Diving deeper into a record-breaking GAC

March 9, 2026

The Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) 2026 wasn’t just a record-breaking show of credit union advocacy, it was a chance to highlight the best of a movement that serves more than 145 million Americans.

Dive deeper into this year’s event with blog posts examining:

  • Why America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson called cooperative finance “one of the most successful social movements in the history of America," and why its story must be continuously told. The entry also features an extended version of the video shown onstage at GAC, highlighting one member’s story and how this single example is multiplied millions of times over across the movement. 
  • How advocacy’s focus should be giving decisionmakers the information they need to act. This was emphasized in an advocacy panel with America’s Credit Unions, league, and credit union leaders. The panel discussed the importance of both stories of serving members and data-backed policy analysis, and the different strategies for approaching legislative and regulatory advocacy. 
  • How credit unions’ collaborative and member-first nature led Inman Award Winner and Financial Partners President/CEO Nader Moghaddam into the movement, and then to Councils. His impact includes co-founding the CEO Council and chairing the Operations Council and the Councils Executive Committee. Moghaddam describes Councils as “the secret sauce” of the movement, elevating technical expertise and professional development in critical ways that enhance member service.