NBPCA Leadership

Jonathan Palmer brings more than 35 years of experience in the electronic payments and financial services industries, having led several companies to significant growth and prominence.  Jonathan Palmer served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FSV Payment Systems.

Prior to joining FSV in 2005, Jonathan served for five years as CEO of Vital Processing Services. During that time, Vital more than doubled its revenue and profit and grew to achieve a near 25% share of the country's merchant POS electronic transaction volume. Previous to that, Jonathan was CEO of Wellspring Resources, an employee benefits administration outsourcing firm, where for three years he led the company through its formative years to become a leader in the industry of employee benefits administration.

Also a highly regarded commercial banker, Jonathan rose to the position of Vice Chairman with Fidelity Bank and also served as Chief Retail Banking and Technology Executive of Barnett Banks.

A native of Philadelphia, Jonathan attended school there, earning a BS in Applied Mathematics at LaSalle College and an MBA at the Wharton School of Business.

William E. Saunders is a graduate of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.  Immediately after college, he began his career with Arthur Anderson as a Senior Accountant.  He later held various posts in the Investment Banking industry with SunTrust Equitable Securities, Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin and finally Stephens, Inc. where he worked extensively with companies engaged in non-depository financial services.

In March of 2006, Mr. Saunders joined Checksmart Financial Company as Chief Financial Officer later promoted in June of 2008 to his current position as Chief Executive Officer.  Effective April 2011, Community Choice Financial was created to offer hard working Americans a full range of financial services through the 433+ branch locations operated by its subsidiaries in fourteen states, employing over 2,600 associates.

In addition to his role at CCFI, he was an early investor and serves as a board member of Insight Cards, a prepaid program manager dedicated to finding feature rich prepaid solutions to the day-to-day challenges of the underbanked.

Both CCFI and Insight Cards are NBPCA members.

As a direct result of his professional roles Mr. Saunders has been active in numerous state and federal education efforts regarding the unbanked and underbanked consumers and the products available in the marketplace.  He serves on the boards of and is an active member in several national trade associations including FISCA, CFSA and NBPCA.  Mr. Saunders is also is a regular guest lecturer at the OSU Fisher School of business on the topic of the relationship of government and business.

Michele Sullender is the Vice President of Product Strategy at InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions. 

Previously, she managed the Simon Giftcard Program at Simon Brand Ventures, a Division of Simon Property Group.  She developed and launched the program with a pilot in 2001. The program went national in 2003 and currently operates with a 230 mall distribution channel and online at simon.com, and simon.com/volume. 

She began her career with Simon as a Marketing Director at various Simon Malls across the country and held regional and divisional marketing positions.  Her responsibilities included marketing of over 30 malls and national promotional programming for Visa, the NFL, Olympics and Microsoft.   

Kirsten Trusko is the President and Executive Director of the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, a non-profit trade organization that works to educate, advocate, protect and promote Prepaid cards to government, media, and consumers.

Ms. Trusko writes articles, and papers and conducts media interviews on Prepaid cards and on Consumer Driven Healthcare (CDH) , and is a frequent industry speaker on both topics.  She serves on several cross-industry councils focused on financial services, health care and insurance, and on serving the underbanked – with emphasis on how prepaid cards, as a non-credit payment tool, can uniquely meet industry, government, and consumer needs.

Ms. Trusko’s experience includes co-founding and leading the Prepaid card and CDH practices for a top 5 global consulting firm, and leading commercial and consumer payment and lending divisions for Fortune 500 firms. She has focused on emerging products and markets, for speed, customer value, sustainability and profitability. She serves on several industry advisory boards, as well as various charity organizations. She completed Yale School of Management, Executive Management Program, has an MBA, and graduated from University of Washington in Business.

Terry Maher, who serves as corporate counsel to the NBPCA and heads up the NBPCA’s AML Task Force, is a member of the Corporate Section and the Technology and Intellectual Property Practice Group of Baird Holm LLP.

