The National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics (NILE) recognized CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan as one of the top lobbyists of 2021. The professional association for those in the lobbying and grassroots profession, NILE curates a yearly list of professionals that saw significant legislative success in 2021, were innovative in their field, and gave back to their community through charitable contributions.

“This year has certainly presented a world of new challenges for advocacy professionals,” Donovan said. “But credit unions were well-positioned to achieve advocacy success because we have a well-defined advocacy goal; a 360-degree advocacy strategy that is fierce and bold, addresses issues from all angles, and leverages the strength of our national network of state credit union leagues; and an advocacy agenda that marries credit unions’ public policy needs with the realities of the political environment. It’s an honor to be among the leaders of this awesome advocacy machine.”

Donovan led CUNA’s opposition to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting provision of the reconciliation bill, engaging with all 535 Congressional offices to reconsider the proposal, which was eventually removed from the final package.