Travis Hill is the Chairman of the FDIC Board of Directors. He has served in this role since January 20, 2025.  He was sworn in as Vice Chairman of the FDIC on January 5, 2023. 

Mr. Hill previously worked at the FDIC from 2018 to 2022, as Deputy to the Chairman for Policy and, before that, as Senior Advisor to the Chairman. In these roles, among other responsibilities, he oversaw and coordinated regulatory and policy initiatives at the agency and advised the Chairman on regulatory and policy matters.

Prior to joining the FDIC, Mr. Hill served as Senior Counsel at the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, where he worked from 2013 to 2018. In this role, he participated extensively inthe drafting and negotiating of numerous bipartisan bills. Before working at the Senate, Mr. Hill worked as a policy analyst at Regions Financial Corporation from 2011 to 2013.

Mr. Hill received a Bachelor of Science from Duke University, where he studied economics and political science, and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center.

First elected in 2018, Congressman Bryan Steil represents Wisconsin's First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Bryan has earned a reputation for working hard for Wisconsin during his first three terms in Congress. Being available and accessible to residents and listening to their concerns has been a top priority. To hear directly from residents, Bryan regularly holds in-person town halls across the First District as well as numerous telephone town halls. He utilizes his office to help local families. In 2022 alone, he helped more than 2,000 constituents receive assistance with federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration, VA, and Medicare. In addition, Bryan has held numerous public forums for our community regarding illicit fentanyl, children's mental health, robocalls and scams prevention, and the impact of trade deals on Wisconsin dairy and agriculture.

In 2023, Bryan was appointed Chairman of the Committee on House Administration. This committee oversees Federal election law, House of Representatives operations, Legislative Branch oversight, and Capitol Security. Bryan is focused on ensuring the House is open, secure, and accountable to the American people, and on strengthening Americans trust in our elections. Bryan previously served as Ranking Member on the Elections Subcommittee.

In the 117^th Congress, Bryan served as the Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Economy. This committee evaluated the root causes of economic hardship in our country, and Bryan worked to address these issues and create opportunity and prosperity for all Americans.

Bryan is a problem solver with extensive private sector experience who puts politics aside and focuses on issues impacting Wisconsin. Previously, Bryan served as the co-chair of the Middle Class Jobs Caucus, where he worked to fill the skills gap, improve access to education, and ensure families have the opportunity to succeed. Bryan also served as the co-chair of the Future of Work Caucus to ensure workers have the skills and education to fill tomorrow's jobs. In this role, Bryan brings together industry leaders from our community to meet with caucus members in Washington, D.C. and work on real world solutions to the problems facing America.

As a member of the House Financial Services Committee, Bryan is focused on making the American dream achievable for everyone. He is working to bring family sustaining jobs to our communities by increasing investments in Southeast Wisconsin. For example, he authored the Expanding Investment in Small Businesses Act of 2019, which passed the House in July of 2019 by a vote of 417-2. This bill helps entrepreneurs obtain capital, hire workers, and create jobs right here in Wisconsin. Steil also founded the Investing in Innovation Initiative, a caucus to promote opportunities that support investment in small businesses and opportunities for wealth creation. 

Bryan is focused on keeping our communities safe. He has built a coalition of 50 Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, and local law enforcement in Southeast Wisconsin to shine a light on the problem of human trafficking. Bryan's bill, the Exposing the Financing of Human Trafficking Act, holds countries accountable and gets them to investigate, prevent, and prosecute financial criminal acts associated with human trafficking. In addition, Bryan is leading an effort to ensure Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon and enforce U.S. sanctions on European countries that trade with Iran.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Bryan spent a decade working in Wisconsin's manufacturing industry - first with an industrial motion control manufacturer in Beloit, WI and later at a local plastics manufacturer in Milton, WI. In the private sector, he saw firsthand how burdensome federal regulations and red tape can hinder economic growth and job creation in Wisconsin. He also learned the importance of fighting for common sense solutions.

In 2016, Bryan was appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin and unanimously confirmed in the Wisconsin Senate to serve on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents. As a Regent, he helped oversee the 26 UW system campuses, their 170,000 students, and a six-billion-dollar budget. He was known as a fiscal hawk dedicated to working for students and families. For example, Bryan supported initiatives that froze tuition to ensure all students had the opportunity to obtain an affordable high-quality education.

Born and raised in Janesville, Bryan graduated from Janesville Craig High School, Georgetown University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. He is a member of St. John Vianney Parish in Janesville.

Representative Ritchie Torres is a fighter from the Bronxwho has spent his entire life working for the community he calls home. Likemany people in the Bronx, poverty and struggle have never been abstractions tohim, and he governs from a place of lived experience.

Ritchie’s mother single-handedly raised him, his twinbrother, and his sister in a public-housing project. She paid the bills workingminimum-wage jobs, which in the 1990s paid $4.25 an hour. While Ritchie grew upwith mold, lead, leaks, and no reliable heat or hot water in the winter, hewatched the government spend over $100 million dollars to build a golf courseacross the street for Donald Trump. In 2013, at the age of twenty-five, Ritchiebecame New York City’s youngest elected official and the first openly L.G.B.T.Qperson elected to office in the Bronx.

