2nd Annual Women in AFC Conference

March 12 8:30 am - 5:00 pm

Past Event

The 2nd Annual Women in AFC Conference brought women leaders from across AML, sanctions, fraud, fintech, crypto and financial crime compliance to New York City for a day of discussion, insight and connection in celebration of Women’s History Month.

With financial crime risks growing more complex, driven by digital assets, real-time payments, geopolitical tension and rapid advances in technology, the conference spotlighted the women shaping policy, operations and innovation across the AFC ecosystem, and how they navigate regulatory pressure, operational strain and career growth.

Through five expert panels with audience Q&A, the conference covered:

AML and sanctions programs under regulatory and geopolitical pressure
Building compliant, scalable products in fintech
Career growth and leadership in anti-financial crime
Emerging fraud typologies, data and victim advocacy
Crypto compliance, sanctions exposure and blockchain analytics

The 2nd Annual Women in AFC Conference was hosted by the Coalition Against Financial Crime and offered five continuing education credits.

Event Video

Agenda

Senior women leaders discussed how financial institutions are adapting sanctions screening, customer risk management and investigative workflows in 2026 amid heightened regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical risk and operational pressure, and how to sustain effective AML and sanctions programs without burning out teams.

Moderator

Kirsten Lemke

Executive Vice President of Sales North America, Fincom

Panelist

Juliana Koloska-Bogatinoska

Vice President, BSA Officer, OceanFirst Bank

Laura Grapstul

Vice President, BSA and OFAC Officer, Columbia Bank

Danielle Delgado

OFAC Sanctions Subject Matter Expert, Customers Bank

Denise Wright

Founder, DMW Advisory LLC; Arbitrator, FINRA

Women compliance and legal leaders in fintech on building compliant, resilient products while supporting rapid growth: partnering with banks, managing regulatory risk, designing scalable controls and balancing speed with sound governance.

Moderator

Namrata Packirisamy

AML and Sanctions Risk Assessment Manager, Customers Bank

Panelist

Marie-Noel Nsana

Chief Compliance Officer, Grit Financial

Kayce Seifert

Deputy General Counsel, Mercury

Audra McKay

Head of Global Transaction Monitoring & Investigations Oversight, Block

Angel Nguyen Swift

Former Chief Compliance Officer, LendingClub

Women at different stages of their AFC careers shared lessons on advancement, role transitions, moving into management, leadership development, professional visibility and building long-term careers in the field.

Moderator

Silvija Krupena

Advisory Board Member, Coalition Against Financial Crime

Panelist

Ketty Larco-Ward

Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service New York Division

Malissa Lewis

Director, Americas Head of Sanctions Advisory, Societe Generale

Daniela Tepedjiyska

Managing Consultant, Compliance Recruiter, Michael Page

Tresha Cowell

Assistant Vice President, Compliance Quality Assurance, Israel Discount Bank (IDB)

Women leading fraud prevention, cybersecurity, analytics and victim advocacy discussed emerging fraud typologies, cross-functional collaboration, the role of data and technology, and responding to fraud in real time.

Moderator

Kimberly Lytle

Sales Team Lead, Sardine

Panelist

Xiaoyang (Yvonne) Clarke

Cybersecurity and Financial Crimes Risk Professional, Large Bank Experience

Pranjal Dubey

Data Scientist, Financial Crimes, Flagstar Bank

Dora Gomez

Chairwoman, ACFE NYC Chapter and Justice for Fraud Victims Project

Theresa Ramos

AML Investigative Analyst, U.S. Postal Inspection Service TRACE Task Force

Women leaders in crypto compliance, investigations and risk management on regulatory uncertainty, sanctions exposure, fraud typologies, blockchain analytics and building compliant crypto products.

Moderator

Michael Morais

Senior Sales Executive, Temenos

Panelist

Caitlin Barnett

Director of Regulation & Compliance, Chainalysis

Tara La Morte

Deputy General Counsel, BitGo

Nora DeSimone

Regulatory Compliance Manager, B2C2; Member, Association For Women in Cryptocurrency

Alexandra Valencia

Former Sr. Intelligence Analyst, Drug Enforcement Administration

Proudly Sponsored By:

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Temenos is a banking software company that provides core banking, payments and financial crime mitigation solutions to banks and financial institutions.

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