Filene Research Institute

In this episode of the Filene Fill-In, Filene CEO Mark Meyer and Executive Vice President Christie Kimbell reflect on what they heard from credit union leaders in 2025 and what those signals suggest about the road ahead. They unpack the realities of leadership right now, including challenges around pace, courage, and alignment and how these issues are connected to Filene’s 2026 theme, Remarkable. You’ll hear from Mark about what it means for credit unions to be remarkable and some of the top opportunities for leadership to meet these moments. The episode also includes on-the-ground stories from First City Credit Union and East Rise Credit Union that illustrate what it means to be remarkable in their communities. At the end of the episode we mention a few standout reports related to our conversation today including: Cooperative Comebacks: https://www.filene.org/reports/cooperative-comebacks-resilience-in-the-face-of-the-hurricane-katrina-catastrophe Worth Protecting:https://www.filene.org/blog/worth-protecting-credit-union-disaster-research And our series on Innovations in Affordable Housing: https://www.filene.org/reports/housing-innovation-series For upcoming publications mentioned or more of our work check us out directly at https://Filene.org.

In this Design for Digital Takeover of the Filene Fill-In, host Jerry Kane talks with Sumeet Grover, EVP and Chief Strategic Growth and Digital Officer at University Federal Credit Union (UFCU), about leading digital transformation in a member-centric organization. Sumeet shares how breaking silos, rethinking the operating model, and embedding digital as a business discipline—not just a project—are key to sustained growth. He explains why frictionless beats flashy, how personalization builds trust, and why branches still matter in a digital-first world. The conversation also explores AI’s real potential versus its hype, and how agility and trust can coexist in regulated environments. Listeners will come away with practical insights into designing for digital as an enterprise habit, not a headline.

You know their names, ages, incomes and balances…but does that tell you who your members are? Does it tell you their motivations? How about actionable insights for helping meet their needs in the way that works best for them? It's no surprise that people with similar demographics can exhibit vastly different consumer behaviors... But a couple of strategy and marketing leaders in today’s episode believe Filene’s new segmentation model could be revolutionary for credit unions. In this episode, Filene’s Taylor Nelms guides a conversation with the credit union early adopters of Filene’s Member Voice segmentation tool. We’ll hear from Tricia Beeker, Vice President of Marketing and Lisa Warlick, Manager of Marketing Analytics at Truliant Federal Credit Union, as well as Ryan Zilker, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Sound Credit Union. They'll share candid insights from their journey with Member Voice, revealing how it's shaping their strategies and integrating with their operations. A key takeaway they've shared is the realization that readiness isn't a prerequisite for starting with Member Voice. Instead, it's a tool that prepares them for the future, sparking ideas and opportunities they couldn't have anticipated. You’ll also soon hear how the power of collaboration is helping them as they go through this segmentation work together -- each with their own unique set of goals, strategies and outcomes for it. They’ve only got one question for you – why wouldn’t you want this information at your fingertips?! Stay tuned as we dive into their experiences and learnings, right here on The Filene Fill-In.

Today’s episode is very special – we have a guest on that is well known in the financial world from a national media stage -- and we are unpacking everything about a new, highly valuable Filene member benefit offered through a new partnership between Filene and HerMoney. Jean Chatzky is a former financial editor of NBC’s TODAY Show, bestselling author, award-winning personal finance journalist and advisor to major media companies & financial firms across the country. The company Jean founded, called HerMoney, makes one of the country’s leading taboos – talking about money-- more accessible, educational and fun, because of how they have figured out how to meet people where they are with the financial content they want. Helping people connect, learn and take action on their finances with confidence is the winning strategy that enabled the company to gain more than 550,000 followers on social media, more than 250,000 podcast listens a month, 2 million annual website visitors, and more than 100,000 newsletter subscribers. By partnering with Filene, HerMoney is bringing that same high-quality financial education content and customizing it for credit unions to personalize and share directly with their members every month. The goal of this effort is twofold – make life easier for every credit union marketing professional with a full plate, and to enable credit unions to engage members where they are while being more effective in their work to improve consumer financial well-being.

Today’s conversation is about Financial Well Being… well actually to be more specific, financial well being for all. For a substantial portion of households, day-to-day financial struggles remain profound in the face of persistent financial fragility and inequity. According to the Financial Health Network’s U.S. Financial Health Pulse, 2 out of 3 Americans are not financially healthy and stark disparities remain across gender, race/ethnicity, and income. This is not new information, and it is frustrating to feel like this persistent problem will only continue to persist or worsen in today’s social, economic and political environment. But there are things that credit unions can do and are doing to make a difference in people’s lives, one member at a time. Putting this consumer sentiment at the center of credit union decision-making and product and service delivery not only supports a credit union’s business goals and mission around advancing financial health and well-being through responsible lending products, higher savings rates, and financial education – but it also helps credit unions navigate supercharged digital transformation in a financial industry where fintechs have completely changed the competitive landscape. Today's expert is Michelle Christie, Senior Manager, Financial Inclusion and Impact, at the National Credit Union Foundation—she brings a wealth of knowledge and boots on the ground tangible experience on how credit union are, and can continue to, advance financial well-being for all whom they serve. Follow along with this interview by downloading the guide we reference at filene.org/557

