Elizabeth A. Slim, CAMS
Co-Chair
City National Bank

Elizabeth Slim is the Vice President and BSA Risk Manager for City National Bank, headquarted in downtown Los Angeles. Elizabeth is the Founder and Co-Chair of the ACAMS Southern California Chapter established October 2009. She is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2004 and a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) since 2003.

Slim has been in the banking industry for over 30 years specializing in areas of Compliance, Operations, Fraud, Security, Training and Risk Management with financial institutions such as Bank of America, First Interstate Bank of California, Home Savings of America, Sanwa Bank, Community Bank and Grandpoint Bank.

Elizabeth has been a guest speaker for the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and the West Coast Anti-Money Laundering Forum. She is a member of the International Association of Financial Crime Investigators (IAFCI) and the National Association of Women’s Business Owners. She attended California State University, Los Angeles.

Email: elizabeth.slim@cnb.com

Chuck Taylor, CAMS
Co-Chair
City National Bank

Mr. Taylor is Senior Vice President, BSA Officer for City National Bank, headquartered in downtown Los Angeles.  He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the BSA/AML function for City National.  He has been in the banking industry since 1992 and the BSA/AML field exclusively since 2003.  His resume includes positions with; California National Bank, Bank of America, Pacific Capital Bancorp and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.  Chuck completed his Juris Doctorate in 2001, received certification as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) in 2003 with the inaugural class and became a Certified BSA Officer in 2007.

Email: chuck.taylor@cnb.com

Maleka Ali, CAMS
Secretary
Bankers Toolbox

Ms. Ali has over 25 years experience servicing the financial community. She has been working with Bankers Toolbox as a Risk Management Consultant since October of 2005.  Prior to joining Banker’s Toolbox, Maleka worked at several financial institutions in Southern California. Experience includes Operations/BSA management, fraud/risk control, product development, marketing and training along with participation in the creation of two new “denovo” financial institutions and served on task forces for several mergers, acquisitions and system conversions. 

She is CAMS certified and has developed and implemented BSA programs along with comprehensive risk assessments at several financial institutions. At Bankers Toolbox, she has trained over 500 financial institutions on BSA/OFAC compliance and how to effectively utilize automated monitoring systems. She has created BSA/OFAC desktop procedures and helped develop products that assist financial institutions and corporations with their compliance to these laws and recommendations.

Maleka was a faculty member on BSA/AML at America’s Community Bankers National School of Banking in Connecticut and has served as a guest speaker and workshop instructor at their National Compliance Conferences. She has also been a guest speaker at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners national conference, as well as at several financial and corporate compliance organizations, addressing the subjects of BSA/AML/OFAC compliance, risk assessment management, fraud and identity theft.

Maleka was a faculty member on BSA/AML at America’s Community Bankers National School of Banking in Connecticut and has served as a guest speaker and workshop instructor at their National Compliance Conferences. She has also been a guest speaker at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners national conference, as well as at several financial and corporate compliance organizations, addressing the subjects of BSA/AML/OFAC compliance, risk assessment management, fraud and identity theft.

Email: malekaa@bankerstoolbox.com

Martin Liska, CAMS
Co-Secretary
City National Bank

Martin has 20 years of banking experience with 9 years of risk management primarily with a Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering focus. He currently manages City National Bank’s (Los Angeles) AML Transaction Monitoring department. Prior to partnering with City National Bank, he was a bank examiner for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco where he performed bank risk assessments on capital, earnings, liquidity and market risks. Before entering into bank supervision, he supervised item processing and cash operations for the Federal Reserve Bank.

Martin has been a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS) since 2007. He was also one of the founding members of the ACAMS Southern California Chapter.

Email: Martin.Liska@cnb.com

Bryan Tinoco
Treasurer
Wescom Central Credit Union

Mr. Tinoco specializes in BSA/AML and OFAC regulatory compliance.  He has over 18 years of experience in the operational areas of retail and business banking, and in the credit union industry. During the last 8 years, his focus has been on BSA/AML and OFAC. 

