2021 Mid-Year Legislative & Regulatory Conference

Presenters

David Anthony

David Anthony
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

David Anthony is an experienced trial lawyer with a concentration in litigating financial services and business disputes, including class actions. As a leading member of Troutman Sanders’ Consumer Financial Services group and the Financial Services Litigation practice, he has developed a national practice in federal court litigation and the financial services industry. David counsels clients regarding their compliance, regulatory, and litigation matters, as they pertain to background screening. As a critical issue of today’s hiring process, he works closely with his clients to help avoid potential liability both for failing to conduct background screenings, as well as the process itself.


Kevin Bachman

Kevin Bachman
The CRA Doctor

Kevin Bachman is The CRA Doctor and host of the podcast, Background Check Radio. Kevin is an employment screening thought leader and 20-year industry executive providing financial, strategic and operational solutions to owners and senior management to increase compliance, client satisfaction and profit. He also advises private equity and outside investment groups on opportunities within this space. He frequently writes, speaks and presents for CRAs, PBSA, employers, and vendors. Kevin is a PBSA Affinity member and serves on the BSCC and Industry Practices Committees.


Kerstin Bagus

Kerstin Bagus
NetForce Global LLC

Kerstin is the Chief Knowledge Officer for NetForce Global and is an industry veteran, with over 30 years’ experience in screening. She has served in leadership positions with NAPBS including Board participation and Committee leadership. She is one of the few screening professionals who is privacy certified as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (www.IAPP.org). She holds CIPP certifications for Canada, EU, and US Private Sector. Outside of work she is a volunteer for the National Park Service, where she helps to build and maintain hiking trails and assists with special events.


Kerstin Bagus

Amy Barbieri
Vital4

Amy is an expert in international background screening and global due diligence with 10+ years of expertise in cloud software applications. Amy oversees Vital4’s marketing, business development and customer growth and retention efforts. Amy brings a wealth of knowledge in International Background Screening and AML/KYC compliance, and has worked closely with some of the largest Fintech and Background Screening companies in the world to provide them with the most compliant due diligence, screening and monitoring solutions available on the market.


Connor Bateman

Connor Bateman
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Connor Bateman represents businesses engaged in credit reporting and background screening in a broad range of complex commercial litigation matters. He has successfully defended consumer reporting agencies at the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts.


Doug Boxer

Doug Boxer
Hound Labs, Inc.

Having started his career as an attorney with San Francisco law firm Hanson Bridgett, Douglas later worked for the administration of President Bill Clinton, and then for the mayor of Los Angeles. Since leaving public service, Douglas has worked with some of California’s leading business and political leaders, advised large public corporations on governmental relations and public affairs strategies, and lent business development insight to start-ups. Douglas also chaired the Oakland Planning Commission, having been appointed by then-mayor Jerry Brown. He received his BA in international political economy from the University of California, Berkeley and his JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he graduated cum laude.


Krisy Bucher

Krisy Bucher
Appriss Insights

Krisy Bucher leads Marketing for Appriss Insights, a technology company providing data and analytics solutions to government agencies and commercial enterprises that save lives, fight crime, prevent fraud, and reduce risk. She has over 20 years of experience in organizational leadership, marketing, training, business development, operations and customer service across a broad range of industries. Over the past ten years she has worked in the data and technology industries leading nimble marketing teams in brand strategy, communications, thought leadership, digital marketing and channel marketing programs. Since joining Appriss in 2016, Krisy has developed a full-service Marketing department to provide exceptional support to Appriss’s customers and strategic channel partners, while leading the organization through multiple rebranding initiatives, product rollouts and acquisitions.

Krisy is a lifelong learner with a passion for developing future leaders and improving corporate culture. At Appriss, she is involved in the “Lean In Appriss” mentoring group and Appriss’ Diversity and Belonging focus group. She is a member of PBSA’s Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Group, which furthers the mission of diversity and inclusiveness among future global leaders in the background screening industry.

