CUNA Staff Handles Chief Advocacy Officer Duties for Now

After CUNA’s former chief advocacy officer Robert Lewis Jr. was abruptly fired after 22 days on the job last week, the national trade organization said it has decided not to name an interim CAO.

“Current staff will be handling the chief advocacy officer duties at this time,” Greg Michlig, CUNA’s chief engagement officer, said in an email on Thursday.

When asked about CUNA’s plans to search for Lewis’ replacement, no response was given. What’s more, when asked for comment on how Lewis’ departure might affect 2023’s GAC, which begins on Feb. 26, no response was given.

The CUNA board is expected to hold a meeting on Feb. 24.

Lewis was fired following a purported confrontation with CUNA CEO Jim Nussle and a racial allegation made by Lewis that he was a “token diversity hire.”

According to Lewis’ lawyers, David Sanford and Alok Nadig from the New York-based firm Sanford, Heisler, Sharp, LLP, just two days before Lewis’ termination, Nussle allegedly told Lewis that he (Nussle) “‘never had a Black direct report in his career before,’ and then said ‘I do not know how to manage you.’”

“How we see it is that CUNA anticipated that Robert Lewis would be a token diversity hire,” according to Lewis’ lawyers. “And when he attempted to actually do his job and exert authority over his majority white team, CUNA fired him after only 22 days.”

CUNA denied the allegations.

“CUNA will strongly defend unjustified claims and can clearly support its legitimate decision to terminate Robert Lewis,” CUNA said. “Mr. Lewis’s race was absolutely not a factor with regard to any employment decision and CUNA simply does not discriminate as to any protected characteristic.”

Lewis’ allegations also ran counter to Nussle’s leadership in promoting and implementing a number of industry-wide DEI initiatives and programs over the last several years.

In a January Q&A interview with Lewis that was scheduled to be published in the Feb. 22 print edition of CU Times, Lewis said he decided to interview for the second most important job at CUNA because of the organization’s top reputation.

“With Jim’s leadership, CUNA’s mission, resources and staff were all major factors in my decision,” he said. “Lastly, the credit union movement was a big draw, the passion and warmth of its members sealed the deal for me.”

After he began his new job on Jan. 3, Lewis said he immersed himself in all things credit union to gain an overview of where things were, so he could begin working with the CUNA team to identify and refine potential action and needs ahead.

“I’m not one of those guys that’s going to sit in a chair and relax – I’m always looking forward, shaking trees. The worst phrase is, ‘We’ve always done it this way,’” he said. “We should always expand how we think, how we address things and integrating all of our efforts with our overall advocacy goals.”