All Access: What to Know Before the Assembly Kicks Off

Sandy Espinosa is a special-events professional with over 20-years of experience. Prior to joining the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS), Ms. Espinosa managed nationwide marketing and trade events for Condé Nast’s Brides local magazines and its companion site Brides.com, while completing a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Columbia University. She then transitioned to planning integrated marketing and educational events for Condé Nast Digital. In her current role, Ms. Espinosa is Head of ACAMS Global Events overseeing the content producers, logistics managers, copywriters and coordinators as well as on-site management. She began her career with ACAMS as the international events manager and subsequently progressed into her current role. As events director, Ms. Espinosa is responsible for growing event attendance, ensuring that content is timely, and creating new events to serve emerging anti-financial crime audiences. Key to Ms. Espinosa’s success is establishing and maintaining rapport with leaders in the anti-money laundering community and keeping up with global AFC trends.

With an eye for attendee experience, an ear for wish lists and the expertise to bring it all together, Ms. Espinosa has established herself as a passionate, forward-thinker and go-to leader within the events department at ACAMS.

Kieran Beer is chief analyst and director of editorial content with responsibility for ACAMS moneylaundering.com, ACAMS Today and content for many ACAMS conferences and other programs. Prior to joining ACAMS in 2006, he was executive editor of Bloomberg Wealth Manager, an award winning investment and financial planning magazine, and he also served as a staff writer for Bloomberg Markets Magazine.

Kieran has been a financial journalist for more than 30 years, beginning his career at Institutional Investor. He subsequently served as editor-in-chief of The Bond Buyer, founding editor of Thomson Municipal Market Monitor, and editor at the American Banker.

Kieran speaks regularly at industry conferences, has appeared on CNBC and Sky News, and has been heard on WBBR and NPR. He writes a column on anti-financial crime issues and is the host of “Financial Crime Matters,” a podcast series, as well ACAMS videocasts on YouTube.

Mariah Gause currently serves as Chief Operating Officer. She is responsible for steering the organization's strategic direction and overseeing key initiatives that will shape ACAMS' long-term trajectory and impact across the anti-financial crime (AFC) community.

Mariah joined ACAMS in November 2020 as the Vice President of Finance and Global Operations and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO) and ACAMS Executive Board Member in 2022.  Prior to joining ACAMS she had a progressive finance and leadership career through General Electric (GE), Experian, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL.

Mariah earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance from Clemson University and her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Craig Timm is the Senior Director of AML at ACAMS.

Prior to joining ACAMS, Craig had more than 15 years of anti-financial crime experience across the public and private sectors. At the Department of Justice, Craig served as a Deputy Chief in the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section (now Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section) at headquarters in Washington, DC. In that role, he led a team of prosecutors responsible for enforcing criminal violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, U.S. economic sanctions, and money laundering laws committed by financial institutions and their employees. He led the prosecution of some of the largest financial institutions in the world including HSBC and BNP Paribas. Craig began his career with the Department of Justice as an Assistant United States Attorney in Arizona. At the Department of Justice, he was the recipient of numerous awards including the Attorney General’s Crime Victim’s Restoration Award, the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director’s Meritorious Service Award.

At Bank of America, Craig was a Financial Crimes Executive responsible for Strategic Initiatives. These initiatives included participation in the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, 314(b) information sharing initiatives, and the Wolfsberg Group as well as managing the day-to-day liaison with FinCEN, the U.S. Treasury, senior financial crimes policy officials at the OCC and Federal Reserve, key law enforcement agencies, and the U.S. Department of Justice. He also spent several years as the Financial Crimes Executive for the Global Wealth and Investment Management business lines where he served as the designated Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer for Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust.

Craig has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a law degree from the Northwestern University School of Law.

Carolina Uhlmann is Senior Manager of Global Event Programming at ACAMS, where she leads an international team of conference program managers and copywriters to design and deliver high-impact events for the global financial crime compliance community. In this role, she oversees the development of content-driven programs that convene AFC professionals around the world.
 
With a career spanning content development and conference direction, Carolina has managed both regional and flagship events across the United States and globally. Her work is defined by a strategic approach to programming, a strong attention to detail, and a commitment to creating relevant, engaging experiences for diverse professional audiences.
 
Carolina’s background in international relations, combined with early experience in diplomacy and education, informs her global perspective and collaborative approach. Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, she thrives in multicultural environments and is passionate about building platforms that foster dialogue, elevate thought leadership, and drive meaningful connections across borders.

Lynette Warner, Senior Event Coordinator has been with ACAMS for 10 years.  When she's not learning about new mobile app features, she's an avid reader, enjoys travel, and a devoted foodie.

Shontae Khaleel White, Senior Manager , Global Event Operations joined ACAMS in Fall of 2019.