By Sarah Snell Cooke, Principal, Cooke Consulting Solutions

Last May ahead of the NYC Underground Collision, we told you that the Underground’s purpose is credit union’s purpose. The Underground Community exists to help credit unions progress into the future in the areas of member services, technology and generating consumer awareness. That still holds true, but there’s more.

More unfiltered debate.

More effective action.

More information and analysis.

Just…MORE.  

The Underground Community is about collaborative effort—no one’s telling you what to do. Everyone’s contributions and values are appreciated and welcome! As we often say, we’re taking the conference hallway discussions and placing them center stage at the Feb. 25 Underground Collision at The Hay-Adams in Washington, D.C. You can register for the event here.

Sue Mitchell, CEO of Mitchell, Stankovic & Associates, will get everyone jumpstarted and hand the mic off to Brandi Stankovic, managing partner of Mitchell, Stankovic & Associates, who will pump everyone up with credit unions’ vision for the future.

Next, we’ll challenge the hype over “fake news,” how it’s affecting credit unions’ ability to grab headlines, and, when they do earn coverage, consumers’ waning trust in the Fourth Estate. Cooke Consulting Solutions Principal Sarah Snell Cooke, CUinsight Co-Founder/Publisher Randy Smith, CU Today Cooperator-in-Chief Frank Diekmann and gameFI Founder Matt Davis comprise the panel.

Element FCU CEO Linda Bodie, XCEL FCU Board Member Stacey Walker, and Paul Norgove, CEO of Police Credit Union in the U.K. are going to talk credit union diversity—or the lack thereof. Credit Unions serve diverse communities from a socio-economic perspective, gender, ethnicities, sexual orientation, age, and many other categories you can name. Is your credit union representative of its field of membership? 

Credit union personalities who’ve been around the block, including CU*Answers CEO Randy Karnes, Callahan & Associates Chairman Chip Filson, retired SECU (N.C.) CEO Jim Blaine and NASCUS CEO Lucy Ito, discuss credit union business practices gone wrong. In contrast to your typical best practices conference panel, the Collision’s will dive into worst practices and lessons to be learned from them.

After lunch, we’ll fire up the Speed Dating Knowledge Cafés where attendees will talk hot topics of the day with their colleagues. Topics include Social justice and financial inclusion led by Unitus Community CU CEO Steve Stapp and Frankenmuth CU Marketing and Community Development Officer Greg Dietrich; the aging of credit union executives, volunteers and members headed up by Elevations CU Board Chair Nancy Herbert and Xtend Inc CEO Liz Winninger; Acceptance Corp., a new business from the Underground to help bring the most financial vulnerable consumers into credit unions yet off your books, led by Ser Technology CEO Shana Richardson and BALANCE Corp. CEO Kathryn Davis; and credit unions’ response to tragedy like the California fires and the Texas hurricanes, which will be led by Ventura County CU CEO Joe Schroeder and PSCU Chief Talent Officer Lynn Heckler.

Register today to attend the Feb. 25, 2018, Underground Collision in Washington, D.C.!

Finally, we’ll wrap up with an action plan, based on the panels and table discussions, for what the Underground Community can do next for credit unions, and a toast to a brighter economic future for consumers and credit unions!