Arise Welcomes Its New CEO

The Board of Directors of what will be Minnesota's first Black-led credit union, Arise, has named Minneapolis resident, Daniel Johnson, as CEO-designee.

Johnson is an experienced financial professional with a broad range of close relationships with business and community leaders throughout the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. He brings extensive nonprofit board service with a focus on uplifting the most vulnerable and underserved residents of North Minneapolis.

“I envision the credit union as a tool to help address some of the long overdue financial needs of residents of North Minneapolis and beyond,” said Johnson. Johnson most recently served as branch manager at GEICO Insurance. He previously held positions as personal banker, business banker and branch vice president at Wells Fargo’s Business and Consumer Banking Division. The journey to bring Minnesota its first Black-led credit union has been long and not without challenges. Major goals have been reached with support from the community and organizations including the African American Credit Union Coalition and the Minnesota Credit Union Network. These groups and community organizers of Arise met to elect the membership; elect the credit union’s board, supervisory and credit committees; and approve the credit union’s bylaws. Arise’s Board of Directors then proceeded with its first official meeting to chart the future of the organization. The Association for Black Economic Power, finalized and submitted the credit union’s charter and insurance applications to the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the National Credit Union Administration on Oct. 31, 2022. ABEP is managing the next phase of strategic planning and implementing critical items from the proposed credit union’s business plan. The Board of Directors of what will be Minnesota's first Black-led credit union, Arise, has named Minneapolis resident, Daniel Johnson, as CEO-designee.

Johnson is an experienced financial professional with a broad range of close relationships with business and community leaders throughout the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. He brings extensive nonprofit board service with a focus on uplifting the most vulnerable and underserved residents of North Minneapolis.

“I envision the credit union as a tool to help address some of the long overdue financial needs of residents of North Minneapolis and beyond,” said Johnson. Johnson most recently served as branch manager at GEICO Insurance. He previously held positions as personal banker, business banker and branch vice president at Wells Fargo’s Business and Consumer Banking Division. The journey to bring Minnesota its first Black-led credit union has been long and not without challenges. Major goals have been reached with support from the community and organizations including the African American Credit Union Coalition and the Minnesota Credit Union Network. These groups and community organizers of Arise met to elect the membership; elect the credit union’s board, supervisory and credit committees; and approve the credit union’s bylaws. Arise’s

Board of Directors then proceeded with its first official meeting to chart the future of the organization. The Association for Black Economic Power, finalized and submitted the credit union’s charter and insurance applications to the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the National Credit Union Administration on Oct. 31, 2022. ABEP is managing the next phase of strategic planning and implementing critical items from the proposed credit union’s business plan.