Jerome Wade / CSP, International Master of Ceremonies

Jerome Wade, CSP, is an inductee into the Global Speakers Hall of Fame, Virtual Speakers Hall of Fame, and best-selling author. He is The International Master of Ceremonies, with more than 3000 events of experience. Jerome masterfully guides audiences through the programming and complexities of event schedules and information with wit and wisdom. Audiences immediately embrace Jerome’s authenticity and professionalism as he energizes and encourages full engagement from the beginning to the end of events.

Jerome goes beyond leading and facilitating meetings from the stage by being highly engaged with audience members before and after sessions as well as after-hours events and activities. Jerome’s irresistible style adds immense value to event planners and attendees as he makes himself available to ensure their success. With an undeterred commitment to providing only the highest quality of emcee professionalism, Jerome is the go-to resource when your event demands the best.

Ann Petros / Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, NAFCU

Ann Petros was named Vice President of Regulatory Affairs in October 2021. In her role, Petros oversees NAFCU’s advocacy to federal agencies, including the National Credit Union Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Petros joined NAFCU in June 2016 as a regulatory affairs counsel and was promoted to senior regulatory affairs counsel in June 2018. Since starting at NAFCU, Petros has led the association’s advocacy on housing finance issues as well as Federal Communications Commission rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Prior to joining NAFCU, Petros worked at a law firm focusing on complex commercial litigation. Petros is a graduate of the George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Binghamton University.

Petros is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the Virginia Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. Petros is also a registered parliamentarian.

Troy Stang / President & CEO, GoWest Credit Union Association

Troy Stang is the President and CEO of GoWest Credit Union Association, a six-state trade association serving more than 300 credit unions and their 16.5 million consumer members. Stang is a lifelong credit union advocate and has led credit union trade associations for over a decade. He’s passionate about building awareness of credit unions, protecting their not-for-profit structure, and sharing the tangible value they deliver to their members, and the impact they have on the communities they serve.

Art Sookazian / President of National Credit Union Collections Alliance (NCUCA)

Art Sookazian serves as the Vice President of Special Services and Risk Management for Los Angeles Federal Credit Union (LAFCU). In addition, he is the President of the National Credit Union Collections Alliance (NCUCA). The NCUCA is a nationwide collections organization for credit unions providing networking, best practices, and educational services. He oversees collections, recoveries, litigation, repossessions, and remarketing at LAFCU. He has twenty years of experience in collections at both captive finance and credit union industries. Art has worked at some of the leading captive finance companies including Toyota Financial Services, Lexus Financial Services, and Isuzu Motors Acceptance Corp. Prior to his time at Los Angeles Federal Credit Union, Art served as the Vice President of Collections at Xceed Financial Credit Union. Art has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from The University of Virginia. In 2016, Art was awarded the CU Times Trailblazer 40 Below award for his success overseeing collections programs at credit unions while forming the NCUCA.

Ashish Garg / Founder & CEO, Eltropy

After earning an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Ashish spent his early career in high-tech. As a Product Manager defining and evangelizing new products, Ashish saw firsthand the changes that the latest technologies, such as Messaging, were bringing to the enterprise. He founded Eltropy with the vision of applying machine learning/AI techniques to enterprise processes to dramatically improve efficiency and customer engagement.

Jenn Quinn / Customer Success Manager, Eltropy

Jenn Quinn has been working with banks and credit unions for more than 15 years building relationships of trust and solving existing pain points. She believes in providing quality leadership for the design and execution of product implementations. Her areas of expertise include the financial services industry, servicing and the mortgage industry.

Jenn joined Eltropy, a SaaS organization, as a customer success manager to build relationships with Credit Unions utilizing the Eltropy platform which includes secure and compliant Text, Video, Audio, Secure Chat and Social Messaging channels.

Jenn is passionate about partnering with clients to understand their expectations and providing the best customer experience. This includes overseeing client onboarding, providing analytics and incorporating feedback into Eltropy.

Teamwork, dependability and positive attitude are why clients both internally and externally enjoy working with her. Jenn believes a collaborative journey throughout the relationship.

Eltropy integrates with IT systems including Symitar, MeridianLink and Corelation.

Bruce A. Pearson / Senior Partner, SW&M

Bruce Pearson is a senior partner at the law offices of Styskal, Wiese & Melchione, LLP (“SW&M”). SW&M has been involved in the financial institution movement since 1936 when its founding partners began practicing law. Bruce has over twenty-four years of experience representing the industry. He provides clients with results oriented, practical and strategic legal and business advice focusing upon corporate governance, insurance coverage, operations and regulatory matters. Bruce’s past credit union work experience provides the firm’s clients with a valuable “in the trenches” perspective.

Bruce received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Illinois where he majored in Russian, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and graduated Cum Laude in 1985. While working for a credit union, he attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1992. He is licensed to practice in the state of Arizona, California, New York, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Bruce is a frequently requested speaker and teacher at credit union industry meetings and events; he is on the faculty of Western CUNA Management School and regularly trains senior management and volunteers on fiduciary duties and responsibilities, vendor contract negotiations and is a main speaker at SW&M’s annual legal update seminars.

Leah C. Dempsey / Shareholder, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP

Leah Dempsey is a lawyer and advocate with a unique ability to lead efforts bridging policy, consumer financial and telecommunications laws and regulations and politics. She navigates financial services industry participants and businesses through the rulemaking, regulatory and legislative processes, and helps enact necessary reforms to laws and regulations.

Leah advocates before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Department of Labor, the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as several other financial services and other regulators. Leah helps a range of participants in the financial services marketplace and other businesses including the collection industry, credit unions and other financial institutions, mortgage providers and lenders, nonbank lenders, hospitals and other creditors. Whether it’s dealing with issuance of legislation or policies in Washington, D.C., or throughout the country when facing regulatory supervision and enforcement activity, Leah helps organizations understand their rights and options. She has a deep understanding of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act process and the Congressional oversight tools needed to ensure a fair and transparent process for businesses and industries. She has advocated for reforms to dozens of federal rulemakings and related legislation in Congress on her clients behalf.

With executive and leadership roles at several financial trade associations representing the debt collection, credit union and nonbank lending industries, Leah served vice president and senior counsel for federal advocacy at ACA International, where she led efforts in Washington, D.C. to develop and implement the industry agenda for third-party agencies, debt buyers, vendors, banks and other creditors. Leah also served as senior director of advocacy and counsel at Credit Union National Association (CUNA), leading its Consumer Protection Advocacy team. Prior, she worked on the legal team for several Republican candidates, including Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) presidential campaign.

Erika Cotterman / National Sales Executive, CARFAX

Erika Cotterman is a current Field Sales Consultant for the CARFAX Banking & Insurance Group. Shortly after beginning her career, Erika was offered a digital advertising position at Autotrader.com, becoming their youngest sales professional in Chicago, and developed significant relationships and revenue with the largest dealer groups during her seven years at the company. She went on to help launch Carfax’s Used Car Listings product between 2014-2016, a product that has become a pillar of the company. Erika now advises a national portfolio of top lenders on how to use vehicle history to maximize auction price, encourage information symmetry, and lower hold time at auction.

Alana Anaya, Esq. / Principal & Owner, Anaya Law Group

Ms. Anaya has proudly been representing credit unions, corporate clients and real estate brokerages for over twenty two years. She also is a California Real Estate Broker. Ms. Anaya handles all aspects of litigation, regularly provides legal review and guidance on contracts/transaction matters, handles bankruptcy matters on behalf of creditors and engages in skilled negotiation tactics to maximize all settlement opportunities. Ms. Anaya regularly conducts arbitrations and trials. When clients need guidance backed by experience, Ms. Anaya can prove to be an asset to assist through any difficult or complex matter and can provide the legal guidance needed for a successful conclusion. Ms. Anaya regularly provides ongoing legal education and updates to credit unions and the real estate industry on various current topics of interest and participates regularly as a speaker at local and national venues.

