Meet the team
Amber de Volk
Founder and Chief Executive OfficerAmber 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.
Candice Antinori
Chief Compliance OfficerCandice brings 20+ years of experience designing and leading enterprise-wide regulatory compliance programs within complex, highly regulated financial institutions. She specializes in regulatory governance, risk management, BaaS, BIN sponsorship oversight, and multi-partner compliance operations. Recognized for modernizing compliance infrastructures and implementing GRC technologies that reduce operational friction without sacrificing control, Candice is known for her disciplined approach to examination readiness and her ability to translate complex regulatory frameworks into actionable business processes that support responsible growth.
Ieva Urbaite
Chief Business OfficerIeva 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.
Emily Miller
Chief Operations OfficerEmily 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.
Carson Aft
Principal AI ArchitectCarson 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.
Keith Carlson
Chief Audit ExecutiveKeith 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.
Gage Dodge
Marketing CoordinatorGage’s bio is coming soon.
Advisors
Bert Friedman
Fractional Compliance OfficerBert 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.
David Stickney
Founder and Managing Principal, Arq AdvisoryDavid 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.
Frank Delker
Sr. Director of Compliance, Mitek SystemsFrank is a CPA, CISA, and CIPM with over thirty years of experience across accounting, IT audit, vendor compliance, regulatory compliance, and information security. He’s worked in financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, higher education, and technology, spanning both private and public sectors.
His focus is practical: reducing risk exposure and strengthening business operations through audit processes that are both effective and efficient. Frank partners directly with business process owners to design and implement internal controls that balance compliance requirements with operational cost, making sure controls actually work without creating unnecessary friction.
Over his career, Frank has built deep expertise in the intersection of technology, security, and regulatory and contractual compliance. He’s known for identifying where controls can be tightened or streamlined, and for working collaboratively with teams to get improvements across the finish line.
Uriel Ash
Founder, Fractional CIO and CISO, Nathan Ash & AssociatesUriel Ash is the founder and president of Nathan Ash & Associates. As a fractional CIO and CISO with over two decades of experience across fintech, banking, payments, and cybersecurity, Uriel specializes in security architecture, regulatory compliance, and building high-performance engineering teams. A Columbia University-trained electrical engineer and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Uriel previously served as SVP and Head of Innovation, IT Product, Security Architecture, AI, and Blockchain at Cross River Bank, where he oversaw more than 20 global development teams and led the creation of systems that powered billions of dollars in lending. Known for his hands-on technical leadership and ability to scale secure, compliant infrastructure, Uriel partners with banks, fintechs, and regulated platforms to build technology strategies that meet the highest standards of security and regulatory readiness.
Team
We’re a team of compliance, risk, and regulatory professionals with deep experience in fintech, banking, BaaS, embedded finance, lending, payments, and crypto. Our expertise covers BSA/AML, CMS, sanctions, governance, AI and model risk, product compliance, licensing, and bank-sponsor frameworks.
Our team includes leaders from banks, fintechs, RegTech companies, and financial technology firms who’ve built and run these programs firsthand. We design compliance frameworks that meet regulatory expectations and support real growth, bridging regulation, technology, product, and data.
Get in touch.
If you’re exploring compliance support or considering a new project, we welcome the opportunity to connect.
Our work always begins with understanding your business, your goals, and the challenges in front of you. From there, we can determine the right path forward together.