Jennifer Aguilar, APRP

Alston & Bird

Jennifer Aguilar is a senior associate in Alston & Bird’s Financial Services & Products Group. She counsels financial services clients on regulatory and transactional matters, with a focus on payments laws and network rules.

Jennifer advises clients on matters relating to the Nacha Operating Rules and Guidelines, card network rules, the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA), Truth in Savings Act (TISA), Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA Act) and Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and a variety of state laws.

Before joining Alston & Bird, Jennifer was an associate at a law firm in a leading consumer financial services group, where she advised clients on requirements relating to consumer protection and disclosures, deposit products, payment cards, credit cards, checks, and installment lending. She also served as counsel at the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU), where she provided comprehensive compliance assistance on the federal consumer financial services regulations to the nation's credit unions.

Marlene Barkheimer

Farmers State Bank

Marlene Barkheimer is the President and CEO of Community Independent Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary Farmers State Bank in West Salem, OH, which she has managed since 1991.

Ms. Barkheimer has been involved with many local not-for-profit organizations and is currently working with Friends of Hospice as board member and treasurer. She is a trustee of the Wayne County Community Foundation and a member of the Ashland University Business Advisory Council for the School of Business and Economics. Ms. Barkheimer also serves as Treasurer for the Ashland Roots Community Market.

She currently serves as chairman of Lodi Community Hospital and as a director of Nacha, EPCOR Electronic Payments, and is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council (CDIAC). She previously served as a director of the Community Bankers Association and Ohio Banking Commission.

Aaron Beam

Mr. Beam was a co-founder of Healthsouth and the company’s first CFO. From 1984 to 1996 he helped grow Healthsouth into a Fortune 500 company. However, in 1996 he took part in an accounting fraud at the company that resulted in one of the largest corporate frauds in the history of the United States. In 2003 he pled guilty to the crime and was sent to federal prison.

He began his public speaking career in 2008 and as of 2022 has spoken to over 1,000 different groups. These include universities, associations, companies, churches and civic groups. His primary message is about corporate fraud, who is actually responsible, how they take place, and what can be done to prevent frauds such as Enron and Healthsouth. While Mr. Beam does not consider himself a motivational speaker, he does hope his speeches will motivate people to live a more ethical life.

Mr. Beam is also an author. His first book “Healthsouth: The Wagon to Disaster” was published in 2009. His second book was published in 2015 “Ethics Playbook: Winning Ethically in Business.” He graduated from LSU in 1967. Today he lives in Loxley, Alabama with his wife of 52 years, Phyllis.

Brad Bristow

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Brad Bristow joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in April 2021. In his role as Regional Relationship Manager, Brad relies on his 17 years of retail banking experience, including three years as a commercial insurance producer. Brad lives with his wonderful wife, Kim, and their 15-year-old cat, Treasure.

Dave DeFazio

StrategyCorps

Armed with a passion for banking strategy, StrategyCorps partner Dave DeFazio has found great success and satisfaction in exploring the intersection of data, marketing, and technology.

Dave’s extensive financial services experience and continuous research in the field help him ensure that each product and service meets the needs of today's financial institutions. At StrategyCorps, he leads and manages the company’s direct sales efforts while working directly with financial institutions to design, build, and implement a variety of checking solutions.

He downloads banking apps for fun. On the weekend. And talks about them at dinner with his family. Across the industry, Dave is a highly sought-after speaker who has shared thought leadership on innovations in financial technology, retail banking, mobile banking, customer engagement, product and customer profitability, product design, bank marketing, and changing consumer behaviors in an increasingly mobile-centric world.

Dave graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a B.A. in Economics and Mathematics.

Susan Doyle, AAP

EPCOR

Ms. Doyle is President & CEO of EPCOR, a not-for-profit payment association which provides education and advisory services to member organizations to help them maintain compliance, improve operational processes and mitigate risk and fraud of the U.S. payments systems. She currently serves on the Board of the U.S. Faster Payments Council, various Nacha committees and the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Payments Advisory Group. Prior to EPCOR, Ms. Doyle was Senior Vice President, Electronic Payments Channel Manager for Commerce Bank where she was responsible for product strategy, development and compliance for electronic payment products. She began her banking career at First National Bank of Omaha as a business financial analyst, bank operations manager and operations officer over ACH and wire transfers. She has been actively engaged in various payments organizations for many years including the Nacha Board of Directors, Federal Reserve Banks Faster Payments Task Force (FPTF), American Bankers Association Payments Administrative Committee, Governance Framework Formation Team (GFFT), U.S. Faster Payments Council and the Kansas City Federal Reserve Product Advisory Group. Ms. Doyle graduated from the University of Maryland-Asian Division with a BS in Business Administration and earned an International Business Certificate while working in Japan. She earned her Masters’ Banking Certificate from the University of Omaha in 2000 and her Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) certification in 2006.

