Event & Class Speakers
Dianne Barton, is President of Performance Solutions, inc. (PSi), training and consulting company that specializes in providing solutions to the key challenges facing banks today in attracting and building relationships with their customers. PSi's training programs are designed to “close the gap” between the banks’ needs and employees' skills. Her trademark “real world” scenarios give attendees insight into the practical application of new skills and knowledge. Dianne is a well-respected facilitator and presenter and has spoken to banking audiences across the country for over 30 years. Her training and consulting expertise in strategic planning, leadership, deposit and consumer regulatory compliance, retail growth strategies, performance management, as well as sales culture development is recognized as providing “real world solutions” by both regional and community banks. Before starting Performance Solutions in 1983, she held senior positions with BankSouth Corporation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the John H. Harland Company. Dianne is a graduate of Georgia State University and is on the faculty of several national and state banking schools.
Denise Baumann is an Account Manager for the Metro Atlanta area with Arch Mortgage Insurance Company (Arch MI). She has 19 years of experience in the mortgage insurance industry and has been with the company since 2011. Denise is currently on the executive board of the Atlanta Mortgage Bankers Association (AMBA) and is actively involved with the Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia (MBAG) as the MBAG Foundation chair. Denise’s compelling background gives her a strong understanding of her customers’ needs and makes her deeply passionate about helping customers grow their businesses.
Karen Bitler, Senior Consultant and Facilitator at Performance Solutions, Inc., has over 35 years of experience as a banker, regulator, and consultant with regulatory, internal audit, examination, compliance, anti-fraud, risk management and lending knowledge. Her background and the majority of her experience is centered around financial institutions in all areas of Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Information Security. Karen graduated from Virginia Wesleyan College with a Bachelors in Business Management, received her ACAMS certification in 2013 and has a Six Sigma Greenbelt Certification. She is married with one son who is currently working full time for a well-known fast food chain.
David Branch is the President and CEO of Branch Solutions Group, a business and leadership training company. His perspective as a business coach and teacher stems from his 24 years of “in the trenches” experience as the owner of a construction and environmental remediation firm. Being fully engaged in the daily functions of these businesses, David knows first-hand the daily struggles leaders face. His experiences in leadership bring a “realness” that effectively serves to break down barriers between leaders and their teams, resulting in success for the entire team.
Randy Bullock is a seasoned Security Officer with over 26 years in the banking industry with experience in Retail, Consumer Lending and Banking Operations. He’s a Certified Financial Services Security Professional and is currently the Security Officer for Origin Bank which has locations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. While serving his 12-year tenure as Origin’s Security Officer, he has supported the bank’s security needs during their growth from a single state bank to a multi-state bank which has more than tripled their banking centers, offsite ATMs, loan production offices and Operations and Administrative Centers. Because of the rapid growth, Randy has had to rely on Technology and streamlining equipment to assist him in managing the physical security needs for Origin Bank while operating as a one-person department.
David Branch is the President and CEO of Branch Solutions Group, a business and leadership training company. His perspective as a business coach and teacher stem from his 24 years of “in the trenches” experience as the owner of a construction company and an environmental remediation company. Being fully engaged in the daily functions of these businesses, David knows first-hand the daily struggles business owners face. David will share how he used open book leadership to become completely debt free and take his business from surviving to thriving.
Stephanie Clark is a talented and experienced training expert who hits the mark when delivering mortgage training focused on customer business needs. She oversees course development, curriculum design, documentation standards and the facilitation of classroom training for Arch MI customers.Before joining Arch MI, Stephanie was with Capital One Home Loans, where she was responsible for building and facilitating the operations curriculum. She has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry, including positions in operations and underwriting.
Anetria Connell is a Vice President at ProBank Austin . Prior to joining the firm, she served as legal counsel to the Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions which regulates depository, non-depository, and securities entities. Her primary responsibility at the Department was the Dodd-Frank Act, whereby she assessed its effect on federal and state law and provided information and training to examiners and staff. In addition to her regulatory experience, Ms. Connell practiced business, real estate, and banking law. She graduated from The George Washington University Law school in 2004 with honors, and is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Kentucky.
Carol Dodgen is the owner of Dodgen Security Consulting. Since 1998, her company has been providing services for businesses, financial institutions, and government entities to include training, ATM lighting inspections, and security assessments. Before forming her company, Carol served as the security training officer for Compass Bank. She earned her Master's Degree in Criminal Justice and spent several years as an adjunct criminal justice instructor with Jacksonville State University. Carol is a nationally recognized speaker who has provided training for over 100,000 corporate, manufacturing, utility, law enforcement, and security personnel over the past 25 years. Carol earned her CPD (Crime Prevention Designation) and provides instruction on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), Workplace Violence Prevention and Response, Robbery Prevention and Response, and Personal Safety. Carol recently produced her 2nd video training program entitled “Robbery: Plan. Prevent. Prevail.” which provides training for employees of financial institutions in proper robbery procedures. In 2009, Carol was appointed by the governor to serve on the newly formed Alabama Security Regulatory Board and served for 6 years as vice-chair of this board which regulates the security guard industry in the state.