At the City Council, Ritchie stood out, and during hisseven-year tenure he tenaciously tackled problems big and small for the Bronxand New York City. He passed over forty pieces of legislation, includinglegislation protecting the City’s affordable housing stock and tackling thecity’s opioid epidemic. As the Chairman overseeing NYCHA, he held the firstcommittee hearing ever in public housing, which led to a $3 billion-dollar FEMAinvestment, the largest in NYC history. As Chair of the Oversight & InvestigationsCommittee, Ritchie has led investigations into the heating outages and leadpoisoning at NYCHA, the Taxi Medallion scandal, the City’s controversialThird-Party Transfer program, and Kushner Companies.

Ritchie currently lives in the Bronx and represents NY-15 inthe Bronx. He is a member of the Committee on Financial Services and the HouseSelect Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and theChinese Communist Party. 

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Congresswoman Young Kim is proud to represent California’s 40th District, which includes parts of Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An immigrant, small business owner, community leader, mother, grandmother, and one of the first Korean American women ever to serve in Congress, Young is proud to represent California’s 40th District and work to help all Americans have the chance to achieve their dream just like she did. 

In the 119th Congress, Young continues to serve on the House Financial Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, where she is Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. She also serves on the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Young is consistently ranked among the most bipartisan and effective members of Congress, with nearly 40 bills through the House and over a dozen signed into law.

Young and her husband Charles live in Anaheim Hills and are the proud parents of Christine, Kelly, Alvin, and Hannah and grandparents of Mia and Caleb.

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Delegate Marlon Amprey represents Maryland’s 40th District, which encompasses West Baltimore,  in the House of Delegates, where he serves on the Economic Matters Committee  and as a Deputy Majority Whip. A fourth-generation Baltimorean, former  educator, attorney, and entrepreneur, Delegate Amprey focuses on policies  that expand opportunity, drive innovation, and build wealth in  under-resourced communities. His legislative work includes championing  consumer protections in fintech and earned wage access, advancing diversity  and inclusion within tech innovation, and strengthening pathways to wealth  for Maryland families.  

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Juan counsels and assists financial institutions and FinTech companies on the development, implementation, and execution of sound, comprehensive risk management frameworks—including tailored consumer and financial crime compliance management systems (CMS)—that identify, manage and effectively mitigate the risks associated with the development, offering, and delivery of cutting-edge FinTech products and services, such as marketplace lending (MPL) and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), banking-as-a-service (BaaS), cards, payments, and digital assets, whether conducted directly or through third-party relationships.

Juan focuses his practice in FinTech, banking, payments, and consumer and financial crime regulatory compliance. He has more than 25 years of both in-house and external counsel experience assisting domestic and foreign financial institutions and FinTech companies in regulatory compliance (both consumer and financial crime), direct and third-party risk management, supervision and enforcement, governance, internal audit, investments, M&A, lending, capital markets, and corrective action/remediation efforts to supervisory concerns and enforcement actions. Juan serves as general counsel to the Financial & International Business Association (FIBA) and is a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the American Fintech Council.

Vinay Bhaskar is a seasoned professional with over 23 years of experience in credit risk management and analytics in the banking and financialservices industry. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Head ofCompliance at Scienaptic AI, where he has been since 2018. Prior to Scienaptic, Vinay held various leadership positions at HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and GE Capital.

Matthew advises banks andbank holding companies, non-depository financial institutions, and fintechcompanies on complex regulatory, transactional, and compliance issues in achanging regulatory landscape. As a former attorney in the Legal Division of theFederal Reserve Board, Matthew advises bank and bank holding company clients onmatters such as chartering and licensing, capital and liquidity requirements,permissible activities and investments, affiliate transactions, and third-partyrisk management. He combines deep knowledge of the regulatory environment withoperational insights as he counsels fintechs and payment services providers ona wide range of bank-related compliance issues, including card network rules,ACH network rules, and anti-money laundering requirements.

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Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s Consumer Law and Fintech and Crypto Assets Practices, Jeremy Creelan combines along record of litigating disputes with extensive regulatory investigations experience. He served as Special Counsel to the Governor in the administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with a wide portfolio ranging from public ethics and election law to oversight over energy, transportation, and infrastructure project planning after Superstorm Sandy.

Jeremy has successfully represented clients in trials, domestic and international arbitrations, and appeals. His broad experience and winning track record in complex commercial litigation in financial services includes class action consumer fraud defense and investigations; securities; insurance and reinsurance disputes; federal and state election law matters; and intellectual property matters related to technology, including IT outsourcing disputes.

He helps clients navigate state and federal regulatory investigations, particularly in financial services. His public service in New York State government and deep policy interests help to provide both creative solutions and nuanced advocacy in the face of regulatory scrutiny.

Jeremy first joined Jenner & Block in 2006, after serving as Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. At the Brennan Center, he developed and prosecuted numerous high-profile election law cases to protect voters’ rights. He also co-authored a landmark, comprehensive study of New York State's legislative process and, as an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law, taught an election law seminar. He continues to litigate voting rights and election law cases.

Assembly member Brian A. Cunningham is a dynamic legislator, community advocate, and public policy leader serving New York’s 43rd Assembly District, representing Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, and East Flatbush. Elected to the Assembly in 2022, Cunningham has quickly distinguished himself as a bold voice for equity, innovation in government, and economic and social justice.

A first-generation American and lifelong Brooklynite, Cunningham brings a deep understanding of the challenges facing working families. He is known for championing legislation focused on affordable housing, youth empowerment, immigrant protections, public safety, and government transparency. His leadership has helped secure millions in funding for local schools, cultural institutions, and small businesses in Central Brooklyn.

