Hall of Fame during the meeting: Tim Anderson of US Senate FCU; Carla Decker of IDB Global CU; Melinda Edmunds of Patent and Trademark Office FCU; NCUA Chairman Todd Harper; Lois Kitsch of CU Difference; George Ombado of ACCOSCA, and Michael Ray of PAHO/WHO FCU.
- The National Credit Union Foundation said it is partnering with VIDA STYLE to launch “Re-Gowned To Give,” a new initiative at the 2023 Foundation Dinner Presenting the Herb Wegner Memorial Awards. Guests at the event will be invited to consign their gowns and donate the proceeds from the sales to support the Foundation’s work to improve people’s financial lives, the Foundation said.
- During the 2022 GAC, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had just occurred and the issue was fresh on everyone’s mind, with that country’s ambassador to the U.S. addressing credit unions via video. This year, World Council of Credit Unions’ CEO Elissa McCarter Laborde will speak to the issue and WOCCU’s work in that country. “Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions’ (WFCU) launch of its Ukrainian Credit Union Displacement Fund during the week of CUNA GAC 2022 got the attention of U.S. credit union leaders, who responded with overwhelming generosity,” said McCarter Laborde. “They are responsible for driving nearly $2 million dollars in donations to date, which have gone to support Ukrainian credit unions and to keep their member farmers solvent. I can’t think of a better place to say ‘thank you’ than at GAC 2023.”
- On a related matter, WOCCU Senior Vice President of International Advocacy and General Counsel Andrew Price will host a GAC breakout session on Tuesday, Feb 28: Why International Advocacy Matters – A Ukraine Case Study, which will focus on how regulatory issues being faced by credit unions in wartime Ukraine are tied to advocacy efforts here in the United States. Other speakers will include: Rafal Matusiak, WOCCU board member and president of the National Association of Cooperative Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU – Poland); Alisa Stetsyshyn, consultant, USAID/WOCCU Credit for Agriculture Producers’ (CAP) Project, and Anatoli Murha, senior vice president, Ukrainian Selfreliance Federal Credit Union.
- The Worldwide Foundation for Credit Unions (WFCU) will host its second annual Cooperative Voices’ celebration on Sunday, February 26, at the Planet Word Museum. This year’s event will feature presentations from three women with “distinct voices,” according to the organization: Esther Rajadurai (Australia), a WYCUP member, will speak on bridging leadership gaps; Triza Magreta (Malawi), a GWLN Sister Society leader, will speak on bridging gender gaps, and Alisa Stetsyshyn will speak on how WFCU is bridging safety and inclusion gaps in Ukraine.
- The Global Women’s Leadership Network (GWLN) will host its GWLN Luncheon at GAC on March 1. The luncheon will feature another presentation by Triza Magreta, along with and a Fireside Chat on “Data, Inclusivity and Innovative Research” with Elissa McCarter LaBorde and Melissa Koide, Founder and CEO of FinRegLab, a non-profit innovation center whose research promotes responsible use of AI and machine learning systems across financial services.
As always, CUToday.info will have the most comprehensive coverage from the meeting of any publication.