This week the leadership of Urban Financial Services Coalition – NAUB participated in the Minorities in Banking Forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. We kicked things off on Tuesday at Comerica with a roundtable discussion on “Reigniting IDEA, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access with Ditu Kasuyi and I serving as dicussion facilitators. Then we joined other forum attendees yesterday and today at the Fed for some very enlightening sessions. Yesterday’s keynote speaker was Dr. Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina to go in space. Today’s keynote speaker was author Minda Harts. All of the panelists were exceptional and covered topics on mental health, code switching, banking the next gen, self advocating, and transformational change in DEI. We also got an insightful economic update from economist Lorenzo Garza. We concluded today with an UFSC strategic planning meeting.

Before heading to this forum, I asked some leaders from my organization, what questions did they want answered about DEI….I am looking forward to bringing responses and strategies back with me.

I am both exhausted and rejuvenated….and ready to head back home with more tools in my toolbox for the IDEA work that I do at Virginia Housing and as the new national President of the UFSC Foundation.

To learn about UFSC, visit www.ufscnet.org. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary in April 2024 with a celebration in Kansas City. Join us!

– Adrienne Whitaker