Krisy is a business-minded artist at heart, having earned her M.B.A. from Western Carolina University and a B.A. in Art History from Emory University. She currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky with her husband, two daughters and their two dogs.


Nicole Campion

Nicole Campion
General Information Services

Nicole joined the Compliance Team at GIS as a Compliance Manager in 2017. Prior to joining GIS Nicole attended law school, where she had the honor of contributing a chapter to a book entitled Human Trafficking: Emerging Legal Issues and Applications, published by the Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company in 2016. She also had the opportunity while in law school to provide pro-bono assistance to the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, performing legal research in support of one of their attorneys. Nicole earned her J.D. from Albany Law School in May of 2017, and was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in May of 2018. In addition to her J.D., Nicole holds a Masters in Justice Studies from Southern New Hampshire University, and a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and Spanish from the State University of New York at Albany. She also currently holds an FCRA Advanced Certification from PBSA, as well as a GRC Professional Certification from OCEG.


Kevin Coy

Kevin Coy
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Kevin Coy is a Partner in the Washington DC office of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP and co‐chair of the firm’s privacy practice. Mr. Coy’s practice focuses on advising privacy‐sensitive organizations on U.S. and international privacy law and policy matters. Mr. Coy also represents clients in proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission on a range of privacy and security issues, including matters pertaining to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Gramm‐Leach‐Bliley Act, Section 5 of the FTC Act, data privacy, data security and data breach issues. Internationally, Mr. Coy advises clients on transborder data flow issues and other matters in connection with the European Union Data General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implementing national laws, the EU/U.S. Privacy Shield program and other international privacy laws and regulations.


Bill Current

Bill Current
Current Consulting Group, LLC

Bill Current, a 30-year veteran of the drug testing industry and author of the book Why Drug Testing?, is widely considered one of the leading experts on drug testing and drug-free workplace laws and regulations. He is the creator of Current Compliance: The Ultimate Guide to State Drug Testing Laws.


Shraddha Deshpande

Shraddha Deshpande
Neeyamo Inc.

Shraddha serves as an Implementation Consultant at Neeyamo where she works with a range of customers across the globe from various sectors in understanding their screening requirements and on boarding them with best possible solutions. She also looks after the strategic alliance in over 190+ countries and also responsible for Marketing & Compliance for background verification at Neeyamo. She brings expertise in screening compliance & best practices across various geographies across the globe.

Shraddha has been an active member of NAPBS, through Global Learning Center activities.


Pam Devata

Pam Devata
Seyfarth Shaw, LLP

Pamela Devata is a Labor and Employment Partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago, IL. Pam leads Seyfarth's nationwide Background Screening, Litigation and Compliance Team. She is a national authority and firm go-to for all issues related to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), background screening compliance, use of criminal and credit history, and Electronic Signature issues as well online and manual employment applications. A nationally recognized employment counselor, Pam has participated in numerous interviews, speeches, webinars, and trainings to employers on the subject criminal history and credit checks. She has leveraged her niche area of expertise into a thriving class action practice. She represents employers, resellers, and consumer reporting agencies of background information on compliance requirements under FCRA and related state laws, develops procedures for appropriately handling high-volume national hiring needs, and she regularly litigates these issues on a single-plaintiff and class-wide basis throughout the country. Pam also testified before the EEOC at a Public Meeting regarding the use of credit checks in employment in Washington, D.C.

Pam is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt and was formerly an adjunct professor of Legal Writing at Chicago-Kent College of Law.


Jose Dimas

Jose Dimas

 

Jose Dimas is the Government Relations Director of Public Records Access for the Professional Background Screening Association. Prior to coming to the PBSA, he was Government Relations Associate for the National Center for State Courts.  He has extensive experience in state courts and government relations having worked on Capitol Hill, the federal government and the non-profit sector.  Mr. Dimas has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in public policy from Baylor University.