In Albany, Cunningham serves as the First Vice Chair of the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislators, Inc. He is also a leading voice on bipartisan efforts to modernize how government delivers services to communities across the state.

Before joining the Assembly, Cunningham built a successful career in public service and civic innovation, holding leadership roles at the Center for Court Innovation, Hawkfish, and the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform. He also previously served as Chief Operating Officer for My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and ran for New York City Council in 2017.

He is a proud husband, father, and advocate for building stronger, more inclusive communities. Whether in the halls of the State Capitol or on the streets of Brooklyn, Cunningham works tirelessly to ensure that government works for all.

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Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Byron Donalds is the product of a single-parent household. Throughout his life, his mother made every sacrifice possible to give him the best opportunity to live the American Dream. That philosophy his mother taught him, striving to leave future generations better than the current, is what leads him in his work, his homelife, and as a Member of Congress.

Byron attended Florida State University and graduated in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in finance and marketing. Byron’s career path has included working in the finance, insurance, and banking industries in Southwest Florida.

While serving in the Florida House of Representatives, Byron made his mark as a champion for school choice and protecting parental rights in education. Donalds led the effort to enact Hope Scholarships that empowered parents with school choice and passed a first-in-the-nation bill to that allowed parents and community members to review instructional materials in schools. Donalds chaired the prominent House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, working to improve Florida’s business and insurance policies. Governor Rick Scott also appointed Byron to the Board of Trustees for Florida South Western State College.

Since 2020, Donalds has served the people of Florida’s 19th Congressional District. Congressman Donalds quickly distinguished himself as a conservative warrior on Capitol Hill. In the 119th Congress, Donalds sits on the Oversight and Accountability and Financial Services Committees. As a rising star in the Republican Party, he has stood in the trenches against the rise of woke culture in schools, corporate America, the financial services industry, and our military. Byron is also a staunch advocate for the Second Amendment, School Choice, Fiscal Sanity, Secure Borders, Law and Order, and a Limited Federal Government. He has consistently received the highest ratings possible from conservative groups for his reliable voting record.

Donalds served as a top surrogate for the 2024 Donald Trump for President Campaign and fought to hold the corrupt Biden Administration accountable.

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Marc Franson is a partner and member of Chapman's Bankingand Financial Services Department and the Practice Group Leader of theCompliance, Regulatory and Payments Group. He represents financialinstitutions, finance companies, retailers, other creditors and brokers on anarray of financial services matters including regulatory applications, consumercredit transactions, deposit products, bank mergers and acquisitions,licensing, regulatory issues and compliance, sale of non-deposit products,technology contracting, payment processing, portfolioacquisitions/divestitures, fair lending and privacy matters, Internet banking,stored value products and marketplace (P2P) lending. He also represents clientsin conjunction with legislative and trade association activities.

Marc counsels interstate and intrastate lenders on allaspects of a variety of secured and unsecured consumer lending programsincluding credit card, mortgage, home equity, automobile and other installmentcredit. He has served as counsel in several major bank acquisitions andportfolio sale transactions, assisted clients with federal and state regulatorymatters, licensing applications and proceedings, in the development ofcompliance programs, compliance training and preparation for and assistance withregulatory compliance examinations. This includes advice on FCRA, communityreinvestment, and fair lending programs.

Marc was engaged in a unique credit card transactioninvolving the joint venture of two major banks and a credit card industryconsultant involving the establishment and chartering of a credit card bank,the sale of $2 billion of credit card receivables, along with a contemporaneoussecuritization and other financing transactions. He also advises clients'participation in various roles in receivable securitization programs. Hisrepresentation of clients includes the areas of cash management services, electronicfunds transfers, merchant credit card and payment processing, outsourcing, dataprocessing and servicing arrangements.

Prior to joining Chapman, Marc was Vice President andGeneral Counsel-Credit Card Services of Household International.

Sima J. Gandhi is a seasoned tech executive and serial entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience launching disruptive products and building category-defining companies. Sima is one of the few executives with policy, legal, and operating experience building businesses within heavily regulated industries like financial services and healthcare.

She is currently the President and founder of Alton Strategies, a boutique policy and business advisory firm that advises companies on regulatory, policy, go-to-market, and m&a strategies. She is also the co-founder, along with FS Vector, of the Coalition for Financial Ecosystem Standards (CFES).

Most recently, she was co-founder and CEO of Creative Juice, a Forbes top 50 fintech company and Fast Company Most Innovative Company. Creative Juice was acquired in 2023.

Previously, Sima ran global bank partnerships, policy, and strategy at Plaid — one of the leading fintechs in the last decade. She helped architect Open Banking regulation, and led Plaid’s sale to Visa.

Earlier in her career, Sima held senior leadership roles at American Express where she launched Bluebird with Walmart (one of the industry’s first neobanks), drove Amex’s financial inclusion approach, and led strategy for new lending products. Prior to Amex, she oversaw the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and managed White House/regulatory relationships at the US Treasury Department. She started her career as a corporate tax attorney at Simpson Thacher.

Sima holds a JD and LLM in tax law from New York University. She graduated from Stanford University with a BS in engineering and a BA with honors in Science, Tech, and Society. Sima lives in Washington D.C. with her husband and son.

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Lt. Governor Kyle Evans Gay is a mom, an attorney, anadvocate, a former State Senator, and Delaware’s 27th Lieutenant Governor. Sheran for office to help Delaware working families thrive. 

