Innovate 2026: BBOK Operations Summit

Tickets are NOW ON SALE for Innovate 2026!

Innovate 2026 offers insights into the latest Fintech advancements, showcasing how faster payments and stablecoin can enhance community banking. With limited seating available, be sure to secure your spot and be among the select few ready to enhance their banking strategies.

Only 60 spots remain!

For a limited time, enjoy 25% off registration at just $150/ticket! This offer ends February 9 when ticket pricing will increase to $200.

»Register via credit card

»Register via check

Registration closes Wednesday, March 25.

For more details or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, contact Daniel Hayden or Caitlyn Beneke.

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Welcome Reception/Early Check-in

Hyatt Place at Wichita State (4703 E 19th St N, Wichita, KS 67208)

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Location: Woolsey Hall – Wichita State University (N Mid Campus Dr, Wichita, KS 67208)

8:00 a.m.	Registration/Networking
8:45 a.m.	Event Kickoff
9:00 a.m.	Faster Payments Use Case Panel moderated by Reed Luhtanen, featuring The Federal Reserve, The Clearing House, and Aptys Solutions
9:50 a.m.	Updates in the Payment Industry featuring Epcor
10:10 a.m.	Instant Payments Bank Panel
11:00 a.m.	Break
11:10 a.m.	Stablecoin featuring the American Bankers Association
12:00 p.m.	Lunch
12:45 p.m.	Networking
1:20 p.m.	An Innovate Idea featuring Dream First Bank
1:40 p.m.	Innovation in the Industry featuring Epcor
2:00 p.m.	Break
2:10 p.m.	How to be Innovative with Your Core featuring ASI and DCI
3:00 p.m.	Bankers Helping Bankers
3:45 p.m.	Event Concludes

Meet Our Speakers

Faster Payments Use Case Panel

: Reed Luhtanen is Executive Director and CEO of the U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC). The FPC is an industry-led membership organization whose mission is to facilitate a world-class payment system where Americans can safely and securely pay anyone, anywhere, at any time and with near-immediate funds availability. Reed is responsible for managing the daily operations of the organization and working with the FPC board and membership to execute on the FPC’s strategic plan while ensuring inclusive and transparent dialogue with all FPC stakeholders. FPC members include business end-users, consumer organizations, financial institutions, payment network operators, technology providers, and others.

: Joni Hopkins is Vice President of Customer Relations for Federal Reserve Financial Services based out of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Hopkins’ responsibilities include engaging and collaborating with community financial institutions throughout the United States to help define and prioritize system improvements that advance payment speed, efficiency, and security. Hopkins has been with the Federal Reserve System for over 25 years. Her background is rooted in working with community bankers across the United States. In addition to her experience at the Federal Reserve, Hopkins has worked for two commercial banks and a Payments Association. She was awarded the EPCOR Marquis Award for outstanding leadership, innovation and excellence in the development, implementation or advancement of electronic payments and risk mitigation solutions and is known as a champion for electronic banking services. Hopkins’s undergraduate is from Kansas State University. She received her master’s degree from Kansas Wesleyan University and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management Executive Education program. She holds an Accredited ACH Professional designation.

: Rusiru Gunasena leads the business development efforts for service providers at The Clearing House, driving engagement and growth across TCH’s portfolio of payment solutions. In this role, Rusiru focuses on expanding adoption and fostering strategic partnerships with banks, credit unions, fintechs, and technology providers to enable seamless and efficient payment experiences. Rusiru is a payments and fintech leader with more than 20 years of experience across multiple industries. He is a strong advocate for digital payment innovation and continues to influence the U.S. payment ecosystem. With a background as both an entrepreneur and a corporate leader, Rusiru has worked across start-ups and Fortune 100 companies worldwide. Prior to his current role, he led RTP product management and strategy at The Clearing House, overseeing the network’s growth. Before that, he served as the Managing Director of JHA PayCenter, where he led Jack Henry’s faster payments strategy and built a central payment hub for fintechs and financial institutions. Rusiru holds an MBA with an Entrepreneurship concentration from the University of Louisville and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, where he was an honors recipient.

Updates in the Industry featuring Epcor

: Brian Dao, AAP is the VP of Member Engagement at EPCOR a non-profit payments association. His experience in payments started in product management at a financial institution where he led electronic payments and would later move on to a startup managing various payment data-related products. He is an active participant in the industry, sitting on Nacha’s Arbitration Board for Nacha, contributing to their Government Relation Advisory Group and Emerging Payments Advisory Committee, as well as serving on the US Faster Payments Council’s Education and Awareness Workgroup. Brian is passionate about the payments industry and empowering entrepreneurs and innovators to create positive change and is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences where he shares his insights on digital transformation, customer experience, and product strategy.