Erin Doyle

Erin Doyle
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Erin Doyle is an Associate at Arnall Golden Gregory LLP and a member of the firm's Background Screening Industry Team. She advises clients on compliance with a variety of data privacy laws, including the FCRA.


Jackie Drziak

Jackie Drziak
All in Compliance

Jackie serves as Executive Vice President of All in Compliance, a division of Data Facts. In this capacity, she is responsible for all business activities including sales and operations.

Prior to her career in information services, Jackie spent over 15 years in Residential Lending. During this tenure, she wrote mortgage loans for a number of regional and national financial institutions as a loan officer.

With almost three decades of combined consumer reporting and residential lending experience, Jackie is deeply committed to her involvement in the lending community. She is a member of various committees within the National Consumer Reporting Association (NCRA), and was presented with the NCRA President’s award in 2015.

Jackie holds a Bachelor of Science from Quinnipiac University in Marketing/Public Relations.


Nina French

Nina M. French
Hound Labs, Inc.

Nina M. French has over 28 years of experience in employee screening. Nina consults on all facets of the screening industry and has extensive experience in managing drug-free workplace operations. Nina is a nationally recognized expert in substance abuse, is widely published, and speaks at over 40 events each year including client hosted educational trainings, webinars, SAPAA, DATIA, NAPBS, iHeart Radio, and SHRM.


Yvonne Glover

Yvonne Glover
NIC Federal, LLC

Yvonne Glover is the Director of Operations and Marketing for NIC Federal, LLC. She is accountable for the general operations and its partner marketing efforts as part of its federal leadership team. Ms. Glover acts as an enabler and influencer leading the contract team responsible for developing and managing the Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP) on behalf of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Prior to joining NIC Federal, Ms. Glover held various leadership roles in the federal industry. She has significant experience leading teams in the highly-charged DoD environment while working collaboratively across the Services and government agencies. Ms. Glover is also an experienced speaker who energizes diverse audiences while leading initiatives and synchronizing stakeholders with an optimistic approach to engage and motivate teams. Ms. Glover earned her MBA from Webster University in Missouri and graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Grambling State University.


Cindy Hanson

Cindy Hanson
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

Cindy Hanson has handled hundreds of matters under the FCRA, including over two dozen class actions. Her practice includes the representation of consumer reporting agencies, entities who furnish information to consumer reporting agencies and employers who use background check information for employment purposes.


Andrew Hellman

Andrew Hellman
Accurate Background

Andy is a published author and frequent presenter on all things related to global background screening, ranging from GDPR compliance to Artificial Intelligence. He currently leads Accurate Background’s International Operations team, bringing over twenty-five years of experience to this role in organizations ranging from venture-capital backed startups to Fortune 100s, including over 15 years in background screening. He has partnered with some of the world’s largest companies to implement successful, compliant screening programs. His international experience also includes study abroad in Japan, working for an Italian technology company in Milan and running global screening businesses in London, Canada, the US and Singapore.

Andy has a BA in International Economics and Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond and an MBA in Finance and Entrepreneurship from the University of Washington. He also holds CIPP/E and CIPM certifications, as well as a Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP). He is the co-chair of the PBSA US Educational Resources Committee, a member of the PBSA Finance Committee, and a former Board Member for PBSA Europe.


Jeffries

Dave Jefferies
The WPM Group

Dave Jeffries is the Founder of the WPM Group and former CMO for Securitec. A marketing expert inside and outside our industry, Dave’s ability to drive revenue for Securitec but also national brands like Nikon and Remington gives him a unique vantage point and a broader set of proven solutions in our space. He’s well known for championing the only marketing metric that matters...Sales!


Chad Kaldor

Chad Kaldor
Littler Mendelson, P.C.

Chad Kaldor is a shareholder attorney at the national law firm of Littler Mendelson. One of his areas of focus is in assisting CRAs and employers with compliance advice and defense of litigation. On any given day, he is in the process of defending several background-check class actions and single plaintiff cases against CRAs and employers.


