PORTFOLIO John Coleman, ICBA director of advocacy Checks & Balances By Kelly Pike The grassroots go-to guy Want to reach someone in Congress? Try calling John Coleman, ICBA's director of advocacy. Coleman has become an expert on starting conversations between community banks and policymakers on how to do right by the industry. eaching out to a member of Congress can be intimidating. Community bankers don't always know who to call, when to call or what to say. That's why they have John " Jack " Coleman, ICBA's director of advocacy. Coleman's job is to train bankers on grassroots advocacy and help create tools and messaging to make it easier to communicate with members of Congress, their staff and others on federal legislative and regulatory issues. From developing templates to answering questions, he's an expert 38 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q January 2020 R in helping community bankers be their own best advocates. " We want all our community bankers to be empowered through advocacy and action, " Coleman says. " One of the tenets we're working on here is how do we make this as easy as possible for the banker. " An early win When Coleman joined ICBA in June, the association was nearing the fi nish line in its decade-long Quick stat 320+ meetings were held between community bankers and policymakers during ICBA's 2019 Capital Summit Illustration: Randall Nelson