Bridging the Gap with YP Deleanna Allen

This article first appeared on CUInsight.com.

I was so happy to sit down and reconnect with Deleanna Allen, or “D” as I have come to call her. She is a marketing manager at Public Service Credit Union in Michigan, a Young Professional (YP) and the Michigan Credit Union League (MCUL)’s YP scholarship winner to the World Credit Union Conference (WOCCU) in Boston this year. Deleanna taught me that she learned about the credit union mission, such as why we advocate and what makes us different, from FUEL, Michigan’s YP group. She didn’t hear it from MCUL, but from her YP peers.

Admittedly, I approached our YP movement in Michigan as a one-way investment, one where we give funds and support so that they can develop knowledge and passion for the credit union industry.

I now understand that our investment in YPs is mutually beneficial. Through them, we’re able to reach credit union professionals that we otherwise don’t reach on a regular basis, such as the frontline workers, mid-level managers and call center team.

As you will read here, I learned a lot more than that from her. I believe there are a lot of Deleanna’s out there, ready and open advocates for our industry. We need to commit to our YPs, open doors for them, bring them in and do what we can to keep them.

Please enjoy our conversation. I know I did.

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Deleanna here! Some people call me “D” or “Leanna.” My conversation with Patty made me reflect on the profound impact young professionals have on our industry, the evolution of DEI, the importance of inclusivity and the true meaning of leadership.

When I first joined the YP movement in 2020, I thought it was mainly about networking, gaining support from peers and resources to grow in the credit union industry. But over time, I’ve gained so much more. It’s about deepening our commitment to our careers, understanding advocacy and truly appreciating the work we do for our organizations and industry. The impact on my career and the Michigan movement has exceeded anything I could have imagined. From attending WOCCU’s conference in Boston to sitting down with the CEO of MCUL, I’m incredibly grateful for these opportunities. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I enjoyed speaking with Patty!

[Below is an edited transcript of a conversation recorded Aug. 19, 2024]

PC: I really appreciate you sitting down with me. We got to know each other quite a bit in Boston, and we’ll get into that, and I really enjoyed our time, but before we dig in, I want to ask you to tell your story.

DA: I was born and raised in Detroit and I’m the youngest of four girls. I was raised by a single mom. I went to Southfield High School and Wayne State University, and I graduated with a degree in marketing. But how I began my career in the credit union industry … I was working at  a fast food restaurant and I was tired of smelling like burgers. So, I went to the career center at college and Public Service Credit Union popped up. I had no idea what the position was, I was just like, “Let me just get out of fast food.” I applied, interviewed and got the call within the same day of the interview to start with the credit union.

I didn’t expect to still be in a credit union after ten years. I started when I was 19 years old, so I grew up in the industry. And I’ve just grown from there. I’ve been a teller, a sales rep, I was our community relations rep. And then, fortunately, the credit union assisted me with tuition reimbursement, and when I graduated, a position became available in marketing. I started as the digital marketing professional, then the assistant marketing manager and now I’m the marketing manager. I’m the poster child of growth in the organization.

PC: Prior to seeing it at the posting at Wayne State, did you know what a credit union was?

DA: Not entirely. In high school, we had a branch—Michigan First Credit Union, actually. That was my first account. But just withdrawals and deposits from the ATM, that’s all I knew. I didn’t know the mission behind the credit union industry.

Unfortunately, where I come from, financial literacy was pretty much non-existent. I would see my grandparents, they would go to the bank, withdraw deposits. That’s it. No conversation about it. No education about it, not even in schools. So, I’ve been learning … I’ve been a student while being employed in the credit union industry, which has helped my life. Being a part of a credit union has impacted not only my career but my family, because I’m able to now teach them things that I’m still learning.

PC: We’re all still learning, I’m learning all of the time, especially when it comes to finances. Similar to you with your marketing degree, I was a psychology major. So they weren’t teaching us about finances!

Okay, so you’re chugging along, working your way to becoming marketing manager. And somehow you stumble across a young professional group, FUEL. Walk me through what your experience was like. How did you first learn about FUEL and decide to get involved?

DA: In 2020, I had the opportunity to “crash” the CUES Conference in Detroit, and our group had the opportunity to sit in with FUEL. At that time, it was a very small group, maybe less than 30 participants, but the conversations that we were having and the exercises that we were doing, like the opportunity to have CEOs come in and speak to us and hear our perspective, ask for our opinion … I was totally inspired. After CUES, I went straight back to the credit union and said, “How can I join FUEL?”