Sachin Kawalkar

Sachin Kawalkar
CISO Neeyamo Inc.

  • Currently working as a CISO- Global Head Information Security, Cyber and Quality Management system at Neeyamo Enterprise Solutions Private Limited, Pune. Managing Quality, Information Security, Cyber and privacy at Neeyamo Enterprise Solutions Limited, Pune.
  • Info Sec professional with over 17+ years of rich experience in Cyber security, Information Security, Cloud (AWS, Google), Various Compliance and Standards, Technology Risk assessments and frameworks and large Team Management.
  • All required robust frameworks are implemented like EUGDPR, SOC1, SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 9001, ISO 27017, ISO 27701
  • Create security best practices - To make sure all the business at specific Geo locations are compliant with security, privacy, legal and regulatory standards and in line with country specific regulations
  • Customer compliance requirements across geo location (fulfilment and measurement)

Rebecca Kuehn

Rebecca Kuehn
Hudson Cook LLP

Rebecca E. Kuehn is a partner with Hudson Cook, LLP in Washington, DC, where she chairs the Credit Reporting, Privacy, and Data Security Practice Group. Becki counsels businesses on compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other federal and state regulations. Before joining Hudson Cook, Becki was vice president and senior regulatory counsel for CoreLogic, providing advice and guidance to the company’s consumer reporting businesses on a wide variety of consumer data and privacy-related regulatory issues. Becki was formerly an assistant director for the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection at the FTC, where she was responsible for leading enforcement, policy, outreach and rulemaking activities for the FTC's FCRA program.


Michelle Leblond

Michelle Leblond
PlusOne Solutions

Michelle Leblond brings over 25 years in the background screening industry to her role as Executive Vice President, Compliance and Privacy with PlusOne Solutions®. She was previously employed as Vice President of the Fingerprint and I9 business unit and a Company Officer with another organization and prior to that, she was Canadian Operations Manager for another background screening company. Michelle brings solid strengths and understanding in technology, legislation, and operations, as well as the sales and financial aspects of managing a business in this industry.

Holding Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) designations in both Canada and the US, Michelle is responsible for all state and federal privacy and consumer reporting compliance efforts for PlusOne as well as overseeing all background screening operations. Michelle works closely with the operations and sales teams to create effective programs to ensure client needs are met, that operational excellence is maintained and new product and service delivery options are developed. Additionally, Michelle also regularly contributes to PlusOne's content publishing and client communication efforts and handles all vendor relationships for the business.

Michelle has a degree from the University of Toronto, as well as a post graduate diploma from Ryerson University, and is a current member of the HRPA (Ontario), SHRM, and IAPP. She is active on various committees of the Professional Background Screening Association including holding the position of General Council Member and Government Relations Chair for the Canadian Council, as well as sitting on the Background Screening Credentialing Council, which governs the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program. Michelle completed two terms on the PBSA Board of Directors and is currently the Chair of the Association.


Esther Slater McDonald

Esther Slater McDonald
Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Esther Slater McDonald is a seasoned litigator. Her practice includes litigation on consumer protection, financial services, and commercial disputes. Ms. McDonald also counsels employers, furnishers, resellers, and consumer reporting agencies on compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection laws, and she provides guidance in responding to requests from government agencies and navigating the agency process. Before joining Seyfarth Shaw, Ms. McDonald was Counsel to the Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice.


Joseph Messer

Joseph Messer
Messer Strickler Ltd.

Joseph Messer is a partner with the Chicago based Messer Strickler, Ltd., attorneys who concentrate in defending lawsuits brought under the FCRA, FDCPA and other consumer protection laws, and compliance counseling under those laws. He provides comprehensive legal services to large and small credit reporting agencies, collection agencies and related businesses throughout the nation. He understands how credit reporting agencies operate and their unique legal needs. Mr. Messer has presented to NAPBS, ACA International, NCBA, and many other professional trade associations.


