Melisa Kallestad, CUDE
Melisa Kallestad is Senior Director of Compliance & Lending Education for Credit Union National Association (CUNA), the most influential financial services trade association which advocates for America’s credit unions. Kallestad brings career-long industry experience to her role and is responsible for the compliance, risk, lending, cybersecurity, collections, and audit education portfolio. She and her team design and deliver an extensive portfolio of educational programs and resources for credit union professionals, leagues, and industry stakeholders.
Prior to joining CUNA, Kallestad had a 20-year career with First American Credit Union of Beloit, Wisconsin. While in college, she began working from the credit union branch basement microfilming documents. From there she finished her college journey while working as a teller and then moved to Member Service Officer, Branch Manager and Retail Manager. Special areas of focus within the credit union included training, compliance, lending, member service, and branch operations. In addition, Kallestad spent several years as a Continuing Financial Education Instructor for Rock Valley College.
Kallestad holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business with a minor in Financial Planning. She has also participated CUNA’s World Class Customer Service and is a Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor.
