It's a new day at The Cooperative Trust as James Marshall takes the reins from founder Brent Dixon.

Dixon founded the Crash Network in 2010 as the Filene Research Institute's young adult adviser, and with a three-year funding commitment from CUNA Mutual Group in 2012, it became The Cooperative Trust.

Over the past three years the grassroots community of young professionals has grown from gaining access to a wealth of wisdom by crashing CUNA's GAC conference, to becoming change agents dedicated to the future of the credit union industry.

The Cooperative Trust stems from more than 10 years of Filene research examining the young adult issues that credit unions and cooperatives face.

“What started as an experiment for young adults to be more engaged with the credit union industry turned into a community of young adult leaders fighting for the future of credit unions,” said Dixon. “Working collectively and alongside credit union veterans, this group is already making an impact in moving credit unions forward.”

Marshall, who has been an active Trust member, crashed the GAC in 2013 and was a finalist for the Credit Union Foundation's Tracy Slane Award.

Prior to joining Filene and the Trust, he served as the marketing manager at Plane Saver Credit Union in London, one of the largest credit unions in the United Kingdom.

Specializing in branding, social media and marketing strategies, he worked on a variety of projects and campaigns based on increasing the membership base of the credit union and loan application targets.

With an eye on increasing its profile and ensure its sustainability, plans include further developing The Cooperative Trust in four key areas of mentorship, online community, meet-ups and product development for young adults.

Working with Filene and Trust Community Manager Theresa Hilinski, Marshall will also be looking at developing the Trust's presence around the world and throughout the cooperative movement in a bid to help credit unions engage with and grow their young adult memberships.

“Building on the clear vision and momentum achieved under Brent's direction, we want to evolve the Trust into a self-sustaining organization with long-term value and viability. By 2020, young adults will dominate the workforce,” said Marshall.

“In growing the Trust and making it self-sustaining and a permanent community, we're ensuring that young credit union and cooperative professionals have the opportunity and resources to get involved in the industry now,” he said.

Instant Insights /

British CU Staffer James Marshall to Lead Next Chapter of The Cooperative Trust

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