Montserrat Miller

Montserrat Miller
Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Ms. Miller helps clients with domestic and international privacy and data security issues they face. Ms. Miller is a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP/US) through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). She is co-chair of the Privacy & Consumer Regulatory practice group at AGG as well as co-chair of the firm’s Background Screening Industry Group. Her practice includes advising background screening companies and users of consumer reports on compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and analog state laws. Ms. Miller served as Washington Counsel to the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS).

Ms. Miller is a frequent speaker and author of the weekly publication Compliance News Flash as well as a blog covering background screening and immigration compliance issues –www.workforcecomplianceinsights.com"


Zach Miller

Zach Miller
Burr & Forman LLP

Zach defends financial institutions such as banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies, auto finance companies and debt buyers/collectors in consumer lawsuits filed under various state and federal laws, including the Truth-in-Lending Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

While specializing in consumer finance litigation, Zach also handles numerous general commercial litigation matters. Zach serves as the Vice Chair of the Membership Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee and he is also a graduate of the TIPS/ABOTA National Trial Academy.


Jason Morris

Jason Morris
Morris Group Consulting, LLC

As a long-time background screening and risk management expert, Jason Morris serves as a consultant to the Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) industry on issues related to business strategy and growth, the latest trends in background screening, mergers and acquisitions and recruiting top executive talent. He is a highly sought-after expert witnesses on litigation concerning background checks, particularly regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance and has extensive experience participating in discovery, expert reports, depositions and trial testimony in both state and federal court.

Morris founded Cleveland-based EmployeeScreenIQ in 1999 and served as the company’s President and Chief Operating Officer until November of 2015 when they were acquired by Sterling. Morris served as Sterling’s SVP of Client Success and was a member of their M&A team until October 2017.

Under Morris’ leadership, EmployeeScreenIQ became a global leader in employment screening. With over 100 employees when acquired, EmployeeScreenIQ won numerous awards, including the prestigious Weatherhead 100 for high growth companies in Northeast Ohio six years in a row. EmployeeScreenIQ was also a founding member of the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA, formerly NAPBS).

Morris a licensed private investigator in the state of Ohio and served as co-chairman of NAPBS in 2005-2006, making frequent presentations to government agencies, including members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He has also lobbied on behalf of the screening industry and has consulted with officials from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice. Morris continues to be active in the organization today.

He has also made public testimony on behalf of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) in several jurisdictions on behalf of Lyft and Uber.

Active in community and philanthropic causes, Morris is a past president of the American Cancer Society Cuyahoga County Unit Board and former board member of both the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Association of Cleveland and Make-A-Wish Foundation. In addition, he is a past Revenue Chairman for the March of Dimes. Morris also sits on advisory and company boards and is involved in angel funding and investing in real estate, businesses and private equity.

Morris is a criminal justice studies graduate of Kent State University and currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his wife, two daughters and three dogs. He loves live music, golf, fly fishing and enjoying the outdoors with his family.


Nixon

W. Barry Nixon
Preemploymentdirectory.com

W. Barry Nixon is the founder and COO of PreemploymentDirectory.com, the most comprehensive background screening information portal on the Internet and the leading publisher of background screening-focused publications. He has over 25 years’ experience in Human Resources in Fortune 500 companies and is well-grounded in the employment screening issues companies face and develops practical tools, processes and publications to help them meet their challenges.
 
