May 2021 Monthly Member Bulletin
Executive Director Message
Change Is Constant
Undoubtedly, there has been a great deal of transition for all of us in the past year. Whether it was our work life, personal life or how we approach our daily activities, not many things have been left untouched in recent months.
The Secure Technology Alliance and U.S. Payments Forum have also experienced quite a bit of transition during the same time span. Both organizations were fortunate enough to have the steady leadership of Randy Vanderhoof and Cathy Medich for close to two decades. Both have partnered with leaders in the industry to establish the foundation for both organizations and worked to make them the gold standard when it comes to collaboration and education within the technology and payments industries.
As the old proverb goes, the only constant in this world is change. Randy decided that it was time to embrace retirement at the end of last year and now Cathy has also reached a point where she wants to spend more time with her family and move into the next phase in her life. Both have been critical to the efforts of the Alliance and the Forum and will be sorely missed.
Although it’s difficult to replace the extensive experience both individuals brought to the table, it was important that we restructure the organization with capable individuals that share our passion for the technology and payments space. I’m happy to announce the following changes, which will take place immediately:
Devon Rohrer will assume the role of Associate Director for the Alliance and Forum. Many of you know Devon through her work with the Forum, where she has built a lot of depth over the past several years in the payments space and established relationships with key leaders in the industry. I look forward to partnering with Devon as she embraces new responsibilities for the Alliance and Forum.
We have hired a new Program Manager to support the great work we do within both organizations. Kari Miglaw joined the team on 5/17 and will begin to take on program management functions for many of our working committees and councils moving forward. Please welcome Kari to the team when you have a chance to meet her in the coming weeks.
As mentioned previously, we also created a new role for the Director of Membership and Marketing. It’s critical that we strengthen our outreach to existing and new members for both organizations, while also refining how both organizations present themselves to the broader market. I’m happy to report that Deb Ferril will be joining the team in this role starting on 6/1. Deb has extensive experience in the payments and technology markets, holding several senior level roles at companies like Identisys and Datacard over the past 30 years. I’m confident that Deb will be a great addition to the team.
During the past several months, we have also been actively transitioning many of our back-office support functions to a strategic consulting firm called Alliances Management. I would be remiss to not acknowledge the great work being done by JaNeece Strock (Events Management), Danielle Mattison (Communications), Katrin Grienitz (Finance), Gem Casem (Finance) and Jay Armocilla (Membership). Thank you to the team for the great work you do each week and for making this transition seamless.
I believe we now have a structure in place to facilitate growth over the next several years and beyond. Please join me in thanking Cathy for her tremendous contribution to the Alliance and the Forum while also welcoming the new members of our team.
Regards,
Jason
Alliance Member Registration for U.S. Payments Forum Summer Virtual Meeting
Secure Technology Alliance members are invited to register for the U.S. Payments Forum Summer Virtual Members Meeting. The Forum is offering Secure Technology Alliance member organizations one complimentary registration for the event sessions that are open to organizations who are not Forum members.
The U.S. Payments Forum Summer Meeting will be held from July 19-22, 2021. Registration is open on the Forum web site. Click HERE to see the latest agenda. Open sessions include:
- QR Code Use Cases and Best Practices Panel
- Petro EMV Migration – Three Months after the Liability Shift Panel
- Global Chip Shortage: The Impact to the Payments Industry Panel
- New Technology Impact on the Future of Payments Panel
- New Technologies at the ATM Panel
- Transit Trends Panel
- Buy Now, Pay Later Birds-of-a-Feather Session
Alliance registration codes were sent to all member organization primary points of contact earlier this week. If you don’t know your primary point of contact or if you have questions, please contact Devon Rohrer.
Follow the Alliance on Social Media
The Secure Technology Alliance has an active presence on social media. Here are some ways for you to interact with the organization: