Our Instructors

Ben Chilanga joined ALM First in December 2024. As an Associate, Ben is responsible for asset/liability analysis for financial institutions, various “what-if” analyses, budget forecasting, liquidity forecasting, as well as any other modeling requirements to fit client needs. Prior to joining the firm, Ben served as a senior financial analyst for First Citizens Bank. He brings over a decade of experience to his role at ALM First. In addition to his role as senior financial analyst at First Citizens Bank, Chilanga honed his subject matter expertise by serving as a financial analyst for Albertsons Companies, Ada County, Idaho, and Clearwater Analytics, LLC. Ben earned his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Saint Mary’s University, Canada, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Financial Risk Manager (FRM). He is currently pursuing the Bank Treasury Risk Management (BTRM) certification and is an active member of the CFA Society of Idaho, mentoring young college students in finance.

Thomas Dumont began his career at the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Banks as a Bank Examiner I in the spring of 1990. After working his way up to a Bank Examiner III position by completing the examinations of financial institutions of various sizes and complexities, he was promoted to Regional Field Manager in the fall of 1998. He has spent the last 28 years supervising the examinations of financial institutions, with a specialization in credit union examinations. Dumont holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts.

Katie Hopkins joined ALM First in January 2024. As a Director for the firm, she specializes in customizing and implementing actionable and effective ALM and investment strategies to maximize client performance. Additionally, Katie proactively designs sensitivity analyses and scenarios to test client balance sheet exposure to various factors and formulates action plans to optimize client performance within policy and risk tolerances. As a trusted advisor, she helps financial institutions build high performing investment portfolios and efficient balance sheets. Prior to joining ALM First, Katie served as Director, Fixed Income Strategies at UBS. She also spent nearly a decade at Vining Sparks as a Mortgage Strategist and in Institutional Fixed Income Sales. Overall, Katie brings more than 15 years of professional experience to her position at ALM First. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and received her Series 7 and Series 63 licenses through FINRA.

Seth Hersey has been an examiner with the Massachusetts Division of Banks for 15 years. Currently, he is a Supervisory Examiner in the Division’s credit union risk management unit, where his primary responsibility is to lead team examinations of the state’s largest and most complex credit unions. Hershey holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Salem State University. He is also a certified public accountant and a certified fraud examiner.

Tyler Long joined ALM First in September 2023. As an Associate in their Asset Liability Management Strategy Group, he assists the team with asset-liability management, hedging, and asset management strategies to benefit ALM First clients. Prior to joining ALM First, Tyler served as an Associate and MSR Hedging Analyst for the Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (MIAC), where he gained valuable experience in derivatives, market research, and financial modeling. Tyler earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Mississippi.

Matt Motyka joined ALM First in 2026, bringing more than 20 years of financial services experience and a strong background in balance sheet management to his role at the firm. As a Director, Matt works closely with financial institution leadership teams to understand their balance-sheet priorities and strategic objectives, executing tailored solutions across asset-liability management, investment advisory services, and more. Prior to joining ALM First, he served as Senior Vice President/Assistant Treasurer at Seacoast Bank in Florida. Throughout his career, he has held various financial management roles at SunTrust, BB&T, IBERIABANK, and First Horizon Bank. Matt earned his Masters in Business Administration (MBA), with a concentration in corporate finance, from Georgia State University along with a Masters of Science in Financial Mathematics, with a focus on fixed income securities and derivatives from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He also earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Mathematics, with secondary concentrations in Finance and Spanish, from Saint Bonaventure University.

Samantha is the Senior Vice President of Lending & Risk at Granite State Credit Union and has been with the company for over 20 years. Her commitment to continuous learning has been a hallmark of her career, as she actively seeks opportunities to broaden her expertise across the credit union. Throughout her tenure, Samantha has held a wide range of roles, including leadership positions in branches, accounting, risk, and lending. She also brings over a decade of prior experience as a licensed real estate agent, representing both buyers and sellers in an ever-changing housing market. Samantha received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and her MBA with a concentration in Finance, from Southern New Hampshire University. In her current role, Samantha has oversight of lending, collections, and compliance. She has a robust background in financial management and currently serves on the credit union’s Asset Liability Committee. Samantha also serves on the Polaris Charter School Board of Trustees.

