Northwest Young Professionals Network

We’re working in collaboration with young professional groups across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to unite the future leaders of the Credit Union Movement. Find out more about the region’s YP groups below.

YCUP Oregon & SW Washington

YCUP was founded by young credit union professionals back in 2008 at the Credit Union Association of Oregon’s (now Northwest Credit Union Association) Annual Meeting. This passionate and dedicated crew believes that the credit union movement is deserving of youthful innovation and impact. We are the future, and the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

YCUP Board Members 
Michael Murdoch, President
Alicia Finch, Secretary, Treasurer
Hayley Andrews, Vice President of Communication
Kim Preston, Director of Events
Nick Hellmich, Recruitment Officer
Edina Rizvic, Member
Shannon Cahoon, Member 
Evan Strandberg, Member
Toni Mathews, Member
Crystal Rustad, Member 

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CLIMB Idaho

Climb Idaho seeks to establish and grow the credit union movement among young professionals across the state. Inspired by the Crash Movement by The Cooperative Trust/Filene Research Institute, Climb Idaho began in 2014 when nine credit union employees from across the state were brought together with help from the Idaho Credit Union League. The goal was and remains to discuss and collaborate on ways Idaho can increase engagement and enthusiasm among young professionals to strengthen retention and increase the profile of the credit union movement not only within Idaho, but across the country in coordination with other young professional networks.

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YCUP Greater Seattle Area

Young Credit Union Professionals of the Greater Seattle Area was founded in 2016. The group’s mission is to promote interest, cooperation, and education among emerging credit union professionals who consider themselves young at heart.

Contact YCUP Greater Seattle Area

Inland Northwest YCUP

The Inland Northwest YCUP works with young credit union professionals in the Inland Northwest to provide real world skills that will help move their careers, credit unions and our industry forward. We focus on leadership, education, advocacy and putting our philosophy into action. We work together to build and sustain a strong network of young credit union professionals that are ready and willing to step up when their members, their credit union or their community calls.

Contact Inland Northwest YCUP

Emerging Credit Union Leaders of Alaska (ECULA)

ECULA-Emerging Credit Union Leaders of Alaska seeks to remove the geographical barriers of the great land of Alaska, to bring together emerging credit union leaders within the state for the good of the movement. ECULA meets monthly via virtual channel to provide a space for young professionals to discuss the industry, their interests, network from a distance, and learn from guest speakers on a variety of topics. ECULA has successfully worked with the volunteer Alaska Credit Union League to provide additional, in person, training and scholarship opportunities.

Contact ECULA

Emerging Leaders

The Northwest Credit Union Association and the DDJ Myers Advancing Leadership Institute are partnering to present a career development program to help you find your leadership voice. The program includes nine days of face-to-face training with coaching and mentoring in between. Participants are guided through project work that will benefit their credit unions, and their professional growth. Training will focus on strategy, assessment skills, leadership models, and the language of leadership.

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Chapters

The Association’s Chapter program promotes unity among credit unions in a local area through communication, networking, training, and participation in community, state, and national projects that support the cooperative spirit of the Credit Union Movement.

Chapters

NWCUA Events Calendar

Check out the NWCUA Events Calendar for more information about upcoming webinars, training, councils, and more.

View Calendar

Numerous career development resources are available to you on a regional and national level. Follow the links below to find out more about how you can advance your star in the Credit Union Movement.

Western CUNA Management School

For more than 55 years, Western CUNA Management School has helped to transform students into passionate strategic leaders through rigorous college level education. The school is targeted to managers and upper level operational staff. College credit is available after completion of the three-year program for those who are interested.

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Credit Union Development Educator (DE) Program

The National Credit Union Foundation’s DE program is a transformative Credit Union Training Program for Credit Union Professionals. The week-long training provides critical lessons in cooperative principles, credit union philosophy and international development issues while incorporating challenges credit unions face today.

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CUNA Professional Development Online (CPD Online)

Through a partnership with an award-winning learning management system, CPD Online is a centralized training hub for your credit union to track measurable and encouraging independent learning.

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CUES Next Top Credit Union Executive

This annual contest shines a light on the top up and coming talent in the credit union industry. Each year, more than $50,000 in prizes are awarded plus the title of CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec.

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Filene i3 program

Filene’s renowned i3 (Ideas, Innovation, Implementation) program brings together the best and the brightest next generation of credit union leaders and sets them loose on the consumer finance industry’s most flummoxing problems. i3 counts more than 200 innovations centered around building operational efficiency, generating loans, mobilizing savings, reaching communities, and strengthening membership.

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The Cooperative Trust – Upcoming Crash Events

Crash events are specific for young credit union professionals which are planned alongside an existing credit union conference. A big part of these meetups is ‘Crash’ sessions, in which industry mentors who lead our groups in open conversations around topics such as leadership, social responsibility, innovation, and more. Past guests have included current and former CUNA CEO’s; Jim Nussle and Bill Cheney, NCUF Executive Director; Gigi Hyland, Filene CEO; Mark Meyer and many more!

See Upcoming Crash Events

Continued education and training of credit union professionals and Directors helps keep the Credit Union Movement vibrant and competitive in the financial marketplace. We understand this can take a significant commitment of time and money.

The Northwest Credit Union Foundation provides scholarships awarding up to $1,500 per year for selected applicants.

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CULAC Kit – Resources related to CULAC fundraising.

LEAP Pillars – Leadership, Education, Advocacy, and Philosophy in Action are recommended areas of focus for chapters and other micro-communities to tailor programming around. Together, these pillars offer tangible opportunities for credit union professionals to have an impact on the broader CU movement.

#CUObsessed – #CUobsessed is about telling people the good news about why credit unions are different and the better choice for consumers!

Thank You To Our Year Long Supporting Partners!