Below are the speakers from the 2022 show.
Check back in the spring for our growing list of 2023 presenters.
Nate Baldasaro
Co-founder
The element group
With over 20 years of experience in the financial service industry and a background in senior management positions, Nate has covered the nation to help grow thousands of financial institutions through his intuitive merchandising plans, retail and promotional marketing programs, and design-build solutions. Nate holds a BA in Communications from the University of New Hampshire.
Cassidy Burrows
Manager – Support Engineering
nCino
Cassidy Burrows is a Support Engineering Manager, specifically overseeing nCino’s Portfolio Analytics Solution. She manages a team of Data Support engineers, responsible for providing ongoing support for customers and assisting with data mapping and data reconciliation. She earned her B.S. in Finance from Brigham Young University. Cassidy enjoys spending all of her money on beach volleyball tournaments, fried chicken and far too frequent trips to Target.
cassidy.burrows@ncino.com 888-409-1560 x126
Jim Cairns
Head of Customer Success
Eltropy
Jim leads Eltropy’s Customer Success organization, focused on helping credit unions use digital communications to provide the best-possible member experience. He especially enjoys working with people in Consumer Lending, Mortgage Lending, Member Services, Collections and Marketing. In the course of his work, Jim often draws on his diverse 25+ years of experience applying technology in financial services, agriculture, health care and electronics design. He enjoys playing new board games with his family and riding singletrack trails through coastal redwood forests on his mountain bike.
Lisa Coffey
Chief Innovations Officer
Corporate America Credit Union
Lisa has more than 25 years’ experience in corporate credit unions. She has worked in many capacities, including Director of Operations, Vice President of Item Processing, and Senior Consultant. Ms. Coffey was President of Lisa Coffey, LLC, which contracted operation efficiencies to Volunteer Corporate Credit Union and PCSI, as well as providing sales support and product implementation support to Corporate America from 2009 to 2011. Lisa is an art and music enthusiast and has been known to skew the demographic at rock concerts.
Mark Cox
President & CEO
Innovative Business Systems
Mark Cox is the President and CEO of Innovative Business Solutions, LLC, a Commercial Loan CUSO located in Columbia, SC and wholly owned by 8 credit unions in SC and NC. IBS provides total back office support for a credit union’s commercial lending activities, including credit analysis and recommendations, annual reviews, management of the appraisal process, loan document generation, and servicing. The company also provides consulting services around commercial lending, including lender credit training and sales training, and participation arrangement services for its credit unions. Mark joined IBS in late 2013 after 35 years in commercial banking. After 18 years with Wachovia, where he served in roles on both the credit side and as a commercial lender and an agricultural lender, he joined the real world and was CFO of a large agricultural related company for 5 years. Mark then went back into banking when he joined Regions Bank, where he served in several commercial lending roles over a 10 year period, including commercial & industrial lending and commercial real estate lending, and as a producing City President, where he had oversight of both the commercial and consumer sides of the bank and a $250 million portfolio. He finished his banking career with Capital Bank as a commercial lender. A native of Columbia, SC, he has spent his career serving business clients in the Southeast US. Mark is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking of the South at LSU, the Wachovia Credit Administration School and the RMA Commercial Lending School at East Carolina University.
Jeff Dato
EVP & Chief Operating Officer
Volunteer Corporate Credit Union
Jeffrey (Jeff) M. Dato, ERM Fellow, MBCP is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Office for VolCorp, overseeing Human Resources, Administration, Enterprise Risk, Information Technology, Business Development, Marketing & Communications, and Operations. He has been involved in Risk Management for over 30 years, starting as Crestar Bank’s (now Truist) first full-time contingency planner in 1989.
Mr. Dato is a graduate of the College of William and Mary (BBA – Accounting and Finance), earned the ERM Fellow designation from North Carolina State, and achieved the Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP) certification from DRI International. Jeff has been married to his wife, Wynette, for 27 years, and blessed with four grown children.
Adam Denbo
Managing Consultant
Samaha & Associates, Inc
With an emphasis on mergers, third-party system conversions, and core system conversion project management, his career within the Credit Union industry spans 22 years. Prior to joining Samaha & Associates, Adam served as a CEO of a Credit Union where he oversaw multiple mergers, expanded the branch network, increased assets by 50 percent, increased membership by 40 percent, increased profitability and significantly increased the Credit Union’s CAMEL rating.
During his tenure as CEO, he founded Shapiro Partners. This Credit Union consulting firm assisted smaller credit unions in the areas of mergers, reconciliation, risk management, expense reduction, LUA/DOR completion, collections, compliance, marketing, lending and expense reduction. In 2011, Shapiro Partners merged into Samaha & Associates, Inc. Today, Adam oversees the day-to-day operations of Samaha & Associates and works on large Credit Union technology projects.
Mark Galauner
Program Director
CFI Group
Mark Galauner is a data story-teller with over 20 years of experience in applying statistically-sound measurement, data analysis, and reporting practices to drive improvement and innovation for companies as diverse as Ernst and Young, Lockheed Martin, NASA, and even a psychic hotline!