Joshua Dunaway

Fifth Third Bank

Joshua is the Vice President of Senior Treasury Management Officer at Fifth Third Bank. Passionate and driven leader with a diverse background in Information Technology, Product Management, Commercial Banking Sales and Military Service. Proven history of executing enterprise-level strategic initiatives through direct and in-direct leadership. Decisive decision maker with an ability to absorb limited information and understand outcomes that align with business objectives.

David Edwards

SBS CyberSecurity

Vice President at SBS CyberSecurity, David Edwards is a Certified Banking Security Manager and Certified Banking Incident Handler. In his role, David leverages his twenty years of experience in leadership roles in the financial services, payments and information security industries. David earned BA, Economics from the University of Iowa and MBA from DePaul University.

Will K. Grace, MBA

DeNovo Treasury, LLC.

Founder and lead consultant, Will K. Grace is a 32-year veteran of the financial services industry, having spent his career working for large and mid-size financial institutions, a core processor, and most recently, a fintech start-up. He is an expert in treasury management for businesses of all sizes, and the products, services, and solutions to manage their payables, receivables, deposits, liquidity, and digital banking needs.

Michael Herd

Nacha

Michael Herd leads Nacha’s ACH Network Administration department, which is responsible for the Nacha Rules, ACH risk management, compliance, and advocacy. Mike manages the Nacha rulemaking process and its Rules and Operations Committee. Most recently, Nacha’s strategic priorities have been the implementation and adoption of Same Day ACH, and the rollout of a new Risk Management Framework for the era of credit-push fraud.

Scott Jones, Esq.

Adams & Reese LLP

Scott is a payments lawyer and partner in the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP. He began his practice as a litigator and has over a decade of experience advising banks and other clients on risk-minimization and best practices for avoiding litigation. He advises banks throughout the United States on payment systems and bank operations, including emerging payments, treasury management, wire transfers, ACH, Internet banking, and mobile banking. Scott also represents financial institutions and other entities in payment fraud cases and other payment-related disputes across the southeast United States.

Diana Kern, AAP

SHAZAM

A veteran financial services trainer, Diana’s well respected for her vast knowledge of the payments industry. With that knowledge comes the experience to understand a financial institution’s inner workings and then train staff on products and services related to the card payments system, the ACH network, and EFT compliance.

Clients appreciate the way Diana can help them connect detailed operations concepts like fraud mitigation, exceptions handling, interchange, and ROI to their day-to-day responsibilities. She can explain seemingly complicated things in a simple, relatable way, helping them understand what it means to them.

Jen Kirk, MBA, AAP

Arvest Bank

Jen is currently the Product Manager in the for all things emerging at Arvest Bank where she leads the Bank's transformational Emerging Payments strategy. In her role she partners with stakeholders across the bank to set the vision and direction of the emerging payment solutions offered to Arvest customers. She strives to transform the emerging payment offerings of the Bank with the simplicity and experience each of our customers expect.

Jen is currently a member of the Transformation Program at Arvest, using her experience to transform payments. She recently helped to deploy Arvest’s first product on their new, next-gen core, Thought Machine.

Prior to working at Arvest Bank, Jen was the VP, Education for EPCOR - a not-for-profit trade association which provides payments expertise to industry stakeholders through education, advice and member representation.

Jen obtained her MBA in the Ohio University Executive Business Program and graduated with a BS in Public Relations from Capital University. She is deeply involved in the payments industry through various groups including U.S. Faster Payments Council, FedNow Pilot, and Nacha’s Conference Planning Committee and Nacha’s TPI Board of Regents. She obtained her AAP in 2003.

Jennifer Kline, AAP, APRP, NCP

EPCOR

Jennifer directs the development and execution of EPCOR’s audit and risk assessment programs for Advisory Services, including operational, staffing and financial responsibilities. Jennifer also travels throughout EPCOR’s footprint to conduct ACH Compliance audits and risk assessments, Third-Party Sender audits and risk assessments, Remote Deposit Capture audits and risk assessments and Wire Transfer audits and risk assessments. As part of these services, Jennifer verifies compliance with ACH Rules, payments-related regulations and regulatory guidance. Jennifer also provides education and shares best practices with financial institutions and Third-Party Senders to support their efforts towards maintaining compliance, improving operational processes and mitigating risk and fraud. In addition, Jennifer collaborates on EPCOR publications designed to assist financial institutions and Third-Party Senders in conducting audits and risk assessments related to the payments industry.

