An exciting education and recognition program from CUES

The 2026 Final 5

Nicole Baker

Christina Mullins

Elizabeth Seelbach

Justin Thompson

Brandon White

Meet the Finalists

CUES Emerge is an emerging leader program that combines online learning, peer collaboration and an exciting competition component.

Watch the Live Pitch Show

October 7 • 11:00 PT, 12:00 MT, 1:00 CT, 2:00 ET

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Built on a solid foundation

CUES and Currency Marketing have enjoyed a long-standing partnership dating back to 2010 when, together, we launched the inaugural CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec competition. In 2020, CUES Emerge was launched and built on the success of CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec. Over the past 15 years, CUES has awarded more than $500,000 in prizes and has impacted the lives of countless young credit union professionals.

CUES is an independent, not-for-profit, international membership association. Our mission is to educate and develop credit union CEOs, executives, directors and future leaders.

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Currency Marketing is a leading financial education provider for credit unions, with its flagship program, It’s a Money Thing. We help credit unions attract, educate and inspire young adult members.

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System Partner

TruStage is a financially strong insurance and financial services provider, built on the philosophy of people helping people, meeting the needs of middle-market consumers and businesses.

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Supporting Partner

Envision Excellence is a leadership consulting firm that provides leadership development programs for managers and executives, keynote speeches, team building and leadership assessments.

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Supporting Partner

RAI Partners is a credit union service organization that creates data-driven, white-label credit card programs. The company acquires, builds and manages programs end-to-end for its credit union clients.

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Value for all participants

Deepen knowledge through connections with subject matter experts and industry peers

Improve your ability to understand and develop strategic alignment in your organization

Examine issues facing your credit union and ask the right questions to identify the core problem

Research, develop and write a formal business case

Increase your impact through enhanced presentation and speaking skills

Learn to communicate ideas more effectively to senior leaders

Participants have an opportunity to

Earn a designation

All participants that successfully complete the online courses, Mastermind sessions and a business case will receive a Certified Credit Union Manager designation.

Be recognized

Five finalists will be announced in August and move forward with the competition phase of CUES Emerge. These five will receive coaching and present their business case to our judging panel and a live online audience. The top three will receive further education opportunities and coaching.