Be Aware Presenters

Chelsea Treboniak is a West Point graduate, U.S. Army Veteran, and President of Critical Ops, where she leads national initiatives focused on fraud prevention, operational resilience, and financial institution risk management. She serves on a credit union Supervisory Committee and works closely with credit unions, regulators, law enforcement, and industry partners to strengthen fraud detection, response, and governance practices.

A sought-after speaker and facilitator, Chelsea regularly presents at national and state conferences, schools, and executive forums on fraud, cybersecurity, and governance. Her work combines real-world fraud intelligence, operational experience, and strategic oversight to help organizations better understand today’s threat landscape while building stronger controls, reporting frameworks, and organizational resilience. Through her leadership, research, and industry engagement, Chelsea has become a recognized voice in advancing fraud awareness and operational integrity throughout the financial services sector.

Throughout Be Aware, Chelsea will facilitate important sessions and lead panels focused on fraud awareness while exploring practical strategies to mitigate risk and educate credit union staff and members.

Patrick Dix is the Vice President of Public Relations for SHAZAM.

When the media knocks on your door, will you know what to say? With more than 25 years as a working journalist, Patrick has seen the good, bad and ugly of multi-media relations. He understands how to enhance your brand and get your message heard. You’ll enjoy his informative and entertaining presentations that include practical, real-life examples of the right and wrong ways to tell your story and communicate with media.

The Perfect Storm: Scams, Schemes, and Techniques
Tuesday, October 27, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Reports of check theft, identity theft, social engineering and even online extortion are filling the headlines, leading to huge losses, and giving financial institutions headaches. These crimes use old tactics and new technology to try and snatch hundreds of thousands of dollars from your customers. This session will outline ongoing threats but will also look at best practices to mitigate fraud, help educate your cardholders and keep the money where it belongs.

In the second half of the session, we’ll focus on reputational risk. The fact is that most financial institutions aren’t prepared to deal with communicating in a crisis like the ones we just described.

Business continuity planning often focuses on operations and keeping the bank running, but communicating you plans in a crisis can be just as important to maintaining member confidence and the public trust you’ve worked to build over years.

This session will focus on ways you can be ready to communicate about the next crisis at your institution. Using the recent headlines as examples we’ll talk about the kinds of communications you can write ahead of time and plans you can put in place so you can respond quickly. Then, using real life scenarios, you’ll get practice answering questions under pressure. This session will make you a more effective communicator, and a better leader when it counts the most!

Nalani Brown is Vice President of Operations at Rippleshot, a Chicago based fintech helping financial institutions nationwide stay ahead of an increasingly sophisticated fraud landscape. A trusted voice on emerging fraud trends, from scam merchant networks to coordinated fraud rings, sharing insights alongside industry leaders on how fighting fraud today requires collaboration across technology, compliance, and the member relationship. Nalani has a B.S. from Wright State University and a PMP from the PMI institute.

Staying Ahead of Scams and Tokenization Fraud: Protecting Issuers and Cardholders
Wednesday, October 28, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.

Tokenization fraud, scams, and phishing continue to be an ever growing threat to issuers and cardholders in 2026. Join Rippleshot to learn about our latest research, prevention results, and discuss how to protect issuers and cardholders from scams and tokenization fraud as well as how to use card analytics to prevent account takeover.

Stephanie Macrafic is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Strategic Solutions Advisor at RiskScout and recognized thought leader in fraud prevention, financial crime and enterprise risk management. Drawing on a background in behavioral science and financial services, she helps organizations strengthen fraud prevention, compliance and risk management through education, technology and practical solutions.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth, with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Psychology, Stephanie combines expertise in human behavior with fraud detection and regulatory risk to help financial institutions identify emerging threats and build stronger defenses against scams and financial crimes.

Stephanie also serves as Vice President of the Twin Cities Chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), where she leads member education initiatives and helps equip fraud professionals with the knowledge needed to stay ahead of evolving threats.

A nationally recognized speaker and educator, she frequently presents on fraud psychology, scam prevention, social engineering, behavioral cues in fraud detection and enterprise risk management. This fall, she will also co-host Triple Threat: A Fraudcast, a podcast where three Certified Fraud Examiners from different sectors explore today’s fraud schemes, emerging threats, investigations and practical strategies for combating financial crime.

Whether advising financial institutions, speaking at conferences, or educating through professional development and media, Stephanie is passionate about advancing the fraud prevention profession through the intersection of psychology, technology and education.

Psychology of Fraud
Wednesday, October 28, 11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Sandy Stone serves as a Claim Consultant at TruStage, where she manages complex and large bond claims requiring detailed financial and investigative analysis. With more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, Sandy has built a strong foundation in both claims handling and forensic accounting.

Frauds and Scams That Should Be On Your Radar
Wednesday, October 28, 12:15 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.

David Kemp is a grizzly bear management specialist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, based in Conrad. His current work focuses on engaging communities and agricultural producers where grizzlies are present, preventing human-bear conflicts, and being responsive to quickly resolve bear conflicts when they occur. Prior to FWP, David spent 8 years as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service, focusing on habitat management and rare species research and monitoring. Born and raised in Great Falls, David enjoys spending time with his family and hunting with friends.

Grizzly Bear Biology and Management in Central Montana
Wednesday, October 28, 1:45 – 3:15 p.m.

This talk will focus on providing education on bear biology and ecology, human-bear conflict prevention, and a discussion about the past and current distribution of grizzlies in central Montana. Lastly participants can practice spraying inert bear spray at my charging robo-bear.

Chris Sellers is the Vice President of Security at First Call. He works with credit unions to strengthen cybersecurity, reduce fraud risk, and stay ahead of emerging threats. Chris brings practical insights on today’s evolving cyber landscape and shares strategies that help financial institutions better protect their organizations and members.

Cyber, AI, and Fraud: Staying Ahead of Emerging Threats
Thursday, October 29, 9:00 – 9:45 a.m.

Cyber threats and fraud are evolving faster than ever, with artificial intelligence creating both new risks and new opportunities for financial institutions. In this session, Chris Sellers, VP of Security at First Call, will discuss today’s biggest cybersecurity and fraud trends, how AI is changing the threat landscape, and practical steps credit unions can take to better protect their organizations and members.