Karel Rocha / Principal Attorney, Prenovost, Normandin, Dawe, & Rocha 

Professional Profile:

• Mr. Rocha is a Member of State Bar of California, Los Angeles County Bar Association, Orange County Bar Association, and the Hispanic Bar Association of Orange County.
• Mr. Rocha became a Principal at Prenovost, Normandin, Bergh & Dawe in January 2015 and represents credit unions, escrow companies, banks and financial institutions in all manner of civil litigation, including consumer finance and real estate matters.
• Over the last 17 years, Mr. Rocha has successfully handled court and jury trials throughout the State of California in the fields of real estate, auto dealer and auto finance defense, contractual disputes and personal injury on behalf of individuals and corporate clients.
• He has also been a panelist speaker at various seminars throughout the State relating to consumer finance litigation and compliance (FDCPA, TCPA, Rosenthal Act, Rees-Levering Act), bankruptcy law, escrow law, and real estate matters

Joette Colletts / Vice President of Risk Management, Allied Solutions

Joette leads the risk management department providing risk control services to financial institution policyholders. She leads the development and implementation of comprehensive loss control services to continually address emerging risks. Expertise in ERM (Enterprise Risk Management), Board of Director Risk Oversight, Employee Dishonesty (forensic auditing), Employment Practices Liability, Payment Systems and more.

EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS
As a leader in the risk management solutions profession and a featured speaker at national and regional events, Joette has developed an impressive list of achievements and accreditations in the financial institution industry:

Graduate of the University of Pittsburgh: Accounting and Education BS degrees
Certifications and Licenses:

• Certified Risk Manager (CRM)
• Certified Insurance counselor (CIC)
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
• Certified Financial Crimes Investigator (CFCI)
• Certified Credit Union Executive (CCUE)
• Credit Union Enterprise Risk Management Expert (CUERME)
• Certified A.L.I.C.E. Active Shooter Instructor
• Property & Casualty Insurance License
• Life & Health Insurance License

Previous Work Experience:

• 32 years at CUNA Mutual Group providing risk management solutions to financial institutions
• Partnered with NCUA presenting risk management topics at NCUA workshops, regional meetings, webinars and videos.

Ron Brown / President & CEO, CSI Group

Ron L. Brown is the President and CEO of CSI Group in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, one of the oldest and largest Asset Recovery Investigation Agencies in the Central Plains Region.

A state licensed Private Investigator and member of the National Association of Fraud Investigators, he has over 45 years of experience in the field of locating and recovering lost and missing people and assets and has assisted many law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Marshall’s Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Texas Rangers.

He is internationally recognized as one of the leaders in the Tracing and Recovery Industry and spends much of his time acting as an instructor for various credit and collection entities. Having received the ACA International “Fred Kirschner Instructor Achievement Award” for instructing 250 ACA Seminars, he was also three times selected by ACA International as the “ACA Certified Instructor of the Year”. Ron also instructs for the Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training and travels across the United States presenting his critically acclaimed “MANHUNT” and “CYBERTRACKING” Seminars.

Nationally recognized as one of the key instructors of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and HIPAA, Ron has written many published articles on these ever-changing federal laws and continues to conduct seminars related to these statutes. Testifying as an “Expert Witness” in numerous wrongful repossession litigations Ron recognized the need for an affordable field agent compliance training program and in collaboration with the members of Eagle Group XX he has developed the asset recovery industry accepted compliance training seminars which include the Field Agent Compliance Training (FACT), the Support Employee Compliance Training (SECT) and most recently the highly praised (SACAT) Situational Awareness and Confrontational Avoidance Techniques.

Ron continues to author numerous industry publication articles on the application of psychology and neuro-linguistics related to tracing, interrogation techniques and consumer motivation in the collection and asset recovery industry as well as co-authoring the best seller, “MANHUNT, The Book”.

Currently active in all phases of the Asset Recovery and Collection Industry he continues to personally, handle investigations ranging from Internal Fraud to Homicide and is well known in Debt Collection, Law Enforcement and Asset Recovery circles.

Daniel Hernandez / Regional Remarketing Director, South Bay Remarketing Services

Currently serves as Regional Remarketing Director for South Bay Remarketing Services. With over 25 years in Credit Union Collections and Automotive Remarketing.

