Chip Filson

A Midwesterner by birth and upbringing, Chip Filson grew up in small towns where people mostly knew each other.  Families got together after church for lunch on Sundays and holidays.   Extended reunions would take place every summer in a local park as most relatives lived driving distance from each other.

After college Chip wanted to see the world.   He Spent two years at Oxford, four years with Uncle Sam on USS Windham Cty LST-1170, and at NSD Yokosuka, Japan.  These overseas adventures were capped off by three years in Sydney Australia where he worked as an International Banking Officer for the First National Bank of Chicago in the local Representative Office.

Returning to the US with two daughters who spoke Aussie (lasted about three weeks), Chip took a job as Credit Union Supervisor for the State of Illinois along with two wonderful colleagues Ed Callahan and Bucky Sebastian.  After five years, the three friends traveled together to Washington DC to be part of the leadership team at NCUA from October 1981 through May 1985.   Ed was Chair of the NCUA Board, Bucky Executive Director and General Counsel, and Chip was Director of the Office of Programs.  This office included President of the CLF, oversight of the NCUSIF and the office of examination and insurance.

In both regulatory roles they experienced and helped transform the regulators and credit unions to the new era of deregulation.  As Ed described this goal, it was to transfer responsibility for the business decisions of credit unions to the Boards and managers, those closest to the members, and away from the government.

In April 1985 the three men co-founded Callahan and associates, from which Chip retired in 2018, converting the firm to employee owned,  or ESOP.

Chip’s current interests include a blog on credit unions at Just a Member. He and his wife, Joan, enjoy gardening, continuing to sing in community choirs, and staying in touch with friends and family.