Terry’s practice focuses on technology, electronic commerce, and financial services law. He regularly counsels financial institutions and other financial services businesses on their electronic banking, merchant-acquiring, electronic fund transfer, credit card, debit card, and prepaid card businesses. He also assists these businesses with regulatory matters, including privacy and security issues; anti-money laundering compliance programs; and money service business licensing issues.

Terry is a member of the Nebraska and Colorado Bar Associations and the International Technology Law Association. He formerly chaired the Subcommittee on Electronic Commerce of the Committee of the Law of Commerce in Cyberspace of the Section of Business Law of the American Bar Association. He has also served as legal counsel to the Working Group on Certification Authorities of the Internet Law and Policy Forum and on the executive committee for the Rocky Mountain Region of the American Electronics Association.

A graduate of Creighton University and its School of Law, Terry is listed in the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Information Technology Law.

Judith Rinearson, a partner in Bryan Cave’s New York Offices, is a recognized authority in the area of prepaid cards, and also has extensive experience as a regulatory lawyer for a wide range of payments, including credit and debit cards, mobile payments, wire transfers, and checks and paper payment products. Ms. Rinearson was Group Counsel responsible for a variety of American Express payment products for more than 18 years, and has hands-on experience in all legal aspects of launching and managing a range of paper, plastic and  electronic payment products, including co-branded credit cards, retailer-issued gift cards, network branded reloadable cards, payroll and benefit cards, reward and incentive cards, bill payment services, person-to-person payments,  corporate expense cards, internet, mobile and contactless payment products. Her background encompasses federal and state banking and anti-money laundering laws, state money transmitter licensing and abandoned property laws, consumer protection and advertising laws, contracts, technology and intellectual property laws impacting on payments. On the international level, Ms. Rinearson has supervised the launch of a range of payment products in Europe, Asia and Latin America, has met with international regulators and spoken on the issue of payment regulation. 

Ms. Rinearson is Regulatory Counsel for the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association and serves as Chair for the Association’s Government Relations Working Group.  She also represents the NBPCA at the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG) in Washington and also serves as Co-Chair for the BSAAG Stored Value Subcommittee.   In March 2008, she was honored with an Industry Achievement Award at the 2008 Prepaid Card Expo for her contributions as a pioneer in the prepaid card industry and her particular influence in the regulation of prepaid cards. 

Ms Rinearson has given numerous presentations about prepaid card law and regulations at meetings held by the Federal Reserve Banks of Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, the Electronic Funds Transfer Association, Forum Europe, NACHA, and at annual meetings of the Money Transmitter Regulators Association, the Unclaimed Property Professionals Organization, the Prepaid Expo, and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. In 2009, among other things, she presented at the Prepaid International Forum outside London regarding US payment laws, gave a presentation to Federal Reserve Board regulators on prepaid card payments, and addressed the Prepaid Card Expo on anti-money laundering issues.  In 2010,  she spoke at a Forum on Mobile Payments held at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, presented an overview of the Top Ten legal risks at the Prepaid Expo, and is co-chairing a Workshop on the new CARD Act regulations at the 22^nd Annual Card Forum and Expo.

As Government Relations Strategist for  the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA), Joi E. Sheffield is responsible for managing the Government Relations Working Group which conducts outreach on behalf of NBPCA members in matters of legislation, regulation, and law enforcement.

Ms. Sheffield is a distinguished attorney with 17 years of experience managing banking and finance issues on Capitol Hill and with regulatory bodies. She is also the founder of Sheffield Brothers, a Government Relations and Corporate Strategy consulting firm founded in November 2006. The firm represents clients on financial services and insurance-related issues before the U.S. Congress and the Administration.

Prior to founding Sheffield Brothers, Ms. Sheffield served as Banking Counsel and Minority Staff Director for United States Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, then Ranking Member of the Financial Institutions Subcommittee of Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Kathy Tomasofsky is an experienced operations and project management professional with more than 15 years of experience in Insurance and Financial Services.  In her current assignment, Ms. Tomasofsky serves as the Senior Director of Operations for the Network Branded Prepaid Association (NBPCA).  In this role, Ms. Tomasofsky provides management of the Association operations including event and marketing planning, financial review, business development, and member communications.

