ACAMS San Diego Baja Chapter January 2026 8th Annual Financial Crimes Forum

Paul Achman leverages nearly three decades of progressive experience within risk management, culminating in his current role as Director of Compliance at BankProv. In this capacity, he leads the bank’s enterprise Financial Intelligence Unit and Consumer Compliance functions. His strategic leadership supports the institution's commitment to regulatory excellence and operational integrity across traditional, specialty, and emerging banking verticals. 

Throughout his career, he has developed deep expertise in managing complex compliance frameworks across a diverse portfolio of products and services including digital assets. FinTech and Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) models, commercial and specialty lending, and traditional and digital branch banking. Prior to joining BankProv, he held leadership positions at a range of financial institutions including national, commercial, and FinTech banks where he successfully navigated varying operational complexities and regulatory landscapes. 

He is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and served for 14 years, most recently as co-chair of the Upper Midwest ACAMS Chapter, reflecting his long-standing commitment to advancing the best AML/CFT practices within the industry. 

Originally from Minnesota, he recently relocated to Arizona to support the educational journey of his adopted son, demonstrating the same dedication to family that he brings to his professional endeavors. 

Christy most recently served as the Acting Chief of the AML Section at the FDIC for the past 10 months.  A Supervisory Examiner in San Francisco for the past 10 years she has maintained her AML and fraud knowledge based.  Prior to her SE position, she was a Case Manager Special Activities for over 16 years, working on interesting AML and fraud cases throughout the San Francisco Region.  She was a part of the interagency development group for the first FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual and was a developer for the FFIEC Fraud Investigation Techniques course.  Her first forays into fraud and AML matters were in her formative years with the FDIC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  She is a graduate of LSU GBS and is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.

Sandra Khatchadourian is a Senior Financial Institutions Examiner and has been with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation for 12 years. She serves as a dedicated Large Bank Examiner in Charge and is a member of the DFPI Banking BSA Committee.

Jas is the Managing Partner at StrategyBRIX, a boutique Risk and Compliance Consulting firm. Before StrategyBRIX, Jas served as the Head of Financial Crimes and Compliance at leading fintechs, including Stripe and Airwallex. In addition, at PwC, Jas built and led the firm’s Financial Crimes (Fintech) practice across the US West Coast.

He has over 18 years of experience with building and managing programs in the Compliance space. In his role, Jas works closely with CCOs, CROs, and product leaders to solve complex risk, compliance, and monitoring problems. Additionally, as a part of the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG), he advised the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury, in areas of Digital Identity Verification, KYC, and using advanced technologies to solve financial crimes.

Jas is a regular speaker at industry events, a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), and an executive committee member of the West Coast AML Forum (WCAML).

Kimberly Schaefer is a BSA/AML Compliance Policy Specialist for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In this role, she develops supervisory policies and procedures, provides guidance to OCC management, field examiners, and bankers related to AML/CFT laws and regulations, and participates in international AML/CFT policy development through the Financial Action Task Force. Kimberly previously served as a lead examiner and subject matter expert for the OCC’s Western District on AML/CFT related matters. Prior to joining the OCC, she worked for an international consulting firm where her primary focus was the development and implementation of effective AML/CFT governance at complex international financial institutions. Kimberly graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in business economics and accounting. She is a CPA and holds a CAMS certification.

Natalie is an active member of the InfraGard Program (a FBI-affiliated nonprofit organization dedicated to critical infrastructure protection) at the San Diego Chapter, the Associate of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) San Diego Chapter, and the California Financial Crimes Investigators Association (CFCIA) San Diego Division. Natalie is also a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) since 2017 through the globally recognized organization ACFE. She also holds the CFI designation (Certified Fraud Investigator) through CFCIA since 2015.

Prior to joining Pacific Western Bank, she was the Vice President, BSA & OFAC Officer at Seacoast Commerce Bank, a $1B bank headquartered in San Diego,CA. Natalie was previously the AVP, Assistant BSA Officer at Vibra Bank, and also worked at Regents Bank and San Diego Private Bank in BSA/AML compliance and operational roles. She has substantial banking experience in retail banking, community banking, border banking, operational and lending compliance, and in BSA/AML/OFAC, dating back to 2003 when she began her banking career.

Natalie has been a member of ACAMS since 2013 and is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since 2014. Natalie joined the Board of the ACAMS Southern California Chapter in 2015 and served as the Communications Director for 2.5 years prior to forming the ACAMS San Diego –Baja CA Chapter in 2017. Natalie obtained her Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) designation through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) in 2017.

She also served as the VP/Treasurer for the Banker’s Toolbox West Coast Regional User Group Conference from 2015 –2019. Natalie attended San Diego State University where she studied English and Comparative Literature and wrote for the school newspaper, The Daily Aztec, from 2000 through 2005.

Melissa Triplett is currently the Senior Vice President, BSA Officer for Pacific Western Bank. She has more than 21 years of experience in the banking and financial services industry. Melissa has significant experience in AML and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) laws, regulations, and best practices.

Prior to joining Pacific Western Bank, Melissa held the positions of Vice President BSA Officer at California Business Bank and Assistant Vice President BSA Analyst at Seacoast Commerce Bank. Previous to that, Melissa held Operations and Management positions at Union Bank of California and North Island Credit Union.

Melissa is a founder and Co-Chair of the ACAMS San Diego-Baja California Chapter. Prior to the ACAMS San Diego-Baja California Chapter’s inception she served as Programming Director for the ACAMS Southern California Chapter. As Co-Chair for the ACAMS San Diego-Baja California Chapter, she identifies, develops, and promotes educational and networking programs to industry experts and law enforcement professionals in the AML and CTF fields.

Melissa also serves as the President of the Abrigo (formally Bankers Toolbox) West Coast User Group and played a pivotal role in the group’s implementation. She has been a member of ACAMS since 2013 and has been a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) since March 2014. Melissa obtained her CAMS-Audit designation in 2019.