Women Shaping Fintech's Future: Highlights from Our "Transforming Finance" Event

By Samantha Corredor, FWA Member

As fintech rapidly evolves, one thing is clear—women are driving innovation and shaping the future of finance. That vision came to life at our recent "Transforming Finance" event, hosted in collaboration with NYC Fintech Women and Amazon Web Services (AWS). Held at AWS’s New York City office, the evening brought together bold thinkers, trailblazing technologists, and finance leaders to explore how blockchain, cryptocurrency, and AI are redefining the financial landscape.

The evening featured two thought-provoking panel discussions that brought together women leading the charge at the intersection of finance and technology.

Breaking Barriers – The Institutional Adoption of Crypto, Blockchain, & Digital Assets

Moderated by Ruchy Sharma, Principal Analytics GTM Specialist at AWS, this panel explored how institutions are embracing crypto and digital assets despite a complex regulatory landscape. The panelists—all women shaping this space—shared candid perspectives:

Elle Leemay Chen – Investor, Reciprocal Ventures
Kristen Keyes – Head of Strategic Partnerships & Enterprise Sales, Paxos
Caroline Tarnok – VP, Financial & Operational Risk, Coinbase
Nelli Zaltsman – Head of Platform Settlement Solutions, Kinexys by J.P. Morgan

Each of these leaders is pushing boundaries in a space still largely defined by legacy systems, helping financial institutions adopt and adapt responsibly.

The Tech Stack of the Future: Building Secure & Scalable Digital Assets

Led by Vivian Lai, Principal Capital Markets Specialist at AWS, this discussion focused on what it takes to build tech infrastructure that can scale with the growing demands of digital assets. The panel featured:

Jeffrey Alberts – Partner, Pryor Cashman
Eric Kang  – Head of DeFi, Ava Labs
Jasmine J. – Digital Assets Strategist, Fidelity Digital Asset Management (FDAM), Fidelity Investments
Elizabeth Dethy – Principal, Head of Sell Side Product, Talos

Panelists provided valuable insights into how tech and finance must work hand-in-hand to ensure security, transparency, and long-term viability.

Closing Remarks

FWA President Albana Theka closed out the evening by thanking our partners and the FWA community. Since our founding in 1956 by pioneering women in finance, we’ve remained committed to ensuring that women not only have a voice—but also the tools, networks, and visibility to lead in financial innovation.

See More from the Event

Check out the event photos below! For more highlights and videos, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Let’s Keep the Momentum Going

Together, we’re shaping the future of women in finance—and we’d love for you to be part of it.



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