She began her professional career as a deputy attorneygeneral in the Delaware Department of Justice before clerking in the DelawareSuperior Court. She worked in private practice representing clients inDelaware’s business courts and representing children in foster care pro bono.Lt. Governor Gay is a long-standing advocate for equity and justice — helpingpass the Equal Rights Amendment in the First State, leading a Period EquityInitiative as President of the Junior League of Wilmington, and working to expandaccess to legal services as the Chair of the Delaware Bar Foundation.

Her commitment to public service continued when she waselected in 2020 to the Delaware General Assembly, representing the Fifth SenateDistrict. As a State Senator, she prioritized early education, voting rights,reproductive healthcare, criminal justice reform, and protecting vulnerablepopulations. 

Lt. Governor Gay carries these experiences into her currentrole. In addition to carrying out her constitutional duties, she chairs theDelaware Behavioral Health Consortium, the Delaware Food is Medicine Committee,and the Interagency Resource Management Committee. She hosts monthly forums,engaging with community leaders and advocates to help shape policies thatreflect the diverse experiences of Delawareans.

As Lt. Governor, she is focused on improving the earlyeducation system, growing Delaware’s workforce, expanding reproductivehealthcare access, and increasing resources for veterans and firstresponders. 

She enjoys hiking, baking, and cheering on the PhiladelphiaUnion with her husband and two daughters.

Dave is co-founder and CEO of Upstart. He also chairs Upstart’s Board of Directors. Previously, he spent eight years at Alphabet, where he was President of Google Enterprise and built the company’s multibillion-dollar cloud applications business worldwide. Dave started his career in Silicon Valley at Apple and has also held roles at Booze Allen and Accenture. He has degrees in engineering sciences and computer engineering from Dartmouth College, as well as an M.B.A with High Distinction from the University of Michigan.

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Robert Gonzalez is General Counsel of Mercury, the fintech company that ambitious companies trust with their finances. As General Counsel, he looks after Mercury's legal, policy, and audit functions. Prior to Mercury, Robert was in-house counsel at several early-stage and fast-growing tech companies. Most recently, he helped build the legal team at Samsara, which culminated in a successful IPO on NYSE in December 2021. Robert started his career as an appellate and regulatory associate at Gibson Dunn in Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Princeton and Stanford Law School, and clerked for Chief Judge Dennis Jacobs on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He currently resides in New Jersey with his wife and three daughters.

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Janet Hale, co-lead of FTI's Consumer Financial Services practice group, has extensive experience in the implementation of effective risk management structures, compliance with consumer laws and regulations, as well as remediation of regulatory enforcement. Ms. Hale is well experienced in governing high priority consumer finance regulatory engagements, including large scale consent order remediation efforts reportable to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Texas Department of Banking. These engagements included Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and Unfair, Deceptive, or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) remediation, Fair Lending, as well as Safety and Soundness concerns. She advises on effective compliance management systems and consults on regulatory internal control processes. Her clients include financial institutions of all sizes, with a specialty towards Banking-as-a Service providers and fintechs, particularly in regard to Third Party Risk Management oversight, testing and remediation. Ms. Hale’s subject matter expertise includes consumer deposit and loan product laws and regulations, including mortgage origination and servicing, fair lending, and the Flood Disaster Protection Act (FDPA). In addition, Ms. Hale has extensive compliance and operational experience in enterprise risk management, regulatory exam supervision, regulatory change execution, and complaint review and trending analysis. She also headed efforts ensuring compliant banking platform software for an international financial technology firm.  

Prior to consulting, Ms. Hale held executive risk leadership positions with KeyBank, including Vice President, Compliance and Operational Risk Manager, as well as Senior Compliance and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Manager. At KeyBank, she instituted the bank’s Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) program and directed the compliance functions supporting consumer lending, credit cards, mortgage origination and servicing, collections, deposits, product development, and marketing. She was also a member of KeyBank’s Compliance RiskCommittee and Fair Lending Committee, and she chaired the corporation’s Flood Governance Committee. Ms. Hale began her over-25-year-career as an Examiner with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) participating in safety and soundness as well as compliance examinations.

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Ms. Hale has been a speaker on several regulatory topics including Third Party Risk Management, FDPA, UDAAP, risk assessment processes, and regulatory examination preparation practices. Ms. Hale holds an M.B.A. from John Carroll University and a B.S. in Business Administration (Finance) from Miami University. She is also designated by the American Bankers Association as a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) and Certified Enterprise Risk Professional (CERP). Additionally, Ms. Hale was previously recognized by the Institute of Management Accountants as a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

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Jason Hardgrave is CEO of DR Bank. He has extensive experience in both Retail and Commercial Banking, as well as in developing and launching new and innovative digital financial solutions and partnerships.

Previous roles prior to DR Bank have included running significant product lines for Santander Bank N.A., including Deposits, Payments, FinTech Partnerships, Consumer Lending and Credit Card. In addition to these areas, Jason has also held leadership roles in Business and Corporate Banking. Jason also has a background in Financial Services strategy consulting and was one of the founders of Novantas, a strategic consulting firm, and worked at First Manhattan Consulting Group.

Jason holds both an Undergraduate degree and Graduate MBA degree from Tulane University.

Nathaniel Harley is the co-founder and president of MANTL, a financial technology company that helps regional and community banks and credit unions modernize and grow.

