Thank you for joining us for June's CTC Friday Conversation as we chatted with young professionals who shared their credit union journey, career advice, and more about their contributions to the movement. 

Our esteemed panelists included:

• Latonya Allen, Director of Consumer Lending and Marketing | Chapter Liaison, GPO Federal Credit Union, African-American Credit Union Coalition

• Sedric Brinson, Engagement Consultant, Credit Union National Association

• Mindi Greenland, SVP of People Development, Georgia United Credit Union

• Miranda Pierfax, Training Manager, USC Credit Union

Esperanza Poblano, Training Manager for the African-American Credit Union Coalition, moderated the panel. 

Keep reading to learn more about our participants.

Latonya Allen

Director of Consumer Lending and Marketing, 

Chapter Liaison

GPO Federal Credit Union, 

African-American Credit Union Coalition

Sedric Brinson

Engagement Consultant

Credit Union National Association

Sedric Brinson lives his life by the simple standard of the Golden Rule of treating others how he would like to be treated. A born leader who wants nothing more than to see others succeed and to see their goals accomplished. His passion for people is what fuels his desire of seeing communities thrive financially. Sedric’s purpose in life is simply to bring awareness to the Credit Union mantle of people helping people. He is a huge advocate for Financial Literacy and helping to meet the needs of members in the community. Sedric has served in the finance industry for over 18 years. As a converted (banker), he used those experiences as a driving force to make a difference in the credit union space. Sedric received his C.U.D.E. designation in the Best Class Ever of November 2017. Sedric is also a graduate of the Southwest Credit Union Management School at TCU in 2019. He currently serves as the past chairman and Co- founder of L.E.A.D. MS (Leaders Engaged in Action and Development), which is a young professionals group geared specifically toward the development of young, eager professionals looking to be mentored and developed in their careers. This initiative is the first organized Credit Union YP program ever in the state of Mississippi and it has already received national attention from other CU pioneers all over the country. He believes that young people are the driving force of this country moving forward and he wants nothing more than to be a mentor toward the excellence that they already possess. Outside of family and work, Sedric has a strong passion for music. Sedric is one of the Lead singers for the 601 Live Band. An energetic cover band that loves to bring people together in unity to have a great time. Singing all the hits from Old School Stevie Wonder to today’s top hits. Sedric believes that God, family, and friends are the pleasures and joys of life. Without them, there is no success.

Mindi Greenland

SVP of People Development

Georgia United Credit Union

Mindi Greenland has been a leadership team member with Georgia United Credit Union since 2006. She has served Georgia United as HR Manager, HR Director, and most recently as Senior Vice President of People and Development since March 2023. She is responsible for developing human resource strategy and objectives aligned with the credit union’s purpose, vision, and core values.

Mindi advises credit union stakeholders on matters of people development and implements programs related to talent acquisition and retention, team performance and engagement, compensation and benefits for the 350 team members at Georgia United. This position reports to President and CEO, Debbie Smith.

Mindi is a graduate of Gallaudet University and holds a degree in Communications. She started her career as an HR intern for the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. and then transitioned to an Employee Relations Specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau after graduation. In that role, she supported the Atlanta and Chicago regional offices, served as a liaison for the labor union and managed the D.C. office telework and onsite childcare programs. After D.C., Mindi relocated back to Georgia and worked as an HR Generalist for Unisia of GA, prior to joining Georgia United.

Mindi currently serves as a Board Member for the Gallaudet University Board of Trustees. In this role, she works closely with the university leadership to develop guiding principles and strategies for the university’s DEI and compensation programs.

Georgia United is an award-winning financial cooperative headquartered in Duluth, GA. Ranked as one of the state’s largest credit unions with $1.7 billion in assets, over 169,000 members and 19 branch locations. Georgia United has been named AJC Top Workplace seven years in a row.

Miranda Pierfax

Training Manager

USC Credit Union

Miranda Pierfax has been in the credit union industry for 16 years. She has her bachelor’s in Business Administration, and last year she received her master’s in Communication Management from USC. She has been with USC Credit Union in Los Angeles, CA, for ten years and is the Training Manager, DEI Coordinator, & Product Analyst. Miranda is the Chairman of their USCCU-United Committee, which is a committee she started to help bring DEI initiatives to the forefront within her organization and the communities they serve. She also serves on the AACUC West Coast chapter as their Social Media Ambassador.

Esperanza Poblano

Training Manager

African-American Credit Union Coalition

Esperanza ‘Espy’ Poblano is the Training Manager at the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC). In her current role she helped launch the AACUC DEI Leadership Academy for Financial Professionals, a 5-week certificate course that takes a deep dive into diversity, equity, and inclusion in the credit union space. Additionally, she assists with the AACUC CTC Friday conversations that are held every third Friday of the month.

Espy has 10 plus years of experience in the financial industry with the last 5 focused on training and development. After Crashing the GAC and crashing the AACUC Commitment To Change in 2020, Espy found that her passion was not only being an advocate of the credit union movement but being a DEI advocate.