Zach Duke is the Founder and President of Cybersecurity firm Finosec. Under his leadership, he leads the vision of the company to help financial institutions navigate the complexities and burdens of cybersecurity. Zach has over 20 years of experience in helping community banks manage information security and cybersecurity. He has held positions in technical, product management, business development, and leadership at network services company Safe Systems and Gladiator Technology until its acquisition by Jack Henry and Associates INC. Zach has a passion for community banks, and he has taught numerous banking topics related to technology strategic planning, cybersecurity, and compliance. Duke is on the advisory board of Management Information Systems at the University of Georgia, and he is the immediate Past President of the financial technology user group, The Association for Financial Technology (aftweb.com). Duke received his BBA in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia. His unique background and presentation style allows him to be able to communicate complex topics in ways that keep the audience engaged and informed.
Leah M. Hamilton, JD is a Vice President and Senior Consultant with ProBank Austin’s Education Division. She has a broad range of expertise in federal regulatory compliance. With nearly 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, her compliance knowledge spans Lending, Deposits, BSA/AML and Compliance Management. Leah is nationally recognized for her practical compliance advice and her engaging approach to teaching regulatory compliance matters with her quick wit, sense of humor and examples, making compliance an enjoyable educational experience. Where compliance is every employee’s responsibility every day, she provides tools and valuable insight to effectively understand and manage compliance. As a compliance expert, Leah has served as a lead advisor on consent order remediation engagements and management responses to examiner concerns. She is often called upon to assist in potential RESPA Section 8, UDAAP and Overdraft matters. Leah has trained more than 1,000 lenders on TRID and served as a TRID and 2018 HMDA expert for the American Bankers Association. Prior to joining the firm, Leah has served as the Chief Compliance Officer for a $4 billion community bank, a start-up mortgage company and, most notably, for TriComply, Temenos’ compliance division. Additionally, she has served as inhouse counsel and worked for several leading banking software firms. Leah received her Juris Doctorate from Northern Illinois University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in General Studies degree from the University of Texas at Dallas where she majored in law and minored in business management. Leah also serves as a faculty member of Southern Methodist University’s SW Graduate School of Banking in Dallas where she teaches Compliance 101, Fair Lending and the Mortgage Loan Process.
Darla Harms is a Leadership Coach, Speaker, and Trainer. She graduated with a Master's Degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Leadership and Adult Education in 1999 and has been studying leadership for over 20 years. In those 20 years she has also become a trained John Maxwell coach, speaker and trainer and has also become a certified life coach with the Arbinger Institute out of Salt Lake City, UT. Darla started her own leadership company five years ago called, Darla Harms Leadership. Since that time she has worked with hundreds of individuals from Georgia, Texas, Virginia, Nebraska, Washington State, Oregon, and North Carolina and spent thousands of hours coaching, training, and speaking on the subject of leadership. She is currently working on her first leadership book to be released in spring 2019.
Craig Hirsch is a Bank Examiner specializing in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing. He is part of the OCC Southern District’s BSA Working Group, performs analyses on FinCEN data for various banks in the Southern District, and frequently participates in interagency meetings with other regulatory and law enforcement agencies. Mr. Hirsch is an instructor for the OCC’s domestic and foreign AML Schools, the FFIEC’s Financial Crime seminar, and has spoken at various industry conferences on a wide range of BSA/AML/OFAC topics. He has written articles on BSA/AML and fraud, which have appeared in national publications. Before joining the OCC, Craig spent over nine years as a consultant in the areas of anti-money laundering, forensic accounting, and financial statement audit. He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, Certified Professional in Anti-Money Laundering, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Public Accountant.
Jeffery Johnson, President and founder of Bankers Insight Group, Decatur, Georgia. He is formerly executive vice president and senior consultant at Bankers Management, Inc. He began his career as a management trainee and was promoted to group vice president for South Trust Bank, Atlanta. Johnson also was senior vice president and commercial banking division manager for Citizens Trust Bank, Atlanta. He has taught AIB classes and lending seminars for Georgia, Arkansas, and Tennessee Bankers Associations. Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College, Atlanta; John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio; and the Prochnow Graduate School of Banking, Madison, Wisconsin. He received graduate certification in bank management from Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Mark Kanaly is Partner and Chair of the Banking Practice at the Atlanta law firm, Alston & Bird LLP. He concentrates his practice on the transactional and regulatory issues confronted by banks in the southeast. He assists his bank clients with private and public securities’ offerings, mergers and acquisitions, corporate formations and restructurings, recapitalizations, corporate governance and a host of related, complex bank regulatory issues. Mr. Kanaly received a J.D. in 1996 from the University of Oklahoma where he was elected to the Order of the Coif, and he received five American Jurisprudence Awards. He graduated cum laude from the Wharton Business School of the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S.E. in Finance.
