Young & Associates Biographies

Corporate Biographies

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Gary J. Young

Chief Executive Officer and Senior Consultant

Gary J. Young is Chief Executive Officer of Young & Associates, Inc. In his 30 years in bank consulting and 42 years in the banking industry, he has assisted hundreds of community banks from coast-to-coast with improving shareholder value and profit, establishing effective strategic plans, assisting banks through regulatory concerns, as well as budgeting, asset/liability management, expansion planning, and mergers and acquisitions. He remains a student of the industry and is a popular speaker with bankers for his practical and valuable insight. He has conducted seminars throughout the United States and in Europe.

Gary participated in the purchase of the National Bank of St. Anne, and is a member of that bank’s board of directors. In addition, he was the co-founder of Capital Market Securities, Inc., which assists community banks with mergers and acquisitions, and manages a bank investment fund.

Jim Kleinfelter

President and Senior Consultant

Jim Kleinfelter is President of Young & Associates, Inc., and Senior Consultant. As a consultant, he assists financial institutions primarily in the areas of management structure, strategic planning, and loan review. He is a former community bank executive and former senior lender with over 30 years of experience. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Jim worked in branch, compliance, credit card, CRA, lending, and executive management. He spent time with the former Society National Bank of Northwest Ohio, and Bank One Wooster. Most recently, served over 17 years of service with The Savings Bank and Trust (formerly known as The Orrville Savings Bank). He has developed many new lending and deposit products, and was instrumental in developing The Savings Bank and Trust’s online banking. Jim is a graduate of Bowling Green State University and numerous banking schools. He has been an instructor for the American Institute of Banking (AIB), and the Community Bankers Association of Illinois and a member of RMA for many years.

Stephen Clinton

President – Capital Market Securities, Inc.

Steve Clinton has over 30 years of experience in the banking sector and serves as the lead consultant in our capital markets activities. Steve’s experience in the capital markets area expands and enhances Young & Associates, Inc.’s ability to consult and advise our clients in many areas, including market analysis and valuations, strategic and capital planning, and merger and acquisition activity. In addition to his investment banking and consulting activities, Steve also participates in various seminar presentations and contributes regularly to our corporate newsletters.

An investment banker who previously served as a principal with a full-service brokerage firm, Steve served as the Midwest representative for the firm’s financial institutions practice. Steve also served as president of an investment banking firm working primarily with financial institutions in the areas of capital planning, equity offerings, valuations, mergers, and acquisitions. Steve has also worked for several Midwest financial institutions in his career and has served as CEO, COO and CFO.

John Fahrendorf

Executive Vice President – Western Region

John Fahrendorf brings to Young & Associates, Inc. over 40 years of executive experience in the banking industry. As Executive Vice President of the Western Region, John strengthens the company’s presence in the western U.S. His primary focus will be assisting senior management and boards in efficiently dealing with regulatory issues and in improving shareholder value. His past experience includes 20 years as President and CEO of two community banks, as well as positions as a Board member and Chairman of the Board at the Arizona Bankers Association, the Arizona representative to the ABA Government Relations Committee, Board member of the Western Independent Bankers Association, Board member and Chairman of the Board of Pacific Coast Bankers Bank, and member of the Board Pacific Coast Banking School. John is a graduate of the Arizona State University and Pacific Coast Banking Schools.

Martina S. Dowidchuk

Consultant

Martina S. Dowidchuk specializes in bank expansion strategies, de novo bank charters, stock valuations, and financial modeling. She also assists bank clients in the regulatory application processes involving mergers and acquisitions, branch purchases, new branch openings, and other strategic initiatives. Martina has 12 years of experience in strategic financial planning and feasibility analyses, branch location studies, market evaluations, performance analyses, and business plan development.

Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Martina worked for the Slovak Business and Banking Advisory Center and The Recovery Group, Inc. She participated in a number of management consulting assignments throughout Central and Western Europe, focusing on strategic restructuring and financial planning. Martina holds an MBA degree in Finance from Kent State University and a Master’s degree in Management from the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia.

