Speakers

Amy Barbieri is a founder and the President & Chief Growth Officer of Vital4. She brings a wealth of expertise in international background screening, global compliance, fraud, and risk mitigation as well as over 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing for SaaS, technology, data, and compliance. Amy currently sits on the Board of Managers at Vital4 and the Board of Directors at Fintech Atlanta.

Lisa Calhoun is a  venture capital visionary who created the Inclusion Premium investing philosophy.  She founded the South’s first woman-led institutional venture capital firm, Valor Ventures, which has an inclusive portfolio full of fast-growth software companies with diverse teams.

Before Valor, Lisa founded a digital marketing agency recognized by Hubspot as one of the “Top 10 Agencies for Tech Startups.” There she supported hundreds of high growth tech startups in early scale through their exit to public markets and acquisitions. In her early career, Lisa worked in IT consulting, helping large organizations solve complex problems with code.

With her passion for the premium returns possible through inclusion,  Lisa founded the Startup Runway Foundation, a nonprofit which has grown into the largest pitch event for underrepresented founders in the country.

Catch up with Lisa on the Atlanta Startup Podcast,  where she hosts weekly episodes from the Atlanta VC scene.

Lisa earned her MBA from the University of Texas with a concentration in management science and quantitative methods. She credits her graduate stat professor Raydell Tullous for opening her mind to the beauty of finance. Lisa earned her undergraduate degree with honors on a National Merit Scholarship at Baylor University.

Stephanie Foster helps plan and execute the daily operations for ICBA’s ThinkTECH Accelerator programs, which advance community bank-fintech partnerships through the development of targeted solutions for community banks.

Foster brings more than two decades of proven performance, managing over a dozen strategic partnerships and omni-channel products in peer-to-peer, business to business, and business-to-consumer platforms. She most recently served as chief administrative officer for XY Planning Network, an advisory service for Gen Y and Gen Z clients. Foster has also held management roles at Finastra, Fiserv and Western Union and was a founding board member for Women Driving Innovation at the Atlanta Innovation Forum.

Foster is a previous ETA “40 Under 40” recipient and was selected from a list of 500 international nominees to participate in Money 20/20’s inaugural Rise Up program, an exclusive cohort of 35 women leaders in the financial services ecosystem.

Laura Gibson-Lamothe is an accomplished technology and operations executive with over 18 years of experience in the banking, finance, and financial technology industries. She is the Executive Director of the Georgia Fintech Academy, a talent development collaboration between the University System of Georgia (USG), Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business, and all USG institutions.

As the Executive Director of the Georgia Fintech Academy, Laura oversees a comprehensive talent development initiative. The academy, based at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, offers core curriculum offerings accessible to students at 26 USG colleges and universities. It encompasses academic talent development, experiential learning through student projects, job placement assistance, professional development opportunities, and innovation-driven research.

The Georgia Fintech Academy has made significant strides in educating and preparing students for careers in the financial services industry. More than 5,500 students from USG institutions have benefited from the academy’s programs, and over 1,800 students have been placed in financial services jobs.

Before joining the Georgia Fintech Academy, Laura worked at Protiviti, a global consulting firm specializing in the finance industry. As a leader in the firm’s payments consulting practice, she demonstrated her expertise in driving technology initiatives for financial institutions. Before that, Laura led U.S. Operations for Featurespace, an award-winning fraud and risk management platform headquartered in the UK. Her responsibilities encompassed strategic growth and business operations across North and Latin America.

Laura has shown a passion for technology-driven solutions and innovation throughout her career. She has successfully implemented complex, multi-channel technology solutions focusing on profitability, growth, and customer satisfaction. Her notable achievements include supporting high-profile mergers at Bank of America, contributing to the enterprise transition during the legacy Wachovia-Wells Fargo acquisition, and pivotal in launching a co-branded credit card product at Ally Bank, a renowned digital bank.

Laura’s expertise extends beyond her domain knowledge in banking and financial technology. She has a strong background in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Currently serving on the board of directors of PayTech Women (formerly Wnet), she actively contributes to fostering an inclusive environment within the fintech industry. She is also a board member of LaAmistad, a non-profit preparing Latino students and families for success through academic and life enrichment programs. In 2021, she was selected as a member of Money 20/20’s RiseUp program, which focuses on empowering inclusivity in leadership.

