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Our Team

Dedication. Expertise. Passion.

TPRA strives daily to promote the value that third party risk professionals and practitioners add to their organizations; educate community members and other relevant audiences on best practices in third party risk; research and disseminate information on third party risk tools and techniques; and build third party risk guidance as a community. But we couldn't do any of this without a great team. Which is why we promote a collaborative, flexible, and inclusive work culture. We value innovation and enjoy exploring new ideas.

 

We have self-starting, mission-driven team members who aren't afraid to bring creative ideas to the table and have the passion and energy to drive those ideas to fruition. With that said, we put people at the center of everything we do and love to celebrate milestones and wins! As we continue to grow, we are always on the lookout for creative and passionate professionals who are always learning and teaching, while understanding the bigger picture.

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Julie Gaiaschi

CEO & Co-Founder

Julie Gaiaschi, CISA, CISM, is the CEO & Co-Founder of the Third Party Risk Association (TPRA). She has over 15 years of technology and information security risk experience, with the last 10 years specializing in third party risk identification and mitigation techniques.  In her role as CEO, she provides strategic direction for the non-profit, whose mission it is to further the third party risk profession through knowledge sharing and networking.  She also has a passion for helping others enhance their own third party risk management programs.  In 2021, Julie was awarded "CEO of the Year" by Women in Governance, Risk, and Compliance.


Prior to co-founding the TPRA, Julie consulted on third party risk for a large bank.  She also developed and led a large health payer organization’s Third Party Security program.  There, she established and executed the third party risk assessment process, which included integration into the Procurement process.  Prior to her role as the leader over Third Party Security, Julie was a Senior IT Auditor.


Julie resides in Iowa with her husband and two girls.  She enjoys traveling and cooking.

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Heather Kadavy

Senior Membership Success Coordinator

Heather Kadavy joined the Third Party Risk Association (TPRA) in 2023 as the Senior Membership Success Coordinator. In recent year(s) Heather has been providing freelance TPRM consulting work to various organizations after retiring from a Nebraska financial institution after nearly 35 years where she oversaw and managed critical programs of the organization including Third Party Risk Management, Information Security, Physical Security, Safety, Business Recovery, Financial Crimes, Model Risk Management, and Enterprise Risk Management.  In her TPRM role she had oversight of over a thousand third party relationships, systems, due diligence reviews and contract management activities.  She developed, facilitated, and implemented training programs for thousands of employees over the years. As well as has served in board of director or leadership team roles to facilitate local, regional and state-wide peer-partnerships meetings between financial institutions, law enforcement, and other industry, external audit & regulatory participants (e.g., the Institute of Internal Auditors, Great Plains Contingency Planners, FILE, FISA, etc.). Heather is a natural born connector of people and values relationship building at the cornerstone of her career.  She encourages you to connect with TPRA and herself via LinkedIn to join in the "TPRM Global Conversation".


Heather received her bachelor's in accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has achieved numerous certifications over the years including the latest of Certified Enterprise Risk Professional (CERP), Certified Third Party Risk Management(CTPRM), and Certified Banking Vendor Manager (CBVM). Heather currently sits on the leadership team of Lincoln Women For Good (philanthropic non-profit) and the board of directors of the Lincoln Hygiene Network a program of Poverty Impact Network (a hygiene bank non-profit).   She resides in Lincoln Nebraska along with her husband and two adult children. She enjoys spending time with her family & friends, volunteering, puzzles and baking.

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Meghan Schrader

Senior Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Meghan graduated Summa Cum Laude from Trine University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communications. She was the 2022 Jannen School of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Student of the Year, the Trine University 2022 Robert B. Stewart Award Winner, and was awarded the Gold Key for outstanding academic performance. At Trine, she was the Director of Creative Design for the HAC Media Team and Editor-in-chief of the Writers' Block Literary Journal.


She began working as an intern at TPRA in July of 2021 before officially joining the team in June of 2022. In her role as Marketing Coordinator, Meghan provides organization-wide marketing strategy in support of TPRA's mission to further the third party risk profession through knowledge sharing and networking.


Meghan currently lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana with her boyfriend and their dog. She has a passion for reading and writing and hopes to one day see her novels-in-progress published.

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Crystal Berg

Treasurer

Crystal, CPA, CFA has 20 years of audit experience. She currently works for a large health insurance carrier, focusing on financial controls. Crystal graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting in May 2000.  She received her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate in July 2000 and obtained her Certified Fraud Auditor (CFA) designation in July 2013. She loves to volunteer and has held many roles in various professional organizations, including Treasurer, Conference Chair, and Board Member.  Crystal enjoys helping to advance the her profession by networking with others in the industry, brainstorming solutions, and learning how to effectively communicate.


Crystal lives in Urbandale, Iowa with her family.  She enjoys movies and family walks.

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Corinne Elscott

Secretary

Corinne, CPA has 17 years of auditing experience working in both government and private industry.  Her background includes governmental fraud investigations and, most recently, Health Plan compliance programs.  Corinne is a Certified Public Account and received her Bachelors of Arts in Accounting from the University of Northern Iowa.  She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Business Administration program at the University of Iowa.


Corinne lives in Altoona, Iowa with her family.  She enjoys traveling and instructing cardio kickboxing classes at a local gym.

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