NCUMA 2023 Hawaii Conference
Speakers

Patrick is in his 47th year with the credit union movement and worked for St. Louis Community Credit Union for 36 plus years.  Patrick was appointed CEO/President of St. Louis Community Credit Union in January, 2008 and served in that role for many years leading up to his retirement in October 2022.  .       

Patrick has spoken worldwide with companies for over 25 years.  Based on your mood, Patrick is either motivating or aggravating.  His presentations are informative and urge people to have the “ah-ha” moments that lead to success.

Patrick and his beautiful wife have four grown kids and eight beautiful grandkids.      

Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is a nationally acclaimed economist and public speaker specializing in making the arcana and minutia of economics fun, relevant and educational. He holds a B.A. in economics with first class honors from McGill University, as well as a Masters and Ph.D. in public administration from Syracuse University. Eisenberg, formerly a Senior Economist with the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C., is a frequent speaker on topics including: economic forecasts, economic impact of homebuilding, consequences of government regulation, cost-benefit analysis, prudential use of financial derivatives, strategic business development and other current economic issues. He is the creator of the multifamily stock index (the first nationally recognized index to track the total return of public firms principally involved in the ownership and management of apartments), the author of more than seventy articles and serves on the Editorial Board of the Encyclopedia of Housing. He has spoken to hundreds of business groups and associations, frequently as keynote speaker, and is a frequent guest lecturer on college campuses. Dr. Eisenberg has been invited to testify before lawmakers and is often asked to comment on proposed legislation. His research and opinions have been featured in Bloomberg, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, and many other publications. He is regularly featured guest on several talk radio shows, is often seen on television and authors a daily 70 word commentary on the economy.His interests include keeping the rate of restoration of his 60 year old house ahead of the rate of deterioration and doting on his daughter. He loves ice hockey and talking economics with crowds large and small!

With more than 30 years of financial services experience, Mark Sievewright has worked directly with numerous Credit Unions in the successful formulation and execution of their strategic, business and technology plans. He is the recipient of a number of industry awards including the Ambassador Award merited by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) for his services to credit unions.

Mark is a recognized financial services thought-leader with a unique understanding of, and insights to, the digital banking and payment services markets. He is the Lead Subject Matter Expert for CUNA’s newly established Digital Transformation Task Force and has led strategic planning and technology evaluation projects for Credit Unions ranging from $500M to $50 Billion in assets.

Mark has held senior leadership positions at HSBC, MasterCard International (where he led the firm’s brand marketing and commercial services division in the EMEA region), Payment Systems Inc. (where he served as CEO), TowerGroup (where he served as CEO) and Fiserv (where he served as vice chairman and president of the Credit Union Solutions division serving 2,600 credit unions).

In April 2017, Mark established Sievewright & Associates and is uniquely focused on providing credit unions with valuable strategic insights and trusted technology guidance to drive their business growth and member experience initiatives, both effectively and efficiently. He is the co-author (with Microsoft executive, Guillermo Kopp) of a book titled, Digital Life, published in December 2020.

Gigi serves as the Executive Director for the National Credit Union Foundation (The Foundation), the philanthropic and social responsibility leader of America's credit union movement. The Foundation’s three pillars of work are: Ignitecredit unions to place employee, member, and community financial well-being at the center of their strategy; Inspirecredit unions to leverage their cooperative values to reinforce an organizational culture that empowers and motivates employees; and Respond when disaster strikes and help credit unions increase their business resiliency through the cooperative value of "people helping people."

In her role, Gigi ignites and inspires credit union professionals to collaborate and incorporate consumer financial health and cooperative principles into their business strategy. She works to help credit unions make themselves part of the strategic architecture of their community's financial well-being, integrating business and benevolence so credit unions serve as a trusted partner to their members and their community in advancing financial well-being for all. 

Under her leadership, the Foundation has doubled in asset size, grown its signature event, the Wegner Dinner into a must-attend event during CUNA’s GAC, spearheaded research, catalytic grants and convenings on financial well-being for all and the link between health and wealth, expanded its cooperative values offerings to include virtual and self-study options, and co-founded the CU DEI Collective with many credit union system partners.