Since then, I’m not sure if I could put into words the impact that it’s had on my career. Before then, if I walked into a room to network, I wouldn’t know what to say or have the confidence to start a conversation.

And I’m learning from peers, whether it’s marketing-related or from a strategic standpoint, but the biggest one is advocacy. Prior to FUEL, I knew certain things but I didn’t know the full aspect of how important it was to the credit union industry. And I’ve been able to help bridge that gap back at the credit union for the frontline staff, bringing that education and that awareness back. But I don’t think that I would be in the position that I’m in, as far as career growth, if it wasn’t for FUEL.

PC: You told me a similar story when we were having dinner in Boston. You really brought something home for me, and the light bulb probably should have gone off sooner than our conversation. I consider what FUEL does for the League and how support goes both ways, with probably more coming back our way.

Before FUEL, you didn’t even realize there were advocacy efforts, and it wasn’t until you sat through some FUEL sessions and got to know people that it really hit it home for you. That, in turn, really fuels your passion to stay involved and to understand what we do at the League. It’s a win-win. I know a lot of leagues and employers support young professionals and I hope they are listening to us to see how important support for YPs is as it creates a passion for the industry and to advocate for it.

So you’re in FUEL, and you see an opportunity for a scholarship offered by MCUL to go to the World Credit Union Conference in Boston. What motivated you to apply for that?

DA: Actually, one of my very first FUEL meetings! There was a speaker who actually spoke about the World Credit Union Conference, and she was a recipient of a scholarship. Since then, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to attend a conference, no matter where it was.

Then the opportunity was brought up at one of our chapter meetings, and thankfully, my CEO Dean Trudeau nominated me for a scholarship. I actually didn’t know he officially nominated me, and one morning, he texted me very, very early, “Call me.” I was freaking out like, “What did I do? Did I post something on social media wrong?” And he announced that I was a recipient of the scholarship, and I just cried.

You and Janet [Ormsby of MCUL], and Hank [Hubbard of One Detroit Credit Union] made me so comfortable and I had such a great time.

PC: When you and I were at dinner talking about the diversity at the conference, it led to a conversation of diversity in our industry. I really enjoyed our conversation. You’re very open when talking about diversity, and I’m always trying to better understand and make sure that we’re doing what we can to bring more people into our circle, and make our events here in Michigan more diverse. And we just started to have these really big conversations.

We talked about how politicized “DEI” is and how, unfortunately, it’s just turned into this political statement and some employers may be backing away from DEI out of a sort of backlash. As you navigate the workplace and our industry, what are your thoughts on DEI and how employers embrace it?

DA: I know, at least from my personal experience, I’ve witnessed where some professionals and leadership are hesitant or reserved from trying to tap into it full-force. Because, like you said, the political aspect that it’s turned into has just gone a bit wild.

They feel that there’s risk involved in saying they support it or want to bring awareness to it. I understand that from a strategic standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, but at least start within the organization with your staff and employees. Because it affects culture. It has an impact on turnover and retention. Employees want to feel like they work for a place where they belong, or they relate in some type of way, whether it’s your race, pronoun or disability. Some people have disabilities that you can’t visually see. So, whether it’s your language or just things that you support or believe in, at least start having those conversations to understand where they’re coming from. Some people are at work more than they’re at home and they want to feel comfort in that. I see where a lot of leaders are pulling away from that, or afraid to step into that territory.

Now, I do see some credit unions that go full force with it, and it’s so inspiring. And from my perspective, if they can do it, we all can do it. And I think I mentioned it to you as well, but you are an inspiration to the young professionals and the industry in Michigan. You are not afraid to say that you’re still learning. You’re not afraid to attend the African-American Credit Union Coalition Conference. You going there shows that you are striving to provide a more inclusive league, a more inclusive state, a more inclusive industry. And that’s inspiring. If you can do it, the question is for everyone else, why aren’t you doing it?

PC: To me, perhaps some people took DEI full-throttle and took on too much too soon. Maybe some made it even more complicated than it has to be, or more structured than it has to be or more expensive than it has to be. You mentioned having difficult conversations and forums for people to talk, that is a basic step that is not expensive or hard, right?

That space for people to share and listen—think about it like how you said, working where people feel like they belong. And it is beyond color, it’s also gender, orientation, age. The pendulum in 2020 went really far the other way and maybe we need to bring it back a bit and get back to basics.

DA: People have to understand that you don’t have to agree with everything. I challenge everyone to just respect everyone and at least take the initiative to learn to, to educate yourself just for the sake of understanding. I’m not saying you have to agree, not saying you have to act on certain things, but education is a huge piece of DEI, and that’s something at my credit union that I love, that they offer training. They offer training on what it means to be biased or what pronouns mean or what inclusion is—what DEI actually stands for.