Currently, Bryan is the corporate BSA Compliance Officer and OFAC administrator at Wescom Central Credit Union based in Pasadena, CA.  He has successfully built the compliance infrastructure for the organization and continues to enhance and manage the OFAC, BSA and anti-money laundering programs, as well as coordinates and advises changes in regulations and analyzes the changes as it effects operations. Recent projects completed include the implementation of the credit union’s BSA/AML/CFT monitoring systems. Prior to joining Wescom Central Credit Union, Bryan was the AVP BSA Compliance Manager at Far East National Bank, a nationally chartered bank with both corporate and individual banking services in Northern and Southern California, along with an overseas Beijing Representative Office, and a branch in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He helped develop and implemented new policies, procedures, and testing programs to ensure continuing adherence to BSA/AML laws and regulations including a liaison between regulatory agencies (OCC and FRB) in connection with their examinations.
 
Bryan is a member of several professional organizations, such as the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, International Association of Financial Crimes Investigators and a BSA Compliance Specialists with the Credit Union National Association. He has accomplished all P.O.S.T. (Police Officers Standard Training) requirements and is certificated as a level 1 Police Reserve Officer.

Email: btinoco@wescom.org

Susan Wahba, CAMS
Co-Treasurer
Grandpoint Bank

Ms. Wahba has served in the field of banking for over 19 years. She spent 13 years as a Risk Management Examiner for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), with part of that time serving as a Subject Matter Expert for BSA, Fraud, and Trust. She later served as SVP/BSA Officer for First Regional Bank, a $2 billion bank in the Los Angeles area, where she was responsible for managing the day-to-day BSA/AML/OFAC compliance. Subsequently, Ms. Wahba served in the capacity of Vice President at Union Bank, N.A., overseeing the Policy and Risk Assessment group in the bank’s BSA Program Office. She is presently SVP/BSA at Grandpoint Bank, headquartered in downtown Los Angeles.

Susan has been a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2010.

Email: swahba@grandpointbank.com

Hoi Luk, CAMS, CRCM
Membership Director
ICS Risk Advisors

Mr. Luk, a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM), is a Regional Director with ICS Risk Advisors. Hoi is responsible for project oversight and the delivery of risk management services for the western region. His regulatory compliance, risk management, and internal audit experience spans more than 20 years with specialties in the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML), residential lending, and asset quality reviews.

Prior to joining ICS Risk Advisors, Hoi was a director at a leading national business consulting, accounting, and tax firm where he was responsible for risk management consulting services. He has also served as a compliance specialist for two $3 billion institutions and also worked for two mortgage companies, performing regulatory compliance testing and support functions.

Email: hluk@ICSriskadvisors.com

Camille Catalano, CAMS
Co-Membership Director
Farmers and Merchants Bank

Ms. Catalano is Assistant Vice President, BSA Assistant Manager for Farmers and Merchants Bank, where she is responsible for managing the day-to-day BSA/AML/OFAC compliance. Prior to joining Farmers and Merchants Camille was the BSA/AML Compliance Manager of the AML Intelligence Department for US Bank. Camille also held a position at Cal National Bank. In addition to her job responsibilities, Camille is a board member of the West Coast Anti-Money Laundering (WCAML) Forum, which sponsors conferences on BSA/AML/OFAC current trends and topics.

Camille has been a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (CAMS) since 2003. She is also one of the founding members of the ACAMS Southern California Chapter.

Email: camille.catalano@fmb.com

Tim Richey, CAMS
Communications Director
Boston Private Bank & Trust Company

Mr. Richey currently serves as Senior Vice President/Chief Compliance Officer and BSA Officer of First Private Bank & Trust.  Prior to joining First Private, Mr. Richey was a contract consultant from 2006 to 2007 and assisted various institutions with significant AML/BSA-related remediation efforts.  From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Richey was employed by AEGON USA/Transamerica, a $35B mutual fund complex consisting of four fund groups, investment adviser, transfer agent and custodian.  At AEGON USA/Transamerica, Mr. Richey most recently served in the position of Assistant Vice President-Compliance, BSA Officer and Assistant Secretary.  Mr. Richey graduated with an AS from Vincennes University, a BA from Indiana University and received a JD from Stetson University College of Law.  Mr. Richey has been CAMS-certified since 2004 and has AML/BSA experience in banking, securities, investments and the life insurance industries.   