Laura Gibson-Lamothe’s extensive experience, passion for technology-driven innovation, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and dedication to talent development make her a remarkable leader in the fintech industry. Her contributions to her professional field and the community continue to shape the future of finance and empower individuals to achieve their fullest potential.

Yogaraj (Yogs) Jayaprakasam joined Deluxe Corporation in May 2022 as Chief Technology and Digital Officer and a member of the Executive Leadership team.

Yogs has an extensive, distinguished background in financial services and payments, leading large-scale technology organizations for American Express, Cognizant Technology Solutions and a Start-up for more than 20 years. His expertise spans Multi-Cloud Payment Platforms, MarTech, Open Banking APIs, Client & Partner integrations, Data & Analytics Platforms, and other key areas. Most recently at American Express, Yogs led the technology teams supporting the company’s B2B Digital Channels, Corporate Cards, Virtual Payments, B2B payments and API Platforms, Commercial Data platforms and other key areas. He holds several patents, and also co-led various innovation efforts including a recent innovation partnership with one of the largest cloud and CRM technology providers.

Yogs received his bachelor’s degree in Physics from University of Madras, India, and a master’s degree in Computer Applications from Bharathidasan University, India. He also has a Chief Technology Officer Certification from University of California, Berkeley.

Sabrina Lamb is the Founder and CEO of Wekeza, a U.S. based fintech, whose mission is to provide families from the African diaspora residing in the United States with financial education and investing services. Wekeza, meaning ‘save’ and ‘invest’ in Swahili, reflects her vision. Wekeza won the Silicon Harlem C-Better Pitch Competition Grand Prize.

Sabrina also leads the WorldofMoney non-profit, the leading provider of immersive youth financial education with 120 in-person and online hours, impacting over 7,000 youths globally. Her six best-selling books, include the NAACP Image Awards-nominated “Do I Look Like An ATM?”. WorldofMoney received Motley Fool’s award for the “Best Overall Financial Literacy” app, with users in the United States and globally.

Sabrina received esteemed awards from Rep. Gregory Meeks, Westchester Board of Legislators, National Council of 100 Black Women, NBC News/The Grio 100, State Farm’s National Dream Achiever Award, Essence Magazine’s “Shining Moments: 50 Women Who Made Us Proud” and Rainbow Push/Wall Street Project Honors.

Atticus is the founder and CEO of PadSplit, a mission-driven company that helps solve the affordable housing crisis, one room at a time. Through its innovative shared-housing model, PadSplit aligns incentives between cities, nonprofits, and property owners to spur cost-effective housing creation without public subsidy, all while providing safe and affordable housing for working-class individuals. 

By using affordable housing as a means for greater financial independence, PadSplit’s members are able to save more, improve their credit score and purchase their own vehicles and homes, all dramatically improving their lives. PadSplit currently operates more than 1,500 units across multiple markets including Atlanta, Houston, Tampa, Indianapolis and others. 

Before founding PadSplit in 2018, Atticus served as an affordable housing developer.  As a recognized thought leader on housing solutions, he has presented at MIT, UC Berkeley, and the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. He is the chair of ULI’s UrbanPlan Education Initiative, co-chaired the Design For Affordability Task Force in 2018, and serves in multiple civic and volunteer capacities. 

Atticus graduated from Yale University with a BA in Architecture, and currently lives in Decatur, GA with his wife, their 4 boys, 2 dogs, and lots of chickens.

Jack Markwalter is the co-founder and chief executive officer at VIVA Finance, an innovative lending platform that is building an inclusive financial system by allowing borrowers to utilize their work history to access affordable credit.

Prior to founding VIVA with his brother, Jack was a senior analyst at Third Lake Capital where he was responsible for the oversight of the firm’s consumer finance portfolio companies.

Jack’s time in consumer finance dates back to his time at the University of Notre Dame where he served as the chief executive officer of the Jubilee Initiative for Financial Inclusion, a student-run non-profit focused on providing a replacement to payday loans in the South Bend, Indiana community.

