Houston Chapter

Christopher Barton-DeJeanis a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with over 25 years in the banking industry. He also holds and maintains Certification as a Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM). For 13 years, Mr. Barton-DeJean practiced different facets of retail banking and subsequently transitioned to community banking. He has a demonstrated ability to remediate and resolve regulatory exam findings and alleviate written agreements and orders. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President with Allegiance Bank, a Houston-based Community Bank.

Currently, he performs duties as the bank’s Senior BSA/ AML Compliance Officer. His responsibilities include effectively performing as the BSA Officer and managing regulatory risks which includes developing and maintaining comprehensive programs on all new regulations and changes to existing regulations to ensure compliance.

Previously, he held a SVP role at American First National Bank as the BSA Officer. And prior to that he performed at CommunityBank of Texas, N.A. as the bank’s Sr. BSA Administrator and Vendor Management Officer. His responsibilities included effectively performing as the BSA Officer, and managing regulatory risks related to Vendor Management. Prior to his role at CommunityBank of Texas, N.A. (formerly known as Vista Bank Texas), Christopher served as the BSA Officer for Patriot Bank. Prior to his role at Patriot Bank he served as a risk manager and fraud prevention analyst with JP Morgan Chase. Christopher’s tenure at JP Morgan Chase also included roles managing Demand Deposit Account Collections, Foreign Currency Services, Small Business Financial Services and Loan Customer Service.

Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and has presented at multiple Houston ACAMS Chapter and Gulf Coast AML Forum learning events.

Email:Christopher.BartonDeJean@AllegianceBank.com

Joann Alicea, Certified Financial Crimes Investigator and Certified Human Trafficking Investigator. Joann is a ACAMS Houston Chapter founding board director. Joann has received commendations for excellent investigative work from the United States Secret Service and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) for assisting in domestic and international fraud/money laundering cases.

Joann has written several published articles entitled: $5.00 to ruin the life of children, and women: Internet ad sites used to launder money in promoting prostitution/human trafficking, How you can help in the fight against human trafficking and United States Treasury FinCEN SAR Checkbox for Human Trafficking published in the 23rd edition of the SAR Activity Review Trends, Tips and Issues. Joann is also a public speaker on how Financial Crime Investigators fight Human Trafficking; Updating the FinCEN SAR for Human Trafficking and Victim Money Laundering Scams.

She has over 10 years of regulatory compliance Fraud/AML & Risk experience in monitoring bank accounts, merchant, cardholder credit card and prepaid card transactions as an employee of First Data Merchant Services, PreCash, Inc. and JPMorgan Chase. Joann worked for 7 years for the FinCEN Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) to be updated for the Human Trafficking checkbox that was successfully implemented in June of 2018.

Joann is a recipient of the First Data Leader of the Pack Award and the PreCash Dazzle Award for outstanding work. Joann is a recipient of the CFCS Scholarship award for Human Trafficking Prevention. She is a member of the IAFCI, ACAMS and InfraGard. Joann is the proud sister of an NYPD Detective, New York’s Finest. Joann is one of the Women showcased in ACAMS Today for being influential in AML and Fraud Crime Prevention.

Joann is a recipient of the ACFE Houston Chapter 2013 Service Appreciation Award for Fighting Human Trafficking and the JPMorgan Chase Employee of the Quarter Award for going Above and Beyond. Joann has completed 21 marathons including 17 NYC Marathons and is an advocate of children and women’s rights in helping in the fight to end human trafficking.

Joann is a co-author in the Handbook of Sex Trafficking; Feminist Transnational Perspectives

Please check out Joann’s Interview in ACAMS Today on Human Trafficking/Smuggling: Joann Alicea: The Fight Against Human Trafficking/Smuggling Continues.

Kenneth is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with 10 years of BSA/AML, Sanctions and Anti-Bribery/Corruption experience. He currently serves as a Vice President with JPMorgan Chase and Company.

Kenneth joined JPMorgan Chase and Company in December of 2012, where he joined the Global Financial Crimes and Anti-Corruption Compliance (GFCAC) Testing function. Since joining GFCAC Testing, Kenneth has assisted or led reviews of various BSA/AML risks and controls regarding SARs, CTRs, Sanctions, and Bribery/Anti-Corruption. Prior to joining JPMC, Kenneth was the Anti-Money Laundering Manager for Woodforest National Bank, where he oversaw a team of AML investigators which completed all AML reviews prior to SAR completion. He also oversaw the Bank’s completion of CTRs, Sanctions Screening, 314a and law enforcement follow-up requests.

