NEFMA 2026 FALL CONFERENCE AGENDA
October 8-9 | The Verve Hotel, Natick, MA
*Schedule and speaker lineup subject to change
DAY 1: THURSDAY, OCTOBER, 8th
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
REGISTRATION OPEN
8:00 am - 9:00 am
BREAKFAST & NETWORKING WITH EXHIBITORS
9:00 AM - 9:10 AM
WELCOME AND CONFERENCE OPENER
SPEAKER: Kerri Madnick, President, NEFMA
9:10 AM - 10:00 AM
GENERAL SESSION 1
SPEAKER:
Theresa Hayes
Senior VP, Digital Banking and Data Management
BrightBridge Credit Union
For decades, the credit union industry has earned the trust of its members and built its reputation by delivering on a clear and consistent promise of transparency, integrity, personalized service and an unwavering commitment to the communities it serves. These values have long distinguished credit unions from other financial institutions, strengthening their brands, attracting new members, and establishing lasting loyalty among existing ones. They remain the foundation of the credit union movement because they continue to resonate with consumers and because credit unions consistently deliver on that promise.
Today, we must also fully understand and adapt to members’ expectations and needs by embracing innovation, technology, creativity, and a willingness to take calculated risks, all while preserving the people-first philosophy that defines the credit union experience. The challenge for today's credit union leaders is determining how to advance digital transformation to meet members’ expectations without sacrificing the personal relationships and trust that members deserve. These are not competing priorities; they must exist together.
Credit unions across the country are investing in thoughtful, member-centered digital transformation initiatives designed to improve both service delivery and the overall member experience. For me and my organization, this work has become a strategic priority, not simply to remain competitive but to better serve our members while staying true to our mission and values.
At its core, the Clutch initiative was designed to create a faster, more seamless experience for BrightBridge members. Members can now complete an online deposit account or loan application in three minutes or less, reducing friction and helping lower application abandonment. The improved digital experience has already increased completed deposit and loan applications and significantly increased engagement across checking accounts, certificates of deposit, high yield savings accounts and consumer lending products.
The platform has also been a major driver of our organic growth strategy, which I can share to illustrate the benefits of building a digital platform. Results include:
• Online application conversion rates increased from 18% to 45%, which is a 150% improvement that has directly contributed to new member growth.
• Digital deposit applications reached 39% of total applications, exceeding the organization's 30% target.
• Average deposit funding amounts increased from $352 to $2,022, demonstrating stronger member engagement and higher-value relationships.
• Applications requiring manual fraud review declined from 100% to 23%, significantly improving efficiency for the BrightBridge team while maintaining strong risk controls.
• Auto loan decision workflows were reduced from 272 steps to 83, a 69% reduction in process complexity.
Teams can now devote greater attention to complex lending decisions and more personal member service.
Theresa Hayes has grown from teller to Senior Vice President of Digital Banking and Data Management over the course of 21 years at BrightBridge Credit Union. She embodies the values and commitment to excellence that the credit union industry represents.
Beginning her career on the front lines as a teller, Theresa developed an early understanding of member needs and the importance of service excellence. From there, she steadily advanced through a series of increasingly impactful roles, including Marketing Coordinator, Director of Marketing/Digital Channels, AVP and VP of Digital Channels, before assuming her current executive position. Each step in her progression reflects not only professional growth, but also her ability to embrace new challenges and deliver impactful results.
Theresa brings a forward-thinking perspective to digital banking, consistently identifying opportunities to enhance the member experience while remaining deeply engaged in the operational details necessary to bring those ideas to life. This balance has been instrumental in her success in modernizing BrightBridge’s online and mobile banking platforms and ensuring that both members and team members benefit from intuitive and efficient technology.
10:00 AM - 11:00 am
POWER SESSION 1
SPEAKER 1:
Janel Thomas
Director of Strategy & Client Services
Pannos Marketing
This session breaks down The Modern CMO Playbook, offering a practical blueprint to bridge the gap between creative brand-building and bottom-line performance. The presentation explores how New England’s community banks can leverage data-driven personalization, align internal cultures, and use smart marketing attribution to prove that marketing is a powerful revenue center, not an expense. Designed specifically for the challenges of the regional financial landscape, this session provides the tools needed to gain a seat at the strategic table, command bigger budgets, and drive measurable balance-sheet growth.
Janel Thomas is a strategic and results-driven financial services executive with more than 15 years of experience driving multi-million-dollar growth for community and regional banks. She is an expert in bridging the gap between high-level executive strategy (ALCO, CRA, Compliance) and cutting-edge marketing technology (Salesforce Financial Cloud, Marketo). Janel has a proven track record of spearheading $2M+ budgets, architecting digital brand refreshes, and launching high-performance deposit-generating programs. She is a community-minded leader and CFMP-certified professional dedicated to mentoring high-performing teams and fostering impactful charitable partnerships.
