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Advisory Committees

Presenter Biographies

Thomas E.Haider has served as Vice President Government Affairs and Associate Corporate Counsel of MoneyGram International, Inc since October 2000. He was named Chief Compliance Officer of MoneyGram in November 2005. Mr. Haider joined the Company in 1992 as an Attorney and held various other positions through October 2000. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Haider spent seven years representing the Minnesota League of Credit Unions in both legislative and regulatory matters.

Paul Dwyer has been Chief Executive Officer of Viamericas since its founding. Prior to founding Viamericas, Mr. Dwyer was a partner with the Latin American Practice Group of the Washington, D.C. based law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, one of the leading U.S. law firms practicing in the Latin American region. While a partner in that practice, Mr. Dwyer had first chair responsibility for a wide range of financing and acquisition transactions in Latin America. Prior to joining Wilmer, Mr. Dwyer practiced law with Rogers & Wells (now part of Clifford Chance), and as an internal counsel at the Inter-American Investment Corporation. Mr. Dwyer received his undergraduate degree at Tufts University in Latin American Studies, summa cum laude; his Masters degree in international business and Western Hemisphere diplomatic history at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy; and his Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School. Mr. Dwyer was born in Honduras and is fluent in Spanish.

Regina Stone is the Deputy Superintendent of the New York State Banking Department.  She oversees the Licensed Financial Services Division which is charged with supervisory responsibility for licensing and regulating six distinct financial service industries including: Licensed Lenders, Licensed Cashers of Checks, Sales Finance Companies, Insurance Premium Finance Agencies, Budget Planners and Transmitters of Money.  CPA/MBA/MPA, joined the Banking Department in 1991 as a senior bank examiner.  Currently Deputy Superintendent of Licensed Financial Services Division (LFSD) which supervises and examines six industries:  money transmitters, check cashers, budget planners, licensed lenders, sales finance companies, and premium finance agencies.  A frequent speaker and trainer on money service businesses (MSBs) issues, including developing an on-line course with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) on MSB licensing, supervision and examination..

Manuel Orozco is a senior associate at the Inter-American Dialogue, where he serves as executive director of the Remittances and Rural Development project funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development. Mr. Orozco is chair of Central America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute and senior researcher at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. Mr. Orozco taught political science at the University of Akron, Ohio, and international relations in Costa Rica. Mr. Orozco holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Texas at Austin, masters in public administration and Latin American studies, and a B.A. in international relations from the National University of Costa Rica. Currently a member of the Research Consortium on Remittances in
Conflict and Crises at the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University. 

Jamal El-Hindi, Associate Director for Regulatory Policy and Programs, overseeing the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s regulatory and compliance functions and establishing and coordinating national anti-money laundering policy. Mr. El-Hindi previously served as the Associate Director for Program Policy & Implementation at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, a position he has held since June 2005. In this capacity he oversaw OFAC’s Compliance Outreach Division, Licensing Division and Policy Division. Previously he was Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Chief Counsel (Foreign Assets Control) within Treasury’s Office of the General Counsel, where he served as a legal advisor on various economic sanctions programs. Before joining Treasury in December 2000, Mr. El-Hindi was an associate at Patton Boggs LLP in Washington, D.C., where his practice focused on U.S. regulation of international business transactions, representation of foreign sovereigns and international banking litigation.

Joseph Coleman, President, Rite Check Financial Service Centers, Chairman, Joint Industry Committee. Mr.  Coleman is a financial industry expert and highly sought after speaker on the topics of providing financial services to unbanked and underbanked consumers, the role of Financial Service Centers, and financial industry alliances.  Mr. Coleman was a featured speaker at the CFSI Inaugural Conference on the Underbanked, has testified at numerous government hearings and was recently featured in the Associated Press feature on the unbanked American population.

Patricia J. Cirillo, Ph.D., President, Cypress Research Group. Ms. Cirillo founded Cypress Research Group in 1997, with the goal of marrying strong project management with the highest level scientific principles.  Her expertise in sampling and statistical analysis is grounded in her doctoral coursework and laboratory training in complex neural systems. Ms. Cirilloconducted FiSCA’s Customer Satisfaction Study in 2006 and has vast experience in research within the financial services arena.  She has done extensive research in both the multi-line and mono-line areas of the alternative financial service provider industry and for various bank clients as well.  Ms. Cirillois often called upon to discuss her findings with legislators and regulators and others seeking information about our industry. Terence Keenan is Senior Vice President, Corus Bank, N.A., Chicago, IL.  The bank has eleven retail branches in the Chicago metropolitan area and in addition to commercial real estate and deposit gathering, it services the check cashing industry. 

Michael Lynch Michael J. Lynch is Vice President and Manager of the Money Services Division (MSD) for Banco Popular North America (BPNA).  BPNA is headquartered in Rosemont, IL and is the US banking subsidiary of Popular, Inc.  Mr. Lynch joined BPNA in August 2002 as the Bank wished to grow its MSD and expand its reach into other parts of the country.  The MSD Group consists of nine individuals focused on providing banking services to the check cashing industry.  BPNA presently provides depository services to about 800 check cashing locations in NY, NJ, IL, FL, TX and CA.  In addition to depository services, the bank has about $240MM in loans outstanding to members of the check cashing industry. Prior to joining BPNA, Mr. Lynch spent 16 years with Corus Bank.  He started as a Credit Analyst in ’86 and worked his way up to Senior Lender at its largest location, prior to consolidation.  At Corus, he managed a loan portfolio of commercial real estate loans, as well as their check cashing division

Keith Ward is the President and Chief Executive Officer of United Central Bank, Garland, Texas.  It is a Texas-based community bank with locations in the Dallas/ Fort Worth metroplex, Houston, Austin, Killeen and Springfield, VA.   Mr. Ward began his banking career with Crocker-Citizens National Bank, Los Angeles, CA.  Eventually he returned to his hometown of El Paso, Texas and was appointed Vice President/ Cashier of the de novo Valley Bank of El Paso.  Six years later, Mr. Ward was elected President of Valley Bank of El Paso.  Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ward and a group of investors purchased Valley Bank of El Paso, and the investor group later purchased Montwood National Bank where Mr. Ward served as Chairman of the Board.  For a three-year period of time, Mr. Ward took a sabbatical from banking to pursue other interests.  In 1991, he returned to banking and joined United Central Bank.  In 1999, Mr. Ward was elected President and CEO of United Central Bank.

Last Updated: October 22, 2007