Email: trichey@bostonprivatebank.com

Michael Meer, CAMS
Co-Communications Director
Grandpoint Bank

Michael has been working in the financial industry for 19 years with 11 years experience in AML/BSA. He joined Grandpoint Bank in April 2012, as Vice President and Assistant BSA Officer. Between 2008 and 2012, Michael served as VP, BSA AML Risk Officer at Wilshire Bank, where he was the board-approved individual responsible for overseeing the Bank’s BSA AML Compliance Program and the primary point of contact for State and Federal Regulators.

Michael’s career in foreign payments began in 1996 at a Non-Bank Financial Institution, previously known as Travelex Global Business Payments Inc. (acquired by Western Union Business Payments), a global business payments corporation, with branches in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the UK, Canada, and Australia. The acquired company processed domestic and international payments of more than $37 billion and paid more than one million beneficiaries annually. While there, Michael became acquainted with AML laws and regulations in both domestic and foreign jurisdictions and gained experience in cross-border funds movements for 140 currencies and over 200 countries. In 2001, Michael was selected to be the Interim Director of AML Compliance and was selected to write the company’s first AML Compliance Policy Manual. Michael organized the institution’s Financial Intelligence Unit. Michael served in the interim capacity until the arrival of a permanent AML Director in 2006, at which time he was assigned the role of Deputy Director of AML Compliance.

Michael has been a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2006.

Email: mmeer@grandpointbank.com

Mikhail Reider-Gordon, CAMS, CFCI
Programming Director
Navigant CI

Ms. Reider-Gordon is a Director in the Los Angeles office of Navigant’s Disputes & Investigations practice. Her practice focuses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and the anti-corruption regime, municipal public corruption, anti-money laundering, regulatory compliance, forensic investigations and white-collar crime matters.  She is accustomed to working on extremely sensitive, and high profile investigations, both nationally and globally.  She has conducted a broad range of dispute and advisory services, particularly in providing expertise to the public & private sectors, directing both global and domestic teams investigating corruption overseas, illicit payments, and reviews of policies and procedures for adherence to related regulations and laws.  Ms. Reider-Gordon’s 25-plus year professional career has included working in intelligence, assigned to agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice and overseas, working for the RAND Corporation on various government-agency sponsored projects and directing investigations for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).  She has lived and worked throughout Asia, Europe and North America. 

Mikhail currently serves as Co-Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) International Law Section’s Anti-Money Laundering Committee and Vice-Chair of the section’s Anti-Corruption Committee; she also serves as the Criminal Justice liaison for the International Law Section.  She also serves on the Executive Board of the southern California chapter of the Association of Certified Money Laundering Specialists (SC – CAMS). She is a frequent lecturer on the FCPA, anti-money laundering and white-collar crimes and has been an instructor or panelist for the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Graduate Business School, Thunderbird School of Management at Arizona State University, law firms, corporate conferences and many others. Mikhail has also lectured to and taught courses on counterfeiting and piracy to a wide range of agencies and entities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI Academy), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Mexican Customs (IPG) and the U.K. Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT),

Email:  Mikhail.Reider-Gordon@navigant.com

John Everett, CAMS
Co-Programming Director
Laurent Corporations

Mr. Everett, CAMS, CFE retired from government service (IRS Special Agent) in January 2002 after more than 30 years experience investigating violations of Federal law and along the way earning numerous case specific awards.

Born in Brooklyn New York, he recently returned from a 15 month deployment with the XVIII Airborne Corps as a Law Enforcement Professional where his job was to advise the command staff on how to view the insurgency as if it were a gang/mafia organization.

A licensed private investigator, John is V.P. of Laurent Corporations specializing in civil fraud investigations and Patriot Act compliance assignments.

Email:  jethepi@earthlink.net