Daniel has managed collection teams for Credit Unions, and 3rd party collection agencies. He currently oversees the internal remarketing process from A to Z for SBRS clients nationwide. Along with managing the day to day operations, Daniel spearheads the Talent Acquisition/, Talent Development for our Recovery Team.

Kris Nuss / Director of Sales, FIntegrate Technology

Kris Nuss is a performance-driven sales and marketing executive with accomplished record of success leading business development, marketing initiatives, and market expansion for Fortune 500 industry leader and entrepreneurial enterprises. Keen aptitude and business acumen for identifying and capitalizing on sales and marketing opportunities across diverse range of vertical markets to generate increased top-line revenues. Tech-savvy, high energy manager skilled in juggling multiple projects. Solid leadership abilities with talent for building and managing consultative sales teams to achieve targeted goals.

Greg Pesci / President & CEO of Spera, Inc. (dba MessagePay)

Greg Pesci is the founder, President, and CEO of Spera, Inc. (dba MessagePay). MessagePay is a fintech company that embeds payments into communication software to serve the needs of financial institutions.

Greg served at ProPay, Inc. for nearly ten years. His roles included General Counsel, and then President and COO. He was instrumental in leading the sale of ProPay to Total Systems (“TSYS”). Prior to joining ProPay, Greg served as SVP at Merrick Bank, where he was Associate General Counsel, and led Business Development for more than 6 years.

He holds a Master of Organizational Behavior from the Marriott School of Business, and a Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from the J. Rueben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He is a named inventor on a patent addressing encryption and secure payment transactions.

Mike Schatzman / CEO, Technology Systems Solutions

I have been working at or for credit unions since 1988. I have been writing Symitar PowerOns since 1994. Today I am the CEO of Technology Systems Solutions (TSS). I founded TSS, in 2001, with the goal to help credit unions realize the power of their Symitar System. I combine my experience with the technical aspects of the Symitar Episys system and my knowledge of the business and functional aspects of running a credit union. I grew my knowledge of the collections process and Symitar’s Collections package in 2008 because of growing number of credit unions that needed a more robust offering in those difficult times. I have used PowerOns to help collections professionals create tools to track collections processes such as; bankruptcies, repossessions, outsourced accounts, and legal processes. I have helped collection managers create reports to track productivity and results. I have helped collections executives create reports to analyze collections portfolios to recognize trends and anticipate future needs.

Steve Castagna / Chief Revenue and Operations Officer, AKUVO

Steve Castagna is the Chief Revenue and Operating Officer at AKUVO, a rapidly growing technology company focused on collections and credit risk. Steve has worked in financial services technology for 20+ years, establishing his career at Akcelerant Software in the early 2000s and then spending five years owning Professional Services at Temenos, an international core banking and financial software company. As a hands-on AKUVO executive, Steve is focused on using his extensive experience to create a sound infrastructure for quality products and services, while at the same time building a strong culture of collaboration, respect, loyalty and fun with his employees, customers and business partners.

Kirby Miller / Chief Revenue Officer, VoApps DirectDrop Voicemail

Kirby Miller is the Chief Revenue Officer at VoApps DirectDrop Voicemail. His strong background in operations, sales, technology, and marketing has established him as a thought leader in the Credit Union, ARM, and FinTech industries by garnering a trusted reputation for introducing the world’s leading brands to the latest technology. Kirby has conducted several credit union training seminars focusing on technology in Collections & Bankruptcy and currently serves as the Chairperson for the ACA Affiliate committee. Previously, Mr. Miller led sales and contact center teams at Interactions, MacFarlane Group, Bank of America, and MBNA.

Ann Johnson / PHR, SHRM-CP, SVP/Chief Administrative Officer, Silver State Schools Credit Union

Ann Johnson, PHR, SHRM-CP, SVP/Chief Administrative Officer for Silver State Schools Credit Union, is an accomplished HR professional with over 30 years of experience in the private sector. Ann has been with Silver State Schools Credit Union for the past 26 years. She is responsible for implementing human resource management strategies that enable Silver State Schools Credit Union to recruit, train, and retain a high performing and motivated workforce. Her broad experience includes recruiting, training, performance management, career development, diversity program development, employee relations, benefits, compensation, payroll, safety, and compliance issues. 

