Central Ohio Chapter

Tara Griffith, AVP Operations & OFAC Officer at Corporate One Federal Credit Union has worked in the financial industry for over 25 years. Tara manages the Operations department, including CORE, payments and oversees the Sanctions Compliance Program.

She has extensive knowledge in payment regulations, including over 25 years of experience in BSA/AML/OFAC, FATF and Fincen. She received certification from the School of Bank Compliance in 2005 along with receiving her CAMS designation in 2020.

Pamela has been with BMI Federal Credit Union since 2015 and was promoted to the role of Compliance Coordinator in May 2017. She received her CAMS certification in June 2015.

She previously worked at Abu Dhabi Commercial bank, Charter One and Barclays bank of New York. In addition to compliance and risk management, she has broad experience in retail banking, customer sales and service and trade finance. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and lives in Dublin, Ohio.

Kristina has over 15 years’ experience in the financial industry with a well-versed background in various areas including BSA/AML and OFAC sanctions and regulations. She also has extensive experience in Fraud prevention and investigations, check fraud, debit card fraud, credit card fraud and wire fraud. Currently Kristina is the OFAC Lead at Corporate One Federal Credit Union where she is responsible for the day-to-day compliance efforts related to Corporate One’s OFAC Program and sanctions screening.

Prior to her role as OFAC Lead, she held the role as BSA/AML investigator, where she was Responsible for the daily compliance efforts related to Corporate One’s BSA/AML/OFAC Program. She also held the role of OFAC Analyst at Corporate One Federal Credit Union where she monitored transactions, testing and OFAC compliance on behalf of Corporate One by ensuring transactions comply with OFAC regulations. Kristina received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice from Kent State University in 2010. She received her CAMS designation in December 2017 and CGSS designation in December 2022.

Jackie Smith has been working in BSA/AML for 16 years at various institutions. She currently works at Wright‐Patt Credit Union leading a dynamic team of 11 individuals in traditional BSA/AML compliance. She has been with WPCU for almost three years, but her extensive knowledge includes fraud processes and collaborations with BSA/AML, developing ID theft programs, BSA/AML in the credit card industry and MSBs.

I’m a Director on the Financial Services Regulatory Compliance & Advisory team at GBQ Partners and have been in this role for 5 years. We primarily work with Credit Unions and assist with external testing of compliance programs, including annual independent BSA audits. Prior to that, I was with JP Morgan for 10 years and worked in the Commercial Bank AML/KYC department as a QC manager. I’ve maintained the CAMS certification since 2015 and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology from OSU in 2009.

With a decade of experience in the BSA/AML space and an extensive background in banking, I bring seasoned expertise and strategic leadership to the compliance community. I hold both CAMS and CAFP certifications, underscoring my deep commitment to industry standards and continuous professional growth.

As the Transaction Monitoring and Reporting (TMR) Manager at Park National Bank, I lead initiatives to ensure our regulatory reporting processes are accurate, efficient, and fully compliant. I oversee the suspicious activity monitoring team, manage investigations and SAR filings, and administer the CTR exemption process. Additionally, I spearhead data reconciliation efforts between our core banking systems and third-party vendors to maintain data integrity.

My focus is on upholding robust compliance with BSA/AML regulations, as well as requirements from OFAC and FinCEN. Through proactive oversight and process optimization, I help ensure the bank remains audit-ready and resilient against financial crime risks.

As a bank officer, I am committed to fostering a culture of transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement—empowering teams to meet regulatory challenges with confidence and agility.

Mike McKiernan has 20+ years of experience in the financial services industry and has spent the past 15 years as the Head of Financial Crimes Intelligence for Fifth Third Bank. Prior to that, he worked as a pension actuary for Fidelity Investments and Willis Towers Watson.

Today, he manages the unit responsible for the systemic identification of potentially suspicious activity including the management of AML surveillance and support applications. He also oversees the unit responsible for the Bank’s AML system calibration efforts as well as the AML operational and management reporting functions.

He received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Bryant University majoring in Actuarial Science, and received his MBA, with honors, from Clark University majoring in Finance. He is also a Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

Jon is the BSA Manager for Kemba Credit Union. He currently is responsible for compliance, BSA and fraud functions for the credit union.

He has spent the last 10 years as Compliance Officer overseeing Kemba’s BSA Program and OFAC Program. He received his CAMS certification in 2016 and has maintained Bank Secrecy Act Certified Specialist (BSACS) and Credit Union Compliance Expert (CUCE) designations since 2010. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Cincinnati.