Kenneth holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Political Science from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. While completing this degree he also minored in history and psychology.

Email:kenneth.g.call@jpmchase.com

Seasoned law enforcement leader bringing a diverse perspective, passion, knowledge, and skills to police department and community for conducting criminal investigations on financial obligations of the United States. Adjunct Professor with a passion and longstanding history of cybersecurity, fraud investigations, and computer and financial crimes. My career path has always been exciting and kept me on the edge. Working with the community when I first entered the force over 15 years ago was the perfect opportunity to learn to problem solve and have a role where my contribution mattered. If you’ve ever been around me, you’ll know that I’m a great listener with extreme patience and am dedicated to helping others grow to be successful – abilities that have served me well throughout my career.

Aydee De Leon is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) who is bilingual in English and Spanish. She has over ten years of operational banking experience at large regional financial institutions in Texas. Her professional development has included the Texas Bankers Association Compliance School 2014, ACAMS AML & Financial Crime Conference, and various seminars and webinars on BSA/AML risk topics. Over the past five years, Aydee has performed internal controls audits, compliance audits, and AML software model validations for community banks of all asset sizes including higher risk institutions located on the U.S./Mexico border.

Ana R. Zelaya is currently employed by Central Bank as an Assistant BSA Officer. She started her career in banking 20 years ago and has been a BSA professional since 2003. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration majoring in Finance from University of Houston in 2015. In 2018, she earned her CAMs certification.

Ana was born and raised in El Salvador and came to the United States when she was a teenager. She is the only girl in the family of 7. She loves to travel and her goal is to visit as many countries as possible during her lifetime.

Nidhi is a dedicated compliance professional with extensive experience in anti-money laundering (AML), combating the financing of terrorism (CFT), and financial crime compliance. Nidhi holds the Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation and brings 20+ years of expertise in regulatory compliance, risk management, transaction monitoring. Nidhi is committed to empowering AML professionals through collaboration and knowledge sharing, ensuring the industry remains resilient in the fight against financial crime. Beyond her board service, she is passionate about protecting financial institutions from reputational risks and promoting a culture of compliance. Nidhi currently serves as an Associate Director BSA/AML with Stellantis Financial Services US., a captive auto lender in the auto industry. Currently, her responsibilities include effectively managing regulatory risks which includes developing and maintaining comprehensive programs on all new regulations and changes to existing regulations to ensure compliance with BSA/AML and Loan Originations.

Previously, she held the position of Director of Regulatory Compliance at PreCash Inc., and prior to that she performed at Santander Consumer USA Inc., as Santander’s  BSA/AML Officer and prior to that she performed at LoanXM as a Compliance Manager.  In those roles she was responsible for oversight and management of the enterprise-wide Compliance and BSA functions including AML investigations, CTR and SAR Reporting, CDD/EDD, CIP and KYC reviews, and OFAC, along with correspondence and interaction with law enforcement, audit and regulatory personnel.

Nidhi earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Houston, majoring in Finance., is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and was accepted into the Strategic Masters of Business Administration at the University of Houston.

Email:nidhipatel04@gmail.com

Travis Dreibelbis serves as Senior Vice President and BSA/OFAC Officer at Woodforest National Bank, a $6.4B Bank with more than 750 branch locations across 17 states, and headquartered in the Woodlands, TX.

Travis started his banking career as an Internal Investigator withWoodforest National Bank before moving into the BSA arena in 2012 as the Bank’s Suspicious Activity Reporting Manager. Shortly thereafter, he transitioned into the role of BSA Manager before being appointed as the BSA/OFAC Officer, and has led a successful BSA compliance program for Woodforest since 2013. Travis is responsible for oversight and management of the Bank’s enterprise-wide BSA functions including AML investigations, CTR and SAR Reporting, CDD/EDD, CIP and KYC reviews, and OFAC, along with correspondence and interaction with law enforcement, audit and regulatory personnel.

Travis holds a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and serves as a committee member on the Gulf Coast AML Forum. An avid outdoorsman, Travis resides in Spring, Texas with his wife Lindsay and son Owen.

Jonathon is a Manager at Grant Thornton in the Risk Advisory practice. He has over 11 years of experience in the financial services sector primarily in AML and Regulatory Compliance. He has performed regulatory compliance audits, AML Audits, regulatory remediations, and issue validations for large and community banks. Additionally, he enhanced the Compliance Management System at a community bank while he was the Compliance Officer. Jonathon has two young kids and enjoys being outdoors.