Be Fearless Presenters

Kat Perkins is a singer, songwriter, and nationally recognized motivational speaker who delivers her message to businesses, colleges, schools of all grade levels, corporate organizations, fundraisers, and leadership conferences of all types. Kat appeared on Season 6 of NBC’s The Voice and went all the way to the show’s finals on Team Adam Levine!

She can set the tone for people of all ages and each appearance comes with a musical performance!

Be Fearless Workshop
Tuesday, October 17, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Kat takes you on an interactive journey from what she learned on reality television to actual reality. She will help you explore leadership, teamwork, and attention to detail. Come, put more tools in your toolbox to become fearless and successful! Of course, Kat will sing as part of the session too!

Jack Stahlmann’s informative and educational presentations are built around his experiences in Los Angeles as an actor, producer, director — and of course, a waiter.

In Hollywood, he launched his own production company, which created several films that enjoyed international success, and was an assistant director for the Margaret Cho stand-up show, Cho Revolution.

As an actor, his shining moment came in a co-star role on the CBS drama Cold Case, where he played a wimpy park ranger. He also appeared on Days of Our Lives and several commercials.

Jack graduated with honors from DePauw University and has been a regular contributor to The Huffington Post. He currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.

HYPE Meet and Greet Breakfast Session
Wednesday, October 18, 7:30 – 8:30 a.m.

Jack will discuss his experiences in Hollywood and take questions from the group.

The It Factor of Fearlessness
Wednesday, October 18, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

This session examines the “it” quality movie starts possess that you can’t quite put your finger on … or can you? By sharing humorous and humbling tales of his own Tinseltown adventures, Jack breaks down the “it” factor that makes certain actors superstars and shares how you can use those lessons to become a star at your credit union.

Along this journey, you’ll learn about “The Gift” and how to channel your inner Clooney to make everyone you encounter feel like the most important person in the room. We’ll examine “The Shift” by exploring the secret sauce that has given Tom Hanks such career longevity in an ever-changing industry. And with “The Connect” we will dive into ways you can be more memorable to anyone you meet — and it might be as simple as wearing a Dolly Parton tee shirt. For real.

You could call this presentation the spoonful of sugar with the medicine because it delivers the fun and humor you want with the applicable takeaways that you just might need.

Denise Wymore is a credit union lifer. She started her career as a teller at a credit union in Portland, Oregon, over 35 years ago and moved up and around the organizational chart before heading out on her own to start her consulting business.

As a consultant, she specializes in helping credit unions tell their story, both internally and externally. She has worked with credit unions all over the U.S. ranging in asset size from $3 million to $3 billion. She’s facilitated strategic planning and turned “me too” brands into something worth talking about.

She’s the author of two books: Tattoos: The Ultimate Proof of a Successful Brand and The 2020 Vision of Marketing.

Denise is a graduate of Western CUNA Management School, a certified Net Promoter® Score Associate, and in 2012, she was named a CU Times Woman to Watch. On September 29, 2022, she was inducted into the “Credit Union Women Making History…Herstory” Hall of Fame. Denise has spoken for CUES, CUNA, WOCCU, and almost every credit union league in the United States.

In New Mexico she spearheaded the Keep It Co-Op campaign that has united all cooperatives in Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and Espanola. Denise and her husband both hold an Advanced Emergency Medical Technician license and volunteer with the Cochiti Fire Department.

Innovation in Credit Unions, an Oxymoron?
Wednesday, October 18, 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

Credit unions are not known as innovators. At our very best we are “fast followers.” But innovation does not have to be that hard. Denise will go over the four types of innovation: the problem solver, the preventer, the improver, and the creator. And she’ll share some great examples of how CUSOs and credit unions have led the way when they take the risk and try something new.

Balaji Rangachari is Vice President, Northwest Division Executive for Co-op Solutions  (www.coop.org), a payments and financial technology provider to credit unions. Balaji has been a thought leader in the payments industry for more than 20 years, having served with Co-op for 14 years and with Fidelity National Information Services for 10 years prior to joining Co-op. Balaji holds a master’s degree in computer applications, a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, and attended CUNA Management School, earning the distinction of Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE).

Planning for Growth: Understanding the Market Outlook, Money Movement, and Consumer Expectations
Wednesday, October 18, 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Co-op Solutions has performed extensive research on financial institutions and consumers with EY and Mastercard, focusing on the gap that exists between the everyday spending of consumers and their long-term financial goals. This session will focus on the results of that research so attendees can better understand the psychology behind consumer spending and saving and better help their members manage their daily and long-term financial lives.