Jack graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame with a BBA in Finance.

Scott Mills is President of William Mills Agency. He is responsible for guiding the account teams, monitoring tactical activities as they relate to the strategic plan, day-to-day management of the agency and customer service. Since joining the agency in 1989, he has worked in both creative services and client relations.

Scott is also the editor of Bankers As Buyers, an annual guide to technologies and spending trends in the financial services industry.

Prior to joining the agency, Scott worked in the entertainment industry for WEKS-FM, WEA (record distribution) and WKLS-FM. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgia State University. Currently, Scott is on the board of directors of Association for Financial Technology (AFT) and TAG Fintech.  Scott is accredited in Public Relations through the Public Relations Society of America.

Thad Peterson is a senior analyst with Aite Group, focusing on the evolution of the payment space, the customer payment experience, and merchant acquiring.

Recognized as a global thought leader in payments, Thad has a proven track record of identifying and developing new opportunities and technologies in payments and financial services. He has relevant expertise in applying customer behavior to the payments ecosystem in both corporate and startup environments. Thad’s consulting background includes engagements on credit and debit cards, mobile payments, airline payment platforms, consumer and merchant loyalty, payment technology evolution, stored value, and product innovation. He holds patents in customer authentication and real-time mobile-enabled loyalty.

Prior to joining Aite Group, Thad led the mobile commerce practice at inCode Consulting and was managing director of Maritz Real-Time Rewards, leading the company’s mission to build a new industry standard at the nexus of transactional marketing and consumer engagement. While at Maritz, he also served as a division vice president, sector strategy, heading up strategy and solutions development for Maritz’s financial sector. Before joining Maritz, Thad was a partner with global financial services and payments firm Edgar, Dunn & Company, where he led the retail banking, loyalty, and emerging technology practice areas, working with retail banks, card issuers and processors, airline consortiums, new payment technology providers, payment associations, and prepaid card issuers. Thad has also worked as a C-level executive at retail banks and held positions in advertising and customer communications.

Thad served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for four years and holds a degree in Special Education from the University of Idaho.

Maria completed her studies in International Business and Management of Information Systems at the University of South Florida and at Ecole de Management de Normadie in France. After graduating from both universities, in 2011, she went to Colombia to Co-found with her father EA Strategy, a technology company that focuses on Enterprise Architecture solutions. She still leads the international business development organization of the company. In 2015, Maria moved to Atlanta and worked with Miracle Software, where she became a top performer as Business Development Manager. Then, in 2019, she created her own company MPS Group and operated through software services companies, she was the Director of Business Development in the US for Maestral Solutions and then for PersonalSoft.

In 2023, she was ready to operate under her own company full time. MPS Group is a one stop shop for Enterprise Software Services and solutions, MPS clients include Fortune 100 companies. She has also been active in the Georgia Community. Maria has volunteered with Women in Technology, Atlanta Community Food bank and other non-profit organizations, she is currently a board member of the TAG Fintech Society and this is her 3^rd year as Co-Chair for TAG Fintech Advance Awards.

Innovation Challenge Showcase
June 14 | 3:45PM | Room 205

Frank T. Young is currently the Chief Strategy Officer for Global Payments, a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services. In this role, Frank develops and maintains a prioritized set of strategic focus areas to ensure the firm stays at the forefront of the forces shaping the firm’s market position. Prior to this role Frank has held roles at Global Payments as Chief Product Officer and President, Vertical Markets and Integrated Payments.

Prior to joining Global Payments, Frank served as the Global Lead of Payments Partnerships at Google, managing a team of professionals developing and delivering innovations to support Google’s in-store and online commerce goals. Previously, Mr. Young served as Senior Director of Business Development for Qualcomm, a worldwide leader in telecommunications products and services, where his responsibilities were to manage the development of mobile payments and commerce initiatives.

His career has evolved with expanding roles and executive responsibilities at Accenture and MasterCard, where he consulted with retailers and banks on approaches to leverage data-driven payment solutions to deliver top and bottom results. Mr. Young started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank.

Frank obtained a Masters of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania where he was honored with the Dean’s Award for Excellence. He also graduated from Rutgers College with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Economics.