Mike Detrow, CISSP

Senior Consultant

Mike Detrow serves as an information technology consultant for Young & Associates, Inc. Mike’s responsibilities include product development, Web design, and administering the Young & Associates, Inc. corporate network. Mike also conducts IT risk assessments for our banking clients. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Mike served as a network administrator for several community banks in Ohio and North Carolina. He has also completed coursework from the SANS Institute and holds the designation of Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).

Bill Elliott

Senior Consultant and Manager of Compliance

Bill Elliott has over 30 years of banking experience. As a compliance consultant and manager of the compliance division with Young & Associates, Inc., Bill works on a variety of compliance-related issues, including leading compliance seminars, conducting compliance reviews for all areas of compliance, conducting in-house training, and writing compliance articles and training materials.

During his career, Bill spent 15 years as a compliance officer and CRA officer in a large community bank, as well as working for a large regional bank. He has been a lender for consumer, commercial, and mortgage loans, and has managed a variety of bank departments, including loan review, consumer/commercial loan processing, mortgage loan processing, loan administration, credit administration, collections, and commercial loan workout.

Rob Grope

Senior Consultant

Rob Grope manages the lending division at Young & Associates, Inc. He is a chief field reviewer for loan, appraisal, ALLL, and credit process reviews, a seminar speaker in the education division, and a contributor to corporate newsletters. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Rob was a loan officer and financial consultant for both community and national banks and, most recently, a branch manager for a multi-billion dollar bank. Rob has over ten years of lending experience with consumer, small business, and commercial portfolios, and project management experience in the development and implementation of a corporate online banking system.

Jackie Roesser

Senior Consultant

Jackie Roesser brings to Young & Associates over 25 years of experience in the banking industry. She serves as an internal audit consultant for the company. In that capacity, she manages the delivery of internal audit services, including control reviews and management, organizational and process reviews. Jackie also provides lending and management consulting services, including loan reviews, fair lending reviews, interest rate risk reviews, allowance methodology reviews, and regulatory compliance reviews. She is a former community bank executive and has held management positions in both line and risk review and control functions with a number of regional and international banking institutions. In addition, she has assisted the FDIC receivership office in a consulting capacity, and has prior experience as a bank consultant serving community banks and thrifts in several states.

Fran Samson

Consultant

Fran Samson brings to Young & Associates, Inc. 30 years of valuable industry experience with small to mid-sized community banks, as well as a large regional bank. She has considerable experience in consumer compliance, loan operations with an emphasis on efficiency, and lending in all divisions. At Young & Associates, Inc., Fran works primarily in the lending and product divisions. She assists with loan review, writes articles for corporate newsletters, and assists with product development. While in banking, Fran served as a senior loan officer and was part of a senior management team. She also managed a mortgage loan department, including a multi-bank operation center.

Jeanette Abouzeid

Associate Consultant

Jeanette Abouzeid is an Associate Consultant for Young & Associates, Inc., where she assists clients primarily in the lending and loan review division. Her prior industry experience includes seven years working in customer service and lending in both credit union and bank environments. Jeanette has served as a loan officer in both residential and consumer lending departments, and worked in loan processor training and policy and lending manual revisions. She is also experienced in residential real estate, book keeping/accounting, and title closings.

Don Blaine, CRCM, CRP

Consultant

Don Blaine is a twenty-year veteran of the banking industry and has served as a bank examiner, compliance audit manager, and compliance officer with national, regional, and community banks. At Young and Associates, Inc., he specializes in compliance and BSA training seminars, Fair Lending reviews, transactional lending compliance reviews, BSA/AML independent assessments, and holistic compliance management assessments. Additionally, he submits compliance-related articles for corporate newsletters and assists with product development.

Before joining Young and Associates, Inc, Don served as Chief or Divisional Compliance Officer for financial institutions including: Bank of America, First Union, BB&T, American Express, First Citizens of South Carolina, and Carolina First Bank. Don’s background also includes management of the compliance audit team at a major financial institution. Prior to joining the banking industry, Don was a Senior Compliance Examiner with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) in the Southeast Region. He has also facilitated compliance training events at the national and local level.

