With over 26 years of experience, Krista Snelling serves as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of West Coast Community Bancorp and Santa Cruz County Bank. Under her leadership, West Coast Community Bancorp stock was named to the 2024 OTCQX Best 50, a ranking of top performing companies traded on the OTCQX Best Market based upon total return and growth in average daily dollar volume in 2023.

Ms. Snelling currently serves on the boards of the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, the Finance Committee and Board (Chair-Elect) of the California Bankers Association, the Finance Committee of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, and the Executive Advisory Council of the University of the Pacific Eberhardt School of Business, where she is a frequent guest lecturer. She is member of the Cabrillo College Foundation President’s Circle and Rotary Club of Santa Cruz.

Ms. Snelling previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Five Star Bank.

Ms. Snelling graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Mathematics and Economics. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of California, Davis, and is a California Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Ms. Snelling was named in American Banker Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Banking Watch List for 2023. Additionally, Ms. Snelling and members of the Bank’s executive team received American Banker Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Banking Top Teams Award for 2023. She was recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2023, making their Power 100 List, and in 2022 as a Woman of Influence. In 2020, she was named as a Sacramento Business Journal Woman Who Means Business and was awarded the Nancy Hotchkiss Woman of Impact Award by Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), recognizing her impact on the commercial real estate industry. In 2019, she was recognized as CFO of the Year by the Sacramento Business Journal.

Natina Lasher is Assistant Vice President, Employee Engagement Manager at U.S. Bank.

Peter Rupert is a Professor of Economics at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the Director of the Economic Forecast Project and the Associate Director of the Laboratory for Aggregate Economics and Finance at UCSB.

Paul Worthing serves as the Regional Director in the San Francisco Region of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). He has been with the FDIC for over 33 years and is responsible for the supervision and oversight of financial institutions in 11 Western States and the territories of Guam and the Federated States of Micronesia. Prior to serving as Regional Director, Paul served as Deputy Regional Director for six years (2017-2023) where he was responsible for overseeing the risk management examination and supervision functions in the San Francisco Region. From 2010 to 2017, Paul served as Assistant Regional Director responsible for supervising financial institutions in the states of Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. Prior to his appointment as ARD, Paul was a Senior Case Manager, Case Manager, and Examination Specialist in the San Francisco Regional Office. He served as a field examiner in both the Dallas and San Francisco Regions from 1990 to 2000.

Paul graduated from the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Kearney, Nebraska in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree: majoring in accounting and finance and a minor in economics. He is also a graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (2002).

Karen Boehler is the Deputy Comptroller for the West and Midwest Regions of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

In this role, Ms. Boehler is responsible for the supervision of over 300 institutions located in 22 states with assets totaling $297 billion. She is based in Denver, Colorado, and supervises a staff of nearly 350 people, who operate out of 24 office locations. She took on these duties in January 2021.

Prior to becoming the Deputy Comptroller, Ms. Boehler served as the Associate Deputy Comptroller for the Western District. She served the OCC in a variety of bank supervision and leadership roles throughout her 38-year OCC career. Ms. Boehler earned her National Bank Examiner commission in 1989 and the Federal Thrift Regulator certification in 2013.

Ms. Boehler is a graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Mr. Ivie is executive vice president, head of government and regulatory affairs at Banc of California, N.A. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Ivie was executive vice president, chief risk officer of PacWest Bancorp and Pacific Western Bank. Prior to joining PacWest Bancorp and Pacific Western Bank in March 2016, Mr. Ivie served as the regional director for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) San Francisco Region since April 2007. Prior to becoming the regional director for the San Francisco Region, Mr. Ivie was regional director for the FDIC’s Dallas Region. Before those appointments, Mr. Ivie served as the deputy director for the division of resolutions and receiverships, where he directed field operations nationwide for the division. He also served in an interim capacity as director of the office of public affairs in Washington, D.C. He served in various capacities in Washington, including assistant director and senior congressional liaison for the resolutions division.

In 2017, Mr. Ivie was elected to the board of directors of the California Bankers Association, where he serves on the executive committee, and has served on the board of directors of the Pacific Bankers Management Institute for Pacific Coast Banking School since 2010.

Walter J. Mix III is a former commissioner of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), formerly known as the California Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), and previously served as a banking executive at Union Bank of California.

Mr. Mix, who heads the Financial Services practice at BRG, advises domestic banks, international banks, and financial services companies on corporate governance, enterprise risk management, strategic planning, financial advisory, fintech, digital currency, payments, and credit risk management. He has significant experience with the Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering, sanctions, cybersecurity, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, regulatory compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and capital planning. He has extensive experience serving as a monitor based on the approval of regulatory agencies and law enforcement. He also advises clients on reengineering and implementing technology to improve profitability, including artificial intelligence. In addition, he performs litigation and expert services based on his extensive expertise in financial services. He speaks frequently before bankers’ groups and regulatory seminars.

