SPEAKERS - 59th Annual Convention

JONI EVERHART HOPKINS, AAP, VICE PRESIDENT

Joni Hopkins is a Vice President for the Federal Reserve’s Product and Relationship Management Group as part of the Federal Reserve Financial Services Area. Hopkins’ responsibilities include engaging and collaborating with community financial institutions throughout the United States to help define and prioritize system improvements that advance payment speed, efficiency, and security.

Hopkins has been with the Federal Reserve System for over 25 years. Her background is rooted in working with community bankers across the United States. In addition to her experience at the Federal Reserve, Hopkins has worked for two commercial banks and a Payments Association. She was awarded the EPCOR Marquis Award for outstanding leadership, innovation and excellence in the development, implementation or advancement of electronic payments and risk mitigation solutions and is known as a champion for electronic banking services.

Hopkins’s undergraduate is from Kansas State University. She received her master’s degree from Kansas Wesleyan University and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management Executive Education program. She holds an Accredited ACH Professional designation.

NIKITA PEARSON, DEPUTY TO THE CHAIRMAN FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Nikita Pearson serves as Deputy to the Chairman for External Affairs and Director of the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Pearson advises the Board of Directors, develops strategies regarding all aspects of the external outreach, and guides how it communicates its mission and goals to the public. Her responsibilities also include providing strategic oversight for the Office of the Ombudsman, a confidential, independent resource for anyone affected by the agency’s activities. Pearson also serves as the agency’s deciding official on discrimination cases. In addition to serving in two senior executive positions, Pearson serves on several of the FDIC’s executive committees, including as Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Executive Advisory Council.

Pearson has transformed the agency’s efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility among 6,000 employees in over 80 locations across the country. She earned the 2022 inaugural diversity award from the Association of Government Accountants and has been featured in multiple national publications and podcasts as well as serving as a commencement speaker. Pearson provides strategic direction for the FDIC’s Financial Institution Diversity Program that assesses the diversity policies and practices of and provides diversity and inclusion technical assistance to over 3,000 financial institutions with $4 trillion in assets. Her office championed supplier diversity initiatives that resulted in over $400 million in contracts being awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses in 2021 and over $280 million in 2022, representing almost 50 percent of contract awards each of the respective years.

Pearson has testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee...