NBPCA Board of Directors

Gary L. Palmer Founding Director and Chairman of the Board, Network Branded Prepaid Card Association

For more than a decade, Gary has been leading payment innovations, most notably related to network branded prepaid cards. He co-founded WildCard Systems in 1997 and the company became the global leader of specialized technology and services for Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express prepaid cards (network branded prepaid cards) supporting issuers and program managers in nearly 20 countries around the world. Gary served as Chief Operating Officer and a director until the company was acquired by eFunds in July 2005 for $262 million.

At eFunds, Gary served as Executive Vice President of Global Strategic Business Development, reporting to the Chairman/CEO, and was on the executive team that sold eFunds to Fidelity National Information Systems (NYSE: FIS) in September 2007 for $1.8 billion. eFunds market cap was $900 million at the time eFunds acquired WildCard Systems just 2-years prior.

After eFunds was acquired by FIS, Gary was named Executive Vice President of the company’s prepaid business, the government solutions/EBT (electronic benefits transfer) business as well as the ACH (automated clearing house) business until April 2008 when he resigned from FIS full-time, although he remains a consultant to the company.

In addition to being a founding director and Chairman of the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, he’s a director at The Center for Financial Services Innovation, a director at Tuxedo Money Solutions (the leading UK prepaid programme manager) and serves on the advisory board of RentBureau and Celect.

Previously, Gary was a director at the Electronic Funds Transfer Association, a leading trade association that promotes the use of electronic payments working with issuers, acquirers, technology companies and other constituents. Gary was also the General Manager of WildCard Systems Latin America, a joint venture between WildCard Systems and Visa International formed to provide electronic payment solutions to banks in Latin America.

Gary earned his BS in Marketing from the University of South Florida.

Juli Spottiswood NBPCA Treasurer President & CEO Parago, Inc.

Juli Spottiswood helped form Parago in early 1999 as the company's CFO and was promoted to President and CEO in 2007. She is responsible for strategic expansion of the company's promotional services offerings and driving innovation within the rebate processing and promotions industry. Prior to joining Parago, Juli served as Vice President of Corporate Financial Planning at Excel Communications, where she worked directly on the company's IPO and played a key role in the $1.2 billion acquisition of Telco Communications and the $7 billion merger with Teleglobe, Inc. Earlier in her career, Juli was Controller and Corporate Secretary for publicly traded National Record Mart. A Certified Public Accountant, she began her career at Arthur Andersen LLP after graduating from the University of Texas.

Kirsten Trusko NBPCA President & Executive Director

Kirsten Trusko is the President and Executive Director of the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, a non-profit trade organization that works to enhance the environment for the success of network branded prepaid cards.

Ms. Trusko has written white papers, articles, and blogs on prepaid cards issues and is a frequent industry speaker. She serves on several cross-industry councils focused on financial services, health care and insurance, and how prepaid cards, as a non-credit payment tool, can uniquely meet industry, government, and consumer needs.

Ms. Trusko’s depth of experience includes founding and leading the management consulting and technology practices for a top 5 global consulting firm, and leading commercial and consumer card and lending divisions for Fortune 500 firms. Her work has focused on emerging products and markets, and bringing industry players to market for speed, service to consumers/business/government, sustainability and profitability. She has a BA in Business, an MBA, and has done post graduate work at Yale’s Business School.

Terrence P. Maher Counsel to NBPCA Partner, Baird Holm LLP

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 Chair, NBPCA Government Relations Working Group Partner, Bryan Cave, LLP

Judith Rinearson, a partner in Bryan Cave’s New York Offices, chairs the NBPCA Government Relations Working Group.

Prior to joining Bryan Cave, Judie was Group Counsel at American Express, responsible for the company’s prepaid payment products. She has hands-on experience in all legal aspects of launching and managing prepaid and other electronic payment products. Her practice includes advising clients on compliance with federal banking and anti-money laundering laws, as well as state money transmitter licensing laws, consumer protection laws, and abandoned property laws.

A recognized authority on prepaid cards, Judie is a frequent speaker on prepaid issues (in the United States and internationally) and has written numerous articles on prepaid issues.

Judie was recently selected to co-chair the American Bar Association’s Business Law Section’s Cyberspace Law’s Subcommittee on Electronic Financial Services. In April 2006 she co-chaired the American Conference Institute’s National Forum on Payment Systems in New York City. She earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College and graduated from the New York University School of Law.

Joi E. Sheffield NBPCA Government Relations Advisor

As Government Relations Advisor to 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.

Before her work in the U.S. Senate, Ms. Sheffield spent two years as Legislative Counsel for the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), a trade association of more than 5,000 community banks throughout the country.

Ms. Sheffield launched her legal career acting as a Senior Enforcement Attorney in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, where she provided legal advice and interpretation of federal banking laws and regulations to management and staff and prosecuted national banks and bankers in U.S. District Court and Administrative proceedings.

In addition to the aforementioned accomplishments, Ms. Sheffield's published writings include "Clearing the Congress," Independent Banker, February 2004 and "Eye on Privacy: A Look at the Provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003," Independent Banker, February 2004.

A native of Richmond, Virginia, Ms. Sheffield is a graduate of James Madison University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Howard University School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctorate. Ms. Sheffield is a licensed attorney in the state of Maryland and is eligible to practice in the District of Columbia. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Bar Association of the District of Columbia’s Young Lawyers Section.

Jennifer Tramontana NBPCA Communications Director Principal, The Fletcher Group

Jennifer Tramontana, who serves as the NBPCA’s Public Relations Advisor, has led an accomplished career in communications. Before founding The Fletcher Group, LLC, she was the Director of the Corporate and Consumer Practice at LeGrand Hart. Prior to that, she lived in New York City where she was a consultant in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations and a Managing Associate at Cholpak, Leonard, Schechter & Associates, a subsidiary of a multinational public relations agency, Gavin Anderson Worldwide.

Jennifer has worked with many well-known organizations including Verizon, The World Health Organization, The Pew Center for Global Climate Change, Seagram Spirits, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. She has mitigated several high-profile crisis situations for organizations such as The Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, Orange Glo International, AlloSource, and Donor Alliance.

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.