MADISON, Wis. - Filene Research Institute announced that 16 credit union executives have been accepted to its Filene i3 program, which was formed to "foster the development of new ideas and innovations" for CUs.
Each new Filene i3 member will serve a two-year term at Harvard University starting in December.
Filene i3 members will be expected to build and test innovating concepts, piloting ideas in their credit union, attending two national meetings per year, and participating in regular group work.
The sixteen new members are: Christopher Court, VP-accounting and operations at Service 1st FCU, Danville, Pa.; Laura Eblen, AVP-strategic initiatives at Mazuma CU, Overland Park, Kan.; Mary Estes, EVP at First Commerce CU, Tallahassee, Fla.; Danielle Frawley, chief retail officer at Fort Community CU, Fort Atkinson, Wis.; Amy Fuller, VP-communications & marketing at Catalyst Corporate FCU, Plano, Tex.; Ben Hering, business development specialist at Affinity Plus FCU, St. Paul, Minn.; Ericka Hewitt, senior manager of corporate planning at Coastal Community CU, Galveston, Tex.; Kyndle Huey, director of marketing at America's First FCU, Birmingham, Ala.; Rob Keatts, VP-information technology at Grow Financial FCU, Tampa, Fla.; Brice Mindrum, mobile services manager at America First CU, Riverdale, Utah; Martin Reed, AVP-marketing & research at Central 1 CU, Vancouver, B.C.; Robbie Roberson, director of retail operations-corporate at Oregon Community CU, Eugene, Ore., Steven Schmidle, SVP-finance at Elevations CU, Boulder, Colo.; Tobi Weingart, organizational development manager at Educators CU, Mount Pleasant, Wis.; Blake Woods, innovation catalyst at Lake Trust CU, Lansing, Mich.; and Gwen Yamamoto Lau, SVP & chief lending officer at HawaiiUSA FCU, Honolulu.
"Credit unions face non-traditional competitors, disruptive technologies, and increasing demands from consumers," said Andrew Downin, innovation director at Filene, in a statement. "Our industry needs to challenge conventional thinking and processes in order to compete in today's market and meet member demand. Filene i3 innovators are going to lead the way."
Steve Webb , chief operations officer at Neighbors FCU, Baton Rouge, La., and former Filene i3 innovator, commented: "Historically Filene, especially i3, has been considered to be the brain trust for our industry. They think bigger, they think broader and these attributes are very appealing to me both personally and professionally."
Filene added that more than 30 former Filene i3 innovators have gone on to become CEO of a credit union or system organization.
