Breakouts
As credit unions prepare for 2027, uncertainty surrounding rates, liquidity, loan growth, and credit conditions continue to complicate planning efforts. This session will examine how ALM forecasting can be used to project balance sheet growth, evaluate alternative rate scenarios, model changing loan and deposit mix, and assess the potential impacts on earnings, liquidity, and capital. Attendees will gain practical insights they can apply to budgeting, ALCO discussions, and strategic planning.
Aaron Martini - Catalyst
Hosted by: Accounting & Finance Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMBeyond Budgets: The Psychology of Money Through a Neuroinclusive Lens
Why do intelligent, motivated people make financial decisions they later regret? Traditional financial education often focuses on what people should do, yet lasting behavior change rarely comes from information alone. Money decisions are shaped by a complex interaction of emotions, beliefs, habits, cognitive processes, social influences, and lived experiences.
In this engaging and interactive session, participants will explore a three-dimensional view of financial behavior that moves beyond judgment and assumption. Drawing from behavioral science, psychology, and the NeuroInclusive Financial Framework (NIFF-ty), attendees will learn how executive functioning, emotional regulation, and social cognition influence people's relationship with money. Participants will discover practical coaching and teaching strategies that help individuals uncover what matters most to them, align actions with personal values, and build supportive structures that make change more achievable.
Attendees will leave with a more compassionate, effective approach to helping people create meaningful and sustainable financial change.
Andy Manthei - GreenPath Financial Wellness
Hosted by: Financial Wellness Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PMBeyond the Hype: Positioning Your Credit Union for AI and Stablecoins
Why do some technologies create sustainable competitive advantage while others consume investment and attention without delivering meaningful results?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Stablecoins are advancing rapidly, but their significance extends far beyond technology. The real challenge for leaders is determining where to invest, how quickly to move, and what role these capabilities should play in the future of their organization. The decisions made today will influence member experience, operating efficiency, growth, risk, and long-term competitive position. In this executive-focused session, participants will explore two technologies that are reshaping financial services.
The first section examines the evolution of AI: from tools that generate content to intelligent agents that can coordinate activities, support decisions, and execute work with increasing autonomy. Participants will explore why successful AI adoption begins with business strategy, not technology strategy, and how leading organizations are aligning AI investments to measurable outcomes, governance requirements, and enterprise priorities.
The second section demystifies stablecoins and examines what their growth could mean for payments, deposits, liquidity, revenue models, and member relationships. Participants will explore how to move beyond speculation and determine a defensible position, one grounded in strategic intent, operational realities, market signals, and institutional strengths.
Participants will leave with practical frameworks to define an AI strategy, evaluate build-versus-buy decisions, prioritize investment opportunities, and develop a stablecoin position aligned to their organization's strategic objectives. More importantly, participants will leave better equipped to separate signal from noise, ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and make informed decisions about two technologies that are reshaping the future of financial services and the world.
Mitchell Fong - Info-Tech Research Group
Hosted by: Board Volunteers Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMDemystifying GEO
Great storytelling has always helped brands earn attention. In the age of AI, it also helps brands earn visibility. In this forward-looking session, Liesel Olson will explore why cohesive brand narratives, clear messaging and credible expertise have become essential signals for both consumers and the large language models increasingly shaping online discovery. Designed for credit union marketing leaders, this 90-minute breakout will demystify GEO, explain how AI search differs from traditional SEO, and show how organizations can translate their existing strengths, member-focused stories, community impact and subject matter expertise into content that resonates with human audiences while also earning recognition from AI-powered search platforms.
From content structure and messaging to thought leadership, PR and reputation signals, attendees will leave with a practical framework for improving discoverability in AI-powered search and a roadmap for adapting their content programs to this rapidly evolving landscape in order to become part of the answer, not just another result.
Liesel Olson - Hiebing
Dan Martin - Hiebing
Hosted by: Marketing & Business Development Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMFrom Data to Action: Modernizing Credit Union Operations Through Analytics and Automation
Luke Ratlif will talk about how, whether you're running a dashboard, launching a marketing automation campaign, or experimenting with AI, the output is only as good as the data underneath it. This session steps back from any specific tool and focuses on the foundational work that makes all of it possible: consolidating data from scattered core and ancillary systems, eliminating silos, and translating cryptic technical fields into language your whole institution can actually understand and trust. We'll walk through real examples of what happens when that foundation is missing, and what changes when it's done right, so attendees leave with a practical framework for evaluating their own data readiness, no matter what they plan to build on top of it.
Eric Hilaire’s session will explore practical strategies to strengthen branch operations, reduce operational risk, improve accountability, and increase visibility into day-to-day activities. Attendees will gain insight into proven approaches to create greater consistency across branches, enhance compliance readiness, and improve operational efficiency. Participants will leave with actionable ideas they can apply regardless of their institution's size, operating model, or stage of process modernization.
