Keynote Speakers | MDI Partnership Summit

Anthony Barr is the Research and Impact Director for the National Bankers Association Foundation where he leads research on topics including digitalization, financial wellness, and the racial wealth gap. Prior to this role, Anthony worked at the Brookings Institution where he focused on labor markets, post-secondary education, and social determinants of health and safety.

Daniel Brown is a Senior Director-Economist for the American Bankers Association where he is a key contributor to the ABA’s economic research agenda. Daniel specializes in research on commercial real estate, the housing market and the Federal Home Loan Bank system. Prior to joining the ABA in 2022, Daniel was most recently a Regulatory Economist with the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, and he also worked on Capitol Hill at the House Committee on Small Business.

Nicole A. Elam, Esq. is President and CEO of the National Bankers Association (NBA), the premier trade association and voice for the nation’s minority depository institutions, and Executive Director of the National Bankers Association Foundation. She is the youngest CEO since the NBA’s founding in 1927. Nicole joined NBA in May 2021 from JPMorgan Chase & Co. where she was vice president and government relations manager developing policy positions and advocacy strategies in Washington, DC.

Ben France is the Director of Business Development leading new bank opportunities for Smiley Technologies, Inc. Ben joined Smiley Technologies in 2020 as a member of the implementation team before moving into business development. His career first started in banking working at FHN Financial in Memphis, and then U.S. Bank in Little Rock.

DeAndre Jones is the EVP, Enterprise Transformation and Chief Client Officer for Banking Solutions at FIS. In this role, he oversees the post-sale lifecycle for FIS Banking Solutions and drives the strategies that elevate our clients’ experience across service delivery, relationship management and client advocacy to ensure we support our clients’ evolving needs. DeAndre is leading the way for FIS to empower clients where they are with tech-enabled experiences that deliver knowledge, guidance and agility.

Ernie Knott is a Financial Analyst and a National Bank Examiner at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In this capacity, Ernie is responsible for conducting trend analysis, identifying emerging risks, and flagging outlier banks. Ernie also analyzes the condition of mutual federal savings associations and minority depository institutions and provides ongoing support to the Mutual Savings Association Advisory Committee (MSAAC) and the Minority Depository Institutions Advisory Committee (MDIAC).

Krystalle (Krys) Lassiter currently leads a team of financial crimes analysts at USAA. She has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, with a focus on domestic and international regulations and compliance. She had the pleasure to live overseas in several countries and was able to work concurrently supporting international and domestic ventures. Lassiter was previously a licensed investment advisor and facilitator for a large Fortune 100 Firm.

Peter Longo is an experienced FinTech and bank executive with a demonstrated history of leading organizations to smarter and faster product software solutions for the financial industry, focusing on innovation through technology. He has worked for Finastra for over three years as VP of Product, Platform and Technology; and chairs technological and strategic development, including how to innovate in AI and GenAI, among Finastra’s solution suite for the Americas region, particularly in Core and Digital Banking software for Community Markets.

Lora McCray is an accomplished Senior Executive with more than 20 years of success spanning banking, financial services, affordable housing, and community development. She is also a seasoned board director having served on the boards of a credit union, a nonprofit homeless services agency, a university alumni board, and an independent film company. Currently, Ms. McCray is senior vice president of Workforce Excellence for the American Bankers Association, the voice of the nation’s $23.9 trillion banking industry. McCray leads ABA’s external efforts to help member banks across the country develop and enhance their workforce excellence programs.

Todd O. McDonald serves as the President of Liberty Bank and Trust, a historic Black-owned Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) lender based in New Orleans. Liberty Bank is renowned as the first Black-owned financial institution to surpass $1 billion in assets, becoming the nation’s leading mission-driven community bank. Since joining Liberty in 2003, McDonald has held multiple leadership roles, contributing to the bank’s growth and diversification into affordable housing and innovative financial products.

Dominik Mjartan is CEO of American Bancorp and its subsidiary, American Pride Bank. He also serves as Vice Chairman of Optus Bank and Optus Financial Corporation. Previously, he was President and CEO of Optus from 2017 until August 2024, leading the bank’s transformation from a troubled institution into a high-performing, digital, mission-driven bank. He was recently named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in the Southeast U.S.

Molly Moran currently serves as the Director of Communications & Marketing for the National Bankers Association and the National Bankers Association Foundation, where she drives strategic marketing initiatives to enhance brand visibility and advance the organizations’ mission-driven objectives. Before joining the NBA, Molly spent five years at Rize Inc., a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) startup, where she led marketing and communications efforts, playing a key role in the company’s growth and eventual acquisition by Fifth Third Bank.

Rob Nichols is the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, the voice of the nation’s $23.7 trillion banking industry and the only organization that represents banks of all sizes and charters in Washington. Since joining ABA in August 2015, Nichols has led ABA's advocacy efforts, working to ensure that banks of all sizes operate in a policy environment that allows them to best serve their customers and communities.

Betty J. Rudolph has served as Director, Office of Minority and Community Development Banking at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, since 2018. In this role, she leads the FDIC’s efforts to preserve and promote FDIC-insured Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions and facilitate partnerships to help them build size, scale, and capacity to amplify the financial services they provide in serving minority, low-income, and rural communities.

Evelyn Smalls is a transformative leader in Philadelphia’s banking industry, renowned for her dedication to community empowerment and financial equity. Taking the reins of the bank in 2000, Smalls continued the legacy of founder Dr. Emma Chappell, building on its mission to provide equitable financial services and reinvest in the local community. Before leading United Bank, she held key roles in regulatory compliance and community reinvestment, helping to establish the bank’s community-focused lending model.

Joel Thomas serves as the Senior Director of Operations for Jack Henry. In his role, Joel is responsible for keeping the business aligned to strategic goals and improving performance, with a focus on business intelligence. He leads various departments including Audit & Security, Customer Engagement, Data Analytics, Demo Environments, and Project Management. Joel has been with Jack Henry for 24 years and leads a team of industry professionals at one of Forbes best places to work.

Nicole Valentin-Smith is Vice President, Strategic Client Engagement with Fiserv. In Fiserv’s Corporate Social Responsibility business unit, Nicole leads the design and execution of strategies and programs that strengthen overall relationships with Minority Depository Institution and Community Development Financial Institution clients to maximize market competitiveness and increase access in underserved and low-to-moderate income communities. Nicole has been with Fiserv since 2018 and prior to her current role, she was Vice President, Digital Lending and Origination.