PC: What things make you feel like you’re being included … what does inclusion look like to you?

DA: Sometimes, it’s being in a room where I see others that look like me. Or being in a room where there’s diversity just in general. And, this is just me being transparent, but the more opportunities that I receive to participate in events and meetings and things like that, moreso outside of my organization, I am the only one there’s few of us that look like me in the room.

I don’t walk into the room to count like, “There’s five of us.” It’s just a natural thing that happens. You look around and think, “How do I relate to this group?” Unfortunately, sometimes I do walk in and I’m the only one like me. So, if we could see how we can offer more opportunities or encourage people to feel comfortable, to take advantage of the opportunities … because I do know there’s organizations that push or encourage their employees to participate. But sometimes they’re nervous or apprehensive to take that leap. Why don’t we feel comfortable taking the opportunity? Why don’t you feel worthy enough to think that you can be in a room with others? If you have an organization where you don’t see a lot of employees taking opportunities from a diversity standpoint, ask about that.

PC: And when you ask those questions and are really open to hearing the answer, I think that’s when a light bulb can go off like, “Okay, maybe we were kind of short-sighted to pick golf.” Or maybe understanding why sometimes a group of people just wants to do their job and then go home, because they don’t feel they can be their true selves at work. So why would I want to continue past my 9-to-5 when I don’t feel I can really bring my full self there?

DA: And it’s a domino effect. It goes back to DEI. How can I relate to the people that I work for or that I work with? I don’t know how to golf. But if we challenge each other to start having those conversations, you’ll be surprised at the answer. I know I can see a lot of responses being like you said: we were taught you go to work, you follow directions, you go home. Where did that come from? Is that a generational thing? And I could even say it may even go back to DEI. That’s how they were taught back when, before we joined the professional world. So, you’ll be surprised at the answers.

PC: I think one of the keys is to create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing those answers, because it’s a very vulnerable thing to ask someone to share that. You’re very open and willing to go there. But there’s a lot of really good reasons why people aren’t.

Thank you for going down that road with me.

DA: You’re welcome. Thank you for having the space to have the conversation. I respect you a lot for that.

PC: Thank you. So, let’s talk about what we need to do to keep young professionals excited about what we’re doing as an industry?

DA: Providing the opportunities for us to participate, for us to have a voice and for us to learn. Something that we talk a lot about is providing room for growth without the requirement of being a leader. Everyone isn’t meant to be a leader. Everyone doesn’t strive to be a leader, but everyone strives to grow in some aspect. So, having a professional journey where you can still evolve and grow within your role without the end game being leadership. That’s a huge one. And like I said, providing the opportunity for us to just have a voice. Having a safe space, a judgment-free zone to have certain conversations. I think you’ll keep us all.

PC: What about leadership training? What do you think is important about a leadership training program? What do you think are some of the must-haves?

DA: The first must-have is how to work with people—how to work with different personalities and different age groups and how to respect each other. Some people are natural leaders, and you’ll find that people who aren’t in leadership roles might have more of an impact on a group more than the actual manager or supervisor of an area. So, how to embrace those characteristics as well.

I feel like leadership also embraces continued learning. Leadership doesn’t mean that the education piece stops. The industry changes, the economy changes, the culture of the industry changes. How can we continue to embrace those changes, learn and evolve for the betterment of your staff, your membership and the organization?

PC: Absolutely. All great things.

Let’s switch things up a bit and move into one of my favorite parts of the conversation—getting to know the personal side of you a little better.

What is on your nightstand at home?

DA: I don’t have a nightstand, but if I did it would probably be an elephant statue. I love elephants.

PC: I knew I liked you! I actually had the privilege of going to Kenya and hanging around a bunch of elephants. They’re so amazing. Okay, so if you could have coffee with anyone who would it be?

DA: Michelle and Barack [Obama]. I just want a hug. You know, we don’t have to say much, I just want a hug. I feel like they’re like my Auntie and Uncle.

PC: So tell me a bucket list travel destination for you.

DA: Well, now it changed. Kenya. Visit the elephant. So thank you, Patty.

PC: That’s hilarious. Okay, so what is one trait or quality that you think every leader should strive for?

DA: There’s multiple but being humble. Having grace for your employees, I think it’s a huge trait that all leaders should strive for.

PC: That’s awesome, I agree. Well thank you so much for talking with me. It was great seeing you!

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