Nina Myers, VP of Operations at Fitzsimons Credit Union, joined forty-five other credit union professionals in Madison, Wis. in a comprehensive training program to become Credit Union Development Educators (CUDEs). The training program took place during the week of September 13 – 20, 2017 and was organized by the National Credit Union Foundation.
The intensive Credit Union Development Education (DE) Training emphasized credit union philosophy principles, issues the cooperative movement is facing internationally, and incorporated the challenges credit unions are facing today and in the future, with the continuous evolving financial landscape. The program allowed credit union professionals to have discussions with credit union movement leaders and prioritized team projects to propose solutions to obstacles credit unions encounter daily. The case studies and topics of interest during the program included financial stability among young adults and families, credit union solutions to predatory lending, rejuvenating credit unions that are facing decline, increasing credit union board development engagement, engaging in the increasing issue of homelessness in America and the underbanked.
Once the program is over, credit union professionals return to their roles with renewed passion and impart the knowledge they have acquired on their credit union and the communities they serve. Programs like (DE) put emphasis on the credit union philosophy of, “people helping people” and help continue the key components that makes credit unions different from traditional banks. The individuals that complete this program make a commitment to take the credit union message to audiences across the globe and to continuously look for ways to make improvements to the cooperative structure.
After completing the September DE Training, Nina Myers, VP of Operations at Fitzsimons Credit Union, had this to say about the program, “Beyond just a training, this was a true-life experience. While many classes can teach you the business side of running a credit union, becoming a development educator means focusing on the reasons why credit unions are truly a better choice for consumers. We learned about the challenges our members face every day and how to approach our jobs from a place of empathy and understanding.”