Wisconsin Credit Union League and Filene joined credit union innovators through Wisconsin Innovation Leadership Development (WILD) for a SIXTH 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.
Over the last six months innovators from across Wisconsin have come together to deepen their skills and enhance their innovation capacity. Teams focused on:
- Building an insights library
- Developing personas and empathy
- Identifying problems
- Creating solutions creatively
- Rapid prototyping and testing
- Communicating for impact and making pitches
2026 WILD Concepts
Thanks to the generosity of the League and Corporate Central Credit Union we proudly present the concept documents from WILD 2026:
Vision Builders and FinWell
Dawn Peterson — Branch Manager at Royal CU
Jennifer Cooper — Care Center Representative at Fort Community CU
Polina Cleveland — Senior User Experience Designer at Connexus CU
Jason Van Offeren — Director of Retail Lending at Prospera CU
Credit unions have always competed on trust, but when financial systems only respond to crisis rather than prevent it, even the strongest member relationships aren't enough. FinWell changes that. By analyzing data that credit unions already collect through their core systems, FinWell identifies early signs of financial distress before members reach a breaking point, bringing the logic of preventative care to financial wellness. The result is a tool that helps credit unions deepen member relationships, differentiate from larger competitors, and show up for their members when it matters most.
CU-Llective and With You Rewards
David Knox — Financial Analyst at UnitedOne CU
Holly Hermanson — Community Relations Coordinator at Royal CU
Jen Pyka — Member Contact Center Manager at Altra Federal CU
Kim Krugman — AVP of Marketing and Member Experience at Guardian CU
With You Rewards is a non-product-specific engagement program designed to reward 18-24-year-old members for consistent digital behaviors that strengthen their relationship with the credit union.
W.O.W and CU Online Community
Amber Pearson — Mortgage Servicing Analyst at Blackhawk Community CU
Heather Gubbard — Digital Accounts and Deposits Manager at Royal CU
Holly Bunnell — Branch Manager at UnitedOne CU
Kelly Lee — Talent Development Manager at Capital CU
As technology evolves faster than most people can keep up, credit unions risk losing members not to competitors, but to confusion. The CU Online Community Platform addresses that directly by giving members a secure, credit union-led space to build digital confidence through plain-language resources, short videos, and a moderated forum where they can ask questions and learn from one another. The result is a community where members stay informed, stay engaged, and stay connected to their credit union through every wave of technological change.
2025 WILD Concepts
Team InnoConnect: Onboarding Communication Kit
Berenice Valadez — Blackhawk Community CU
Jennifer Tucker — Fort Community CU
Matthew Mysliwiec — Altra Federal CU
Melissa Janssen — Royal CU
Randi Strangstalien — Westby Co-Op CU
Sydney Schulze — Blackhawk Community CU
Focused on bringing credit unions back to the basics to achieve new member stickiness. InnoConnect's innovative solution provides a simple frame that can be implemented completely or one at a time. The onboarding kit will give your credit union simple tools that will allow you to customize your members’ experience with your current product offerings. The hypothesis—you will see deeper new member engagement.
Team Soar: PowerWell Dashboard
Emily Ruffini — Blackhawk Community CU
Janel Thoune — CoVantage CU
Kristyl Martin — Blackhawk Community CU
Madeleine Vincent — Fort Community CU
Joanna McGinn — Heartland CU
Alec Adsit — Westby Co-Op CU
Deeply passionate about financial well-being for all, team Soar aims to support credit unions with existing financial wellness programs to determine their effectiveness. The PowerWell dashboard will allow credit unions to make improvements their financial wellness programs utilizing core data to understand if their member finances are actually imporiving as a result of their participation. This goes beyond the credit score!
2024 WILD Concepts
Team MICR: Bridge the Gap
Alexandrea Auch — Badger Globe CU
Courtney Ramos — Blackhawk CU
Ryan Marshall — Blackhawk CU
Taylor Tarras — Royal CU
Whitney Townsend — Fort Community CU
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 CU
David Norgaard — Royal CU
Nancy Mandell — Blackhawk CU
Olivia Buell — Connexus CU
Sierra Randall — Corporate Central CU
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.