MADISON, Wis. — As one of the first steps in its 18-month project to make credit unions more relevant to young adults ages 18 to 24, the Filene Research Institute has retained a consultant to assist with the effort.

Ben Rogers, editor of CEO Report, a best practices and business information publication for credit union chief executives, publisher of a start-up magazine for fathers and freelance writer, will lead Filene's young adult initiative.

The project builds on an earlier Filene project which consisted of a series of research reports about Generation Y published in 2005 and 2006. The next step, according to Filene Executive Director/CEO Mark Meyer, is to translate that research into actionable steps designed to expand credit union membership among young adults and increase the likelihood that young professionals would consider credit unions as an employment option. Financial support for the initiative comes from a variety of sources, including CUES, Fiserv and PSCU Financial Services, Inc.