Wisconsin Credit Union League and Filene joined credit union innovators through Wisconsin Innovation Leadership Development (WILD) for a fifth year! The WILD program leverages the Filene Method of Innovation, based on Filene’s esteemed i3 program. We are excited to provide this opportunity to Wisconsin credit unions.
WILD is an innovation leadership initiative that equips leading credit union professionals with the mindset, tools, and network needed to lead and shape the future. Participants will work in cross-functional teams to tackle key challenges facing credit unions while developing advanced innovation skills grounded in three core categories.
This fall, innovators from across Wisconsin will have the chance to apply for the next WILD class and present their projects at the 2025 League Convention. Participants will gain the following skills to enhance your credit union's innovation capacity:
- Building an insights library
- Developing personas and empathy
- Identifying problems
- Creating solutions and testing
- Rapid prototyping and testing
- Communicating for impact and making pitches
Concept Documents from the 2025 Wisconsin Ideation Local Development (WILD) Group
Future Forward
Jennifer Schlegel / Marine Credit Union
Melissa Oster / Educators Credit Union
Lucas Fanning / 1st Community Credit Union
Erin Wojkiewicz / Capital Credit Union
Planning for the eventual departure of an executive team member is traditionally managed through the succession planning process. In fact, many credit unions already have a succession plan in place, developed in collaboration with the board of directors. However, when an unexpected departure occurs within the executive team, the succession plan can assist in fulfilling the role's duties, but it may not address the broader challenges your credit union will face during this period.
How might we provide guidance to credit union executives and their boards while they lead their teams through unexpected senior leadership changes?
The Imaginators
Taylor Archer / Summit Credit Union
Rob Carviou / Verve, A Credit Union
Shayna Risch / Blackhawk Community Credit Union
Samantha Zeckmeister / Kohler Credit Union
Early-career credit union employees, often frontline workers, are the backbone of credit unions across the United States. Frequently serving as the first and most frequent point of contact with members, these employees play a vital role in service delivery, community engagement, and institutional trust. Despite their critical impact, many face limited access to structured career development resources. For credit unions, this means self-perpetuating turnover, missed opportunities for internal promotion, and strains on leadership pipelines that often make the acceptance of high employee turnover and external hiring commonplace. Credit unions need scalable, cost-effective, and low-disruption ways to guide employees toward growth.
How might we help credit union managers implement scalable and adaptable career development strategies whilst leveraging minimal resources?
Fources of Change
Daniel Mijal / Heartland Credit Union
Dayna Wimann / Blackhawk Community Credit Union
Donna Vankham / United One Credit Union
Kendra Lozano / Fort Community Credit Union
Credit Unions invest significant time and effort into developing and documenting standardized processes. If these resources are not being utilized effectively, their value is diminished. In an industry governed by regulations and compliance requirements, consistency in operational knowledge is critical.
How might we help frontline staff be more confident in procedural changes?
Vision to Venture
Ashlie Snell, Blackhawk Community CU
Becky Tourdot, Heartland CU
Laura Wachowiak, Sentry CU
Raeann Freund, Kohler CU
Why are small businesses an often-untapped market for credit unions and how can we help give businesses the tools to prevent credit unions from taking all of the risk? In our survey of credit union leaders, the top obstacles when lending to business members are regulatory and compliance issues, limited staff and technology barriers. Those surveyed also noted enhanced training for staff, better marketing strategies and partnerships with local businesses as ways to increase business lending opportunities.
How can business owners reach stability in the early stages of growth?
Concept Documents from the 2024 Wisconsin Ideation Local Development (WILD) Group
We engaged with credit unions leaders over a six-month period to solve big challenges faced by members and community members. Here are the solutions they created!
Concept Documents from the 2023 Wisconsin Ideation Local Development (WILD) Group
We engaged with credit unions leaders over a six-month period to solve big challenges faced by members and community members. Here are the solutions they created!
TEAM MICR
Bridge the Gap
Alexandrea Auch - Badger Globe Credit Union
Courtney Ramos - Blackhawk Credit Union
Ryan Marshall - Blackhawk Credit Union
Taylor Tarras - Royal Credit Union
Whitney Townsend - Fort Community Credit Union
Team MICR has a passion for serving the underserved communities in Wisconsin, specifically the Hispanic community. Seeing a real need for accessible and familiar services for immigrants, Team MICR set out to solve this challenge. What they learned is that its not always about a product, but rather building trusting relationships that truly matter.
TEAM POD
The Pulse
Ashley Woodhouse - Fort Community Credit Union
David Norgaard - Royal Credit Union
Nancy Mandell - Blackhawk Credit Union
Olivia Buell - Connexus Credit Union
Sierra Randall - Corporate Central Credit Union
After hearing about the hardships that their coworkers experienced, Team POD sought to answer the question: How might we promote holistic employee wellness within credit unions? They created The Pulse, a comprehensive and interactive wellness website offering credit union employees the convenience of a one-stop shop for all their wellness needs. This program provides a pulse on the overall wellness and morale of the organization, which directly impacts member service and promotes employee wellness in all areas of life.
For nearly 90 years, The League has been steadfastly dedicated to its core purpose: promoting The Credit Union Difference. Through a commitment to excellence, honesty & integrity, risk-taking, balance, and unity, we are proud to support Wisconsin's credit unions and Wisconsin's credit union members.