NextGen Leaders: Mario Mejia

Mario Mejia

Business Development Director

$165 million Department of Interior Federal Credit Union

Washington, D.C.

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Watch Mario’s CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec video

Give us the elevator speech about your project (as in how would you describe your project to someone you meet in an elevator?):

My project harnesses the value of service combined with a strategic approach to produce growth. By hosting monthly philanthropic events in the local area, led by employees and members of the Interior Federal credit union, we help fill a societal need, volunteering. Through this activity we also open the door to credit union membership and regularly connect with new organizations, which presents a partnering opportunity. As a hub of volunteerism we are able to effectively meet people in their environment. It is there where we can be most effective.

What is your long-term career goal?

To be a CEO of a credit union would be an honor. I have considered this option, and angled my direction in this path for several years now. Each year growing closer with the help of my employer and mentors. The credit union industry is one that I can consider home and would like to give back to it with this form of service, along with contributing to the area in which I live in a more meaningful way.

Fill in the dots: The future of credit unions will be bright if...

We as an industry would be more aggressive in the use and application of technology systems and resources. This doesn’t have to be a drastic change and overhaul from the traditional mentality that many credit unions hold, but yet a way to attract/usher in the next generation of consumers, mainstream processes, and potentially cut cost for ineffective FTE hours.

What my generation brings to the credit union movement is …

Innovation that challenges the status quo. We are solution driven professional people who can dream big. It’s there where we can be most effective combining vision and application in a given environment. I feel as if my generation also brings relevancy to anticipate changes in the marketplace. As young adults, we tend to have a pulse on the heartbeat of social norms. Using judgment, and a strategic approach we can be formidable assets to any organization.

People consider me a leader because …

At the core of my business acumen, education, experience and philanthropic activities is a heart of service. Over the years I have been able to exercise and refine several skill sets to produce and achieve heights in goals. Yet, I don’t believe that’s why I would be considered a leader. I believe that I live in a society that notices numbers and they are important and needed. However, they serve as proof of something I may be doing that is working. Yet, I believe my true leadership strength is found in my ability to innovate, influence and replicate by teaching/motivating. I believe that anyone can be a leader based on the qualities that person possesses, if given the opportunity to operate in their fullness. I’ve had the pleasure to operate in this type of culture at my credit union. I’ve been humble enough to understand that my leadership abilities didn’t come from me but from the individuals who’ve allowed me to sharpen the tools I use now to identify the ordinary in my work to produce the extraordinary. My leadership has been identified because of circumstances that made demands on my potential and I maximize the opportunity. It is those qualities that keep me anchored and steadies my path from opportunity to ingenuity to use that heart of service along with the strategic planning process. I’ve been honored that people identified me as one who has the ability to decipher an opportunity or transform that obstacle into an advantage. Goals can get reached through leadership but the ability to build beyond the numbers is what people have given me credit for in regards to becoming a leader.

Who is your hero and why?

When I consider someone who I’d consider a hero I think of my brother. Although only one year apart in age and several inches in height--my brother being the recipient of the age and height--I’ve been able to see him take a stand for all the things he believes in. He is my hero because his drive is inspiring and his will to do for others is relentless. By day or when deployed my brother’s children will be the first to say their daddy is gone because he is fighting bad guys. As a member of the intelligence community in the USAF, he does just that. It says something to his character to be entrusted by some of the highest officials in the land with secrets worth putting his life for, daily. However I consider it heroic because he does this so that everyone else can make it home, daily. That is a tradeoff many people wouldn’t make. His dedication to the precious conditions of life doesn’t stop there. He is an father of three and loving husband. He is a business man, and pillar within the communities he has called home. Life is precious and he is a proponent of protecting it as much as he is to getting the most. His method of doing so is by honoring the abilities and gifts he’s been given. For that he is my hero.

Who is a must-follow on Twitter?

There are so many amazing people to follow on Twitter. Here’s a few of my routine visits or people who make my life a little better through music, a laugh, advancement, etc. The one commonality amongst all of the people is that they all are individuals who dare to believe that anything is possible, and it’s contagious.

@netflix. @TimShropComedy. @cumagazine, @GavinDavis, @markalcruz, @TheCorpsNetwork, @MDDCCUA, @Phroogal, @BishopJakes, @CUNA, @remeade, @TanyaDLewis, @repdonnaedwards, @SFCfitness, @nbcwashington

Does your credit union have Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Pinterest/LinkedIn/Instagram other social media accounts? Please provide links:

Facebook: Department of Interior Federal Credit Union

LinkedIn: Department of Interior Federal Credit Union

YouTube: Department of Interior Federal Credit Union

What is your favorite CUES member benefit? Or, if you are a new CUES NextGen member, what benefit are you most looking forward to using?

As a new member to the CUES NextGen membership I look forward to utilizing all the resources I’ve been given. I am an advocate for being involved, through activity doors can open and it creates the potential for new opportunities. Although all the resources are attractive, my priorities would be the discounts to join the CUES Advancing Group and CUES Executive Group. This would contribute to my long term goals and allow me to align my activities to those needed to reach that goal. I would also enjoy the access to the CUES Member Share . Lastly, I would spend a lot of time on CUES Net. All of these benefits allow me the tools needed to stay on track for my professional goals.