Learning Objectives:
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Learn proven best practices from former banking leaders to improve branch operations, consistency, and employee accountability.
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Identify practical ways to reduce operational risk and strengthen compliance through standardized branch processes.
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Leave with actionable strategies to improve efficiency, enhance the employee experience, and build a stronger operational foundation for future growth.
Luke Ratliff - Arkatechture
Eric Hilaire - VaultRight
Hosted by: Technology Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMFrom Repo to Recovery: Maximizing Every Dollar on Charged-Off Auto Loans
Kevin will walk through CULS's approach to repossession, remarketing, and recovery. He'll cover their strategic use of multiple nationwide agents, the real costs of repossession, and how to hold agents accountable. He'll also share their process and the realized benefits of a national remarketing agency. On the recovery side, he'll discuss use of outside agencies, the impact of product cancellations, and how important technology and persistence have become for maximizing recovery dollars.
Kevin Usiatynski - Credit Union Loan Source
Hosted by: Lending & Collections Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PMFrom Strategy to Impact: Executing with Precision and Aligning Resources for Results
This session explores how organizations can bridge the gap between strategic planning and real-world results by focusing on effective execution and resource alignment.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Translate high-level strategy into clear, actionable priorities.
- Align people, processes, and budgets to support strategic goals.
- Build systems of accountability and feedback to track progress and adapt quickly.
- Foster cross-functional collaboration to eliminate silos and maximize impact.
Key Takeaways:
- A practical framework for turning strategy into day-to-day action.
- Tools for aligning teams and resources around what matters most.
- Insights into overcoming common execution barriers.
Ideal for:
Executives, strategy leaders, and operational managers seeking to improve execution discipline and ensure resources are driving strategic outcomes.
Robyn Dietrich - West Community Credit Union
Lorene Meyer - West Community Credit Union
Hosted by: Human Resources/Diversity & Belonging Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PMNavigating the Future of Payments: RTP, FedNow, Fraud Ops & Digital Assets for Credit Unions
As credit unions begin strategic planning for 2027 and beyond, payment operations are shifting rapidly under the pressure of new real-time payment expectations, sophisticated fraud vectors, and emerging digital asset capabilities.
In this session, BankSocial leadership will guide Council members through the key shifts impacting credit union payment strategies. Rather than treating payment rails and fraud operations as separate challenges, John Wingate and Eric Kugle will explore how credit unions can modernize their infrastructure cleanly while safeguarding the member experience.
Key Takeaways:
- Real-Time Payment Trends: How RTP and FedNow adoption are redefining operational expectations for credit unions.
- Modern Fraud & Identity Verification: Practical strategies for mitigating emerging fraud risks without creating friction for members.
- Stablecoins, Tokenization & Crypto Preparedness: What financial leaders must know about stablecoins and digital assets to prepare their institutions for future demand.
- Interactive Council Discussion: Real-time polling and open Q&A to benchmark your institution's priorities against peers.
John Wingate - BankSocial
Eric Kugle - BankSocial
Hosted by: Payments & Operations Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PMThe 3 Things Credit Unions Need to Know About AI Right Now
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday credit union operations, sometimes with management’s approval and sometimes without it. This session focuses on three critical AI issues every credit union should understand right now: establishing appropriate AI policies and controls, protecting confidential member and credit union information, and recognizing the risks created by inaccurate or unreliable AI-generated results. We’ll also address the growing challenge of unauthorized employee use of AI tools and practical steps credit unions can take to manage AI without unnecessarily restricting its benefits. AI can be an incredible tool, but only if your credit union knows where the guardrails belong.
Participants will learn how to:
- Build the right AI governance framework: Understand why credit unions need an AI policy now and the essential controls, responsibilities, and acceptable-use standards it should contain.
- Protect privacy and control unauthorized AI use: Identify the risks of employees entering member, employee, proprietary, or confidential information into public AI platforms and establish practical guardrails.
- Never blindly trust the output: Recognize hallucinations, errors, outdated information, bias, and other limitations of AI-generated results and establish appropriate human review and verification requirements.
David Reed - Reed & Jolly
Hosted by: Compliance & Audit Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PMWhy Today's Fraud Solutions Don't Work, and What Credit Unions Need to Do to Protect Members
Fraud is at an all-time high. According to the FTC, reported fraud losses have increased more than 40% over the last two years, and nearly half of fraud attempts on financial institutions are now AI-driven. New scams emerge every day, triggering fresh waves of loss.
In this session, we'll explore:
- Why today's fraud solutions miss the mark
- Why your processor isn't always your friend, but it can be
- Effective ways credit unions can prevent fraud
- How credit unions can build a cooperative framework to prevent future fraud
Greg Lenihan - Rippleshot
Hosted by: Fraud Council
Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM