This session is sponsored by:
This August on "Shared Accounts With CU Times", we're diving into the world of payments! In our first episode of the month, hosts Michael Ogden and Natasha Chilingerian are joined by CU Times reporter (and our resident data analyst) Jim DuPlessis. First, he explains the backstory behind a recent unique piece of his, which detailed how credit union members are leaning politically, according to political donation spend data from June. Then, he provides background on the Velera Payments Index – a monthly report on credit union member spending trends produced by Velera (formerly PSCU/Co-op Solutions), which is also this month's podcast sponsor – and discusses how it factors into his reporting.
DuPlessis also offers insights into credit unions' share of credit card and consumer loan balances in comparison to banks, shares his thoughts on how inflation has impacted member spending, and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how he puts his data-driven stories together. Plus, you'll get the chance to get to know DuPlessis better outside the scope of his CU Times work, as he shares stories from his time as a newspaper reporter in Greenville, S.C., as well as what downtime looks like for him with his extended family both in his home base of Columbia, S.C., and sometimes-home of New Orleans.
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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.
