America's Credit Unions in Washington, D.C., has launched a 30-member Small Credit Union Advocacy Advisory Panel to elevate the voices of smaller institutions and strengthen advocacy efforts.

The newly-formed panel represents just one of the industry's recent efforts to support small credit unions, as two leagues – the GoWest Credit Union Association and the Cooperative Credit Union Association – recently announced their own small credit union initiatives (see sidebars for more information).

The Small Credit Union Advocacy Advisory Panel was formed in response to strong interest from small credit unions seeking greater involvement in shaping policy priorities, according to the national trade organization.

"We know the challenges our small credit union members face. This advisory panel strengthens their representation and our listening machinery in our unified voice," Scott Simpson, president/CEO of America's Credit Unions, said. "The Small Credit Union Advocacy Advisory Panel ensures their real-world perspectives directly shape our advocacy, governance and support. Not as a side effort, but as a core responsibility of America's Credit Unions."

Simpson said there are several unique challenges that small credit unions face, which the panel is looking to address.

"Small credit union leaders wear all the hats," he said. "In many shops, one leader is responsible for every executive function as well as just keeping the doors open. They rely on their associations to help them with all of it, including advocacy.

"Rising complexity hits smaller institutions hardest. Compliance, fraud, vendor costs and exam expectations require scale and relying on America's Credit Unions and their leagues for support and connections helps achieve that scale. Unity requires intentional structure. If small credit unions don't see their realities reflected in advocacy and governance, the system risks internal fracture, which weakens everyone externally. Unified advocacy is essential to securing our policy priorities. It was our observation that we needed to make certain their voice would be amplified through our consensus building structures."

More than 100 unique nominations were submitted for consideration, which Simpson said reflects the depth of engagement across the small credit union community. Panel members were selected to ensure broad representation across geographic regions, fields of membership, asset size and professional expertise. Participation was limited to ensure the panel can operate effectively and deliver meaningful input. 

"The enthusiasm we saw for this panel underscores how committed small credit unions are to being part of the advocacy process," Simpson said. "This group will play an important role in helping identify policy opportunities, working in alignment with our advocacy policy committee, and advancing solutions that provide real relief to small credit unions facing growing competitive pressures." 

The Small Credit Union Advocacy Advisory Panel will serve as a forum for identifying emerging challenges, offering practitioner-level insight, and informing America's Credit Unions' advocacy strategy on Capitol Hill and with federal and state policymakers, Simpson said.

"This focused advisory panel is designed specifically to strengthen and coordinate advocacy on issues uniquely impacting small credit unions," he said. "This includes participation in special advocacy meetings with the NCUA and America's Credit Unions staff tailored to small credit union concerns. This panel also seeks to ensure that small credit union perspectives influence America's Credit Unions priorities at the highest levels by translating their lived experience into system-wide strategy."

The panel will be led by America's Credit Unions team members Greg Mesack, SVP of advocacy, and Rich Mohr, small credit union membership director. In addition, Christina Mihalik, SVP, government relations for the CrossState Credit Union Association; Ryan Smith, chief advocacy officer for the Minnesota Credit Union Network; and Ashley Sharp, chief legal officer and SVP state advocacy for the Illinois Credit Union League, will serve as league appointees on the panel. 

Selected members of the Small Credit Union Advocacy Advisory Panel include:

  • Michael J. Augustine, president/CEO, Frontier Community Credit Union; ($204.6 million, Leavenworth, Kan.)
  • Linda Bodie, CEO, Element Federal Credit Union; ($84.5 million, Charleston, W.V.)
  • Eric A. Bruen, CEO, Desert Valleys FCU; ($89.2 million, Ridgecrest, Calif.)
  • Faye Crocker, CEO, HOPESOUTH Credit Union; ($37.1 million, Abbeville, S.C.)
  • Jody Dabrowski, CEO, Illinois Educators Credit Union; ($120.3 million, Springfield, Ill.)
  • Aaron DeJong, president/CEO, Red Wing Credit Union; ($205 million, Red Wing, Minn.)
  • David Dodd, CEO, Madison County Federal Credit Union; ($112.9 million, Anderson, Ind.)
  • Roland Draper, CEO, Somerville Municipal Federal Credit Union; ($50.8 million, Somerville, Mass.)
  • Thomas Flowers, CEO, Calhoun Liberty Credit Union; ($172.1 million, Blountstown, Fla.)
  • Charles (Charlie) H. Frederickson Jr. CEO, Stanwood Area FCU; ($18.1 million, New Stanton, Pa.)
  • Rob Greaff, CEO, Delta Schools Federal Credit Union; ($62.7 million, Antioch, Calif.)
  • Karen Griffo, president/CEO, Roswell Community FCU; ($49.7 million, Roswell, N.M.)
  • Jennifer Grinder, president/CEO, RIPCO Credit Union; ($184.2 million, Rhinelander, Wis.)
  • Mark Hudzik, president/CEO, InFirst FCU; ($190.3 million, Alexandria, Va.)
  • John Linzey, president/CEO, Generations United Federal Credit Union; ($6.7 million, New York, N.Y.)
  • Chad Miller, president/CEO, Southwest Louisiana Credit Union; ($177.8 million, Lake Charles, La.)
  • Christopher Moss, president/CEO, Volt Credit Union; ($83.4 million, Springfield, Mo.)
  • Nina Myers, president/CEO, TruPartner Credit Union; ($163.3 million, Cincinnati, Ohio)
  • Lily Newfarmer, president/CEO, Tarrant County's Credit Union; ($122.5 million, Fort Worth, Texas)
  • Cassie Pannone, CFO, Northern Hills Federal Credit Union; ($186.6 million, Sturgis, S.D.)
  • Rina Pantano, president/CEO, NJ Gateway Federal Credit Union; ($27.6 million, Monmouth Junction, N.J.)
  • Tammy Passafiume, Diamond Lakes FCU; ($78.7 million, Malvin, Ark.)
  • Nicole Peatrowsky, president/CEO, Omaha Public Power District Employees FCU; ($33.4 million, Omaha, Neb.)
  • Ashton Person, CEO, Port City Federal Credit Union; ($41.7 million, Muskegon, Mich.)
  • Jonathan Rhodes, president/CEO, FedFinancial Federal Credit Union; ($76.5 million, Silver Spring, Md.)
  • Jeremy Smith, CEO, Affinity Credit Union; ($149.1 million, Des Moines, Iowa)
  • Ron Smith, president/CEO/CSO, Enbright Credit Union; ($78.1 million, Nashville, Tenn.)
  • Tyler Valentine, president/CEO, StagePoint Federal Credit Union; ($129.3 million, Laramie, Wyo.)
  • Karen Viets, CEO, Metropolitan District Employees' Credit Union; ($33.5 million, Hartford, Conn.)
  • Doug Wadsworth, president, Tri-CU Credit Union. ($76.8 million, Kennewick, Wash.)

"Small credit unions are passionate about what they do," Simpson said. "They are essential to the communities and people they serve, and our overarching movement. The group serving on this panel care deeply about preserving the small credit union model and continuing to meet their members' needs in a dynamic financial system. We are committed to doing all we can to ensure their operating environment allows them to thrive. We had our first meeting in early February. It was a robust discussion and a great indicator of what's to come from this panel."

Joyce Moed can be reached at joyce.moed@arc-network.com

NOT FOR REPRINT

© Touchpoint Markets, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.