MANTL offers unified account origination technology, empowering banks and credit unions to open loan and deposit accounts seamlessly on any banking channel. Since its founding in 2016, MANTL has helped its clients raise billions of dollars. In March 2025, MANTL was acquired by Alkami Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALKT), a leading provider of cloud-based digital banking solutions in the U.S.

A serial entrepreneur with a passion for innovation, Nathaniel previously founded and invested in multiple startups spanning media, finance, and technology. He began his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs. Nathaniel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences as well as Radio, Television, and Film from Northwestern University. Outside of work, he’s an active startup mentor, an avid sports fan, and a devoted father and husband.

Jason is the Founder and CEO of Alloy Labs, a consortium of over 90 community banks that work together to ensure community banks thrive. In 2021, he led the creation and spinout of Alloy Payment Founders, a bank owned payment infrastructure platform now known as Rebolt Financial Technologies, and serves as the General Partner of Alloy Labs strategic investment fund.

Previously Jason helped pioneer the banking as a service space, co-founding one of the first neo banks Perkstreet Financial in 2008 and leading the innovation efforts of First Marblehead, including the launch of their online only bank in 2007.

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As Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Winnow Solutions, LLC, Chris Hilliard leads a team of legal, compliance, and technology professionals who are transforming the way financial institutions and lenders navigate state and federal regulatory requirements. His superpower lies in his ability to leverage over two decades of expertise in regulatory compliance and banking to transform complex legal landscapes into manageable, technology-driven solutions. As CEO of Winnow, he combines his deep industry knowledge with a passion for innovation, leading a team that simplifies regulatory compliance and navigation for financial institutions through tailored, dynamic compliance tools and products.

Chris has over 20 years of industry experience in consumer, commercial, and residential mortgage lending and general banking, with extensive expertise in regulatory compliance, BSA/AML, internal audit, licensing, and legal functions. He is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) and a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP), as well as a California Licensed Life, Accident & Health Agent. He has held executive, senior management, and mid-level management positions at major financial institutions and lenders, where he managed all aspects of compliance, risk, and litigation, as well as product development, management, and design.

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Alex Johnson is the founder of Fintech Takes, a media brand with 56,000+ subscribers that focuses on the intersection of financial services, technology, and public policy. Alex has more than 20 years of experience in financial services, with stops at Zoot Enterprises, FICO, and Cornerstone Advisors.

Phil is a seasoned compliance and testing executive with over 15 years of experience in financial services, with a specialized focus on consumer banking operations. He has led enterprise-wide quality assurance and remediation initiatives at U.S.-based G-SIBs, supporting retail product lines such as home lending, credit cards, personal loans, and deposit accounts. Phil’s expertise includes risk assessment, transaction testing, and issue validation across digital and branch channels, ensuring alignment with consumer protection regulations including UDAAP, Reg E, and Reg Z. He has built and executed risk-based testing frameworks that enhance control effectiveness in areas like complaint handling, disclosures, and servicing. Known for his disciplined approach to project execution, Phil combines structured program management with deep stakeholder engagement to deliver measurable outcomes that improve customer experience and regulatory conformance.

Melissa Koide is the CEO of FinRegLab, a nonprofit research center thattests new technologies and data and facilitates dialogue to inform publicpolicy and drive the financial sector toward a responsible and inclusivefinancial marketplace. FinRegLab evaluates how technology and data can besafely used to increase financial inclusion and improve financial services forconsumers, small businesses, and communities. FinRegLab’s AI and machinelearning research has informed and advanced public policies and marketpractices on the inclusive and fair use of machine learning algorithms in high-risk, high-reward use cases such as creditunderwriting.

Prior to establishing FinRegLab, Melissa served almost five years as the U.S. Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consumer Policy. Inthat role, Melissa led the work to create the agency’s consumer policypositions and research on how banks and nonbanks were leveraging data andtechnology to improve consumers’ financial access and well-being. Melissa alsohelped to establish the myRA, a government offered preretirement savingsaccount. She has testified repeatedly before the Senate Banking and HouseFinancial Services Committees and spoken widely to policy, industry, andconsumer-advocacy audiences. Melissa currently serves on the New York Fed’sInnovation Council, FINRA’s Fintech Industry Committee, and the New York StateDepartment of Financial Services’ Financial Innovation Advisory Board.

Trisha Kothari is the co-founder and CEO of Unit21, a solution that proactively mitigates risks tied to money laundering, fraud, and other illicit activities. 

Trisha is driven by a powerful mission to empower the fight against financial crimes. Her professional journey, deeply rooted in engineering and product management, includes significant roles at companies such as Google, LinkedIn, and Affirm. 

During her tenure as an early engineer and product manager at Affirm, Trisha gained firsthand insight into the gross inefficiency and siloed ways that AML and Fraud operated. This experience served as a catalyst for her to develop innovative AML and Fraud solutions that Unit21 now offers today. 

After leaving Affirm in 2018, Trisha joined South Park Commons, a community of builders, tinkerers, and domain experts. There, she met her co-founder and began tinkering with the concept of Unit21. 

Follow Trisha on LinkedIn, where she usually discusses new regulatory changes to be aware of, reacts to industry trends, and shares Unit21 product enhancements. 