Bryan K. Bradley, CRCM

Senior Consultant

Bryan Bradley has extensive compliance-related experience working in the financial services industry. He serves as a consultant to client banks in the areas of consumer compliance, including the Bank Secrecy Act. Bryan also regularly presents seminars to bankers on consumer regulations. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., he served as a compliance officer for a variety of financial institutions, including a national mortgage company, a multi-billion dollar holding company, and community banks. In addition, he has served as a CRA officer for a community bank, as well as a loan officer for residential, consumer, and commercial lending departments, conducted loan reviews, and worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis as a compliance examiner.

Bryan Fetty

Consultant

Bryan Fetty brings over 26 years of banking experience to Young & Associates, Inc. A former vice president of a mid-sized community bank, Bryan’s primary expertise is on the operations side. His experience includes bookkeeping and proof operations, teller operations, branch administration, call center, marketing, and training, as well as deposit compliance. At Young & Associates, Inc., Bryan works in the product division and is assists with product development and management for all the major divisions of the company. In addition, he consults with banks, performs in-bank training, presents seminars, and assists with the development and maintenance of the corporate Web site.

William C. Gaidis, Ph.D.

Consultant

Bill Gaidis consults primarily with the compliance division, where he performs deposit, operations, and lending reviews, Fair Lending reviews, BSA/OFAC reviews, and compliance training. He has also worked extensively with client banks to develop and enhance their marketing programs, specializing in sales training, communication strategy, market research, and new product development. In addition, he is a regular contributor to corporate newsletters and assists with product development.

Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Bill was a marketing analyst for a $10 billion bank with over fifteen years of experience in market research and analysis. In addition, he was a professor of marketing at three research-oriented universities. His PhD degree is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a major field in marketing and supporting fields in Management, Economics, and Cognitive Psychology. He is a graduate of several national compliance schools.

Randy Hughes, CISA

Consultant

Randy Hughes is an IT Consultant for Young & Associates, Inc. His responsibilities include performing IT risk assessments for our clients, as well as product development and helping administer the Young & Associates, Inc. corporate network. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., Randy worked as an IT Auditor in the internal audit department of a large community bank holding company. He holds the designation of Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and actively participates in the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

Sharon Jeffries

Human Resources Manager

Sharon Jeffries brings to Young & Associates, Inc., over 20 years of experience in all aspects of human resources management. Sharon is currently involved in developing and administering the human resources efforts of the company. In addition, she can provide expertise to banks in all areas of human resource management including offering solutions related to balancing the business needs of the bank with the needs of the employees.

Sharon’s human resources experience covers employment law, employee relations and problem resolution, compensation and benefits, orientation and training, recruitment and retention, labor relations, and all aspects of employee communications. She has developed, communicated, and administered numerous human resources policies, served as a resource and counseled employees and management on human relations issues, including ADA, FMLA, harassment, discrimination, performance, and termination, developed human resource programs designed to help companies attract, motivate, and retain a highly skilled workforce, and managed outplacement services coordination due to corporate downsizing.

Terri A. Klemann

Consultant

Terri A. Klemann is a compliance consultant with Young & Associates, Inc. She has been in banking for 16 years and has worked exclusively with community banks of all sizes. Terri specializes in Bank Secrecy Act compliance, front-line operations, privacy, deposit compliance and customer service issues, and has a broad knowledge base of many other compliance-related issues. Terri enjoys presenting in-bank BSA training, as well as conducting BSA seminars for tellers, customer service representatives and other front-line personnel. She has presented seminars for various trade associations regarding new rules and regulations. At Young & Associates, Inc., Terri performs BSA and deposit compliance reviews and assists client banks with policy development.

Michael Lehr

Human Resources and Sales Consultant

Mike Lehr brings to Young & Associates over twenty years of practical application of HR principles. At Young & Associates, Inc., Mike assists client banks with not only the more compliance-oriented aspects of human resources, but also with the implementation of those aspects that will directly impact bank profitability and standing in the community. His financial services experience includes five years at a national insurance/investment firm and thirteen years at a large regional bank where he helped develop the infrastructure to define, reward, manage, and coach a more revenue-oriented banker. He also developed an expertise in the training and coaching of soft skills in a variety of disciplines including the management of cross-selling and product rollouts.