Let’s take a trip back in time to big.bright.minds 2021 where we ran into a very enthusiastic supporter of the Filene i3 program – Randy Stolp. Now, Randy promised he had a very unique and interesting story about how he came to be part of i3 and he definitely delivered. But before we get to that…let’s look back in time again, this time if we look ALL the way back in history, we see the organizations that implement innovations are the ones that succeed. But to be that kind of organization, we need to grow and develop innovative people. This is exactly what Randy is doing, and he serves as a model for not only how organizations can develop their people but how individuals can take hold of their own destiny, push out of their comfort zone and get there even faster. Filene’s latest edition of The Asterisk magazine is all about Innovation & Incubation. For more on innovating out of the comfort zone, check out The Asterisk Vol. 9 on Filene’s website at filene.org/theasterisk. In it, you will learn how Filene Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Robinson of our Center for Innovation & Incubation defines innovation. He says that “innovation is really applied creativity and that it’s nice to have ideas but turning them into practices, products or approaches that improve upon something else is really what innovation is about. If you know much about the i3 program, you know that it is comprised of the industry’s most innovative leaders, so this episode is dedicated to the ones that push boundaries and expand their comfort zones. The secret sauce of Filene’s recipe for innovation is not just talking about ideas but rather taking them to the next step-- into incubation and maybe even, if they prove worthy, into implementation. Dr. Robinson works with all sorts of organizations from start ups to fortune 500s and he reminds us that credit unions will need to focus on innovation within their organizations to remain competitive. He’s never been subtle about his point: if we don’t innovate, we die. This may be true – and Chief Information Officer Randy Stolp from My Community Credit Union is doing something about that…here’s his story.

1 in 5 credit union members report that they would be willing to leave their credit union for a bank if innovation was not a priority. If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you know that we often bring our research fellows on so that you have a chance to hear directly from them, get to know a little more about the work they are doing and learn about the focus of the research centers they lead. In March, we officially launched our 6th and final research center of excellence on credit union innovation and incubation. This center studies current trends for how credit unions can respond to members’ desire for greater financial service innovations that meet their evolving needs and preferences. It also explores the general state of innovation across the credit union system. To help credit unions succeed in building cultures, processes and systems for innovation, Filene has enlisted Dr. Jeffrey Robinson, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship and Academic Director of the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development at Rutgers Business School to lead this Center. We're excited to welcome Dr. Robinson on the show today. Also joining in our discussion and making his first appearing on the podcast is Filene’s Senior director of Incubation, Joshua Sledge. Together, Josh and Jeffrey are a tremendous resource for credit unions seeking ways to build their innovation muscles as well as give guidance to leading innovative credit unions on what’s on the horizon from their perspective. Register for our upcoming Innovation research event at filene.org/events

Data is an amazing thing. It tells us who we are and what we do. And while predicting the choices, preferences and behaviors of one person is nearly impossible, predicting this for many people is a lot easier through the power of data analysis. Once-hidden patterns are revealed, structure emerges, and our data becomes our vision into the future. If you were told that 4 out of every 10 members will have an interest in product X after they use product Y, would this be valuable information to have? While generally interesting, it’s more than a headline that gets article clicks. We’re able to use data analytics to make decisions in our strategies that will give us more of what we want and less of what we don’t want. Think about the time and money saved alone in better targeted marketing campaigns. It’s undeniable that successful data analytics can create immense value for your organization. This power though, like any other, can be used for the good of many or exploited for the good of few. This is why there is both challenge and opportunity especially for credit unions to use their vast amounts of data to grow and lift their mission, to fulfill their purpose of serving the needs of those otherwise left out of the financial services equation, and to take a step in front of the crowd and lead as an example of what ethical use of data looks like. In today’s episode you will hear what credit union leaders told us interests them about building cultures of and ecosystems for better data analytics in their organizations – and ultimately why this led Filene to dedicate a research center of excellence to this topic. You’ll get the inside view on what this research will entail directly from the academic heart of the whole operation – aka our research fellow for the Center, Dr. Cheri Speier-Pero, Professor of Information Systems at Michigan State University. It is her mission to help leaders move ideas forward through the ethical implementation of new value-creating technologies and systems. Take a listen now as Dr. Speier-Pero and Filene’s Paul Dionne enlighten us to why no matter where your organization is on its data analytics journey, this research will appeal to and is essential for everyone on the path. For resources mentioned herein, visit filene.org/data for all reports produced in this Research Center; visit filene.org/blog to find Cheri's webinar content; and visit filene.org/analyticsecosystem to register for Filene's first-ever Data Analytics research event on January 26-27.

