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Great Women in Compliance

Great Woman in Compliance – Building Strategic and Effective Risk Assessments

In this episode of the Great Women and Compliance Podcast, co-hosts Hemma Lomax and Lisa Fine discuss the breadth and depth of effective risk assessments with guests Jisha Dymond and Lisa Beth Lentini Walker.  Jisha and Lisa Beth have both worked in highly regulated and high-profile industries. Jisha most recently served as Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer at OneTrust, and Lisa Beth is currently the Deputy General Counsel, Corporate Legal, and Assistant Secretary at Marqeta, as well as the CEO and Founder of Lumen Worldwide Endeavors.

They discuss various aspects of assessing risk and how to align the needs best for your compliance risk assessments with other functions to develop strategic and holistic approaches that influence organizational direction. The discussion touches on the importance of cross-functional collaboration, effective use of data and AI, and practical steps for implementing comprehensive risk management processes.

Key highlights include:

  • Holistic vs. Compliance Risk Assessments
  • Engaging Key Stakeholders
  • Building Trust and Cross-functional Collaboration 
  • Data-Driven Risk Assessments
  • The Role of AI in Risk Management
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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – The Mind at Work with Lynette Buebird

Trigger Warning:

This episode contains a brief discussion of suicide. Listener discretion is advised.

In this episode of Great Women in Compliance, host Hemma Lomax is joined by Lynette Buebird—trainer at Mind, the UK’s leading mental health charity, and a certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor with Mental Health First Aid England. Tune in to hear an insightful discussion about building cultures where the mind can thrive.

Lynette’s career path is guided by a deep curiosity about how people think, learn, and thrive. She studied both law and psychology, taught law, moved into school-age education, expanded her impact in higher education, and now focuses on training organisations in mental health awareness and neurodiversity-inclusive compliance. Through Mind, she equips organisations to go beyond “tick-box” compliance—blending legal knowledge, psychological insight, and educational skill to create workplaces that are both compliant and compassionate.

As a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Lynette also trains individuals to act as “first responders” for mental health—helping them spot early signs of distress, intervene appropriately, and connect people to the right support. 

In this conversation, Lynette and Hemma explore:

  • How Mind equips organisations to prioritise wellness while meeting their legal obligations.
  • What it’s like to be a mental health “first responder” in corporate and community settings.
  • What a neurodiversity-first compliance approach looks like in practice.
  • Common mistakes organisations make when addressing workplace mental health—and how to avoid them.
  • How compliance teams, HR, and leaders can work together to create inclusive, stigma-free environments.
  • Practical, high-impact steps any organisation can take today to support neurodiverse and mentally diverse employees better.

Biography

Lynette Buebird is a trainer at Mind, specialising in workplace mental health awareness and neurodiversity inclusion. She holds degrees in law and psychology, has taught law, and worked in both school-age and higher education. She is also a Mental Health First Aid Instructor with Mental Health First Aid England, training individuals to recognise, respond to, and support mental health needs in corporate and community settings.

Lynette combines her legal expertise, psychological insight, and educational experience to help organisations move beyond minimum legal requirements toward cultures where all employees can thrive. For her, compliance leadership means empowering people and institutions to make inclusion a lived, everyday practice.

Resources & Links:

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please seek help from a trusted resource:

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – LATAM Compliance Update with Alejandra Montenegro Almonte

In this episode of Great Women in Compliance, Lisa speaks with Alejandra Montenegro Almonte, a member at Miller Chevalier. Alejandra is the Chair of their International Practice and Practice Co-Lead, Workplace Culture.

They discuss recent regulatory trends, workplace culture, and the evolving compliance landscape in Latin America and the United States, including the increased focus on Foreign Terrorist Organizations, False Claims Act enforcement, and the importance of addressing these changes and others proactively, including the DEI Executive Order requirements.

Alejandra also shares her insights about the shift towards addressing workplace culture and conduct issues proactively, and how this has evolved past looking just at litigation risk. She discusses employee engagement and the increasing use of ethical assessments.

Alejandra and Lisa reflect on the challenges of building authentic professional relationships in a predominantly remote work environment. They emphasize the need for intentionality, such as scheduling regular virtual coffees and employer-facilitated opportunities for connection, to foster networking and mentorship.

Alejandra and Lisa have known each other for a long time, and they discuss the value of the early career friendships that become a peer network. This is harder in a virtual age, and Alejandra shares some of her strategies to build networks.

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – The Power of Vulnerability with Cricket Snyder

Lisa Fine speaks with Cricket Snyder, the first Chief Compliance Officer for the Jefferson County Commission in Birmingham, Alabama, a role that was mandated by a US Federal District Court decree.

Cricket shares her experiences in shifting the compliance culture in Jefferson County from one where she was initially viewed as an extension of the monitoring to one where she overcame employee skepticism and built trust, connecting with people throughout the county.

