Mid Tennessee Chapter

Erica has 17 experience in the banking industry, with the last 14 being in various AML/BSA roles. She has been an AML Detection Analyst, Senior AML Investigator, AML Detection Supervisor, AML Team Lead, AML Investigations Manager, and currently is the Manager of the AML Investigations Quality Control Department at KeyBank (Headquartered in Ohio). 

She has her bachelor’s degree in Economic Crime Investigation, has been CAMS certified since 2016, and received her CFCS (Certified Financial Crimes Specialist) Certification in 2023. 

Previously, Kevin was a risk consultant with PwC in the advisory practice.  In this role, Kevin worked on AML projects for clients located in the US and Europe and on wealth management projects for banking clients.

Kevin received his BA in Intelligence Studies & Applied Sciences from Mercyhurst University and his MBA from the University of South Carolina.

Cyndy has 10 years of experience in AML and has been with UBS for the past 5 years as an AML Investigator with the Financial Crime Prevention AML Investigations Team. She is responsible for performing Wealth Management and Correspondent Banking Investigations of UBS client accounts and filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) when necessary.  Her experience in AML also includes Transaction Monitoring and Surveillance for UBS Financial Services and Correspondent Banking, as well as Quality Assurance of Surveillance alerts and Investigations.

A graduate of Sam Houston State University with a degree in Criminal Justice, Cyndy began her career as a BSA Analyst at Lone Star National Bank in Texas before moving into her current role at UBS.

Betsy is an AML/BSA executive with over 14 years of experience building and leading financial crime compliance programs in fast-paced fintech and regulated financial services environments. She specializes in designing risk-based AML, sanctions, and fraud frameworks that scale with innovative products while meeting regulatory expectations.

Betsy has led enterprise AML programs covering CDD/KYC, transaction monitoring, SAR reporting, sanctions screening, consumer compliance, and regulatory examinations; she helps fintechs manage risk without slowing innovation.

CAMS certified in 2017 and achieved the advanced certification of Financial Crimes Investigations in 2019.  Betsy is a 2 time graduate from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Valerie has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. The last 6 years have been focused specifically on AML/BSA and include roles such as AML/BSA Analyst and AML/BSA Quality Control Manager. Valerie’s current role is the Sr. Director – BSA/AML at Pinnacle Financial Partners.

Valerie received her CAMS certification in 2023.

William has more than 15 years of experience in the banking, financial services, and insurance industry with his current position being a BSA Analyst at Thread Bank. He is a dedicated professional with a passion for combating financial crime. Throughout his career he has honed his skills as a financial crime investigator, law enforcement officer, private investigator, and business owner. He has a degree in business administration and has been CAMS certified since 2021.

Leandra has over 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, with the last 13 years focused on AML/BSA. She is currently the Compliance Manager at Advance Financial where she appreciates coaching, being collaborative, and has fostered relationships within the company through trust, diligence, and excellent clear communication. In her current role she supervises a team that audits various departments ensuring alignment with departmental procedures, government and company requirements, along with fraud detection and mitigation.

She has been CAMS certified since 2021.

Ben is a CFE and Associate Director in Protiviti’s Risk & Compliance practice who focuses on technology and data related to AML and anti-fraud strategies. He has over 20 years of experience in I/T and business consulting with the majority of that spent providing I/T and business solutions in the financial services industry with the last 12 years focused on risk and compliance.

He has worked both domestically and internationally in technical leadership positions for several financial services clients to deliver or support a variety of risk-related solutions including KYC/CDD, transaction monitoring, watchlist screening, and integrated case management solutions. He has been involved with all phases of solution delivery from strategy definition through production roll-out and optimization as well as assisting clients with their remediation efforts related to enforcement action.