Teri Laudano is a Senior Consultant at ProBank Austin. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Laudano served in the banking industry in the St. Louis Metropolitan and Lincoln County areas since 1982. She has nearly 30 years as a bank officer and manager of centralized loan administration departments with experience training consumer and commercial compliance, banking laws and regulations. As a Senior Consultant, Ms. Laudano presents ProBank Austin seminars and provides consulting services on regulatory compliance topics with emphasis on lending operations.
Holly Logue has been representing community banks since 1983. Her experience encompasses a wide breadth of banking regulatory matters, mergers and acquisitions, federal and state court litigation, foreclosures, collections, bankruptcies and creditors’ rights matters. In 2015, Holly became a founding member of Financial Institutions Strategies Group, LLC, a bank consulting firm representing Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) throughout the southeastern U.S. Today, Holly and her partner represent over 50% of the CDFI banks in the country and have successfully obtained some 200 grants totaling $54 million for their clients. Holly earned her B.A. degree from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN and her J.D. from Loyola University School of Law, New Orleans, LA in 1983.
David Luken is a Vice President at ProBank Austin. Prior to joining the firm in 1992, Mr. Luken was senior vice president and general counsel for a billion dollar metropolitan bank holding company. While at ProBank he has served on the faculty of the FDIC's Advanced Consumer Protection School, Bank Operations and Compliance School and the OTS Compliance School. He has also served on the faculties of banking schools conducted by the New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Arkansas bankers associations. Mr. Luken conducts over 100 seminars a year in the areas of lending and deposit compliance, Bank Secrecy Act, internet banking, information security and privacy law.
Paul Lynch is responsible for the placement of all types of state tax credits in Sugar Creek Capital’s 12+ state footprint. With 30+ years of experience in financial services with Stateside Capital, SunTrust, C&S Securities, and Quick and Reilly, Paul works with banks, insurance companies, corporations, and high-income individual in addressing state tax needs as well as CRA issues. Paul holds a finance degree from Iowa State University, is a Certified Funds Manager, has completed his CFP coursework and has held 9 different securities license designations.
Ashli Matson, is Vice President & Account Executive‐Georgia with the, a Crescent Mortgage Company, a CBA endorsed member company. Mrs. Matson has served as an Account Executive for Crescent Mortgage Company since 2011. Prior to joining Crescent Mortgage Company, she was a Sr. Mortgage Loan Processor from 2005‐2011 in secondary retail and wholesale mortgage lending. Ashli is currently a member of Mortgage Bankers Association of GA Investor Liaison Committee, National Association Professional Mortgage Women and part of the CBA Associate Member Advisory Council. Mrs. Matson resides in Cumming, Georgia with her husband and two teenage daughters.
Trina McCoy started her career with a regional bank in 1999 as an in-store branch manager and later managed a traditional branch. Trina also served as a Regional Manager and City President where she assisted with the opening of over 30 branches and was responsible for managing, training and operational duties.
She has also served on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement. Trina enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, gardening and decorating.
She has also served on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement. Trina enjoys spending time with her family, shopping, gardening and decorating.
Chris Nelson earned his title as one of the leading industry experts through hardwork and dedication. His path to Vice President of STS Group began on the front line, first as a technician and then mid-level management. Chris has become a banking industry expert as STS Group grew into a regional company providing security equipment and branch automation solutions across the Southeast. Chris consults with financial institutions across the U.S. on new branch technology and has an extensive knowledge of the greatest threats to bank security and how technology can help combat those threats.
Ron Plesco is an internationally-known information security and privacy attorney with 17 years experience in cyber investigations, compliance, information assurance, telecommunications, privacy, identity management, computer crime and emerging cyber threats and technology solutions. Ron joined KPMG in 2012 after a distinguished career in the private and sectors and is a frequent speaker nationally. Prior to joining KPMG, Ron was the CEO of the National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), where he managed the development of intelligence that led to over 400 worldwide cyber crime arrests in four years and prevented over $2 billion in fraud. No
Charity Smith is VP of Training and Business Development for Crescent Mortgage. She began her career over 20 years ago as a mortgage loan processor moving into origination then underwriting and managing secondary market lending departments. She has spent the last 10 years sharing her knowledge and experiences with Crescent’s partners across the country.
Philip K. Smith is the President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Memphis-based law firm of Gerrish Smith Tuck and its affiliated bank consulting firm. Mr. Smith's legal and consulting practice is exclusively focused on the community banking industry throughout the country with special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, regulatory matters and related issues. He serves on the faculty for a number of banking schools across the country. His more comprehensive bio is included in your handout materials.
Bill Wineman has been with the Jacksonville Police Dept since 1983, and has served as Assistant Police Chief since 2004. Over his 36 years in law enforcement, Bill has held numerous positions including patrol officer and supervisor, field training officer, investigations supervisor, and public information officer. Bill is certified as a SHARP (Sexual Harassment/Assault Response & Prevention) instructor, tactical firearms instructor, chemical spray instructor, and ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) instructor. Bill has attended the FBI National Academy and has taught defensive tactics in surrounding states, including Georgia. Bill also served in the US Army Reserves Aviation branch for 13 years.