Jennifer began her banking career while earning her B.S. in Public Finance from Indiana University, Bloomington. Jennifer has over eighteen years’ experience in the banking industry with a strong emphasis in payment systems management and backroom deposit operations.

In 1997, she earned her AAP, Accredited ACH Professional certification and for fun, took the test again in 2007 and 2017. In 2011, she earned her NCP designation as a National Check Professional. In 2018, Jennifer was part of the inaugural class of Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP).

Nanci McKenzie, JM, AAP, APRP

Affirmative Technologies

Nanci McKenzie is the Executive Vice President, Compliance & Product Strategy at Affirmative Technologies. Nanci has over 36-years’ experience in the financial industry including more than 25 years in bank and credit union operations and audit, five years in financial technology and four years at the Payments Association, ePayResources. Nanci holds a Juris Master’s degree in Financial Regulation and Compliance from Florida State University College of Law and a B.S. degree in Business Information Management. Nanci is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) since 2004 and an Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) since in 2018. Nanci is currently pursuing a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) at Drexel University.

Stephanie Miracl

Federal Reserve Financial Services

Stephanie Miracle serves in a leadership role on the product management team for the FedNow Service, a near real-time payment and settlement service under development by the Federal Reserve Banks to support instant payments in the United States. Miracle supports fraud mitigation capabilities being developed by the service, as well as supports industry readiness efforts specifically focused on adoption and innovation across the ecosystem of financial institutions, payment service providers, and financial services providers to end-customers and businesses.

Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Banks, Miracle spent more than a decade working with financial institutions in various roles to drive customer engagement, improve data quality, and create compelling digital banking channels experiences. Her career has focused on customer’s journey with a passion for making the lives of consumers better with technology and helping businesses connect with their customers in more meaningful ways.

Kevin Olsen, AAP, NCP, APRP, CHPC

The Payments Professor

Kevin Olsen is the Payments Professor bringing enthusiasm and motivation to presentations. Viewing the world as a classroom which is exemplified in the professor’s “edutainment” ed-u-tain-mint (noun\ When education is motivating, informative, and fun) style of training as he seeks to educate and inform all on the latest developments and trends in the fascinating world of electronic payments Kevin develops programs, presentations, and articles designed to orient and educate financial professionals on a multitude of electronic payment topics. Kevin is also a certified business coach helping lead organizations to innovate and communicate in the ever-changing world of payments, including building of payment strategies with a focus on product development and use cases for faster payments (RTP & FedNow).

Among his many certifications Kevin is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP), an Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP), an NCP (National Check Payments Certification) as well as an NCP Certified Trainer and a Certified High-Performance Coach (CHPC).

Kristin Parker, CAMS, CAFP, CCBP

RiskScout

Kristin Parker plays an integral part of RiskScout as the Director of Compliance, offering a unique skill set of risk-based consulting, client outreach, and thought leadership on emerging industries. Parker has had a flourishing career in community bank BSA/AML arenas, including In early 2019 when, she successfully created and implemented one of the first Federal Reserve Bank approved hemp onboarding and ongoing monitoring programs.

Robert Paylor

In one moment, Robert Paylor was in the best day of his life, competing for the collegiate rugby national championship. In the next moment, his life changed forever. Robert suffered a spinal cord injury in the first minutes of the game and found himself face down in the turf unable to move anything below his neck. His doctor told him he would never walk or move his hands for the rest of his life. Through an unbreakable vision and relentless determination, Robert is defying the odds. He has graduated from UC Berkeley, is winning the fight to walk again, and is sharing the tools that have helped him overcome quadriplegia.

Everyone is paralyzed by something, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. Robert’s story and the tools that he continues to use to overcome his challenges helps others to both identify and conquer that which paralyzes them. His message stirs businesses and individuals to cultivate purpose in their work, fully access the collective resilience of their team, develop a reflexive sense of gratitude, and maintain positivity through even the most daunting challenges.

Nicole Payne, AAP, APRP, CPA, CRCM, CIA

EPCOR

Nicole is responsible for the strategic direction, managing, planning, analysis and execution of all aspects of EPCOR’s Advisory Services, including but not limited to the association’s audit, risk, consulting and third-party services. In addition, Nicole collaborates on EPCOR publications designed to assist all participants in conducting audits and risk assessments, as well as assists with the development of audit and risk-related educational opportunities for members.

Nicole’s experience spans over twenty years in the financial services industry serving in a variety of roles. Nicole started her career as an external auditor at a public accounting firm, with an emphasis on financial services clients. Nicole has also worked as an internal auditor focused primarily on auditing Deposit Operations, Treasury and Cash Management functions, including ACH, Electronic Banking, Wire Transfer, Remote Deposit Capture, Items Processing, Positive Pay and Account Analysis. Nicole was also a Deposit Operations Manager and Compliance Monitoring and Testing Manager.

