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Amber Korowicki:
Respect, honesty and passion
Amber Korowicki, CAMS, a financial crimes senior consultant at Crowe with extensive experience in financial industry compliance, recently spoke with the ACAMS Pittsburgh Chapter Board about her career and experiences in the anti-financial crime( AFC) industry. Korowicki’ s background demonstrates a strong focus on anti-money laundering( AML)/ Bank Secrecy Act( BSA) compliance, risk management and internal audit processes within diverse financial institutions( FIs).
Before working at Crowe, Korowicki served as a senior BSA and regulatory compliance consultant and internal auditor at Zeno, Pockl, Lilly and Copeland, AC. Korowicki’ s career includes roles at First National Bank as an assistant vice president and AML specialist II, and at CHROME Federal Credit Union, where she held positions as risk compliance officer and compliance and BSA officer. These roles reflect a commitment to maintaining regulatory standards and mitigating financial risk.
Korowicki holds a master’ s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’ s degree in political science and government from Saint Vincent College, as well as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist( CAMS) designation from ACAMS.
ACAMS Pittsburgh Chapter( APC): Do you have any role models / mentors and, if yes, please describe how they have shaped the professional you are today?
Amber Korowicki( AK):
I have been lucky enough to have a number of mentors throughout my professional career; each one played a very important, unique role in my professional and personal growth. I believe that having a strong, honest and caring mentor is one of the most important components for being the best version of yourself. In turn, I firmly believe that being a good, honest and caring mentor to others is the next most important piece of your professional puzzle.
Looking back on my career, I can say my first true mentor came about in 2016, and he immensely impacted my career growth and personal goals. I was a young BSA officer within the credit union space when a newly hired executive officer took a proactive and hands-on approach to helping me grow in my career. We had scheduled meeting times, ad hoc meetings and daily conversations all centered around the current job at hand, career goals, growth opportunities, challenges and successes. We focused on finding what made me tick, what made me excited about the job, and my passions in life ― essentially my“ why” for being there. The advice and guidance did not stop with job specific growth, or professional aspirations, but also focused on personal growth and goals as well. We also had hard conversations: what I could do better, where I needed to reflect and how I could be a leader even in adversity or during challenging times. Every conversation provided lessons, advice and empathy. The lessons I learned were invaluable, I have grown as a leader, enhanced my technical and analytical skills, and most importantly, learned the value of true leadership( not just managing), including that your success as a leader is a direct result of the success of your team.
102 acamstoday. org