After years of moving across the country to pursue her career dreams, we reflects on returning to Michigan, finding both personal and professional fulfillment, and witnessing a growing sense of hope and collaboration in the state's efforts to address challenges and build a brighter future.
When I graduated from Hillsdale High School in 1994, I was terrifically excited to attend the University of Michigan, and I also just wanted to move out of Hillsdale. When I graduated from the University of Michigan in 1998, I had one goal: Move away from the state of Michigan. I was less concerned about the job I earned than my geography. I grew up on my mom’s farm, and until I left to move to Ann Arbor, I had never lived anywhere else.
Over the last twenty-six years, I’ve moved many times to chase my dream of becoming president & ceo of a credit union. I’ve lived in Rochester Hills, MI; Chicago, IL; Farmington Hills, MI; Branford, CT; Hamden, CT; Massapequa, NY; Madison, WI; and Castle Rock, CO. On June 1, 2024, I’ll celebrate my second anniversary of seeing one of my biggest dreams come to life. That also meant returning to my home state of Michigan.
As I race toward that anniversary, I had the opportunity to attend my first Detroit Regional Chamber Policy Conference on Mackinac Island this week. One of the many speakers I listened to was Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation. During her interview on Wednesday, May 29, she talked about her dad’s journey to earn an opportunity to have a job he loved that only came to life because he moved around the country to gain experience. He used to say to her, “Sometimes you have to take the long way to find your way home.”
I resemble Jarrett’s father’s advice. When I got off the plane at Metro Detroit Airport in late April of 2022 for my final interview before I was hired for the Community Financial Credit Union president & ceo role, I felt a thickness in the back of my throat as I exited the plane and walked through the airport. That thickness turned into tears. Michigan felt like home. I knew the roads. I knew the geographic boundaries. I knew the way the spring air felt thick with humidity. I knew the vibrant green that April rain illuminates. I knew that if I didn’t make the turn toward the hotel for my interview and zipped another 59 miles down the highway, I could turn off in Jackson, wind down the back roads, and hug my mom.
Exploring our magnificent country helped me appreciate so much about moving back to Michigan and the Midwest. When you stand on the shores of Lake Michigan from South Haven to the Upper Peninsula, the vibrant blues, sandy shores, and crashing waves rival any ocean view. The diversity of living in Michigan ensures you can explore one of the best art museums in the country at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). (The DIA was ranked number one two years in a row by USA Today’s 10 Best Art Museums in the US.) You can enjoy epic sports rivalries between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University or cheer for the gritty and determined Detroit Lions in the fall. If you love to be outside, you can find over 1,300 miles of biking trails, as Michigan has more rail trails than any other state. If you enjoy a cold brew when you head west to Grand Rapids, otherwise known as “Beer City USA,” You’ll find over 80 breweries. And in nearly any town across our great state, you’ll find people glad to say “hello” with a welcoming smile. They may even offer you a Faygo or a Vernors. There truly is a lot to love.
And it isn’t all glowing. According to the Michigan Center for Data and Analytics, “Michigan Statewide Population Projections through 2050,” “even with positive migration, Michigan is projected to continue experiencing slow growth and then population decline beginning in the 2030s.” Despite our state’s beauty and depth of possibilities, my experience of growing up and leaving is not unusual. At last year’s Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the “Growing Michigan Together Council.” Workgroups were formed around education both, Pre-K to 12 and Higher Education, a “jobs, talent & people” workgroup, and an “infrastructure places” workgroup. At this year’s event, Michigan Economic Development Corporation's Chief Growth & Marketing Officer, Hilary Doe, shared more about the more than 80 public events held to engage with Michigan residents. She told WDET’s The Metro, “We learned an incredible amount, and what rose to the top, or that we need to really look at [is] Michigan’s median income. Our faster growing peer states, and higher and faster growing median incomes; we really need to look at our post-secondary attainment and credentialing in Michigan. And we need to look at our placemaking.”
And yet, the ideas to support our state’s bright future keep coming. On Thursday, May 30, Governor Whitmer, Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb Counties leaders and Thomas Kelly of Automation Alley shared more about Project DIAMOnD. This 3D printing manufacturing project funded by the state enables Lights Out Manufacturing (LOM), “an automated manufacturing process where machines run independently without the need for human intervention. It enables the creation of so-called “dark factories,” which are factories that can operate through a combination of automation, remote monitoring, and artificial intelligence." The conversation about using the time and space that COVID created for small manufacturers to learn how to leverage 3D printing and imagine the possibilities that might emerge was thrilling.
Since I returned to Michigan on June 1, 2022, I’ve been talking to my team about bringing impossible dreams to life. You might feel skeptical even as you read about my passion for this epic state. Solving a problem as deep and challenging as the reversal of population decline across an entire state feels heavy. What I observed from the Michiganders at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference was hope. I saw Democrats and Republicans. I saw men and women. I saw young professionals and mature veterans. I saw business leaders and politicians. Our titles, our ages, our politics, and our differences were not the theme. The hope that spread across a historically distinguished island with views to both our Upper and Lower Peninsulas expanded and grew because we love this state, and we believe that together, we can create an even stronger future grounded in our rich history.
I told the Community Financial Credit Union Board of Directors in my final interview more than two years ago that I was not just excited to become the president & ceo of “a” credit union. I felt extreme passion to become the president & ceo of a credit union in Michigan and the president & ceo of Community Financial Credit Union. We believe that credit unions can be employers of choice. We believe that credit unions can fuel economic development. We believe that credit unions can play a leading role in solving housing affordability. We believe credit unions can solve wealth disparity challenges.
I know Community Financial Credit Union must contribute to shifting the significant challenges facing our great state. The financial cooperative model positions us well to do so. The dreamers and doers leading and shaping positive change will not have it any other way. Huzzah, Michigan! Bring on your vibrant summer season. The future lies here.
orsa, the credit union you knew as Community Financial Credit Union (CFCU)
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