Cricket also emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, particularly in a new, challenging role. She also reminds us of the power of being open about what you don’t know and how doing so helped foster a more transparent and collaborative environment. She also received support from the broader compliance community.

Lisa and Cricket also discuss strategies to increase engagement. Cricket introduced “Compliance Week” to Jefferson County, transforming compliance education into engaging, themed events. These have increased trust in the function among all county employees, leading to a positive culture shift.

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – The Compliance Pre-Mortem: Together We Can Do Hard Things Well with Jonathan Aronie

This GWIC episode features a “Great Gentleman in Compliance,” Jonathan Aronie, a leading expert in government investigations and organizational integrity at Sheppard Mullin. Jonathan joins GWIC co-host Hemma Lomax to discuss his career journey, the innovative compliance tool known as the compliance pre-mortem, and the importance of proactive measures in compliance and governance. He also emphasizes the significance of active bystander intervention programs, derived from law enforcement, as highly effective tools for preventing misconduct in organizations. Additionally, Jonathan offers insights into the challenges and benefits of compliance programs, highlighting the need for continuous improvement and strategic empathy in these efforts.

  • The Psychology of Preventative Compliance
  • The ROI of Compliance and Integrity
  • The Concept of Pre-Mortem in Compliance
  • Common Risks and Blind Spots in Compliance
  • Active Bystander Programs vs. Compliance Hotlines
  • Lessons in Compliance and Culture from Policing
  • Building Continuous Improvement Frameworks
 

Biography

Jonathan Aronie is a partner in and the former leader of the firm’s Governmental Practice, resident in Washington, DC. Jonathan is also a founding member and current leader of the firm’s Organizational Integrity Group, a cross-disciplinary team of litigators, regulatory specialists, federal monitors, and ex-prosecutors with extensive experience helping organizations prevent and defend against challenges to their organizational integrity. 

Areas of Practice

Jonathan counsels and represents large and small businesses in some of the country’s most prominent classified and unclassified government contract matters, including bid protests, claims, self-disclosures, internal investigations, Department of Justice investigations, and False Claims Act investigations. As the leader of the firm’s Organizational Integrity Group, Jonathan also dedicates significant time to working with clients to identify and mitigate known and unknown risks before they become problems.

Jonathan’s experience includes litigating under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, conducting early risk-based “legal pre-mortems,” developing and implementing corporate compliance programs, conducting internal investigations (proactive and defensive), and providing advice on the FAR Mandatory Disclosure Rule as well as a variety of federal regulatory and statutory matters. He frequently represents clients before the DOJ, the Government Accountability Office, the General Services Administration, and other defense and civilian agencies. Additionally, Jonathan is cleared at the highest levels and counsels and defends clients in classified matters.

Jonathan has authored more than 100 articles and co-authored what is regarded by many as the leading treatise on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Program, published by Thomson Reuters. He is a regular speaker at national and international forums, as well as CLE programs, including government-sponsored symposia. He is a regular presenter at Coalition for Government Contracting programs and served on the ABA Task Force that drafted guidance regarding the FAR Mandatory Disclosure Rule.

https://www.sheppardmullin.com/jaronie

Resources

Sheppard Mullin’s Organizational Integrity Group

Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement

Everyone Benefits When An Ethics & Compliance Program Is Integrated Throughout An Organization. By: Jonathan Aronie,

Jonathan Aronie on LinkedIn

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance: GWIC X EC Q2 2025 – Exploring Compliance Innovations

We’re back with another GWIC x EC crossover episode. Today, we have the quartet of Great Women in Compliance of Kristy Grant-Hart, Karen Moore, Lisa Fine, and Hemma Lomax.

The GWIC quartet discusses various intriguing topics related to compliance. Lisa Fine kicks off the conversation by discussing the new ‘failure to prevent fraud’ guidance in the UK, which places greater responsibility on companies to avoid engaging in fraud. The group delves into the implications of this law and its extraterritorial elements. Hemma Lomax shifts the conversation to changes in the False Claims Act in the US, highlighting its expanded use beyond fraudulent billing to areas like cybersecurity and diversity obligations. Karen Moore introduces the innovative ‘Karma’ rewards system by Revolut Bank in the UK, which incentivizes compliance behaviors through team performance multipliers. Kristy Grant-Hart wraps up with a fascinating discussion on AI, touching on AI’s potential as a whistleblower and whether AI could attain employment rights if it becomes sentient. They conclude by sharing their rants and raves, offering insights on topics ranging from the importance of local theaters to women’s leadership in compliance.

Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn ⁠here⁠. 

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Leading with Integrity: Women Shaping the Future of Compliance

In this episode, Lisa and Ellen get the opportunity to speak with Junna Ro and Melanie Sponholz to recap the Women in Compliance Summit and discuss the evolving landscape for women in the field.