Nhat Nguyen joined ALM First in 2018 as a financial analyst and has developed strong skills in financial analysis, financial modeling, and balance sheet strategy, serving in various roles and progressively taking on greater responsibility. As a Director for the firm’s Strategic Solutions Modeling Group, Nhat is responsible for partnering with clients and managing a team that produces asset-liability analysis for financial institutions, various “what-if” analyses, budget forecasting, liquidity forecasting, as well as other modeling requirements to fit client needs. Serving in this group has given Nhat firsthand insights into the key drivers behind high-performing financial institutions. Prior to joining ALM First, her served as an analyst for Goldman Sachs and a business intern for Toyota North America. Nhat earned a Bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from the University of Texas at Dallas.

John G. Nilles, CFA, served as a Senior Capital Markets Specialist at NCUA’s Central Office in Alexandria for over ten years, nine years as a credit union CFO, and thirteen years as an institutional fixed income salesperson. John has achieved a unique capital markets and regulatory perspective through his extensive experience in ALM modeling, securities analysis and market risk related policy development at NCUA headquarters. Since his retirement from NCUA in 2023, he has worked with credit union clients as a consultant through J Nilles Advisory Services, LLC.

Kevin Peters is responsible for managing EasCorp’s fixed income investment portfolios and balance sheet. He also analyzes securities for purchase and creates new products, while ensuring adequate liquidity for EasCorp and its members. Peters leads EasCorp’s professional services team, developing ALM modeling and validation, portfolio analysis, and core deposit analysis services. He provides credit unions with security brokerage services as a registered investment representative with CU Investment Solutions, LLC, and sits on EasCorp’s Asset Liability Management Committee. Peters rejoined EasCorp in 2001 as Portfolio Manager. He assumed the role of Assistant Vice President, Investments, in 2006, and his new role as Vice President in 2021. He previously served as an investment analyst from 1998 to 2000. Prior to joining EasCorp, Peters was an ALCO Specialist, assisting small banks in projections and strategies, and served as a portfolio accountant for a mutual fund custodian.

Robert Spinello is the Assistant Vice President, Financial Risk & Compliance at EasCorp. Spinello is responsible for monitoring the corporate’s interest rate risk by performing net economic value (NEV) analysis and net interest income (NII) simulations, performing analyses on investment and lending credit exposures, and monitoring the corporate’s regulatory compliance activities as a participant in EasCorp’s Credit Risk Management Committee. Spinello participates in EasCorp’s professional services team, developing and producing ALM modeling and validation, portfolio analysis, and core deposit analysis services. Spinello is a member of EasCorp’s Asset Liability Management Committee. Spinello joined EasCorp in 1989 and worked in the corporate’s Item Processing Center until June 1997. At that time, Mr. Spinello moved into the Accounting Department as a staff accountant. In November 1998, he assumed the role of Credit and Compliance Analyst, and was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Financial Risk & Compliance in 2018. Spinello received a BA from Bridgewater State College and an MBA from Northeastern University. Spinello continues his professional development at numerous credit and investment seminars conducted by BAI, Financial Managers Society, and Fabozzi Associates.

Ben Schexnayder joined ALM First in 2022. In his role as Director of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), he is responsible for the design and implementation of the firm’s new ERM service line. Using industry best practices developed over 15 years serving financial institutions ranging from $1 billion to $50 billion in assets, Ben helps depository clients design and maintain ERM programs to minimize unexpected performance variance and maximize stakeholder value. He is passionate about risk education, promoting a firm-wide risk culture, and implementing risk management process to improve the identification and triage of risk exposures ensuring clients efficiently deploy their time, energy, and capital in an environment full of distractions. Previously, Ben served as Director of Risk Advisory and an Enterprise Risk Manager for a financial service holding company and also served as a Senior Risk Consultant for Crowe, LLP. Ben earned both a Master’s degree and Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana State University. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Internal Auditor.

Philip Stiehl joined ALM First in 2019 as an Associate, Fixed Income Trader. In his current role as a Director in the Investment Management Group, Philip is primarily responsible for serving ALM First clients in an investment advisory capacity, focusing on fixed income research, analytics, and portfolio management. He assists in investment strategy development, policy review, and portfolio reinvestment and rebalancing needs. Philip works closely with the firm’s traders and maintains a keen awareness of fixed income capital markets. Prior to joining ALM First, Philip served as AVP, Senior Lead Risk Advisory Analyst at Hilltop Holdings. Philip earned his Bachelor’s degree in business administration, with concentrations in finance and investments, from the University of Arkansas.