Prior to founding PreemploymentDirectory.com, Mr. Nixon studied ‘General Management’ in the Executive Management Program, University of Hawaii. He earned a masters’ degree in Human Resource Development from the New School for Social Research, and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Northeastern University. Mr. Nixon has also completed the Advanced Human Resource Management program of Babson College, as well as the certification programs in Organization Development from National Training Laboratories, Systems Thinking from MIT, and the highly acclaimed “Creating Competitive Advantage through Human Resources,” program from the University of Michigan’s School of Industrial Relations. He is a certified SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SCP), a trained Mediator, Security Specialist, and earned a certificate in Background Investigations from the Public Safety Institute, Santa Rosa College. He is the past Co-Chair, International Committee, Professional Background Screening Association, currently a member of their Education Committee. He is a past Board member of Professionals in Human Resources Association, District 14, former Chair HR Advisory Board, Cal St. University, Dominquez Hill and is a past member of SHRM’s Employee Health, Safety & Security Special Expertise Panel which provided specialize counsel to the SHRM Board and membership.

 


Scott Paler

Scott Paler
DeWitt LLP

Scott Paler is a partner at DeWitt LLP. He serves as Chair of the Firms Background Screening Practice Group. Over his career, Scott has advised more than 100 background screening companies on compliance and business issues. He has worked closely with them to develop strong end-user and vendor contracts, determine whether information can be reported under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and state laws, and resolve disputes. He has also defended multiple background screening companies in litigation. Scott previously served as Co-Chair of the Litigation Avoidance Committee for the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA), led PBSA's Insurance Task Force, and participated in PBSA’s Industry Practices Steering Committee. He is currently a member of PBSA’s Ethics Committee and regularly presents on industry trends and practices at national background screening conferences.


Jamie Pelchat

Jamie Pelchat
HireRight

Jamie Pelchat is an experienced compliance professional with a demonstrated history of effective management and leadership, and a thorough understanding of consumer protection laws and complex regulatory requirements governing Consumer Reporting Agencies. She has extensive experience guiding the development and implementation of many professional background screening initiatives, always with a keen focus on quality and risk reduction.


Ronald Raether

Ronald Raether
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

Ron Raether leads the Cybersecurity, Information Governance and Privacy practice and is a partner in the Financial Services Litigation practice group at Troutman Pepper. Ron is known as the interpreter between businesses and information technology, and has assisted companies in navigating federal and state privacy laws for over twenty years. Ron's understanding of technology led him to be involved in legal issues that cross normal law firm boundaries, including experience with data security, data privacy, patent, antitrust, and licensing and contracts. This experience allows Ron to bring a fresh and creative perspective to data compliance issues with the knowledge and historical perspective of an industry veteran.


Travis Ramey

Travis Ramey
Burr & Forman LLP

Travis Ramey has a broad and diverse litigation practice. He represents clients from the public sector, from a broad range of private-sector industries, and individuals-plaintiffs and defendants.

Much of that litigation takes place in appellate courts. Travis has briefed and argued numerous cases at both the state and federal level. His appellate practice extends all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where his experience includes frequent representation of members of Congress as amici curiae. Those cases have resulted in multiple, precedent-setting decisions on issues as diverse as statutes of limitations, mortgages, jurisdiction, foreclosures, constitutional law, civil procedure, arbitration (both domestic and international), and administrative law.

In addition to his practice in appellate courts, Travis handles complex trial-court litigation. Those cases often include issues of first impression or legal uncertainty. Whether the case involves an open-records issue, a claim of employment discrimination, a contract dispute, or allegations of fraud, Travis helps ensure his client is in the best possible position to prevail at trial and on appeal.


Les Rosen

Les Rosen
Employment Screening Resources

Lester S. Rosen is an attorney at law and CEO of Employment Screening Resources (ESR) an accredited nationwide background screening firm. He is the author of, “The Safe Hiring Manual-- the Complete Guide to Employment Screening Background Checks for Employers, Recruiters, and Jobseekers (3d Edition 2017), the first comprehensive book on employment screening. He is also a consultant, writer and frequent presenter nationwide on safe hiring and due diligence. He has been quoted in national publications and has served and testified as an expert witness in court cases. He is both a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. Mr. Rosen was the chairperson of the steering committee that founded the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) and served as the first co-chairman in 2004. He received the PBSA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.


