Meet the team

• Amber de Volk

  Founder and Chief Executive Officer

  Amber is a senior compliance architect and regulatory advisor with eighteen years of experience in fintech, banking, lending, payments, and emerging financial technologies. She has an LLM in Financial Risk Management and is a Certified Mediator, combining technical expertise with a focus on clear communication and problem-solving.
  Amber sees compliance as a partnership, not a roadblock. She works with founders, executive teams, engineers, and data scientists to manage risk and support growth through practical frameworks that actually work. Her experience includes CMS and AML programs, model governance, AI and machine learning oversight, data governance, enterprise risk management, and enforcement remediation.

  She’s known for building trust and navigating complicated situations, whether that’s sponsor bank relationships, high-growth startup pressures, or regulatory examinations. Amber is comfortable leading audits and remediation efforts, but she’s also willing to build programs from scratch when that’s what’s needed.

  Her approach: create compliance programs that scale, hold up under scrutiny, and fit how the business actually operates so compliance enables innovation instead of slowing it down.

  Connect with Amber on LinkedIn

• Ieva Urbaite

  Chief Business Officer

  Ieva brings 15+ years scaling SMBs, startups, and Fortune 500 companies through strategic marketing, partnerships, and operations. She has led GTM strategy, managed compliance workflows with partner banks, and driven cross-functional alignment across Product, Sales, Risk, and Operations. A certified coach and breathwork facilitator, she holds a BA in Storytelling from NYU.

  Connect with Ieva on LinkedIn

• Emily Miller

  Chief Operations Officer

  Emily leads internal operations and supports Equinox’s client portfolio. With a background in compliance community development, project and campaign management, and operational design, she helps keep complex initiatives running smoothly from start to finish. Emily is also a mum of two and an equestrian instructor, bringing the same poise, energy, and steady execution to her work at Equinox.

  Connect with Emily on LinkedIn

• Carson Aft

  Principal AI Architect

  Carson builds intelligent systems that empower our regulatory analysts. He designed the Equinox Compliance AI engine with a specific focus on human accountability and domain expertise. His background includes engineering leadership and applied AI strategy for Fortune 500 enterprises, specializing in Trust & Safety, operational scale, and system resilience.

  Connect with Carson on LinkedIn

• Keith Carlson

  Chief Audit Executive

  Keith is an internal audit professional who likes solving complicated problems and making organizations stronger. Over his career, he’s developed expertise in audit, risk management, SOX compliance, and process improvement—focused on changes that actually stick.

  As a CIA, CRMA, and CRISC, Keith brings technical knowledge and practical experience to his work. He understands audit frameworks, enterprise risk, SOX requirements, and the financial and operational controls that keep things running. What energizes him most is working with teams to spot real improvements and help the organization move forward.

  Connect with Keith on LinkedIn

• Gage Dodge

  Marketing Coordinator

  Gage’s bio is coming soon.

Advisors

• Bert Friedman

  Fractional Compliance Officer

  Bert is a compliance executive and former CFPB examiner with over twenty years of experience in fintech, banking, payments, and venture-backed financial technology companies. He’s been Chief Compliance Officer and fractional compliance leader for multiple startups and regulated institutions, building BSA/AML, CMS, consumer protection, and enterprise risk programs from scratch.

  Bert brings legal, regulatory, and operational expertise with a roll-up-your-sleeves approach. He works with founders, boards, and bank partners to design compliance frameworks that are practical and defensible, enabling responsible growth. He’s known for translating complex regulatory requirements into clear business processes that strengthen controls without slowing down product development.

  Connect with Bert on LinkedIn

• David Stickney

  Founder and Managing Principal, Arq Advisory

  David Stickney, CMCP, AMP, is the Founder & Managing Principal of Arq Advisory LLC (SDVOSB), where he supports banks, fintechs, mortgage originators and services, and other regulated financial services providers with federal and state consumer compliance strategy, supervisory risk management, and regulator-ready execution. A former CFPB Senior Commissioned Compliance Examiner and Examiner-in-Charge—and former Senior Director in the Consumer Financial Services practice of an international consulting firm— he brings deep federal supervisory and advisory experience across lending, mortgages, and deposits/payments. David specializes in enterprise Compliance Management Systems (governance, monitoring/testing, issues management, training, and third-party oversight), fintech–bank partnership oversight, regulatory remediation, and fair lending.