Prior to joining Two Sparrows Consulting, Ms. Tomasofsky held various senior systems management level positions at USF&G Insurance and First National Bank of Maryland. In this capacity, Ms. Tomasofsky was responsible for the development of a number of Financial Systems; Accounting, Budget and Controls, Human Resources & Payroll, Investment Tracking Systems, Billing and Payment systems. Her work covered all aspects of the System Development Life Cycle, including involvement in re-engineering operations, training and education development and operational roll-outs. Ms. Tomasofsky is noted for her ability to analyze and break down complex processes and increase operational efficiency.  

Active in the community, Ms. Tomasofsky held elected office as a Member of the Montvale Board of Education (2002 To 2005) and served as the Chairperson of the Finance and Technology Committees during this period.  She has also been a volunteer coordinator/officer for the Cancer Society, regional dance studio productions, high school athletic booster club activities, Girls Scouts, Montvale Athletic League and the Montvale PTO.  

Ms. Tomasofsky earned an MS in Management Information Systems from the University of Baltimore and a BA in Business Administration from Loyola College in Maryland. She holds a MAT degree from Fairleigh Dicknison College, in New Jersey and has certifications in Project Management and Insurance.  

Jennifer Tramontana has served as Director of Communications for the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA) since 2006 helping to educate government officials, the media and consumers about the positive attributes of network branded prepaid cards. She is also President and Founder of The Fletcher Group, www.fletchergroupllc.com, a strategic communications firm that works with clients in the prepaid industry and beyond to optimize their message and enhance their presence and reputation.

Over the last decade, Ms. Tramontana has developed and executed numerous communications programs for businesses and membership organizations including The World Health Organization, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Orange Glo International, The United Nations, Verizon, The Pew Center for Global Climate Change and Seagram Spirits. She is a respected resource to senior management teams with experience in corporate reputation management, crisis planning and awareness building programs. Having worked in several international destinations including Thailand, Canada and Hong Kong, Ms. Tramontana brings an international perspective to her work.

A native of Toronto, Canada, Jennifer obtained a Bachelor of Arts, Political Science from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She also earned a Masters of International Affairs from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

For nearly 15 years, Crystal Wright has worked in public relations in Washington, DC dealing with all aspects of communications from being a reporter to devising media strategies for high profile clients such as The Library of Congress National Book Festival with Laura Bush, AARP and the United States Mint.  Having worked for network news organizations, a global public relations agency, a corporation and a large trade association, she possesses the unique ability to craft strategies that exceed communications objectives.  Her instincts as a former reporter enable her to effectively counsel executives in times of crisis or celebration.

Some of the organizations she has worked with include: the Library of Congress, First Lady Laura Bush, AARP, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, Intralot USA, and the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association (NBPCA). Other clients include: Hudson & Marshall of Texas Inc, The Association of Community Pharmacists Congressional Network (ACPCN), National Association of Independent Medical Equipment Suppliers (NAIMES) DBT Development, Willco Residential, National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), Washington, DC Economic Partnership, and Roadside Development.

Wright is the principal owner of the Baker Wright Group, LLC, a full service public relations firm, specializing in communications counseling, media relations, message development, media training and crisis communications. The firm’s approach is straight forward counseling: an unvarnished approach to public relations.

Her extensive contacts in healthcare, consumer and business media allow her to place a story on virtually any subject matter for almost any client. Crystal possesses over eight years experience in the healthcare industry. For over three years, she created and  headed up the corporate communications department for Leiner Health Products, a $700 million privately held company, manufacturing store brand over- the- counter drugs and nutritional supplements.

Prior to working for Leiner Health Products, Crystal served as Vice President of Media Relations for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores spearheading the association’s aggressive media outreach around policy issues affecting community pharmacy such as Medicaid and the Medicare drug benefit. Presently, Crystal is a principal of the Baker Wright Group, LLC, working with a broad range of clients, across various industries including, financial services, healthcare, education, and real estate.   She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Georgetown University and holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University.