Three Key Takeaways

1. Learn the results of extensive research on financial institutions and consumers, which Co-op Solutions has conducted with EY and Mastercard.
2. Learn the challenges for both consumers and institutions that the availability of payments technology presents since it creates a disconnect for consumers between their immediate money management and long-term spending.
3. Gain a better understanding of the psychology behind consumer spending and savings and better help their customers manage their daily and long-term financial lives.

Nick Westergaard is an author, educator, and speaker. He’s spent his career building standout brands at organizations of all sizes — from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies to President Obama’s Jobs Council. As a lecturer at the University of Iowa’s Tippie College of Business, he leads the Story Lab program. He’s the author of the books Brand Now and Get Scrappy, a contributor to the Harvard Business Review, host of the popular On Brand podcast, a Moth StorySLAM Champion, and a TEDx speaker coach. An in-demand keynote speaker at conferences throughout the world, his work helps those struggling to stand out in our crowded, distracted world.

Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small
Wednesday, October 18, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

When it comes to marketing, it’s the best of times and the worst of times. New media allows us to reach more people, build personal relationships, and deliver real value to our customers. However, budgets are tighter than ever, and we’re constantly distracted by all of the shiny new things coming at us. The answer? Get scrappy.

During this myth-busting and actionable talk, you’ll discover how getting scrappy can help you put your brains before your budget, do more with less, and simplify your marketing in today’s complex world. The book Get Scrappy—the basis of this talk—was named one of Mashable’s Best New Marketing Books to Read in 2017.

After Nick’s talk, your audience will be able to:

• Create a scrappy marketing strategy grounded with solid business objectives that shows what channel or platform works best when.
• Simplify content marketing with four easy-to-employ hacks.
• Measure what matters in social media and digital marketing for continuous improvement.

Rebekah Larson is a Montana native and the CEO/Founder of Firefly Consulting, LLC. She founded Firefly Consulting with a mission to “help the people helping the people…Credit Unions!” Rebekah is a passionate credit union and member advocate. She spent most of her 21+ years in financial institutions focused on lending and leading initiatives designed to enhance credit unions’ ability to remain competitive and achieve desired results. Rebekah works with credit unions through hands-on project leadership assistance as well as efficiency and reporting enhancement.

What To Do with All This Data?
Wednesday, October 18, 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

Using examples from real credit unions, Rebekah will discuss the various systems most credit unions have in place to operate their real estate, consumer, and business lending’  collections; operations; cards; accounting; online banking; etc. Her discussion will deliver a high-level overview of how all of this data can be pulled together to create streamlined, on-the-spot reporting that most credit unions desperately need. Rebekah will also address the overuse of Excel as a reporting tool at most credit unions and cover the alternative options available to create more meaningful reports that are less burdensome and more accurate.

Paul Davis has more than 20 years of experience following financial institutions. Before joining SRM, he was editor of community banking and M&A at American Banker, supervising the publication’s coverage of banks with to $20 billion of assets.

Paul has held leadership positions at SNL Financial and American City Business Journals. At SNL, he was news editor and was responsible for banking coverage. he joined American Banker in 2005, covering large banks such as Bank of America, BB&T, and Wachovia during the financial crisis and the post-crisis recovery. His expertise includes balance sheet strategies, credit risk, M&A, and corporate leadership.

How to Tap into Fintech
Thursday, October 19, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Financial Institutions have long had a fascination with fintech. While there are concerns about competition, more financial institutions are finding ways to work with startups to meet their strategic goals. There are three main ways to do that: contracted work, investments/joint ventures, and outright acquisitions of fintechs. The pandemic punctuated the need for such collaboration.

Key Takeaways

• Financial institutions have several options for exploring fintech solutions, each with a tradeoff of risks and benefits
• Fintechs have made progress working into mainstream banking

Lee Silber is the epitome of versatility as an award-winning trainer, best-selling author, and the founder of five businesses. He’s also someone who says, “Yes” to opportunities, a trait that led to a weekly podcast on efficiency and his as an emergency drummer for bands on tour. Lee is a lifelong credit union member and lives in San Diego, California, with his wife and two sons.

Fearlessly Being the Next Person Up
Thursday, October 19, 10:15 – 11:15 a.m.

When people are willing and able to step up and step in everyone wins. The organization wins because no matter what happens there’s a backup plan, and the person who fills in wins because their versatility makes them more valuable. Steve will show you how to overcome your fears when stepping outside of your comfort zone so you can do — and be — more. This is an interactive session that will make you think, laugh, learn, and grow as we practice and prepare to push ourselves to be more confident when we’re the next person up.