When he is not helping organizations better care for their customers and employees, Mark can be found teaching in the School of Communication at Cleveland State University where he has been on the faculty since 1998.
Sean Farrell
CEO
QDS
Sean is a recognized thought leader in the financial technology and automation space. QDS consults with financial institutions ranging from $10M to $50B in assets on proper ways to align technology, staffing, and client experience.
Scott D. Knapp
Chief Market Strategist
CUNA Mutual Financial Advisors
Scott is responsible for development of the firm’s overall investment philosophy and implementation of programs that help institutional and individual investors meet their objectives. He chairs the firm’s Investment Committee that approves strategy and oversees the firm’s investment operations. He is also a member of the firm’s Capital Markets Committee that performs ongoing research on the global economy and financial markets.
Knapp leads an organization of research professionals and portfolio managers who enable financial advisors across the country to provide high-quality asset management and advice-based services to investors in all categories. He is a frequent contributor to trade press and author of several position papers that explore contemporary issues in economics and finance. He is also a regular keynote speaker at economic and investment forums across the country.
Knapp is an active member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Madison, and the National Association for Business Economics. He is an adjunct professor of investments at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and he serves on the board of directors for Madison Ballet. Scott holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and a Master of Banking & Finance from Boston University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) professional designation.
Taylor Murray
Chief Executive Officer
ServiStar Consulting
Taylor is a self-proclaimed Credit Union enthusiast who is passionate about making an impact while making the credit union industry an even stronger place. Taylor cut his teeth in credit unions as a teenager working for a Top 100 Credit Union, Baxter Credit Union (BCU). After spending nearly two decades with BCU, learning and leading many member-facing Sales/Service/Business Development/Branch functions, he joined Affinity Plus in St. Paul, MN. As the Vice President of Growth & Opportunity, Taylor helped guide strategic growth initiatives, including new branch design, mergers and bank acquisitions, and market expansion. Before becoming CEO at ServiStar, Taylor was the Vice President of Member Experience at Radiant Credit Union in Gainesville, Florida.
Taylor received his MBA from Lake Forest Graduate of Business. Taylor also has his Certified Chief Executive (CCE) certification and an alumnus of Filene Research Institute’s i3 program. Credit Union Magazine selected Taylor as a CU Rock Star in 2020, a recognition that highlights a select number of other unique, innovative, and creative people who excel in their areas of expertise—and by doing so, make our movement a better, more interesting place. Taylor lives in Gainesville, Florida, with his supportive wife and two energetic kids.
taylor@servistarconsulting.com (847) 846-1847
Michael Neill
Executive Director & Founder
ServiStar Consulting
Mike is one of the most sought after speakers in the Credit Union Movement, published researcher and author. Mike and ServiStar works with credit unions teaching them how to become more profitable through outstanding leadership, culture, and Member Experience. ServiStar clients have won multiple NAFCU Credit Union of the Year Awards. Additionally, many of the top rated credit unions in sales and member experience have been ServiStar Clients.
Prior to starting ServiStar in 1998, Mike worked as a senior executive where he led the credit union to a number two ranking, in member product penetration. Mike has an undergraduate degree in Organizational Development and is certified as an Executive Coach, by the International Coaching Federation.
Lizzy Shebanek
Industry Analyst
CU Engage
Lizzy is an Industry Analyst at CU Engage specializing in credit union relationships. Leveraging her background in consulting in Payments and Channels and Digital evaluations, Lizzy’s main focus is to ensure credit unions have the best possible partner to align with their strategic goals and objectives. A true advocate for credit unions, she brings expertise in research, project management, marketing, and communications from her time at FIS.
Lizzy lives in Washington, D.C., and likes to cook, eat, travel, spend time with friends and family, and cheer on the Florida Gators.
Nicole Cowan
Senior Account Executive
The Servion Group
Nicole has worked in the various positions in the financial industry for over 20 years. Nicole has helped credit unions grown by expanding financial partners across Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In addition to her experience at The Servion Group, Nicole has held positions as a financial services executive and vendor management sales/marketing. Her specialty areas include:
Strategic Management, Lending Analytics, Operations Management, Sales Leadership, Compliance, Profit and Loss Management, Teambuilding
As part of her working in the financial industry, Nicole has worked hard to deliver profitable results and outstanding service to her partners. She resides in Indiana with her husband Andy and two children, Austin and Kaylee.
David Visinsky
Senior Vice President
Vining Sparks
David joined the Loan Trading Group of Vining Sparks in November 2008. In the last four years the Group has traded over $ billion in loan participations across various asset classes – vehicles, residential, MBLs and other niche products. Previously, he spent five years in investment banking for financial institutions where he advised on over $200 million in M&A transactions and raised over $1 billion in capital. Prior to that, he was in the Treasury Department for a $35 billion regional bank doing treasury and asset/liability management. David received his MBA with concentration in Finance and Operations from Vanderbilt University and a BBA in Finance from Southern Methodist University.