Prior to joining Silver State Schools Credit Union, Ann held positions in the retail industry as a Human Resources Manager and a Training Manager. Ann took a brief reprieve from the ever changing HR world to work in the gaming industry when first moving to Las Vegas.

Ann holds a BS in Marketing from Kelley School of Business, Indiana University and a minor in Psychology. She is certified through the Human Resource Certification Institute as a Human Resource Professional (PHR), and the Society for Human Resource Management as a Human Resource Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Ann also holds a Master Trainer certification from Langevin.

Kris Frantzen / Product Manager, Temenos (formerly Akcelerant)

Kris has spent nearly 25 years in the software and service space, focusing on solutions that drive efficiency and growth for credit unions and banks. This has included product strategy roles for loan and account origination and collection solutions with Metavante, FIS, and now Temenos.

In his role as a Product Manager with Temenos, Kris is responsible for Product Strategy for the Temenos North American Collections and Origination solutions. He also manages relationships with strategic accounts and the team of Product Evangelists that drive product demonstrations, deliver request for proposal responses, and provide thought leadership content for industry articles, webinars, and conferences. The insight gathered from prospects, clients, the Temenos teams, and his experience in the industry are key components for Kris’s input on the strategic direction of the Temenos solutions.

Tom Orman / Credit Union Executive

Tom Orman the former CLO for First Entertainment CU and Credit Union of Southern California. His resume also includes leadership roles at SchoolsFirst FCU, Wescom CU, and Southland CU.

With over 30 years in the credit union movement, Tom has deep experience in lending, collections, compliance, strategy, and other areas. In his CLO capacity, he has frequently worked with state and federal examiners to remediate examination findings and set up policies and procedures that balance growth with safety and soundness. Tom is also a past president of the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County chapters of the California Credit Union League. He earned his undergraduate degree in Business from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his MBA in Finance from Pepperdine University.

Shawn Spratte / Vice President of Loss Mitigation & Communication Center, Canvas Credit Union

Shawn Spratte is a 30-year veteran in the Loss Mitigation space. He has been with Canvas Credit Union in Colorado for 12 years and is currently serving as Senior Vice President of Loss Mitigation & Communication Center.

In this role, he is responsible for the direction, oversight, and the overall results of the departments.

Shawn also oversees all stages of collections, repossessions, remarketing, foreclosures, insurance, member solutions, and call center operational strategies.

Matt Smithson / Director of Product, MeridianLink

Matt Smithson is a SaaS technology professional with ten years of software management experience inclusive of product, marketing, strategy, implementation, support, and operations leadership roles. Matt has lead product management for Collections software at MeridianLink for the past two years. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Amir Tajkarimi / CEO & Co-Founder, Lexop

Amir Tajkarimi is the CEO and Co-Founder of Lexop, a financial technology company leading the digital transformation of the collection industry. Before co-founding Lexop, Amir was a practicing Banking Lawyer for several years at renowned firms and the National Bank of Canada. In addition to his professional successes, he is also a published author and has contributed to publications like the “Doing Business Report” by the World Bank Group.

Greg Cummings / Director, Global ISV Partners, Glia

As the Director of Global ISV Partners at Glia, Greg works with strategic independent software vendors (ISV’s) to uncover complementary solutions to Glia that help our customers reinvent how they serve their customers in a digital world. Greg is passionate about helping organizations maintain their unique advantage in today’s increasingly competitive landscape. He has over 20 years of experience in the Customer Engagement space. When not working he enjoys spending time with his wife, two dogs, playing golf, cooking and enjoying time with family and friends. He’s a self-admitted hot wing enthusiast and terrible golfer.

Tyler Gray / Director of Sales, Lender Compliance Technologies

Tyler is the Director of Sales for Lender Compliance Technologies, a SaaS company focused on helping lenders maintain compliance for Voluntary Protection Product cancellations and refunds. With experience in dealership operations, loan originations and loan servicing platforms, Tyler is focused on delivering solutions that address the immediate needs of lenders while also helping achieve their organizational & technological goals. At LCT, Tyler assists lenders in navigating the complexities of VPP cancellations and refunds in a highly scrutinized regulatory environment.