POWER SESSION 1
SPEAKER 2:
Charles LeFevre
Director of Compliance Operations
Kadince
In this session, Charles LeFevre, marketing and compliance expert and Kadince’s Director of Compliance, will share how to identify redlining risk and create an action plan to address it quickly. You’ll explore inclusive marketing strategies that reach the whole community, identify outreach opportunities that mitigate risk, and ensure that your institution is aligned with fair lending expectations—before redlining becomes an issue.
Whether your institution has already faced redlining scrutiny, this session will give you the tools you need to protect your institution’s reputation, build trust, and stay ahead of regulatory risk.
Charles brings rare perspective to the intersection of compliance, operations, and marketing. A longtime instructor at the ABA Bank Marketing School, he is known for making complex topics clear, actionable, and fun.
Charles is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), has an MBA from Louisiana State University, and is a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He’s been a faculty member at the ABA’s Bank Marketing School since 2018, has previously served on the ABA’s Regulatory Compliance Conference Advisory Board, and is recognized for contributing his expertise to the ABA's Marketing Financial Services (9th edition) textbook.
11:00 am - 11:15 am
BREAK
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
GENERAL SESSION 2
SPEAKER:
Tim Keith
CEO
OptimaFl
This session reviews seven deposit campaigns that community banks are running today, with real results to show for it. We break down what made each one work: the data behind the targeting, the offer structure, the channel mix, and the outcomes achieved. These are not case studies from 2019 or generic best practices assembled from surveys. These are current campaigns with current results, and the specific decisions that drove them. If deposit growth and higher campaign ROI are board priorities, and you want to see what peers are doing beyond matching the rate down the street, this is where to start.
Tim Keith serves as Chief Executive Officer at OptimaFI, bringing more than 30 years of experience in banking, marketing, and growth strategy. He co-founded Infusion (now part of OptimaFI) in 2007 and continues to work with C-suite leaders at banks and credit unions — both large and small — to translate household data into actionable growth strategies and measurable marketing performance.
Before founding Infusion, Tim served as Senior Strategist at Acxiom Corporation, advising executives at Bank of America, Wells Fargo, SunTrust, and HSBC. A frequent speaker at industry conferences and contributor to financial publications, he previously held senior marketing and retail leadership roles at First Horizon and AmSouth Bank (now Regions). Tim holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Mississippi College.
12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
LUNCH, EXHIBITS, & NETWORKING
1:15 pm - 2:15 pm
GENERAL SESSION 3
SPEAKER 1:
Mark Gibson
Senior Consulting Associate
Capital Performance Group
Mark Gibson is the Co-Leader of the Marketing & Sales Practice at CPG. He has been an innovator and strategic advisor to financial services executives for more than 30 years. Mark is a co-leader of the Marketing & Sales practice at CPG and focuses on designing and implementing strategies for growth and improved profitability for banks, credit unions, specialized financial services companies, insurance and investment management businesses, payments companies, fintech companies, and vendors to the financial services industry.
Mark works closely with Executive Management to help them craft business and customer strategies to achieve superior growth. This work includes strategic planning, customer segmentation, value proposition and product development, brand positioning, integration of marketing and sales campaigns, marketing spend optimization, and marketing strategy. Mark’s experience is particularly relevant to enhancing deposit and household growth.
Mark and the CPG team have also built capabilities in assisting financial institutions with performance marketing and marketing budget benchmarking and optimization. Mark and his team have practical experience building growth campaigns that integrate sales and marketing resources to generate measurable and predictable business results. He frequently leads campaigns to grow deposits and acquire new checking and deposit households.
Mark and his colleagues have also created unique partnerships with both the American Bankers Association (ABA) and The Financial brand to assess bank marketing spend annually. This allows Mark and the team to provide benchmarking insight, helping banks determine the right level of marketing spend and budget allocation to achieve their business objectives.
Mark has been a leader in digital marketing and marketing technology since early in his career at Battelle Memorial Institute. More recently, he and his colleagues have worked with the ABA for the past several years to understand how banks are adopting AI and deploying it for marketing productivity and efficiency.
Mark is a thought leader in financial services branding, marketing, and performance improvement. He often speaks on topics such as performance marketing, digital marketing, marketing ROI, marketing AI, and marketing best practices in U.S. financial services companies. He has recently spoken at both the ABA Bank Marketing Conference and The Financial Brand Forum, as well as the New England Financial Marketing Association. He is also a frequent contributor to ABABankMarketing.com and other industry publications.
