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Ryan Best is Chief Experience Officer at Wide Open Ventures, where he helps credit unions transform AI skepticism into strategic advantage. A practical technologist who believes in action over analysis paralysis, Ryan specializes in making emerging technology accessible and immediately applicable for Credit Union leaders. His approach? Skip the hype, deliver the how-to, and get teams using AI before lunch tomorrow.

Tavish Taylor joined ALM First in December 2024. As a Director for the firm, he specializes in customizing and implementing actionable and effective ALM and investment strategies to maximize client performance. Additionally, Tavish proactively designs sensitivity analyses and scenarios to test client balance sheet exposure to various factors and formulates action plans to optimize client performance within policy and risk tolerances. As a trusted advisor, he helps financial institutions build high performing investment portfolios and efficient balance sheets. 

Prior to joining ALM First, Tavish served as Chief Financial Officer for Intrepid Credit Union. He also served in various roles for Credit Union 1 in Alaska, including leading internal teams as Vice President, Data & Strategy. Overall, he brings a wealth of industry experience to his role at the firm.

Tavish is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration – Finance from Seattle Pacific University. After working in data analytics, he decided to become a CPA and began consulting with credit unions and banks throughout the northwestern United States.

Gavin Guest is Vice President of Product Management at OnBoard, a leading board management and governance platform. With more than 25 years in technology and product leadership, Gavin has guided organizations through innovation, transformation, and growth across industries including financial services, education, and SaaS.

He has launched multiple products from concept to market success and led teams that balance innovation with operational discipline. Before joining OnBoard, Gavin directed product strategy at Govenda through its acquisition by OnBoard/JMI and held leadership roles at LendingStandard and Netchemia, where he helped scale SaaS solutions for finance and education.

A certified Pragmatic Institute Product Marketer and member of the Private Directors Association, Gavin is passionate about how technology can strengthen governance, reduce risk, and empower leaders to make confident, data-driven decisions.

Peter facilitates professional development programs for executives and management teams, succession planning processes for boards and CEOs, and nationwide strategic planning engagements. He holds a master’s level recognition in somatic coaching and is a Professional Certified Coach as designated by the International Coaching Federation. His specialty includes weaving together strategy development, critical thinking, and employee engagement to bridge the gap in talent and execution. Daily, Peter works with teams and boards to unlock and leverage their organizational, team, and individual potential. Peter also co-leads the “C” Yourself talent development program for executives pursuing their next level of career potential and has been a teacher in the award-winning Emerging Leaders Program since its inception in 2012.

John Conant is the retired Chief Financial Officer of American Eagle Financial Credit Union (AEFCU), where he served for 34 years and played a central role in the institution’s transformation from a single-sponsor credit union to a community-chartered, state-regulated financial institution.

John’s credit union career began in the late 1970s, when he joined the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as a federal examiner. After seven years with NCUA, he transitioned into credit union operations and governance, ultimately accepting the role of EVP/CFO at AEFCU.

At AEFCU, in addition to his finance role at AEFCU, John has experience in Human Resources, Information Technology, Risk Management, and Quality. John has also served on Board committees, including Executive, Technology, Personnel, Investment, and the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO). He was a driving force behind the modernization of governance practices, leading the development of a comprehensive 600-page 'Organizational Framework' that replaced outdated and unwritten board norms with structured, legally-aligned policies. He guided the Credit Union through a charter conversion—from federal to state—and oversaw significant field-of-membership expansions, enabling AEFCU to grow beyond its roots serving Pratt & Whitney employees to a broader community footprint.
He also served on the Supervisory Committee and Board of Directors at Constitution State Corporate Credit Union. Throughout his career, John navigated dramatic shifts in interest rates, regulatory environments, product offerings, and the growing complexity of compliance and board governance. His focus on documentation, fiduciary integrity, and long-term growth helped position AEFCU for ongoing success.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from North Adams State College and an MBA from Western New England University.

Tim Neiman is the CEO of Dynamic Edge. Since the start of the company in 1999, he’s led strategy and operations evolving from a traditional, local “break/fix shop” into a leading Managed Services Provider with clients nationwide. Tim earned an MBA in Corporate Strategy and Organizational Management from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. He enjoys helping clients build strategic roadmaps that include technology, operations, and people. Tim brings his passion for legendary customer service to credit unions where members are always the top priority.

Mike Schenk has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry.

During his long career at the nation’s primary credit union trade association Mike led a dynamic team of top research professionals.  In his role as chief economist, he ensured that America’s Credit Unions was first among all depository trade groups to harness the power of big data - spearheading the organization’s use of the 35-billion record Equifax database to prove the credit union difference and ensure policy makers recognize, embrace and promote the transformative power of cooperative finance.  

As Principal in People Not Profit, LLC he consults and speaks about economics and depository finance nationally as well as for state leagues and individual credit unions.

Schenk also serves as a Strategic Advisor for Filene Research Institute - the credit union movement’s leader in insight & innovation.  In this capacity he helps shape cutting-edge research that advances the “people-helping-people philosophy” and strengthens the ability of credit unions to improve their members’ financial well-being.  His enthusiastic support for Filene’s mission grew from a close working relationship with the Filene team and from his tenure on the Filene Board of Directors.

He serves on the board of Summit Credit Union in Madison, Wisconsin – a $7.5 billion financial cooperative with 250,000 members and a focus on helping women avoid poverty in retirement.  In his 20 years on the Summit board Mike has served as Board Chair and has Chaired the credit union’s Asset-Liability Management and Risk Management/Internal Audit Committees.  He currently serves as the credit union’s Treasurer.