MADISON, Wis.– Forty-two credit union professionals have been certified as Credit Union Development Educators (CUDEs) after completing the National Credit Union Foundation’s Credit Union Development Education (DE) Training.
The November DE Training was held at the Lowell Center in Madison, Wis., and was attended by employees and volunteers from credit unions and system partners across the United States and the globe.
According to the Foundation, DE Training is an experiential training program that “provides lessons in credit union structure, purpose and how they differentiate from other financial institutions.”
During the National Credit Union Foundation’s week-long program, participants are involved in group exercises, field visits and interactive speaker sessions that provide insights into how credit unions can leverage their unique business model to help their members and communities overcome the financial and developmental issues they face.
And The Graduates Are…
The most recent DE graduating class included credit union movement representatives from across the U.S, as well as two representatives from Ghana. They are: Gilbert Alonzo, PSCU in Arizona; Kimberly Ashline, South Carolina Federal Credit Union in South Carolina; Jessica Baker, SC Telco Federal Credit Union in South Carolina; Catherine Brickner, People’s Trust FCU in Texas; Karen Carson, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in California; Zachary Churchill, USF Federal Credit Union in Florida; Kara Connors, Montana’s Credit Unions in Montana; Mark Cough, Coastal Credit Union in North Carolina; Lori Cushman, CUNA Mutual Group in Wisconsin; Whitley Edelfelt, Laramie Plans Community Federal Credit Union in Wyoming; Dede Farmer, GECU in Texas; Tiffany Ficklin, Nusenda Credit Union in New Mexico; Alexis Friel, Members Choice West Virginia Federal Credit Union in West Virginia; Joseph Garti, Hydro Co-Operative Credit Union in Ghana; Elizabeth Gilligan, Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union in West Virginia; Vickie Gomez, Landings Credit Union in Arizona; Mike Grady IV, Ent Credit Union in Colorado; Jenny Hamilton, Tarrant County’s Credit Union in Texas; Brandon Hougom, Altra Federal Credit Union in Wisconsin; Jessica Jamison, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in California; Jordan Krall, Credit Union National Association in Wisconsin; Barbra Lowman, Cornerstone Credit Union League in Texas; Jody Mattson, America’s First Federal Credit Union in Alabama; Danny McGuire, Unitus Community Credit Union in Oregon; Steve Mendez, CUNA Mutual Group in Wisconsin; Thomas Meyers, Washington State ECU in Washington; Steve Morgan, Coastal Credit Union in North Carolina; Harry Myers, GTE Financial in Florida; Marella Nardotti, Fairfax County Federal Credit Union in Virginia; Clarence Nash, Resource One Credit Union in Texas; Michael Parks, Suncoast Credit Union in Florida; Daniel Perry, Buckeye State Credit Union in Ohio; Rachael Quinn, BECU in Washington; Stephanie Quiroz, GECU in Texas; Rachel Snyder, CU Business Group, LLC in Oregon; Sarah Snyder, Harborstone Credit Union in Washington; Eddie Vance, Suncoast Credit Union in Florida; Christopher Verdosci, CU Strategic Planning in California; Mark Volz, Corporate Central Credit Union in Wisconsin; Brendan Wilbur, Alternatives Federal Credit Union in New York; Caroline Willard, Cornerstone Credit Union League in Texas; and Johnson Wotu, Ghana Co-Operative Credit Unions Association in Ghana.
Training Staff
The program was facilitated by Christopher Morris from CUNA and Josh Smith from SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union in California. Onsite event coordination was done by Maggie Wolff from the Foundation. The class was mentored by a group of six credit union professionals and CUDE alumni: Kathy Chartier from Members Credit Union in Connecticut; Kristina Grebner from CUNA in Wisconsin; Angela McCathran from People’s Trust FCU in Texas; Ty Robins from People’s Trust FCU in Texas; Erika Romenesko from CUNA Mutual Group in Tennessee, and Joe Woods from Dolphin Debit Access in Ohio.
2019 DE Trainings
The Foundation said it will host four DE Trainings in 2019 in Madison, Wis. More information can be found at ncuf.coop.