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Kiah Lau Haslett is the creator behind Fintech Takes Banking, which explores the biggest challenges and opportunities in banking from a refreshingly honest point of view. Her nerdy areas of focus include accounting, transactions, balance sheet management and how technology is changing banks. She spent six years at Bank Director, first as managing editor and then as their banking & fintech editor overseeing the FinXTechplatform, and eight years as a financial institutions reporter at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Kiah has a bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Nebraska.

Avy’spractice focuses on financial services regulation and enforcement, with aparticular emphasis on emerging technologies, including fintech, artificialintelligence (AI), and digital assets. He advises banks, fintechs, and otherfinancial institutions on a broad range of financial regulatory issues,including consumer protection, investor protection, payments, moneytransmission, banking law, BSA/AML compliance, financial privacy, and the useof emerging technologies in financial services. Before joining MorrisonFoerster, Avy served as General Counsel to the California Department ofFinancial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), where he oversaw the office’s LegalDivision, Securities Regulation Division, Broker Dealer and Investment AdvisorDivision, and Digital Financial Assets Law Division. 

Zuben is the Co-Founder and CEO of Brigit, a leadingfinancial health platform that helps everyday Americans avoid overdraft fees,build credit, and improve cash-flow stability. Since founding the company in2017, he profitably scaled Brigit to over $100 million in annual recurringrevenue in less than 5 years, more than one million paying subscribers, andover $1 billion in fees saved for its members. While heading Brigit, Zubenwas named one of EY's Entrepreneurs of the Year – and Brigit was named oneof Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies.

In January 2025, Brigit was acquired by Upbound Group (NASDAQ: UPBD).

Zuben started his career at Deutsche Bank, where he spent 11 years. AtDeutsche, Zuben created and led the Strategic Partnership Group and executedover $55 billion in equity, debt, and M&A transactions focused on fintechand software. He then served as Managing Director of Mergers & Acquisitionsat Infosys, where he was the global lead for all strategic deals before goingon to found Brigit.

Beyond Brigit, he actively supports innovation as an advisor and angel investorin companies such as Partiful, Array, Bling, Ply, Column Tax, Forge, andCambrian Ventures, among others.

Zuben holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Ben is an experienced regulatory advisor and business partner, having served in various compliance, legal and policy roles in banking, digital assets and financial services throughout his career. As Cross River’s Chief Compliance Officer, he is responsible for oversight of the enterprise compliance framework, including its consumer compliance and AML/CFT programs.

Before joining Cross River, Ben’s practice was focused on the nascent digital asset space where he has counseled many of the leading names in the space on the regulatory implications of existing and prospective business activities. Prior to entering the digital asset industry, Ben held several senior level legal and compliance roles at leading financial institutions in the securities and derivatives industry.

Ben received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Delaware and is a graduate of New York Law School.  He is admitted to practice inNew York and New Jersey and currently holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 licenses.

Outside of the workplace, he enjoys spending quality time with his wife and three young children in Northern New Jersey and is a long-suffering New York Mets fan.

Jason Mikula is an independent fintech and banking advisor, consultant, and investor. He also is the publisher of Fintech Business Weekly, a newsletter going beyond the headlines to analyze the technology, regulatory, and business model trends driving the rapidly evolving financial services ecosystem. Previously, he spent over a decade building and scaling consumer finance businesses, including at Enova, LendUp, and Goldman Sachs.

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Brandon Milhorn is president and chief executive officer of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the national association representing state financial regulators and the leading advocate for advancing the system of state financial supervision. He was named president and CEO in December 2023 by the CSBS Board of Directors. In this capacity, Mr. Milhorn leads the professional staff at CSBS in assisting state regulators with developing policy; engaging with their federal counterparts, the Administration and Congress; researching industry trends; identifying best practices; and conducting professional development.

Mr. Milhorn previously held leadership roles at the FDIC, serving as deputy to FDIC Vice Chairman Travis Hill and chief of staff and deputy to FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams. Before the FDIC, he spent seven years in the private sector with Raytheon and over a decade of service as counsel for the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and the CIA. He began his career with two prominent U.S. Court clerkships.

Mr. Milhorn holds a B.S. in economics from East Tennessee State University and a J.D. from Cornell Law School.

Evan advises fintechs, banks, and other financial services providers on developing new products, services, and strategic partnerships. He provides practical regulatory counsel and transactional support for a wide variety of payments, credit, and other fintech business models. His focus includes payment processors, money transmitters, bank/fintech partnership arrangements, marketplaces, and other online and app-based financial services providers. With over a decade of experience in the financial services space, Evan is readily familiar with numerous fintech models and provides strategic, practical, and digestible advice.

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Ian P. Moloney is Senior Vice President, Head of Policy andRegulatory Affairs for the American Fintech Council (AFC) leading theassociation’s policy strategy across the fintech ecosystem. Prior to AFC, Ianwas Head of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Cross River where he wasresponsible for leading the bank’s regulatory strategy, focusing on fintech andtraditional banking regulations, and representing the bank as a regulatoryexpert to direct Cross River’s public policy objectives and positions to engageeffectively with key federal and state regulators and policymakers. Ian wasalso previously with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) inWashington D.C. as a Senior Analyst of Financial Markets & CommunityInvestment, where he worked on fintech, small business lending, and digitalidentity issues. He has been involved in the fintech space since 2017 and haspublished multiple reports on fintech topics, both domestically andinternationally. Ian has written on fintech issues for American Banker, theFederation of American Scientists, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance,and the United Nations.