Sylvia M. Pla-Raith, MA, LSW

Ohio Attorney General’s Office

Sylvia Pla-Raith has vast expertise in advocating for the interests of older adults and a justice society. As of November of 2015, she has served as the Director of the Elder Justice Unit and the Lead Staff of the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Commission. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, she served as the Chief Supervisor for Adult Protective Services in Cuyahoga County. In addition, Sylvia is a certified adult protective services core trainer for the Ohio Human Services Training System (OHSTS). Her experiences include, elder abuse investigations, training, advocacy and policy development. Sylvia actively serves on collaboratives that focus on elder justice through education, outreach, advocacy, policy and coalition building. She a Master of Arts degree from John Carroll University and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The Ohio State University.

Shelly Sipple, AAP, APRP, NCP

EPCOR

Shelly Sipple joined EPCOR in 2005 following an 11-year career with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. As EPCOR’s Senior Director of Certifications & Continuing Education, she designs and conducts education programs in support of ACH to over 2,000 financial institutions and corporate members. Shelly presents at regional and national industry conferences as an ACH payments expert. She received her Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) designation in October 2006, her Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP) in March 2018, and the National Check Professional (NCP) certification in May 2019. She is an active member of Nacha’s APRP Oversight Panel and holds a Bachelor’s in Business Education.

Jim Stickley

Stickley on Security

Jim Stickley has stolen credit cards, hacked Social Security numbers, robbed banks, and created fake ATMs. He has broken into armed government facilities and has stolen from teenagers. He is an identity thief, but he is no criminal. Fortunately for all victims involved, Stickley is a cybersecurity expert with more than 30 years in the industry who was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security, news agencies investigating security concerns, and other media outlets interested in knowing just how easy it is to commit identity theft. His job is to find security flaws before the real criminals and warn people and organizations about what they can do to protect themselves.

Stickley is a published author and has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers including Time Magazine, Business Week, Fortune Magazine and New York Times. He has also been showcased on numerous television shows including NBC's "Nightly News", CNN's "NewsNight", CNBC's "The Big Idea", Anderson Cooper's "Anderson" and is a frequent guest on NBC's "Today Show.” You can also see Stickley almost any night of the week as the featured cybersecurity expert for LifeLock infomercials.

Tristan Thompson

Arvest Bank

Tristan Thompson is Director of Payments Strategy at Arvest Bank. He brings over 14 years of Banking and Financial Services experience. His passion has been in payments innovation and emerging payments advancement in the U.S. At Arvest he is responsible for developing and overseeing the long-term enterprise payments strategic plan and subsequent short-term cross-functional payments strategies. He is deeply involved in the payments industry and has served on multiple committees and groups including U.S. Faster Payments Council, Nacha Payments Institute Board of Regents, Nacha Rules and Operations Committee, The Federal Reserve Faster Payments Taskforce and EPCOR Board. His community involvement includes serving on the KC Cares for Kids Leadership Team and volunteer for the Dream Factory of Greater Kansas City. Prior to his time with Arvest, he was Head of Payment Products at UMB Bank.

Elena Whisler

The Clearing House

Elena Whisler is Senior Vice President of Sales and Relationship Management at The Clearing House. Elena is currently responsible for overseeing the customer relationship, sales and marketing teams to manage and expand its client base across The Clearing House’s core payments products (RTP® network, CHIPS, ACH and check image exchange). Current priorities include growing the RTP network across the US financial system participants and evolving the customer engagement model for all TCH Products.

Prior to joining The Clearing House, she held regional and global product management positions at FIS, Clear2Pay and Fiserv as well as working at the Federal Reserve Bank within the Retail Product Office and Monetary Policy Divisions working on cross-border activities and economic policy in Latin America.

Elena also serves on multiple industry councils such as the P20 Board, the Women in Payments Advisory Board as well as the Girls on the Run Central Ohio Board.

Trevor Witchey, AAP

EPCOR

Trevor Witchey is currently the Senior Director of Payments Education at EPCOR since August 2022. Prior to joining EPCOR, he worked for a commercial financial institution for almost 17 years with almost 12 years of that timeframe within digital payments. Trevor has experience managing products, services, risk/fraud, and operations of ACH, Wire Transfer, Debit Card/ATM, Online Banking platforms, and Treasury Management related account holders. In addition, he is a 2004 graduate of Ohio University with a Master’s Degree in Economics and used to teach economics or mathematics evening courses at a local community college for almost 15 years.