S. Wayne Linder

Senior Consultant

A twenty-year banking veteran, Wayne Linder was formerly the CEO of a community bank. At Young & Associates, Inc., Wayne works as a lending and management consultant. He performs loan reviews, fair lending reviews, and regulatory compliance audits, facilitates strategic planning retreats, assists banks under regulatory enforcement agreements, performs management and board of directors assessments, and develops and implements written policies throughout all areas of the bank.

Wayne is a popular seminar speaker with both national and international experience. In addition to his many published articles, he is the author of Loan Review Deskbook.

Mike Metalonis

Consultant

Mike Metalonis serves various roles in the lending division at Young & Associates, Inc., including leading and/or assisting third-party loan reviews for client banks, developing lending products for community banks, preparing customized Loan Portfolio Performance and Peer Analysis Reports™, and conducting training sessions for the department and new hires, and other in-office responsibilities to promote and maintain an effective and efficient environment. Mike has been with Young & Associates, Inc. since 2006 and graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance.

Jeanine Schmitt, CCBIA

Consultant

Jeanine Schmitt is a compliance and internal audit consultant for Young & Associates, Inc., serving client banks in Illinois, Wisconsin, and the Midwest. She brings to the company over 25 years of banking experience, with extensive experience in regulatory compliance and internal audit. She performs in-bank compliance consulting, conducts compliance training, writes articles for various compliance publications, and provides audit services to include control reviews and management, organizational, and process reviews. Prior to joining Young & Associates, Inc., she served as a compliance officer and internal auditor for several community banks in Illinois, where she coordinated audit and compliance functions, conducted compliance training, and developed bank policies and procedures. Jeanine has earned the designation of Certified Community Bank Internal Auditor (CCBIA) from the Independent Community Bankers Association.

Pam Stone

Associate Consultant

Pam Stone has been with Young & Associates Inc. since 2002. She performs commercial loan reviews and quality control for the secondary market for the lending department. Prior to working for Young & Associates, Inc., Pam worked in the accounting industry for more than 17 years. She also has extensive experience in office management, accounting, and bookkeeping for various types of service and financial industries.

Debra Werschey

Associate Consultant

Debra L. Werschey brings to Young & Associates, Inc. 18 years of experience in the banking industry. Her banking experience includes processing, closing, and post-closing of mortgage loans for community and national banks. At Young & Associates, Inc., Debra performs quality control reviews of retail mortgage loans, insuring that secondary market underwriting guidelines and other investor guidelines are maintained. She also assists with appraisal reviews and commercial, mortgage, and consumer loan reviews, evaluating the quality of existing credits for various financial institutions.

Linda Young

Consultant

Linda Young has more than 26 years of experience in the banking/financial industry. At Young & Associates, Inc., Linda performs commercial, mortgage, and consumer loan reviews, due diligence reviews, loan officer audits, forensic file reviews, quality control reviews, APR audits, Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae and FHA training, writes articles for corporate newsletters, conducts training seminars, and assists with product development.

Linda’s banking experience includes positions as senior accountant, branch manager, internal auditor, mortgage office manager, construction loan specialist, mortgage loan service manager for an Ohio-based savings and loan, builder representative and FHA loan originator for a national mortgage banking firm, and residential loan manager for a commercial and residential mortgage loan broker.

Karen S. Clower

Consultant

Karen Clower is a compliance consultant at Young & Associates, Inc. Her primary responsibilities include product development and maintenance, answering compliance hotline calls, manual creation and updating, and compliance field work. Her prior banking experience includes 19 years working for a large community bank where she managed the mortgage lending department, including processing, underwriting, and the mortgage loan officers. She has also worked as a mortgage loan officer and credit analyst/account officer for commercial lending. Karen holds a BA in Business Management from Hiram College, and associate degrees in Banking and Finance and Business Management from Kent State University.