Catherine Allen is a noted innovator and visionary in the financial services industry. Named as one of 16 “unsung heroes and rising stars” by Fast Company magazine, Catherine led BITS from a fledgling organization in 1996 to its current status as a key industry forum for cutting-edge issues in financial services. Catherine is frequently consulted as an expert on the subjects of security, e-commerce and payments. She sits on the boards of the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC), the Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC), MIST, and Hudson Ventures, and serves on task forces for Congressman Adam Putnam (R-Fla.) and a number of industry groups. Previously, she was vice president, business development and alliances, for the corporate technology officer of Citicorp. She represented Citibank as founding chair and president of the multiple-industry-based Smart Card Forum. Catherine is co-editor and author, with William Barr, of Smart Cards: Seizing Strategic Business Opportunities. She also is co-author of the book The Artist’s Way at Work: Riding the Dragon—Twelve Weeks to Creative Freedom. Catherine was appointed by Governor Richardson of New Mexico to two state-level task forces on economic development and education. She holds a BS from the University of Missouri, where she received the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2003, an MS from the University of Maryland, and completed doctoral work at the George Washington University.
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Teresa C. Lindsey, Chief of Staff and Senior Director

Teresa C. Lindsey is responsible for finance and operations at BITS. In addition, Teresa handles member relationships and BITS’ strategic alliances and leads BITS’ Crisis Management Coordination activities. Prior to joining BITS, Teresa was vice president of business development and administration for The Santa Fe Group, a strategic consulting and research firm focusing on emerging technologies and innovation. Teresa consulted with the Group’s clients and served as the company’s chief financial and administrative officer. Before being hired by The Santa Fe Group, Teresa was an independent consultant. Her corporate clients included Major League Baseball and HarperCollins Publishers. For her individual clients, Teresa served as a “personal trainer” in microcomputers and their applications, providing one-on-one tutoring. Prior to that, Teresa spent eight years with Deloitte and Touche as the national manager of office automation support. In addition to her other accomplishments there, Teresa spearheaded the firm’s conversion from shared resource word processing systems to personal computers.
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Cheryl Charles, Senior Director

Cheryl Charles manages all communications for BITS, including managing BITS’ media relations and publications. She managed BITS’ work related to privacy of consumer information from 1997 to 2003, including leading BITS’ seminal research project on privacy and information use. Today her responsibilities include support for the BITS Executive committee, the joint Financial Services Roundtable/BITS Identity Theft Assistance Center, and BITS’ work in payments. She is also responsible for BITS’ strategic planning and research activities. As the need arises, Cheryl assists with special projects. Before joining BITS, Cheryl served for four years as chief operating officer of The Santa Fe Group. Prior to her time there, Cheryl served for 20 years as national director of the two most widely used environmental education programs in North America for K-12 educators, Project Learning Tree and Project WILD. Cheryl is author, editor and designer of a wide variety of publications including books, articles, educational materials, and monographs and has received numerous awards for her leadership. Her most recent book, co-authored with her husband, Bob Samples, is Coming Home: Community, Creativity, and Consciousness (Personhood Press, 2004). Cheryl holds a BA from the University of Arizona, MA from Arizona State, and a PhD from the University of Washington.
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John W. Carlson, Senior Director

John Carlson focuses on security issues, including crisis management coordination, telecommunications interdependencies, and managing outsourcing risk. Prior to joining BITS in September 2002, John worked for nine years at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in a variety of roles. He served as acting director, deputy director and senior advisor of the Bank Technology division, where he was responsible for developing OCC and interagency guidance on emerging technology risks, including e-banking and information security. John also served as deputy director of the OCC's Y2K Supervision Policy division, special assistant to the comptroller, and as a financial economist. From 1990 to 1993, John worked at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, focusing on banking and deposit insurance policy issues. From 1988 to 1990, he worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston as a financial analyst on payment system issues. John holds an MA in public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a BA from the University of Maryland.
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Faith Boettger, Senior Consultant

Faith Boettger is responsible for managing the BITS IT Service Provider Working Group and co-managing BITS’ Security and Risk Assessment efforts. Before joining BITS in March 1999, Faith was a vice president with First Union, serving most recently as vice president, international product merger communications. Faith has more than ten years of banking experience in commercial lending, segment management for the retail and apparel industries, and international product management. Faith holds a BBA from Hofstra University and an MBA from Drexel University. Faith is on sabbatical through January 1, 2007.
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Gary S. Roboff, Senior Consultant

Gary Roboff leads BITS’ efforts related to payments strategies and standards for emerging e-commerce applications, and co-managed BITS’ efforts in authentication and aggregation services. Gary has 25 years of experience in financial services planning and management, and has worked extensively in retail distribution. Prior to joining BITS, Gary was senior vice president of e-commerce at the Chase Manhattan Bank. Gary was a founder of the International Security Trust and Privacy Alliance (ISTPA), and serves on the organization’s board of directors. At Chase Manhattan in 1996 and 1997, Gary led efforts to return the Bank to the merchant services business with the founding of Chase Merchant Services LLC, the nation’s largest acquirer. During 1993 and 1994, Gary served as interim President of the New York Switch Corporation, (the NYCE network), and founded its successor corporation, Infinet Payment Services (now NYCE Corporation). Prior to 1993, Gary was vice president and director of business planning and strategy development in the Electronic Banking Group at Chemical Bank. He was a member of the NYCE Board of Directors from 1986 until 1993. Gary received BA and MA degrees from Clark University and has completed additional graduate work at M.I.T.
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Tanya K. Bailey, Senior Director

Tanya Bailey plans, implements and manages BITS’ Advisory Council, Working Group, and Steering Committee meetings, as well as BITS educational forums and BITS’ role at the FSR Fall Conference and Annual Meeting. She also chairs BITS’ Program Committee. Tanya plans approximately 50 events per year at locations across the U.S. Tanya began working at BITS in 1999. Before joining BITS, Tanya served as an event manager at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. Tanya’s meeting and event planning experience began over 14 years ago with her work at the Department of Defense and later at the Public Employees Roundtable. At the DoD, Tanya coordinated events that promoted women and minorities in the workforce, organized DoD’s Adopt-a-School program, coordinated sign language training courses for employees, and assisted with the management and structure of the DC Summer Youth Program. A graduate of the University of Maryland College Park, Tanya holds BS and MS degrees in program management for family and community development programs.
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Robin Slade, Senior Director

Robin Slade manages the BITS Fraud Reduction Program, an exceptionally active BITS initiative that includes the Fraud Reduction Steering Committee as well as working groups in the areas of identity theft, debit card fraud, electronification, Internet fraud, loan fraud, legal issues and statistics. Robin previously co-managed BITS’ ECP/Electronification Working Group and brings extensive knowledge of technology and Web protocols to BITS. Before joining BITS in 1999, Robin was an entrepreneur for ten years, and has held various management positions. Robin holds a BS in Business and Management, a BS in Computer Studies, and an MS in E-Commerce from the University of Maryland.
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Leslie P. Mitchell, Director

Leslie Mitchell is responsible for projects relating to payments and operational risk, and has previously co-managed BITS’ standards, authentication, and aggregation services projects. She helped to guide the BITS aggregation initiative through landmark accomplishments, including the development and publication of the BITS Voluntary Guidelines for Aggregation Services. Leslie’s work experience includes institutional banking, brokerage and student loan facilities finance. She has worked with SallieMae, Merrill Lynch and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Prior to joining BITS, Leslie served as director of marketing for the Futures Industry Institute in Washington, D.C. Leslie holds a BA from Georgetown University and completed the Manufacturers Hanover Trust training program for corporate banking officers.
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Ann Patterson, Director

Ann Patterson directs member relations for BITS, ensuring BITS members receive maximum value from their relationship with BITS. Additionally, Ann manages the BITS Product Certification Program and BITS’ relationship with Microsoft, and co-manages BITS’ work in software security and patch management. Ann also provides BITS’ staff with technology support. Prior to joining BITS in February 2002, Ann was the alliance marketing manager for EYT, formerly Ernst & Young Technologies. At EYT, Ann was responsible for developing and executing strategic business development and marketing programs with EYT’s technology partners. Previously, Ann held various positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its marketing, business development, and strategic communications groups. Prior to PwC, Ann worked for the Department of Defense (DoD). She holds a BS in commercial arts from Hood College.
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Wattie Bennett, Executive Assistant

Wattie Bennett is the Executive Assistant to BITS CEO Catherine Allen. Wattie joined the BITS staff in June of 1997. Her primary responsibilities include scheduling speaking engagements for Catherine Allen and assisting with the coordination of conference and meeting arrangements with other professionals in the financial services industry. Wattie is also in charge of day-to-day office operations, administration, and communications for the BITS office in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the BITS team, Wattie worked at Bell Atlantic Corporation providing administrative support to senior management. Back to Top

Susanna Space, Communications Manager

Susanna Space manages communications at BITS, including helping to write and edit BITS white papers, developing media relationships, and managing the BITS website. Susanna also manages BITS’ online research activities and prepares all of BITS’ regular communications, including the weekly BITS Security Update. Additionally, she is manager of the BITS Internship Program. Before coming to BITS, Susanna was a senior writer at Innosight, a division of Harvard Business School Publishing founded by bestselling author and Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen. Susanna holds a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire, a publishing certificate from Emerson College in Boston, and has completed courses in technical writing and editing.
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Keviar Warner, Project Manager

Keviar Warner manages BITS meetings, provides support in membership and database management, and serves as project manager for the Security and Risk Assessment Working Group. Additionally, Keviar has day-to-day responsibility for BITS’ finance and operations and co-manages the BITS Internship Program. Prior to joining BITS in 1998, Keviar was a program manager at the American Bankers Association, working for the ABA’s chief economist. Keviar earned her BS degree in Business Administration from Strayer University in Washington, DC in 2004. She is working on her MBA at Strayer.
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Heather Wyson, Project Manager

Heather Wyson joined BITS in 2001. Today, she is a project manager working on BITS’ Crisis Management Coordination initiative, the Fraud Reduction Program and the Payments Strategies Working Group. Heather manages a variety of projects for the Crisis Management Coordination group related to critical infrastructure protection and cross-sector coordination. With the Fraud Reduction Program, Heather focuses on identity theft and loan fraud. Heather previously managed the BITS Operational Risk Working Group, helping to develop the BITS Key Risk Measurement Tool for Information Security Operational Risks. She has a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
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Margaret Prior, Project Manager

Margaret Prior serves as project manager for the BITS Fraud Reduction Program and the IT Service Providers Working Group. Margaret joined BITS in June 2002. Margaret holds a BS in Business Administration and a BA in French from Mary Washington College.
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