Volunteer Spotlights of 2022 - A Look Back in Appreciation

Posted By: Diane Driscoll APP Dispatch,

Another Round of Applause to our Volunteer Spotlight Recipients

While MAC tries, we can’t thank each of our volunteers individually… or enough. MAC does highlight one volunteer each month in the Volunteer Spotlight. Please join us one more time as we looks back at our Volunteer Spotlights of 2022 and show our appreciation.

January – Vadeene Sisk, i3 Verticals

               Vadeene currently is the Education Chair but has been an integral part of the association since the start. She has launched the Education Committee and the MAC Monthly Webinar Series. She has worked tirelessly in this role. MAC’s duty to industry education is amplified by Vadeene’s accomplishments in building up the program. Countless speakers have shared their knowledge because of Vadeene’s outreach. Vadeene continues to play a vital role to this day as a proud Board member serving in the Secretary role since 2016.

February – Barrie VanBrackle, Latham & Watkins

               Barrie VanBrackle volunteers with MAC by sharing her knowledge and insight. As a member of MAC’s Government Relations SIG (Strategic Interest Group), she is a consistent contributor to discussions with other industry experts on the latest topics and trends occurring in the industry. She has authored or contributed to many of the Government Relations Newsletters published in the past couple of years. Barrie has also contributed her time to present to the Bank Consortium SIG. MAC has core values of collaboration and information sharing … and Barrie Van Brackle embodies those values.

March – Joe Pickett, Tek Card Payments

               Joe Pickett volunteers on the MAC Membership committee. Joe brings his underwriting and risk knowledge as a very skilled member of the Membership committee. He hit the ground running in this committee. His feedback and recommendations are invaluable. He contributed to the new membership structure and was a thought leader in dues strucute discussions. One of MAC’s core values is collaboration, which is an attribute that Joe Pickett possesses and shows at every meeting.

April – Chris Geron, Elavon

Chris Geron has chaired the Government Relations SIG (Strategic Interest Group) for the past 10 years. When the committee first began, he and a few others dedicated time to create a group who’s mission was dedicated to educating the MAC membership on legal and governance issues. Now, ten years later, the committee is made up of 15+ volunteers comprising industry leaders and attorneys. The newsletters they have published include updates to the Durbin Act, marijuana legislation, privacy & GDPR, to name a few. Chris was an advocate for the ETA Government Fly-in that the Government Relations Committee actively participates in. He is one of MAC’s unsung heroes.

May – Jim Bibles, Aperia Solutions

               Jim has been an active member of the Board for over 10 years. He is currently on the Governance committee and assists the Finance committee, as needed. Jim serves on those committees because he is known for his fairness and ensures that policies and procedures are equitable. Jim previously spear-headed the regional training events in all four areas of the country. He was pivotal with providing updates and fraud trends during the first year of COVID. Jim is the Senior Vice President of Risk & Compliance at Aperia Solutions, Inc., and a mentor to many that have the privilege to know him.

June – Stephanie Shaw, CSG Forte Payment Systems

               Stephanie has been an active member of the Membership Committee since early 2021. In her current role, she assists MAC with our own risk mitigation and compliance activities by vetting new member organizations. She has also contributed to larger committee discussions on member needs and MAC goals to help the organization reach our strategic goals. She has also contributed to ongoing initiatives like the new member messaging project. Stephanie is the embodiment of the MAC community spirit - she shares ideas, contributes her knowledge, and brings positive energy to the Membership Committee.

July – Jennifer Maddux, Intuit

               Jenifer Maddox has been a long-standing member of MAC.  Over the past few years, as she emerged into committee volunteerism, she tackled several key projects and challenges that the committees were faced with and did it with conviction and dedication. As the Conference Program Chair she coordinates the committee to create the agenda for the Regional and Annual Conferences. She helps find speakers. And, she does so with ensuring MAC hears from all member segments to make sure the agendas remain famously amazing.

August – Andrew Bigart, Venable

               Andrew is an instrumental contributor to the Bank Consortium and to MAC. Andrew reads and enforced the Anti-Trust within the Bank Consortium at every monthly meeting, and is always eager to offer his support, guidance, and resources/speakers from within Venable whenever possible for topics relevant to the group. Andrew is an excellent volunteer, and an asset to the Bank Consortium and MAC as a whole.

September – Deb Brown, Retired

               Deb recently retired from the payments industry and a supporter of MAC through her career. She began in the industry 27 years ago and loved MAC as it allowed Risk and Underwriting industry members to connect in the industry. Education in the early days was hard to come by and what MAC provided was invaluable.  Deb has volunteered as a MAC board director, education committee, membership committees, and helped to write the joint ETA-MAC publication of best practices. She shared that as a former member of the Education Committee, the webinars are included in your membership – attend them all. The MAC annual conference is the best single source of education, and the best conference for the money.

October – David Press, Paysafe

               David recently stepped down from his position as one of Mastercard's representatives on the MAC Board of Directors. He helped provide insight as part of MAC's strategic discussion on the future of the association. David has been a frequent speaker at MAC Level Up and Regional events. We look forward as he joins the Confernce Program committee and brings his decades long experience and insight to help MAC build amazing agendas at our events.

November – Liz Pike, Green Rhino Recruitment

               Liz recently spoke at the PayTech Women's conference, presenting the benefits of MAC and the upcoming MAC PACK. We are very grateful that she was able to help fill in for a speaker at the last minute. Her heroics sum up Liz's volunteer spirit in a nutshell. She represented material she's passionate about (MAC) to a group she loves (PayTech Women) and did so by helping others in a fun and engaging way. She has consistently shown a combination of can-do attitude, knowledge, and resourcefulness  since she started volunteering at MAC while serving as a Board Director and a member of the Sponsorship Committee. T

December – Brady Jacobsen, LegitScript

               Brady Jacobsen joined MAC just over a year ago Brady has hit the ground running. He is a very engaged volunteer member who is part of the MAC Secret Owl Society (S.O.S.) Ambassador team. As part of the team, he heads up the Social Medial Toolkit project and was a key player in hosting the West Regional in Portland. He represented the Owls at two Regionals… and saved the day in Cincinnati when the microphones suddenly cut out! Brady has made a significant impact in the MAC community and we look forward to seeing him continue to contribute and grow within the MAC through volunteering.