Ian holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, History, andPhilosophy with an Ethics Minor from Central Michigan University. Ian also hasan MBA from Johns Hopkins University.

Tobias Moon is a partner and member of Chapman's Banking and Financial Services Department and Compliance, Regulatory and Payments Group. He counsels financial services companies, from startups to the country’s largest financial institutions, on consumer and commercial lending, regulatory, compliance, and product innovation issues. He also evaluates marketing and disclosure regimes for Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) risks, analyzes state licensing considerations and interfaces with state regulators and government agencies on behalf of national financial services companies.

Tobias advises depository institutions—national and state-chartered banks and credit unions—on building, reviewing, and auditing compliance management systems to minimize compliance risks associated with various consumer and commercial financial products including mortgage, automotive, personal loans in addition to equipment finance loans and leases and loans secured by commercial real estate. He also advises non depository mortgage brokers, lenders and servicers and automobile lenders on similar concerns.

In emerging technologies and innovative product delivery, Tobias has extensive experience helping fintechs, marketplace lenders, mortgage fintechs, online and small dollar lenders establish compliance management systems and addressing the myriad regulatory issues impacting design and delivery of new financial services products.

Taylor Peake launched her first tech company at age 19 while completing her Information Systems degree from UAB. Taylor has a strong vision for putting the right teams of people together, equipping them to make an impact, and strategically growing companies. Over the last several years, Taylor has participated in the revitalization of downtown Birmingham by purchasing and eventually selling a century-old warehouse building for commercial and residential use. She now owns a 60,000square foot commercial office building to provide space for Birmingham’s growing list of tech companies, a historic brownstone in a vibrant downtown neighborhood, and three mobile home parks in rural Alabama.

In 2017, Taylor testified before the US House of Representatives Small Business Committee on tax reform. She is a past board member for BBVA Compass, The Crisis Center, Alabama Central Six Development Council, and REV Birmingham and a current member of Kiwanis Club of Birmingham, Birmingham Venture Club, and TechBirmingham. Taylor’s accomplishments have been recognized by UAB, the Birmingham Business Journal, Alabama Media Group, Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and more.

Brendan has covered the politics and influence of the financial services sector since 2018. Before launching Punchbowl News’ first policy vertical, The Vault, Brendan covered financial regulation and politics at the American Banker. Prior to that, he worked for Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, NBC News Chicago and Business Den in Colorado. Brendan has a three-legged cat named Eugene, so if you’re ever trying to get ahold of him, just ask for a picture.

Peter Renton is the CEO of Renton & Co, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in fintech media, events and thought leadership. He was formerly the co-founder and chairman of Fintech Nexus, a fintech media and events company that produced 31 large-scale events worldwide. The events business was sold to Fintech Meetup in 2023, and the media business was sold to COMMAND, a PR firm, in 2024.

Peter has been writing about fintech since 2010, with over 2,500 articlespublished. He is the author and creator of the Fintech One-on-One Podcast, thefirst and longest-running fintech interview series, recently crossing 550episodes. Over the last decade, Peter has conducted over 750 interviews andpanel discussions and produced more than 1,800 fintech newsletters.

Esty Scheiner is the Chief Executive Officer andCo-Founder of Shiboleth.ai, a Y Combinator–backed company transforming consumercompliance through artificial intelligence. Esty leads Shiboleth’s work helpingleading technology-focused banks and fintech’s use AI to automate andstrengthen compliance. A former Security Engineer at Invoca and a certifiedCISSP and OSCP, Esty brings deep expertise in cybersecurity, compliance, andregulatory technology. She began her career in ethical hacking and, by the ageof nineteen, was leading a six-person R&D team. Today, Esty works withfinancial institutions and regulators to advance the responsible use of AI incompliance, governance, and oversight.

Meghan Spillane is a partner in Goodwin’s Complex Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice and serves as Co-Chair of the Digital Currency & Blockchain Technology practice. She also works closely with the Firm’s FinTech practice and Financial Restructuring Group.

Meghan provides advice on regulatory and compliance issues and counsels companies involved in government investigations and civil litigation. Her experience includes the defense of corporations and individuals in both criminal and civil matters, including securities fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, and corporate governance violations. Meghan also regularly defends clients in matters involving allegations of business torts, fraud and breaches of contract or fiduciary duties. In addition to her litigation experience, Meghan has substantial experience advising clients in connection with contract negotiations and employing litigation avoidance strategies.

Meghan also advises technology clients in the digital currency and blockchain industry to solve business problems and provide advice on regulatory and compliance issues, including with respect to digital asset transactions and platforms, decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and related securities law and regulatory matters

Caroline Stapleton advises financial institutions in federaland state regulatory compliance, supervision and enforcement matters.

Client-centered experiences are at the heart of Caroline’spractice. She has provided a wide variety of institutions, from fintechstartups to multinational banks, with tailored, practical guidance thatconsiders each company’s unique characteristics and strategic goals. Carolinedraws on her prior experiences as an attorney at a federal prudential regulatorand as the head of compliance at a consumer finance company to give clients acomprehensive picture of the legal risks and opportunities each new matterpresents.