Instant Payments Bank Panel

: Abi Griffin is the Chief Financial Officer at Andover State Bank, where she leads financial strategy and operations with a strong focus on innovation and efficiency. Abi oversees financial reporting, budgeting, planning, treasury management, and regulatory compliance, while also driving process improvements across human resources, deposit operations, IT strategy, and retail banking. She has implemented advanced financial reporting tools, streamlined budgeting processes, and introduced technology-driven solutions to enhance transparency and decision-making for senior leadership and the Board of Directors. With more than 20 years of experience in finance and corporate development, Abi is recognized for transforming policies and procedures to improve efficiency and build sustainable capabilities. Prior to joining Andover State Bank, she held various finance leadership roles at Flint Hills Resources, where she managed multi-million-dollar M&A transactions and developed consistent, scalable processes for transactional excellence. Abi holds a BBA in Finance from Oklahoma State University and actively contributes to her community through leadership roles with organizations such as Child Advocacy Centers of Kansas and previously with Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland, Young Professionals of Wichita (now W) and Junior League of Wichita.

Stablecoin featuring the American Bankers Association

: Kaye (pronounced “Kai”) Lynch-Sparks is the Senior Director of Innovation Policy at the American Bankers Association (ABA), where she plays a pivotal role in shaping regulatory and legislative frameworks that impact the banking industry related to digital assets, fintechs, AI, open banking, and privacy. Kaye comes to the ABA with over 12 years of experience in regulations and compliance. Prior to the ABA, she worked at the National Automobile Dealers Association where she specialized in credit and finance compliance. Additionally, she worked as a regulatory consultant for various federal agencies leading the drafting and implementation of regulations and policies. Kaye earned her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and obtained her Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

An Innovative Idea featuring Dream First Bank

: Mark Nichols is a technology and innovation leader with over 25 years of experience helping organizations solve real problems through thoughtful, practical technology. His career spans healthcare, banking, and large-scale digital projects, but his focus has always stayed the same, building things that actually make people’s lives and work easier. Mark currently serves as Innovation Officer at Dream First Bank, where he leads a team of specialists designing modern banking experiences for entrepreneurs and small businesses. One of his favorite parts of the role is that Dream First genuinely values ideas from every level of the organization. Innovation is not reserved for a single team. It is encouraged across the entire company. That culture has allowed Mark and his team to move fast, try new things, and turn good ideas into real solutions. One of the projects Mark is most excited about is Dream First’s partnership with Mike Michalowicz, author of Profit First. Together, they are integrating the Profit First system directly into the banking experience so business owners do not just manage money. They understand it, control it, and use it with confidence. Outside of work, Mark is a husband to Jennifer Nichols, a medical provider in their hometown of Alva, Oklahoma, and a proud father of two boys (15 and 10). He believes technology should ultimately serve people, families, and communities, not the other way around.

How to be Innovative with Your Core featuring ASI and DCI

: As Vice President of Solutions Engineering, Todd Rolfes brings over 30 years of experience and plays a key role in ASI’s go-to-market strategy. Todd leads the solutions engineering function, partnering closely with sales, product, and customer teams to help prospective and existing clients understand how ASI’s technology supports their goals and long-term success. A strong advocate for relationship-driven engagement, Todd is passionate about aligning business needs with practical, scalable solutions. He works closely with his teams to support the sales process, strengthen technical discovery, and ensure ASI delivers clear value throughout the customer lifecycle—helping banks serve their communities with confidence. Todd lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with his wife and grown children and is an avid fan of Huskers sports.

: Jason Ruyle has spent over 25 years working in community banking and banking technology. He joined DCI in 2020 and currently serves as Vice President of Market Strategy and Innovation. In his role, he oversees Vendor Management, Strategic Third-Party Partnerships, the Project Management Office, and guides DCI’s Fintech sales initiatives. Throughout his career, Jason has worked for both banks and technology companies in various roles, gaining experience in commercial and retail banking, lending, back-office operations, risk management and compliance, bank policy and administration, core processing, digital banking, payments facilitation, fintech, embedded finance, sponsor-bank processing (BaaS), and digital-branch banking. Jason is adept in assisting banks with technology deployment while simultaneously helping them navigate the complexities of the ever-changing regulatory environment.

Bankers Helping Bankers

: Matthew Smith is the CEO of Bankers Helping Bankers (BHB), where he’s on a mission to help community banks thrive in a rapidly changing financial world. He believes that when bankers share ideas, experiences, and technology insights, everyone wins — and that belief drives everything BHB does. Before joining BHB in 2022, Matthew spent nearly two decades helping community banks across Texas and Oklahoma harness technology to strengthen their operations and better serve their customers. From IT infrastructure and vendor management to process improvement and fintech strategy, he’s been deeply involved in the real-world challenges that bankers face every day. Matthew is known for being just as comfortable in the server room as he is in the boardroom — a rare combination that allows him to bridge the gap between technology and leadership. Under his guidance, BHB continues to grow as a national network where community banks embrace innovation, collaborate fearlessly, and thrive in the future of banking.

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