Dakotas’ GAC Crashers Announced!

​Congratulations to these two credit union young professionals who will be attending the biggest credit union event of the year in Washington, DC! 

The 2023 GAC Crashers have just been announced, tapped from the largest applicant pool of credit union rising leaders in the program’s 14-year history! Congratulations to Drew Gertsch, VP of Risk Management from Northern Hills FCU, Sturgis, SD; and Nanci Wilson, Marketing & Community Engagement Director from University FCU, Grand Forks, ND.

The two credit union young professionals representing the Dakotas will be attending exclusive Crasher activities, enhanced with new learning panels focused on leadership development, credit union history, community partnerships, engagement, and key advocacy topics. They will also be joining our group of Dakota credit union advocates as we visit Dakotas’ legislative delegation on Capitol Hill. Congratulations, and we will see you in DC!

With 233 applications, the competition was tighter than ever before for the 58 Crashers selected. The group represents 48 U.S. states and includes three WYCUP Scholarship winners from Africa, Australia, and Ukraine.

"Congratulations to this year’s class of GAC Crashers! We’re excited to welcome this engaged group of young credit union professionals to our movement’s premier advocacy event," said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. "They’ll have plenty to experience at the 2023 CUNA GAC, including amazing networking opportunities and the chance to advocate for the credit union difference to policymakers firsthand."

"The Cooperative Trust is thrilled to welcome the newest cohort of emerging leaders to Crash the GAC in 2023," said Filene’s Community Development Director, Cortney Arnold. "This group of rising professionals are the future of credit unions, and it is an honor to be part of history as we make space for them and where they will lead the industry in the decades to come. We know these Crashers will bring spirit, passion, and hopefully a little bit of good fun and disruption to CUNA GAC."
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Filene and the Cooperative Trust thank CUNA for enabling this group of emerging leaders to participate in the nation’s largest credit union event by covering the registration costs of 51 of this year’s Crashers. Crash the GAC is Filene’s and The Cooperative Trust’s keystone Crash event. It is a non-stop, career-changing program for young professionals that gives them opportunities to build industry knowledge and connections in ways they would not otherwise likely have.