We’ve witnessed how much of our societal and economic infrastructure has failed--or is brought to the precipice of failure--with any amount of stress put on it over the last handful of months. Smart organizations right now are looking for ways to infuse innovation into their very DNA: their organizational culture – and create solutions to the most pressing needs of their customers, while energizing their leaders and teams. I wanted to learn more about how an organization gets there – how they shift their organizational culture to be one where innovation is fundamentally centered – and I know no better resource on the topic than my friend and colleague at Filene, Erin Coleman. Erin is Filene’s Senior Director of Advisory Services and has a long history of working with credit unions. What follows is a wide-ranging discussion on why innovation matters in tried-and-true business like financial services, how an organization becomes innovative--the real kind, not just the buzzwordy use of it on websites and in press releases-- and most importantly, in a year as crazy as 2020, have the rules changed about innovation? Done well, real innovation helps your organization jump the line – to be first with a real solution your members really seek, applying your organization’s real-time greatest strengths to deliver what is needed. Through both structured and informal testing and iteration, real innovation is within anyone’s reach – your greatest opportunities are there for the taking, you just have to take them first. To all our listeners here, I hope you do reach out and grab hold of those failures you see happening all around us, and apply a mindset of innovation to turn those into the opportunities we, as both consumers and business professionals need. I know Filene and Erin can help you get started on your path to get there. Reach out to Erin at erinc@filene.org -- but first, take a listen…

This episode brings you insights from Filene Fellow Huggy Rao, professor of organizational behavior and human resources at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. Huggy will make you see the link between what you do and the way you do it, and your performance outcomes. Huggy isn’t your typical professor, you will be well entertained by his colorful language and metaphors throughout. Get inspired by his recommendation to strengthen your help muscle more than your sell muscle. As he said, when you lead with the help muscle by setting up the incentives, culture, and organizational design right, you’ll make your employees feel physically and psychologically safe and your members feel like you acknowledge and care about their best interests. Do as Huggy suggests, and use this as an opportunity and not a threat. Filene is having a virtual event on June 16-17 to explore and unpack Huggy's research on organizational effectiveness and excellence. If you’re listening to this before then, please be sure you’re registered to attend this free event at filene.org/artandscience and if you're listening after, you can recap what we discussed at the event on Filene’s website so check out filene.org to see what we have for you to learn under our Operations tab. Oh and one last thing -- Huggy wanted to share his recipe recommendations with our listeners: "Here is a fun recipe for a chickpea dish that folks can riff off. (https://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/2019/12/ottolenghi-instagram-inspired-butter.html). As for cocktails, my current favorite (given the meyer lemon trees in our backyard) is a rosemary grapefruit martini."

On January 13, 2020, Filene officially launched our new Center of Excellence for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, led by Dr. Quinetta Roberson of Villanova University. Hear directly from Quinetta in this episode about the work she will be doing, why she feels this research – specifically looking at the interactions between the concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion separately and together -- is so groundbreaking not only for credit unions but for all businesses, and how she came to find her passion for being a researcher and teacher. The DEI research center is a five-year project aimed to explore DEI opportunities and challenges for credit unions to better serve their members and attract, retain, and develop top talent. The outputs will build on the credit union system's DEI foundation to conduct applied research to help the industry understand how to leverage diversity, equity, and inclusion to create business value and drive performance. We couldn’t be more excited to get to know a bit more about our newest research fellow! Check out filene.org/dei for more details

For this first episode in 2020 of our podcast, I asked Filene’s entire research team to reflect back and pick what they saw as the most essential research insight from our 2019 library. Then I asked each to give a preview of one report they are excited about sharing with you all in the year ahead. The team shared insights about the importance of your employee’s financial well-being; smart strategies for serving independent workers with the specific financial products they need; how to provide affordable and responsible funding, services, and support to small businesses and entrepreneurs; design principles that result in user friendly fintech apps and happier, financially fitter members; primary research findings from our member experience report series and the unexpected value proposition of employee turnover. Links below. Throughout 2020, look out for more research and innovation opportunities for your organization to better understand and serve the financial needs of underserved and vulnerable households, better serving commercial businesses, providing financial services for community members that have experienced trauma, even more from our member experience series, and a very interesting piece exploring empathy and intimacy in artificial intelligence. There is a lot of new, unique and valuable research planned for the year ahead so take what you’ve learned in 2019 and get out there to make this year your smartest, savviest, most life-changing one yet. Taylor’s pick: The Case for Workplace Financial Well-being: The View from Credit Unions: filene.org/480 Laura’s Pick: Meeting the Needs of Independent Workers at Vancity Credit Union: filene.org/475 Laura’s Pick: Small Business Lending & Independent Worker Resource Guide: filene.org/492 Paul’s Pick: The Lessons of Fintech Apps: Design Matters for Personal Finance: filene.org/487 Elry’s Pick: Member Experience and Service Excellence, Part 1: Member Compatibility and Operational Transparency: filene.org/476 Elry’s Pick: Member Experience and Service Excellence, Part 2: Do Strategies Focused on Member Experience Impact Credit Union Performance?: filene.org/488 George’s Pick: Leveraging Employee Loss for Employee Gain: filene.org/479 Holly’s Pick: Who Do Credit Unions Belong To?: filene.org/470