With more credit unions focusing on Diversity, EquityInclusion initiatives, the industry’s common challenge of a lack of board diversity is weighing more heavily on the minds of executives. Like many cooperatives, Seattle Credit Union’s previous board was composed of long-tenured members who had served for 30, 40, or even 50 years. Initial conversations about change were awkward, but change was necessary. Other cooperatives, like One Detroit Credit Union, have taken a different approach by recruiting associate board members and filling vacant board seats with younger voices as retirements naturally occurred.
During this webinar, Callahan Associates’ Alix Patterson moderartes an interactive discussion focused on how cooperatives can build more diverse boards and why now is the time to begin the process toward more fully representing their members. Join a panel of credit union executives as they share strategies to ensure cooperative boards fully represent their memberships. From the Pacific Northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountains, these leaders discuss how their credit unions approach board recruitment, make room for new voices through natural attrition or term limits and more. Panelists include Tonita Webb, EVP of Seattle Credit Union ($896M, Seattle, WA), Paul Phillips, CEO of Freedom First FCU ($716M, Roanoke, VA), and Hank Hubbard, CEO of One Detroit Credit Union ($50M, Detroit, MI).