Her work on behalf of financial services providers hasincluded:

• Providing guidance regarding novel or complex regulatory questions, often in the context of developing new financial products and services
• Performing compliance risk assessments of marketing, underwriting, pricing, origination, servicing and loss mitigation activities
• Advising banks and supervised lenders with examinations by federal and state regulators, including responding to exam findings, CAMELS ratings, Matters     Requiring Attention (MRA/MRIA) and enforcement referrals
• Strategically responding to and defending enforcement actions by state and federal regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Reserve Board and Department of Justice (DOJ), and, if necessary, negotiating favorable settlements
• Developing strategies for bank partnership, state licensing and bank charter opportunities for consumer financial services providers
• Conducting internal investigations of suspected misconduct or violations of an institution’s policies and/or regulatory requirements

In these and other representations, Caroline brings strongsubstantive knowledge of the key federal and state statutes and regulationsgoverning the financial services industry. Her specific areas of focus include:

• Fair lending and anti-discrimination laws, including the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)
• Prohibitions on unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices (UDAP and UDAAP)
• Technical regulatory compliance under federal and state laws governing loan marketing, disclosures, settlement practices, servicing and collection     practices, consumer reporting and electronic payments
• Federal preemption, including under the National Bank Act
• Compliance management best practices and regulatory expectations, including third-party vendor and merchant oversight
• Treatment and disclosure of confidential supervisory information (CSI)
• State lease-to-own laws and regulations

Prior to joining Orrick, Caroline was senior counsel atBuckley LLP. She also has served as an attorney-advisor in the litigationdivision of the OCC, where she represented the agency in civil litigation, bankreceivership preparation, employment disputes and other administrativecontexts. Caroline also gained valuable in-house experience as the head ofcompliance and assistant general counsel of a Richmond-based consumer financecompany.

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Matt Stone is a partner and member of Chapman's Banking and FinancialServices Department and Compliance, Regulatory and Payments Group.He focuses his practice on institutional and consumer regulatory andcompliance matters related to CFPB, OCC, FDIC, and Federal Reserveregulations. Matt also provides consumer protection advice with respectto the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Lending Act, and other laws, includingvarious state consumer fraud and lending laws.

Prior to rejoining Chapman, Matt served as an associate general counselfor TIAA Bank, TIAA’s federal savings bank subsidiary, where hesupported vendor contract, compliance, and product developmentmatters and initiatives, primarily pertaining to deposit and funding servicesand operations. He was also an associate and of counsel for a Chicagolaw firm where his practice focused on representing financial institutionsexperiencing financial distress and/or regulatory and compliancechallenges, along with other matters requiring interactions with federaland state bank regulatory agencies.

Matt started his law career at Chapman after graduating from law schooland also participated in the firm's summer associate program.

Prior to pursuing a career in law, Matt worked for ten years in the financial services industry as a relationship officer for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, as a credit and compliance officer and internal auditor fortwo Midwest banks, and as a Bank Examiner for the Iowa Division of Banking

Austin began his career as a CPA at Ernst & Young in their assurance practice, supporting both public and private businesses in the banking, automotive, real estate, entertainment, and insurance industries. Austin became a Vice President of Real Estate Banking at Zions Bank and managed a portfolio consisting of office, retail, hospitality, and senior housing product types. Austin then spent several years as the Director of Internal Audit at TAB, working with the Bank's Audit Committee and Board of Directors to oversee the independent evaluation of TAB's risk and control framework. He then transitioned to oversee the Bank's capital markets, data analytics, marketing, and strategic partnership lines of business. As the CEO, Austin executes TAB's strategic vision through the identification of growth and investment opportunities and collaboration with fintech partners to further drive innovation in banking.    

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Dub Sutherland is Managing Partner at Kennedy Sutherland LLP and Vice Chairman of TransPecos Banks, SSB, where he helps bridge the gap between community banking and fintech innovation. He advises private companies, financial institutions, non-bank lenders, venture investors, and technology firms on a full range of business and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on community banking, digital assets, and fintech strategy.

An entrepreneur with early career experience in banking and manufacturing management, Dub brings an owner’s mindset and pragmatic approach to guiding clients through every stage of growth and navigating complex challenges.

He earned his B.A. in Government from The University of Texas at Austin and his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Dub also serves as Chairman of BCL of Texas, a nonprofit CDFI lender, and is active inthe American Bar Association’s Banking Law Committee and the Alamo Angel Network.

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Jason Wilk is the founder and CEO of Dave, the banking app on a mission to level the financial playing field. In 2016, he had a vision to disrupt traditional banking and the punitive overdraft  fees they charge to everyday consumers; fees which amount to north of $30 billion a year. Dave uses disruptive technology like A.I to deliver credit and banking services at a fraction of the cost of incumbents. The app has nearly 13 million users as of the end of 2024. Jason led the company from founding to IPO on the Nasdaq where the company holds a unicorn market cap. Along the way, Dave was recognized as the 6th fastest growing company in the country on the Inc5000 list as well as a member of the CNBC disruptor 50. In 2024, CNBC named Dave the best performing financial stock in the country, achieving 900% growth.

Jason is a serial entrepreneur, having started several companies prior to Dave including AllScreen TV (acquired in 2015).

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Farah Zubair is a financialservices executive with deep expertise in regulatory affairs, supervision and policy across global banking and fintech institutions. Farah joined SoFi in2023 and currently serves as Head of Regulatory Affairs and Regulatory Relations at SoFi, where she oversees the firm’s regulatory and supervisory engagementwith federal and state agencies. Prior to SoFi, she spent close to a decadeacross JPMorgan Chase and Barclays in various regulatory and policy roles. Farah represents SoFi as a Member on the Board of Directors for the AmericanFintech Council.