Before joining CPG in 2016, Mark served as Chief Marketing Officer at Rockland Trust, NewAlliance Bank, and BBVA Compass. He had responsibility for brand marketing communications, deposit and loan product management, customer experience management, digital channel management, credit and debit card, workplace banking, mass affluent segment management, customer data analytics, and public relations.
Mark has a BSBA degree in Accounting and Marketing and an MA in Marketing from The Ohio State University. He has also attended executive education programs on Marketing Consumer Behavior at Tuck School, Dartmouth College, and Strategic Innovation at MIT Sloan School of Management.
2:15 pm - 3:15 pm
GENERAL SESSION 4
SPEAKER:
Dean DeCarlo
President
Mission Disrupt
Chime spends over half a billion in marketing a year learning what works in digital financial marketing. Credit Unions and Community Banks do not need to copy them, but they should absolutely learn from them.
We've analyzed over 300 ads from Chime’s paid social campaigns his year, uncovering the patterns behind how they simplify messaging, build trust, and move consumers toward action. We're back again to re-look at this data now that we're at the end of the year!
In this live diagnostic-style presentation, Dean will break down Chime’s current advertising strategy and explore what credit unions and community banks should learn from it before budget season.
This is a practical breakdown of what fin-tech brands are doing differently and where financial marketing strategies are falling behind.
We’ll walk through:
- How Chime structures its messaging system
- Why simpler positioning is outperforming cluttered campaigns
- How modern financial brands shape demand before consumers search
- The role of paid social in building consideration
- What credit unions and community banks should pressure-test in their own marketing
You’ll leave with practical insights your team can apply immediately to improve:
- Marketing clarity
- Funnel alignment
- Positioning
- Demand generation strategy
As the President of Mission Disrupt, Dean specializes in helping companies Build, Focus and Scale their digital marketing by using a four-step process - Attract, Optimize, Convert, and Predict. With a passion for paid media and website optimization strategies, Dean and his team empower businesses to achieve measurable results through tailored marketing solutions. His experience includes working with credit unions, franchisors, home service companies, retailers & healthcare companies looking to gain an edge by using a boutique firm.
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm
BREAK & EXHIBITS
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
KEYNOTE
SPEAKER:
Maria Laverghetta
Chief Data Intelligence Officer
WordCom, Inc.
We sell the same products as every other institution. Same checking, same rates, roughly the same everything. So, we compete on the products, the way we always have. But, our ideal customers or members do not choose us because of a rate sheet. Let's face it: banking products aren't interesting or all that different from one another. They choose based on how we make them feel. Safe. Understood. Like someone's paying attention.
We've known that as marketers, but we haven't been able to act on it at scale. That has changed. The language your customers use in survey comments, service calls, and reviews can now be turned into something you can actually use in a fraction of the time. The feeling became data.
I'll be straight about what this takes. Depending on your infrastructure and staffing, it's not a quick project, and I'll tell you honestly where the bar is. But that's exactly why it matters. The institutions that learn to hear what their customers feel, and not just what they bought, will know their people better than the megabanks ever could, because closeness was always the community banking advantage. This session is the case for why that's where the next decade is won, what it really takes to get there, and how to start making the argument inside your own walls.
I've spent nearly two decades on both sides of this, the data and the marketing. I'll show you what's now possible, what it costs, and why it's worth it.
Maria Laverghetta is Chief Data Intelligence Officer at WordCom, Inc., a data-driven, targeted marketing agency specializing in household-level campaign strategy for banks and credit unions. She leads the data intelligence and client insights teams, spearheading the company's migration to a modern cloud data architecture and building agentic AI capabilities for client workflows.
A classically trained singer and journalist turned data executive, Maria has spent nearly two decades building business intelligence and analytics capabilities across financial services and marketing analytics — including leadership roles at Hanscom Federal Credit Union and Salem Five Bank, where she led customer analytics, core conversions, and merger integrations. Her work sits at the intersection of data strategy and narrative: making technical systems accessible to executives and surfacing insights that drive decisions.
She holds degrees in Journalism and Voice from the University of Florida and an MBA from Northeastern University.
5:30 PM - 7:00 pm
NEFFIES RECEPTION & AWARDS SHOW
DAY 2: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9TH
8:00 AM - 9:00 am
BREAKFAST & NETWORKING WITH EXHIBITORS
9:00 AM - 9:10 am
WELCOME DAY 2
SPEAKER: Kerri Madnick, President, NEFMA
9:10 am - 9:50 am
AWARDS PANEL
The Morning After: A Conversation with NEFFIE Winners
Join us the morning after the NEFFIE Awards to hear from a selection of this year’s winners.