Simmons

Bill Simmons
Littler Mendelson, P.C.

Bill Simmons is a shareholder attorney with the law firm of Littler Mendelson, P.C. and is based out of Philadelphia, PA. Bill regularly advises CRAs and employers with respect to the FCRA and other background check laws and represents CRAs and employers in litigation.


Brent Smoyer

Brent Smoyer
Smoyer Government Affairs

Brent Smoyer, of Smoyer Government Affairs, serves as the PBSA State Government Relations and Grassroots Director.  Smoyer’s combined 18 years of experience includes work on federal, state and local political campaigns, state level policy craft as a legislative aide and legal counsel in both the Iowa and Nebraska Legislatures and (as he calls it) “time served” in elected office as a County Commissioner for Lancaster County, Neb.  While he jokingly refers to himself as a “recovering bureaucrat”, it is that experience he uses to help build relationships, craft quality policy, and dodge pitfalls often present in state government. Prior to partnering with PBSA, Smoyer was Legal Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the Nebraska Legislature.


Timothy St. George

Timothy St. George
Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP

Tim St. George is a nationally-recognized expert on issues relating to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and employment background screening, as well as class action litigation. In 2018, Tim was one of only five attorneys nationwide to be designated as a Law360 Rising Star in the field of consumer protection, which identified attorneys whose legal accomplishments "transcend" their age.


Mark Sward

Mark Sward
Sterling

Mark Sward is Sterling’s Vice President and Global Head of Privacy. He leads Sterling’s global privacy team, which oversees Sterling’s privacy program, supports internal data protection compliance initiatives around the world, provides information and best practice guidance to Sterling’s clients through webinars, whitepapers and other documentation, and plays an active role in thought leadership and advocacy around privacy matters in the screening industry. With over ten years of experience in the industry, he has been responsible for Sterling’s privacy program in Canada since 2013 and globally since 2018. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from McGill University and a certificate in law from the Université de Montréal, and is recognized by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (Canada and Europe) and a Certified Information Privacy Manager. Mark is based in Montreal, Canada.


Rachel Theisen

Rachel Theisen
InCheck, Inc.

As InCheck’s Chief Operations Officer, Rachel Theisen oversees the strategic operations of the investigations, verifications, occupational health, compliance, and account management teams. Rachel has a 360-degree view of the organization and works closely with InCheck management and leadership teams to maximize efficiency and quality. She leads the team in setting strategic company and department goals, ensuring legal compliance and industry standards, and managing company and department budgets.

Helping teams be successful is what drives Rachel day-to-day. She provides the resources to help emerging leaders grow, engages teams on continuous improvement programs, and ensures clients continue to have #unrivaledexperiences with InCheck.

Rachel has a bachelor’s in biology, society, and environment from the University of Minnesota. In addition, she holds FCRA Basic Certification through PBSA, and is certified through the SPEARity Leadership Program. As an active member of the PBSA Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group, Rachel is committed to furthering the mission of diversity and inclusiveness among PBSA. She is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee’s Emerging Women Leaders (EWL) organization, and Vice Chair of EWL’s Community Involvement Committee.


Jamie Tucker

Jamie Tucker
Akin Gump

 

Jamie Tucker partners closely with clients to develop innovative and comprehensive strategies to achieve their federal policy objectives.  He manages all facets of issue campaigns including building and leading teams to undertake lobbying, third party engagement and communications. In addition to substantive knowledge, he maintains a strong network on Capitol Hill and in the administration and closely monitors the ever-evolving political landscape in order to better advance clients’ engagement in the policy making process.

Prior to joining the firm in 1999, Jamie served as legislative counsel to Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) and also served as an aide to former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich in 1996 and Sen. Paul D. Coverdell (R-GA) from 1993 to 1994.

Jamie also has significant political experience, having worked on four presidential campaigns as well as a number of Senate and congressional campaigns.