2025 Social Impact Report
25
There is a designation in the credit union world that carries real weight. The 
Credit Union Development Educator,  CUDE, is awarded through the National 
Credit Union Foundation's signature Development Education program, an 
immersive, week-long training that is as competitive as it is transformative. Some 
professionals wait years for acceptance. Carlyssa Scanlon didn't wait long, but she 
earned it completely.
Selected on scholarship after submitting an essay on her dedication to the credit 
union movement and her commitment to serving the Kauaʻi community, Carlyssa 
joined 54 credit union leaders from across the country for a week that would 
change the way she understood her work. Together, they explored the "why" 
behind credit unions, empathy, financial well-being, and the systemic barriers that 
keep underserved communities from accessing the tools they need to thrive. She 
came home a CUDE, part of a global network of more than 3,300 professionals 
united by cooperative values and a shared belief that financial institutions can and 
should do more than turn a profit.
What she also came home with was something harder to credential but just as 
valuable: a renewed sense of what Kauaʻi FCU's work means in the broader world.
"I learned that our tiny credit union on Kaua‘i actually has a big reputation in the 
industry. Being small doesn't mean being insignificant. Every single person can 
make a huge impact."
That realization, that the work happening right here on Kaua‘i is seen, respected, 
and held up as a model by credit union professionals across the country, is one 
worth sitting with. For Carlyssa, it deepened something she already believed 
about the power of telling that story.
"The credit union movement only stays alive through storytelling and advocacy. 
People need to know what we do."
Through CUDE, Carlyssa gained new tools, a new language, and new connections 
to continue stewarding a cooperative economy that honors community, culture, 
and climate. Kauaʻi FCU is proud of her and grateful that she brought it all home.
KAUA‘I FCU
CONGRATULATES 
ANOTHER
CUDE
Carlyssa Scanlon
Community Impact Manager

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