Following their recognition at the awards ceremony, our panelists will share the stories behind their winning work, the ideas and strategies that brought it to life, and lessons they’ve learned along the way.
It’s a chance to go beyond the award and hear directly from the people behind some of this year’s standout work in financial marketing.
SPEAKERS: TBA
9:50 am - 10:50 am
POWER SESSION 2
SPEAKER 2:
Jessica Rice
Engagement Strategy Director
Adrenaline
As Engagement Strategy Director at Adrenaline, Jessica Rice champions marketing and culture activation strategies that strengthen brands. As a former bank marketing director and financial institution Board Director, she combines practical experience with strategic vision in helping FIs of all sizes bring their brands to life by integrating employee engagement, branch experience, and customer interactions to create more meaningful and profitable customer relationships. Her work helps frontline teams confidently bring the brand to life across every customer interaction to deepen relationships and drive growth.
Jessica lives in Maine with her husband, son, and pets.
POWER SESSION 2
SPEAKER 1:
Ted Rosen
President
Expert Business Development, Inc.
As the M&A floodgates have opened, community banks in markets across the country are being acquired, almost always by larger banks, often headquartered far away. This has created a host of opportunities for community and regional banks unions to proactively reach out to the customers of these acquired institutions.
This session will provide tactical advice as to how best approach and appeal to these customers who are at best nervous and at worst downright unhappy about changing banks.
Theodore A. Rosen is President of Expert Business Development, LLC, a firm he founded in 1993, specializing in helping community and regional banks, and other financial service providers build commercial relationships though professional appointment setting, sales process design and brand marketing. He has attained a national reputation delivering presentations and writing articles on subjects including sales process, sales culture, cross-selling and relationship management. He has worked closely with the Federal regulatory agencies, the American Bankers Association, America’s Community Bankers, Independent Community Bankers of America, Risk Management Association, and many state associations and community bank leagues. He has advised congressional staff and bank regulators and has trained federal bank examiners.
Ted holds a BS in marketing from Pennsylvania State University. He is immediate past chairman of the Board of Harcum College, past president of the Golden Slipper Charities, past chairman of the Board of the Visiting Nurse Association of Greater Philadelphia, and a trustee of Albert Einstein/Jefferson Healthcare Network, Inglis Foundation, Moss Rehab Hospital, American Bankers Association Marketing Network, the Wolf Performing Arts Center and numerous other community and charitable organizations.
In June 1996, Ted was selected by United Way as a “Community Hero” to carry the Olympic torch on its journey to Atlanta. He has three children and lives with his wife, Toni, in Bryn Mawr, PA.
10:50 AM - 11:10 AM
BREAK & HOTEL CHECK OUT
11:10 AM - 12:10 PM
CLOSING SESSION
SPEAKER:
Joe Sullivan
CEO
Market Insights, Inc.
Marketing in banking has never been more complex—or more personal. You're navigating shifting customer expectations, relentless digital change, and the daily pressure to do more with less. In this reflective keynote, Joe Sullivan invites bank marketers to look inward as much as outward, exploring how the Zen principles of Balance, Simplicity, and Adaptability can transform not just your marketing strategy—but the way you work and lead every day.
This isn't just about better campaigns. It's about becoming a clearer, more grounded, more resilient marketer in an industry that rarely slows down.
Joe Sullivan is the CEO and Founder of Market Insights, Inc. – a consulting firm that helps bring clarity to the complex choices faced by community-based financial institutions by providing market-specific, data-driven insights and strategies that will position their institutions for sustainable growth. As a consultant, author, and professional speaker with more than 30 years of experience, the themes of growth, innovation and motivation can be found throughout Joe’s work.
He has been invited to share his insights with international, national, regional and state associations/leagues as keynote and workshop presenter. Joe is a founding faculty member for the Graduate School of Banking at University of Wisconsin. He also teaches at the Ohio Bankers League Management School and Washington Bankers Association Fintech Executive Development Program. He has inspired audiences with his forward-thinking perspectives on many relevant topics, including The Zen of Banking, blending insights on human connection, disruption, innovation, and personal empowerment into a compelling model for modern financial institutions.
Joe’s passion, energetic style, and practical approach engage his audiences and consistently makes him a top-rated speaker. His unique perspective comes from working side-by-side with executives and marketers around the U.S. in the development of successful growth strategies. Joe incorporates these frontline experiences into his presentations and offers insights that challenge conventional thinking, creating a sense of excited urgency with his audiences.
12:10 PM
adjourn