Gigi's career in the credit union system spans 30 years - as an advocate, attorney, federal regulator and now, philanthropist. Prior to her work with the Foundation, Gigi served as a Board member of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the independent federal agency created by the U.S. Congress to regulate, charter and supervise federal credit unions. During her tenure on the NCUA Board, Gigi spearheaded a number of key initiatives including co-authoring a policy white paper on supplemental capital and a report on credit unions’ outreach to people of modest means. She also directed the translation of NCUA’s consumer facing website, MyCreditUnion.gov, into Spanish. During the financial crisis of 2008-2010, she provided strategic leadership, policy direction and execution of extraordinary initiatives and regulatory changes to respond to the failure of the four largest corporate (wholesale) credit unions. An innovator and strategic thinker, Gigi initiated the use of webinar technology at NCUA and fostered direct communication with examiners and regional offices at the agency to assure alignment of policy decisions and examination practice.

Prior to joining the NCUA Board, Gigi served the credit union community as an executive, attorney, and advocate. She served as SVP, General Counsel for Empire Corporate FCU in Albany, NY; VP, Corporate Credit Union Relations at the Credit Union National Association; and Managing Partner of the family law firm, Hyland and Hyland. A graduate of the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in comparative literature, Gigi also earned her J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School of George Mason University and an Advanced Diploma in International Law from McGeorge School of Law.

She is a Credit Union Development Educator (CUDE) and a Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor (CCUFC). Gigi serves on the America Saves® Advisory Board, is a board member of the National Cooperative Bank (NCB) and chairs NCB’s Board Risk Committee. In September 2022, Gigi was inducted into the America’s Credit Union Museum Herstory exhibit which highlights a range of credit union women and their achievements in the credit union industry.

One of the most in-demand Customer Experience and Marketing speakers and consultants in the world today, David Avrin, CSP has shared his content-rich, very entertaining and actionable presentations with enthusiastic audiences across North America and around the world including recent presentations in Singapore, Bangkok, Melbourne, Brisbane, Antwerp, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Mumbai, Sri Lanka, Abu Dhabi, Manila, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, London, New Delhi, Johannesburg and Dubai. David helps organizations better understand and connect with their changing customers and clients to help future-proof their businesses.

David's business insights have been featured on thousands of media outlets around the world. He is also the author of five books including the acclaimed: It's Not Who You Know, It's Who Knows You!, Visibility Marketing, Why Customers Leave (and How to Win Them Back) and his newest book: The Morning Huddle — Powerful Customer Experience Conversations to Wake You Up, Shake You Up and Win More Business. 

Pamela Norton, a notable global futurist and entrepreneur, effectively combines business and societal impact through her innovative work at the intersection of Blockchain, Identity, Privacy AI, Cryptocurrency, and Intelligent microchips.

With 30 years of entrepreneurial experience, Pamela has led the launch of startups and new ventures, and facilitated acquisitions across diverse sectors such as health, finance, semiconductor, transportation, software, hardware, and consumer brands. She has a strong interest in introducing global products during disruptive market shifts and fostering new strategic ventures.

In 2018, Pamela utilized her talent for big-picture thinking and spotting tech trends to transform her vision of a new trust economy into a comprehensive 40-page patent filing. This groundbreaking patent just awarded this year presents innovative concepts for digital assets and privacy ownership rights, forming the basis for her venture, TitleChain. TitleChain aims to bring advanced technologies to the expansive $31T intangible asset market. Her recently awarded patent outlines a system using a digital ledger to record essential asset information, simplifying the authentication of asset ownership, including unique entities like NFTs. It does this by tracking their provenance, issuing secure digital titles on a blockchain, and enabling transactions via various forms of fiat money and cryptocurrency payments.

Recognized for her ability to detect early tech trends and help businesses engage effectively with these innovations, Pamela transforms tech apprehension into curiosity and adoption. She holds a BS degree in International Business from Regis University and studied International Relations at Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan. An active member of the Global Digital Asset & Cryptocurrency Organization, AI Transformers Council, and the Small Business Technology Council (SBTC), Pamela is committed to creating a favorable economic environment for the growth of intelligent technology privacy preserving businesses.

Frank Kressman serves as the agency’s General Counsel and leads the NCUA’s Office of General Counsel. This office’s duties include representing the agency in litigation, executing administrative actions, interpreting the Federal Credit Union Act and the NCUA’s rules and regulations, processing Freedom of Information Act requests, advising the NCUA Board and the agency on general legal matters, and maintaining the agency’s records management program. The General Counsel’s office also drafts regulations designed to ensure the continued safety and soundness of the credit union system.

Before his selection as General Counsel, Mr. Kressman served as a Deputy General Counsel to the NCUA. He joined the agency in 1998 as a staff attorney. His previous experience includes work as an attorney at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Mr. Kressman holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a Juris Doctor from the Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, and a Master of Laws degree from The American University Washington School of Law in Washington, D.C.