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
Thanks to the generosity of the League and Corporate Central Credit Union, this program is accessible to any leader who works at a member credit union of the league. The program will start in December 2024 and conclude in May 2025. It includes participation in the in-person workshops and registration for the 2025 annual conference; however, travel and hotel expenses are not covered. The in-person workshop dates are:
- December 3-4, 2024—Innovation Immersion
- January 15, 2025—Prototyping Workshop
- April 9, 2025—Reporting Workshop
- May 8, 2025—Presentations
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!
TEAM INNOCONNECT
Onboarding Communication Kit
Berenice Valadez – Blackhawk Community Credit Union
Jennifer Tucker – Fort Community Credit Union
Matthew Mysliwiec – Altra Federal Credit Union
Melissa Janssen – Royal Credit Union
Randi Strangstalien – Westby Co-Op Credit Union
Sydney Schulze – Blackhawk Communityu Credit Union
Focused on bringing credit unions back to the basics to achieve new member stickiness. InnoConnects 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 Credit Union
Janel Thoune – CoVantage Credit Union
Kristyl Martin – Blackhawk Community Credit Union
Madeleine Vincent – Fort Community Credt Union
Joanna McGinn – Heartland Credit Union
Alec Adsit – Westby Co-Op Credit Union
Deeply passionate about financial well-being for all, team Soar aims to support credit unions with exsisting 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!
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.