In his position as commissioner, Mr. Mix reorganized the organization and improved its efficiency and effectiveness. He worked with financial institutions on more than sixty mergers and acquisitions. He reengineered the examination processes for banking and other licensees. He was instrumental in the development and passage of California’s identity theft law and many other laws, including the interstate banking and branching law and cooperative supervisory agreements for domestic and international banks. Mr. Mix also spearheaded proposals designed to enhance financial institutions’ electronic banking and commerce capabilities. He joined BRG from LECG, LLC and before that The Secura Group; he served as managing director in both firms.

Mr. Mix is a graduate of the University of California, Riverside and earned a master’s degree with a concentration in economics and public policy from Rutgers University.

Art represents banks and their holding companies, clients acquiring banks, and companies opening banks throughout the transactional process.

He regularly drafts merger and acquisition agreements, negotiates and documents both debt and equity capital raising in public and private offerings, addresses financing and corporate structuring, and completes regulatory requirements regarding all such activities. He also assists with general corporate maintenance for banks and financial institutions. In addition, Art frequently interfaces with regulators and regulatory agencies and is extensively experienced with preparing for and responding to regulatory examinations and negotiating informal and formal regulatory orders. He routinely works at the very highest levels of confidentiality.

A seasoned attorney and chair of the firm’s Financial Institutions M&A & Regulatory Compliance team, Art has represented banks and financial institutions since 1980, devoting his career to the California banking industry. He’s deeply familiar with all aspects of the banking world and understands the concerns and challenges facing bankers and bank boards of directors. His experience advising financial institutions includes mergers and acquisitions, capital raising, SEC filings and regulatory reporting, corporate governance, regulatory enforcement, loan documentation and restructuring, and consumer compliance and operations. Art is extensively knowledgeable regarding the legal requirements in this heavily regulated industry and has worked closely and directly with many of the regulators at all levels, including the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI).

In 2023, Art joined Husch Blackwell with the aim of building the firm’s Banking & Finance team into a national practice assisting banks with corporate matters, major corporate transactions, and regulatory compliance. He primarily divides his own practice between SEC filings, regulatory reporting, and related oversight; mergers, acquisitions, and other major corporate transactions; and regulatory work.

Clients value Art as a trusted confidant and advisor: an attorney who knows banking on a cellular level, he can be counted on to provide not just generic legal advice, but legal advice that’s grounded in the banking industry. He understands the motivations and concerns of banking clients, and he offers counsel that’s not only legally correct, but also correct for a client’s business needs.

Craig Miller is a partner in Manatt’s San Francisco office and is the leader of Manatt Financial Services. Craig focuses his practice on representing public and private corporations in a wide range of corporate matters. A respected legal advisor, Craig has led countless transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, and public and private equity and debt securities offerings. He also regularly represents venture capital management companies and their portfolio companies in portfolio investments, capital raises and strategic transactions.

Craig counsels both financial institutions, boards of directors and the underwriters and placement agents that service them, on securities offerings, branch purchases and sales, and whole bank acquisitions along with day-to-day corporate governance issues and periodic reporting.

A frequent publisher and lecturer, Craig also served as adjunct assistant professor of law at UC College of the Law, San Francisco where he taught second and third-year law students Corporate Law.

Jason Lane is senior vice president, director of government relations for the California Bankers Association and manages California state tax policy for the association, which involves analyzing legislation and regulatory activity, and the development of policy positions for the association. Lane is one of three lobbyists at CBA and, in addition to his primary focus on taxation, he also lobbies on behalf of the association on issues related to the state budget, and consumer lending legislation. Lane has significant expertise in handling legislative issues including taxation, data security, identity theft, and housing.

Before joining CBA in May 2006, Jason Lane served as director of government affairs for Providian Financial and managed the bank’s financial privacy compliance program, as well as tracked and analyzed the impact of federal legislation and rulemaking for the company.

Vanessa Lugo serves as senior legislative advocate for the California Bankers Association (CBA). Her advocacy portfolio includes housing, economic development, labor and employment, trust and estate, public contracts, and corporate governance.

Before joining CBA, Vanessa worked for the California State Legislature, representing the most competitive district in the state and the Majority Leader of the California State Assembly. During her tenure in the legislature, her portfolio included agriculture, government and organization, banking and finance, economic development, insurance, and other issues.

Most recently she spent 12 years in government relations, working for Check Into Cash and Equifax. Vanessa graduated from CSU Sacramento with a degree in English and a minor in Political Science.

Chris is responsible for overseeing Wespay’s Risk and Compliance team, as well as managing Wespay Advisors, our consulting and risk management service for-profit subsidiary. He is recognized as an industry expert in managing payment-related regulatory impacts and risk mitigation. He also consults with financial institutions to develop and improve their payments programs.

Prior to joining Wespay, Chris spent 16 years at Bank of America in the Electronic Payments Services department. He was responsible for operations management, project support, and client and application testing. He also served as the compliance and regulatory control manager for both ACH and Wire payments.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Barbara. He is an Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) and an Accredited Payments Risk Professional (APRP). In his free time, Chris enjoys bike riding, hiking, and playing guitar.