Close the Gap Between Qualified and Ready

The Ascent CEO Accelerator is a nine-month leadership journey for high-potential female credit union executives preparing to step into the CEO seat.

Apply for 2026 Cohort

Ascent CEO Accelerator Launch Video

You've Earned Your Seat at the Table. But the CEO Chair Still Feels Just Out of Reach

You're performing at a high level. You're trusted. Your CEO sees your potential. But when you imagine yourself in that role, leading the board, setting the vision, carrying
the weight of enterprise-level decisions, something hesitates.

Maybe it's the voice that says
"I'm not ready yet."

Maybe it's the invisible ceiling. The one that keeps other women stalled before the CEO threshold.

Maybe it's knowing you need to be more visible, more vocal,
more CEO in how you show up.

But you're not sure how to make that shift without feeling like you're performing.

Here's the truth: You don't have a competence problem. You have a readiness gap.

And readiness isn't built by doing more. It's built by becoming more. More clear on who you are as a leader. More confident in your strategic voice. More visible in the spaces that matter.

That's what the Ascent CEO Accelerator does.

From Qualified
to Undeniable

The Ascent program doesn't just prepare you for the CEO role.
It transforms how you see yourself, how you lead, and how others experience your leadership.

Before Ascent, you might

  • Undersell your enterprise impact in high-stakes conversations

  • Feel invisible or underestimated in board settings

  • Struggle to articulate your leadership story at CEO altitude

  • Question whether you're "ready enough" to pursue the role

  • Operate from capability, but not yet confidence

After Ascent, you will

  • Lead with unshakeable clarity on who you are as a CEO-level leader

  • Show up in board conversations with presence, confidence, and strategic authority

  • Tell your leadership story in a way that positions you as the obvious choice

  • Step into CEO opportunities without hesitation or self-doubt

  • Operate from a fully formed CEO identity, not just aspiration

This isn't theory. It's transformation
you can feel–and others will see.
carousel-05.jpg
EmpowerHerSummit_MichelleDiamond-86-2.jpeg
carousel-07.jpg
carousel-06.jpg
carousel-03.jpg
multiracial-business-women-smiling-on-camera-insid-2025-03-10-10-44-27-utc.jpg

The CEO Blueprint™

Every Ascent CEO Accelerator participant leaves the program with something no other leadership experience delivers: The CEO Blueprint™, a fully built, personalized strategic roadmap that positions you as CEO-ready.

This is your operating system for the next chapter of your career.


The CEO Blueprint™ Includes

  • A crystal-clear outline of the CEO role you're pursuing: capabilities, leadership attributes, and enterprise-level responsibilities. You stop guessing. You start aiming with precision.

  • An honest, grounded reflection on who you are today. Strengths, gaps, mindset patterns, confidence barriers. This becomes the truth-telling moment that unlocks accelerated growth.


  • Your portfolio of CEO-ready stories: transformation, culture, strategic clarity, board impact, all articulated in a compelling, board-level way. This becomes your narrative operating system

  • Tools and experiments that dismantle imposter syndrome, neutralize self-doubt, and create unshakeable internal confidence. Inner elevation creates outer impact.


  • A strategic approach to raising your leadership profile inside your credit union and across the national system. You become visible, legible, and undeniable.


  • A refined understanding of who you are at CEO altitude: your differentiators, value drivers, superpowers, and leadership essence. You shift from "qualified" to "compelling."


  • A suite of crisp, memorable CEO-level soundbites you can deploy in interviews, presentations, board conversations, and sector events. This becomes your personal PR engine.

Ascent participants architect their path to the role and rise into it with confidence, presence, and precision.

What 2025 Cohort Participants Are Saying

  • "One of the most powerful aspects was the community of women executives. The shared experiences and meaningful dialogue fostered growth through mutual encouragement and collective wisdom. I now have a trusted circle of peers I can lean on, learn from, and collaborate with beyond the program."


  • "The value of this program goes far beyond the investment—it's reshaped how I lead and how I see myself as a leader."

  • "The Ascent program was truly transformative. It deepened my understanding of what it means to lead as a high-impact CEO and gave me the mindset, strategies, and confidence to say, 'I'm ready.' I now see the CEO role not as a distant goal, but as a challenge I'm fully prepared to embrace."


  • "This program challenged me to think like a CEO and start to truly envision leadership skills needed. It helped me understand my inhibitions and self-imposed barriers, to see what I was afraid to address. I'm coming out a better leader because of this program."

  • "For any woman considering this journey, it's more than professional development. It's a catalyst for personal and leadership evolution. You'll leave with renewed purpose, practical tools for impact, and a network that amplifies your leadership."


  • "This program accelerated my leadership growth and connected me with an extraordinary circle of high-performing women. Through expert-led sessions, SuperPower hours, female CEO Mentorship and personalized coaching, I gained the clarity and confidence to lead at a whole new level of impact."

  • "The program has given me meaningful space to grow, recalibrate, and lead with purpose, helping me become more intentional about my path in the credit union sector. Erin has created a truly phenomenal program in both content and delivery."

  • "It's been an incredible experience connecting with such a talented cohort and participating in a well thought out program. It's inspired a lot of reflection and growth."

Are You the Right Fit for Ascent?

The Ascent CEO Accelerator is designed for high-potential women executives in the Canadian credit union sector who meet the following criteria

If this is you, we would love
to see your application.

Apply Now

You currently hold:

  • A Vice President, Senior Vice President, or C-suite position within a Canadian credit union

  • At least two years of experience in the Canadian credit union sector

You're ready to:

  • Pursue the CEO seat within the next 3-5 years

  • Engage in deep, reflective coaching to accelerate your growth

  • Commit fully to a nine-month cohort-based journey (including monthly coaching, workshops, and peer learning)

You bring:

  • Openness to feedback, coaching, and peer collaboration

  • High self-awareness and emotional intelligence

  • Values-based, purpose-driven leadership aligned with cooperative principles

  • A genuine commitment to both learning from and contributing to the collective wisdom of the cohort

You have:

  • Endorsement from your current CEO or Board Chair to participate

  • Organizational support for the time and investment required

A Nine-Month Journey from Inner Foundation to Outer Impact

Ascent is an immersive, cohort-based leadership development experience that blends executive coaching, CEO mentorship, peer collaboration, and expert-led learning.

The Program Includes
Six High-Impact Modules

Each module builds on the last, progressing from inner transformation to outer influence:

Module 1: Direction Setting
Craft your CEO blueprint and leadership vision.

Module 2: Organizational Alignment
Build clarity, accountability, and cohesion across teams.

Module 3: Mobilizing Leaders
Empower and elevate others while leading with influence.

Module 4: Board Engagement
Strengthen strategic partnerships and governance readiness.

Module 5: Stakeholder Connection
Lead with authenticity, trust, and purpose.

Module 6: Personal Effectiveness
Sustain performance with focus, energy, and resilience.


Monthly 1:1 Leadership Coaching

Personalized coaching sessions to accelerate learning, fuel growth, and tackle personal leadership roadblocks head-on.

Cohort Mastermind & Leadership Workshops

Monthly peer learning sessions where connection becomes collaboration, support becomes strategy, and trust accelerates growth.

Dedicated Female CEO Mentor

Each participant is matched with an experienced female credit union CEO who provides real-world insight, guidance, and advocacy.

Superpower Hours

Expert-led workshops featuring leaders from across the credit union sector and beyond, offering unique insights on topics like CEO recruitment, digital intelligence, board chair perspectives, and leadership with purpose.

Time Commitment

Approximately 8-12 hours per module, intentionally designed to fit alongside a full executive schedule. What matters most is presence, curiosity, and the courage to invest in your own leadership.

2025 Faculty

  • Erin Harris

    Program Facilitator

  • Launi Skinner

    First West CU

  • Jay-Ann Gilfoy

    Meridian CU

  • Alison Hoskins

    Integris CU

  • Shelley McDade

    Sunshine Coast CU

  • Marie Mullally

    CUA

  • Lisa Colangelo

    YNU

  • Lisa Loughery

    Brunswick CU

  • Rhonda Taylor

    HMECU

The Investment

$16,800
A strategic bet on the leader you're becoming and the organization you'll one day lead.

What You Gain

Nine months of intensive CEO preparation built around you—your strengths, your gaps, your path forward. Monthly executive coaching. A dedicated female CEO mentor who's been in the seat. A CEO Blueprint™ that becomes your roadmap. A national network of women who understand exactly what you're navigating. And the confidence to step into the role when it's yours.

What Your Credit Union Gains

A leader who thinks, speaks, and operates at CEO altitude—right now, not years from now. Stronger board relationships. Sharper strategic thinking. Reduced succession risk. And a ready-now internal candidate who already knows your culture, your members, and your mission.

Ready to Rise?

The Ascent CEO Accelerator runs once per year, with cohorts limited to 8 participants to preserve depth, intimacy, and meaningful connection.

If you're a high-potential woman executive in the Canadian credit union sector who is ready to close the gap between where you are and where you're headed, we want to hear from you.

Don't wait until you've ticked every box. That's the trap. If this resonates in your gut, apply.

The 2026 cohort will be announced in March. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Apply for the 2026 Ascent CEO Accelerator