Kansas City Chapter

Kate Meriwether is currently a Senior Vice President at Academy Bank, where she serves as the Director of BSA as well as the designated BSA Officer for both Academy Bank and Armed Forces Bank. She is responsible for leading, developing, and ensuring the AML program is in full compliance with Federal and Regulatory guidelines. Kate has held various positions in BSA/AML for over 18 years. Prior to Academy, Kate worked for Sunflower Bank, Bank of Oklahoma, Bank Midwest, and Commerce Bank. Kate began her career as a teller at Pony Express Bank where she eventually transitioned into a BSA role, to which they say, the rest is history! Kate received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Missouri.  She has been an active and certified member of ACAMS since 2013 and recently completed the ACAMS CAFCA (Certified AML FinTech Compliance Associate) Certification. She is also a seven-year member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Kansas City.

Mayra De La Garza is a compliance expert with extensive experience in the payments and financial services industry. She is currently serving as the Compliance Software Director for epay, a Euronet company. She leads the company's compliance software efforts from the Euronet headquarters in Kansas. Mayra joined epay in July 2021 after spending 12 years at Walmart serving in various financial services roles, specializing in the compliance space. Mayra's areas of expertise include payments, financial services, AML compliance, governance, and relationship management.

Throughout her career, Mayra has been recognized for her leadership, strategic thinking, and ability to drive results. She is passionate about compliance and ensuring that companies operate ethically and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Mayra holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arkansas.

Robert (“Rob”) Lippman works as a Senior Program Manager for Financial Product Risk & Compliance at H&R Block, where he has 22 years of service. In his role, he designs, executes, and delivers regulatory compliance and audit management programs across the 9,000+ office network, serving 21 million clients with industry-leading financial products that align to the business goals of increased revenue, enhanced market share, improved compliance rates, and profit growth while remaining within the boundaries established by regulatory authorities. Creating a culture of compliance within the enterprise through education, automation and proactive oversight measures based on successful partnerships between compliance and business units is one of the founding principles of his work. He has a proven long-term track record in multiple industries showing immediate positive impacts, rapid learning cycles, keen analytical insights, and enduring contributions. Rob is a team-oriented, positive-focused leader with strong judgement and integrity, robust data management skills, multi-cultural experience from living/working overseas, an innovative mindset, and a solid work ethic.  Rob holds three professional certifications -- Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Certified Financial Services Auditor (CFSA), and Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) in addition to a Bachelor’s Degree from The George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs.

Sarah Tovar currently serves as the BSA Officer, AVP for NBKC Bank. Sarah brings over 15 years of financial industry experience, with over 11 of those years spent in BSA/AML. Previous roles in the industry include front line branch experience, consumer lending, commercial lending, and operations. Experience in a variety of departments within the industry has given Sarah a wide range of knowledge which helps serves her role in financial crimes. 

Sarah’s current role oversees the BSA program for NBKC Bank as well as the bank’s fintech partnerships. In addition to Sarah’s work experience, she also received CAMS certification and is a Certified Global Sanctions Specialist (CGSS). 

Danny Schneider currently serves as the Director of Financial Crimes/BSA Officer at Lead Bank in Kansas City, MO. Danny is a seasoned financial crimes professional with more than 8 years in the AML and fraud spaces. In his current role, he directs the bank’s robust AML/CFT/OFAC program in addition to its fraud program. Danny's unique experience in scaling a small community bank to a well-known Banking-as-a-Service financial technology provider has provided him with significant experience in high-risk industries such as cannabis, digital assets, and Banking as a Service. Danny is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in American Studies and continues to enhance his professional education through the ACAMs network of events. His commitment to common sense financial crime measures drive his desire to enhance private/public partnerships between law enforcement and bank financial crime teams as well as bring financial crime fighting techniques into the modern day.

Michele Holmgren is currently a Supervisor for FIU Investigations at Commerce Bank. She has spent the last 17 years in the financial industry working in retail, fraud detection, and Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) investigations. She leads a team that ensures the bank complies with BSA/AML and OFAC regulations by monitoring for suspicious activities and global sanctions compliance. During her tenure, she has worked to improve human trafficking awareness and investigations, risk assessment within her organization, and relationships with law enforcement partners.

As an AML professional, she believes that the best way to combat money laundering is through continued education, shared ideas, and partnerships with other financial crime investigators. Michele has earned her CAMS certification and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Central Missouri.

Erica Skinner is a FinCrimes QC Manager with 8 years of experience in the AML/CFT industry and over 17 years in the financial sector. In 2020, Erica earned her Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist Certification through ACAMS and received an accolade from the IRS-Criminal Investigations Unit for her dedication and support through her work.

During her career, Erica has managed a team with a focus on front-line customer service, that included customer due diligence and following CIP policies and procedures. She’s worked in various roles with Trust, Corporate Finance and Compliance, bringing insight and training to each of these areas.

Erica is currently involved in several external AML/CFT working groups that focus on bringing law enforcement and financial institutions together, to work cohesively with the end goal of disrupting financial crime. Additionally, she’s been an integral part of working with an organization that focuses directly on all aspects of human trafficking to bring awareness around using financial data to help create working guides.

Erica has found a true passion in fighting financial crimes and hopes that through her work with Lead Bank, as well as through her position as a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the ACAMS Kansas City Chapter, she can share her knowledge and continue to grow in this field.

Mitch Farsad is the Director of AML & Financial Crimes Investigations (FIU) at Stifel Financial. In this role, Mitch is responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of Stifel’s transaction monitoring and trade surveillance programs. Prior to this role, he served as a Manager for Stifel’s AML Enhanced Due Diligence Team where he led a team responsible for conducting comprehensive investigations on the highest risk, most complex client relationships of the firm.

Mitch has over 12 years of experience in the AML space with broad exposure to various financial sectors including banking, brokerage, digital/retail/business banking, loans, credit cards, trusts, capital markets, and investment banking. He is a key contributor to the development of an Enterprise AML Program, which involved establishment of policies/procedures, risk assessments, training, QA/QC reviews, gap analysis/remediation’s, development & implementation of process improvements, and ensuring the AML program is in full compliance with Federal and Regulatory guidelines.

In addition to his FINRA Series 7, Series 66, and Series 24 licenses, Mitch is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Certified Financial Crime Specialist (CFCS). He also serves as a Co-Chair on the Board of Directors for the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) Greater St. Louis Chapter, serves as a Director of Strategic Initiatives on the Board of Directors for the ACAMS Kansas City Chapter, and serves as a Director on the Board of Directors for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) St. Louis Chapter.