The site of CUNA's GAC, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C. (Source: Dorti/Shutterstock)
In its 14-year history since Filene Research Institute launched The Cooperative Trust, several hundred young credit union professionals have been selected to be Crashers at CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in Washington, D.C. This year, 58 Crashers from 48 states and three countries have been chosen from a record number of applicants to Crash the GAC.
According to a post on Filene's website Thursday, 233 Crasher applications were sent in to attend the GAC happening in late February.
The Cooperative Trust's leader and Filene's Community Development Director, Cortney Arnold, said, "The Cooperative Trust is thrilled to welcome the newest cohort of emerging leaders to Crash the GAC in 2023. This group of rising professionals are the future of credit unions, and it is an honor to be part of history as we make space for them and where they will lead the industry in the decades to come. We know these Crashers will bring spirit, passion and hopefully a little bit of good fun and disruption to CUNA GAC."
The Cooperative Trust is considered the largest young professionals community in the credit union industry.
According to Filene, the 2023 Crasher group consists of young professionals from nearly every state in the U.S., as well as WYCUP Scholarship winners from Africa, Australia and Ukraine.
The Crash the GAC program is funded by CUNA and other League partners.
CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle said, "Congratulations to this year's class of GAC Crashers! We're excited to welcome this engaged group of young credit union professionals to our movement's premier advocacy event. They'll have plenty to experience at the 2023 CUNA GAC, including amazing networking opportunities and the chance to advocate for the credit union difference to policymakers firsthand."
According to the post on Filene's website, Crashers will be involved in discussion panels about "leadership development, credit union history, community partnerships, engagement and key advocacy topics."
"This group of rising professionals are the future of credit unions, and it is an honor to be part of history as we make space for them and where they will lead the industry in the decades to come," the post read.
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
