FWA is pleased to welcome two new committee chairs. We are excited to have Briana Malbury leading our Fintech committee, and Théa Watkins joining as a co-chair for the Back2Business program.
Briana Marbury is the President & CEO of the Interledger Foundation (ILF), a nonprofit organization committed to expanding digital financial inclusion to vulnerable populations. ILF invests in organizations, communities, and entrepreneurs working towards the shared goal of enabling interoperable and frictionless payments around the globe.
In her role, Briana leads the strategic vision of the organization and has grown ILF from a small team of three to a global workforce of changemakers. Having firsthand experience in the challenges associated with navigating inequitable and inaccessible financial systems, Briana understands how imperative it is to enable communities an opportunity to create and lead their own financial futures.
In recognition of her work at ILF she has been nominated as a finalist for Finovate’s 2023 Executive of the Year award and named as a Changemaker on the International Black Heritage Month’s inaugural Iist in recognition of individuals disrupting the status quo and advancing inclusion.
Before joining ILF, she consulted for 350.org and held financial leadership roles at Repair the World, Uncommon Schools, and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. At each organization, Briana built and grew the financial and operational systems that enabled significant progress towards achieving their mission. Additionally, Briana served as an Education Pioneer Graduate Fellow, exploring ways to increase positive educational outcomes in the nation’s most underserved schools.
Briana holds a BA in Accounting from the University of Michigan, an MBA from Wayne State University, and has completed post-graduate work in strategic leadership at Stanford University. Originally from Detroit, Briana has lived in many cities across the US and has even spent a brief period as a digital nomad. When she’s not exploring new cities, she’s spending time with her pup, Seamus.
Théa Watkins (she/her) is an inclusive Financial Services leader with deep experience on both the client and the people and operational side within the industry. She has a passion for building respectful relationships and cultures, executing change strategically to transform business performance while simultaneously enhancing workplace inclusion and culture as well as the interface with our communities.
Successful transformations are a constant theme of her career. She is known for delivering business results and sustainable change with energy and integrity, as evidenced by her building a substantial business from the ground up, transforming employee engagement levels and culture, and most recently, the crisis management of branch operations with the smooth and safe transition of all employees to fully remote work during the pandemic.