Junna Ro, a seasoned legal and compliance executive and the Head of Strategic Legal Initiatives at the University of California, and Melanie Sponholz, Chief Compliance Officer & Director of Responsible Investing—Portfolio Operations at Waud Capital Partners, shared insights from the summit.

Both Junna and Melanie emphasized the collective support and sense of community at the event, discussing their session on mentorship and allyship, as well as effective strategies for building these relationships. Junna’s session with Elizabeth Simon focused on Women on Boards and also provided insight and strategy.

They also discuss the current state of the profession, examining both its challenges and opportunities.

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Culture. Data. Ethics with Hui Chen

Hui Chen is a luminary in the world of Ethics and Compliance, and she is our guest on today’s episode of Great Women in Compliance. Today, Hui is one of the co-founders of CDE Advisors, which stands for “Culture. Data. Ethics.”

Most of us know Hui from her work at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and her contributions to the Evaluation of Corporate Compliance for the Fraud Section. However, my career path included being a prosecutor, in-house compliance work, and even being inspired to pursue a Master’s degree in Divinity after the 9/11 attacks.

Hui discusses the origins of the ECCP and her perspective on its current use. She also discusses the opportunity in the “FCPA pause” and how organizations can broaden their ethical considerations beyond foreign bribery to focus on relationships with all stakeholders. She discussed how the focus on regulatory guidance, particularly on bribery outside the United States, is just one of many areas to consider as a compliance professional. 

She also offers practical advice based on her experiences working with global compliance functions and the lessons she has learned.

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Board Bond: Why Ethics & Compliance Professionals Should Be on Boards and How to Get on One

👉 New #GWIC Episode – Board Bond: Why Ethics & Compliance Professionals Should Be on Boards and How to Get on One

Our expert guests:

• Teri Quimby, who is a Board Director, a coach and advisor, and a former state regulator, and

• Vera Cherepanova, Executive Director of Boards of the Future and an in-demand author and speaker.

Teri Quimby and Vera Cherepanova talked with Sarah Hadden and Ellen Hunt about how #Ethics and #Compliance professionals struggle with being seen as a back-office function rather than strategic risk management and how we bring expertise, experience, and insights that #Boards of Directors can’t afford to overlook. We drilled down into:

✅ Why Boards should diversify their rosters by appointing Ethics and Compliance professionals.

✅ Why it’s a hard sell to get Boards to cast a wider net when looking for new Board members, and what Ethics and Compliance professionals can do to leap over these barriers.

✅ What unique skills do Ethics and Compliance professionals have that are most in demand by Boards?

✅ What successful candidates do to land a Board seat.

👉 Tune in now: Great Women in Compliance

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Great Women in Compliance

Great Women in Compliance – Compliance is the Floor, Ethics is the Ceiling with Ellen Hunt

In this week’s special episode of Great Women in Compliance, Hemma interviews Ellen Hunt, an ethics and compliance professional and recent recipient of the Compliance Week Lifetime Achievement in Compliance Award. Ellen shares her journey from law to compliance, emphasizing the importance of organizational justice, psychological safety, and ethical decision-making. Listeners will gain insights into Ellen’s approach to fostering a values-driven culture, her experiences and advice on ensuring transparency, the role of conflict in cultivating psychological safety, and her commitment to nurturing the compliance community.

Highlights include: 

  • Ellen Hunt’s Career Journey and Recent Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Organizational Justice and Compliance
  • The Evolution of Ethics and Compliance
  • The Role of Psychological Safety
  • Ellen’s Legacy in Elevating a Compliance Community

Biography:

Ellen is a lawyer, ethics & compliance professional, audit executive, and chief privacy officer. Before joining Spark Compliance Consulting, A Diligent Brand, Ellen was the Vice President, Compliance Program Operations and Chief Privacy Officer for LifePoint Health, Senior Vice President ~Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, and Chief Audit Executive for AARP.

Ellen was named “Mentor of the Year” by Compliance Week in 2021 and the 2019 Not-For-Profit Compliance Officer of the Year by Women In Compliance. She received the Trust Across America Top Thought Leaders Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and was named a Top Mind by Compliance Week in 2016. Most recently, in April 2025, she was awarded a Lifetime Award for Compliance by Compliance Week.

She taught at the Fordham University School of Law, Program for Corporate Ethics and Compliance. She is an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, teaching Business Ethics in the 21st Century and co-teaching the Compliance and Culture courses. Ellen serves on the Advisory Boards for the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership, Compliance Week, and the Quorum Initiative. She is the co-founder of The Seven Elements Book Club, a book club devoted to ethics and compliance authors, and winner of the 2022 award for “Best New Idea” by the Great Women in Compliance podcast.