2015 Outstanding Women in Banking: Kristina Schaefer

Kristina Schaefer volunteers so many hours for her community and the banking industry that it's a wonder she is able to hold down a full time job at Brookings, S.D.-based Fishback Financial Corporation, said Curt Everson, president of the South Dakota Bankers Association..Since Schaefer joined Fishback Financial in 2007, she has grown her role to include oversight of the company's legal department, its risk management and its compliance department as the general counsel and director of risk management. Outside Fishback, she is one of two bankers on a task force that will make policy recommendations to the South Dakota legislature to fight elder abuse. She also is a mentor to young girls in a program called Girls on the Run and through Lutheran Social Services' school-based mentoring program..Schaefer is one of six women honored by NorthWestern Financial Review as a 2015 Outstanding Woman in Banking..In 2014, the year Schaefer was appointed the chair of SDBA's legislative committee, the chief justice of the S.D. Supreme Court, David Gilbertson, urged lawmakers to address financial, physical and emotional abuse of elderly South Dakotans. The legislature decided to create an elder abuse task force to come up with policy proposals for an elder abuse bill..With the leadership of its legislative committee and its board, SDBA identified an opportunity to do good for the elderly. It also identified an opportunity to create a law that allows bankers to help identify and report the crime without placing unfair burdens on banks. SDBA lobbied the legislature to add two bankers to the task force. Rick Rylance of Dacotah Bank, Aberdeen, and Schaefer began working with the 15 other task force members earlier this year.."We want to help craft a bill that no one objects to," Rylance said. "We want a law that defines elder abuse and that has more teeth for those who harm South Dakota's most vulnerable. We want to empower the victims to get back what was stolen. We also want clearly defined parameters for what and how financial institutions can report suspected elder abuse.."I selected Kristina to be on the task force with me," Rylance continued. "With her legal and compliance background, she knows what banks can and cannot report today. To have her sitting next to me brings me a lot of comfort. She is such a great resource.".Rylance said the task force is looking to present a bill to the legislature in January.."Kristina is willing to roll up her sleeves to help craft public policy that helps prevent exploitation of elders," Everson said. "Some lawmakers have the assumption that banks are under-reporting financial abuse. There is discussion about mandatory reporting for banks. Having Kristina involved in advocating sound policy is important for our industry.".When Schaefer isn't working on the elder abuse project, she spends free time on her hobbies: running and mentoring young girls. Both make her a perfect fit for Girls on the Run, a national after-school program in which Schaefer teaches young girls life lessons and trains with them for a 5K run..In May, Schaefer led a troop of 15 girls, along with hundreds of other third- through eighth-grade girls and group leaders, on the semi-annual Girls on the Run 5K event in Sioux Falls, S.D. "It is an empowerment program for girls at a critical time in life," Schaefer said. "We talk about being a good community servant and citizen. I like volunteering and working with kids and I enjoy running, and it's great to be a part of teaching them life skills.".As Schaefer has excelled at extracurricular activities, she also has excelled in her role at Fishback Financial. A native of Miller, S.D., and graduate of South Dakota State University, Brookings, Schaefer attended law school at Creighton University, Omaha, graduating in 2005. She came to Fishback Financial after working for two years, primarily with financial institutions, at the law firm Davenport Evans in Sioux Falls..Fishback Financial was looking for an attorney with an entrepreneurial flair and found it in Schaefer, said David Waligoske, president/CEO of the $2.1 billion, two-bank holding company. First hired as general counsel, Schaefer now leads the bank's three-person legal department, oversees risk management, the eight-person compliance department and the four-person team dedicated to fraud, Bank Secrecy Act requirements and anti-money laundering.."Kristina analyzes our loan documents and other contracts. She manages our third party vendors to ensure contracts have no unintended risks and she oversees compliance," Waligoske said. "She has helped take a lot of risk out of our operations."Other 2015 Outstanding Women in Banking honorees include:Edie Tholo, Bankers' Bank, Madison, Wis.Debbie Maw, HomeStar Bank & Financial Services, Manteno, Ill.Deb Otto, Beacon Bank, Duluth, Minn.Val Fick, Security State Bank, Fergus Falls, Minn.Kris Holoch, Cornerstone Bank, York, Neb.