Lauren Weymouth is a Director at Ripple, where she leads its University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI), a partnerships program that funds financial technology curriculum development, research, technical projects, entrepreneurship and student activities. Since the program's inception, she has activated more than 50 global university partnerships such that 1,000+ research projects have been engaged to tackle real-world issues in blockchain, cryptocurrency, cryptography and digital assets. Before joining Ripple, Lauren held leadership roles in education, private equity and at technology startups, pioneering ventures that grew record-setting profits.

Leah Dempsey, co-chair of the financial services practice, is a lawyer and advocate with a unique ability to lead efforts bridging policy, financial and telecommunications laws, regulations and politics. She advises several trade associations and helps a range of businesses in the financial services, housing, capital markets and fintech marketplaces navigate rulemaking and legislative processes.

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Leah advocates before the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Department of Labor, the U.S. Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as other regulators.  

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Leah also helps organizations understand their rights and options when facing regulatory supervision and enforcement activity. She has a deep understanding of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act process and the Congressional oversight tools needed to ensure a fair and transparent process for businesses and industries. Leah has advocated for reforms to dozens of federal rulemakings and related legislation in Congress on her client's behalf. She also regularly works with colleagues to file amicus briefs in courts around the country including the U.S. Supreme Court.

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During her time in executive and leadership roles at financial trade associations in Washington, Leah fostered strong relationships on Capitol Hill and at federal agencies. She served as vice president and senior counsel for federal advocacy at ACA International, where she led efforts to develop and implement the industry agenda for third-party agencies, asset buyers, vendors, banks and other creditors. She also represented thousands of credit unions across the country as senior director of advocacy and counsel at Credit Union National Association (CUNA), leading its Consumer Protection Advocacy team. Prior, she worked on the legal team for several Republican candidates, including Sen. Mitt Romney’s (R-UT) presidential campaign.

Lee is a Special Counsel in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Melbourne Restructuring Group.  She has over 20 years experience in domestic and cross border insolvency and secured and unsecured recoveries having advised both insolvency professionals and financiers in relation to some of Australia’s largest corporate collapses across a diverse range of industries.  Lee has a particular interest in the impact of digital assets on the traditional banking sector and in the context of insolvency and restructuring. She is regularly invited to speak both locally and internationally on the legal issues associated with digital assets and insolvency including administration of digital currency exchanges and custodians in financial distress, asset tracing, realising and valuing crypto assets, the rights of customers of digital currency exchanges/custodians, cryptocurrency as security for lending and tokenisation for restructuring cryptocurrency businesses and creditors’ claims.  Lee is a Fellow of INSOL International and the founding officer of the ‘Virtual Assets’ section of the Insolvency Division of the International Bar Association.  She is also a participant at the World Bank Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes Taskforce and at UNCITRAL’s Working Group V meetings on International Insolvency where she has contributed to the asset tracing and recovery project.  Lee has also completed a Masters of Law thesis on “The Implementation of a Digital Euro into the European Union.’

Leila was an early enthusiast of Bitcoin and since then, has been exploring, advising and investing in systems built on blockchain technology. Day to day, she supports the onboarding of institutional platforms onto the use of blockchain and digital asset technologies to create new business models, access new communities and respond to the demand for digital-first identities and experiences. 

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She is a believer in the power of ‘blockchain for good’, working on developing programmes for blockchain-based Philanthropy with the UN and other organisations. 

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She is also an avid collector of art and artists deploying the technological tools that correspond to our time, in particular generative and AI tech. She supports a number of artists and platforms in the digital art space, and is a frequent speaker at art fairs highlighting on-chain art. 

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Leila is a graduate of Georgetown Law and sits on its European Advisory Board. She started her career at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York then moved in-house, at JPMorgan Asset Management in London, where she was appointed GC for Europe. She subsequently joined start-up Jabre Capital Partners as Partner & GC, supporting rapid growth of Swiss-based global investment platform. She is often consulted for advice on navigating uncertain and overlapping regulatory frameworks.

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Focus: International regulatory frameworks, digital assets and NFTs, Philanthropy in a digital world

Leyla Aliyeva is a Web3 events, partnerships, and travel management professional who designs and executes high-impact conference presences, side events, and co-marketing campaigns for blockchain and fintech companies. Based in Baku and operating globally, she specializes in turning complex crypto and DeFi narratives into accessible, human-centered experiences across in-person events, virtual activations, and content channels. At Protofire, Leyla serves as Travel, Events & Partnerships Manager, overseeing end-to-end participation in major Web3 conferences, side events, sponsorships, and virtual programs while aligning logistics, budgeting, and vendor relations with marketing, sales, and partnership goals to maximize ecosystem impact. She also leads G&L Translations & Events as Managing Director, where she has spent several years coordinating interpreters, managing multilingual teams, and delivering seamless operations for international organizations, leveraging her language skills (fluent in English, Azerbaijani, and Turkish, with intermediate Russian and Spanish) to support global, cross-border collaborations.Her speaking and moderation interests include:- Web3 event strategy and side events that drive partnerships, product adoption, and pipeline.​- Ecosystem partnerships and go-to-market/co-marketing in crypto, including founder-led content and trusted social campaigns.​- Humanizing technical products, translating DeFi, on-chain credit, and infrastructure into narratives non-technical stakeholders can act on.​- Community-building through events that bridge online communities with IRL activations and structured follow-ups.​- Women in Web3 and expanding access to education and opportunities for underrepresented communities, including through her work with SheFi in Azerbaijan.

Liat Shetret is Director of Global Policy and Regulation at Elliptic. For more than 15 years, she has led global capacity-building and technical assistance programs on anti–money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), financial inclusion, and countering violent extremism. She has formerly worked as the Director of Regulatory Affairs & Compliance Policy at Solidus Labs, at the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, Citigroup Bank, the Global Center on Cooperative Security, and the US House of Representatives Committee for Homeland Security. Liat has extensive experience implementing technical assistance programs, particularly in emerging markets and developing countries across Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. She is an Adjunct Instructor at New York University and holds a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA in political science and psychology from the University of Illinois. Liat is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

Lili Infante is the CEO of CAT Labs - a tech startup building digital asset recovery and cyber defense tools to fight crypto crime. In her previous life, she was a DEA Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Justice Special who pioneered an early federal task force focusing exclusively on crypto and dark web crimes.  Lili has led numerous major crypto-related investigations to include the takedown of Hydra - the largest crypto-powered dark web criminal organization and money laundering platform in the world. She has spoken at countless conferences including Offshore Alert, ETH Denver, Parliamentary Intelligence Security Forum and others.

Lindsay is the General Counsel of Nillion Labs, an infrastructure tech company providingaugmented privacy and security for decentralized data transmission and computation in web3.  She is coming off an exciting journey as Associate General Counsel for Product at Coinbase, where she focused her efforts overseeing retail products including staking and wrapped tokens. Prior to joining Coinbase, Lindsay served as General Counsel for fintech companies Orchard Platform and Velocity Markets.  Under her oversight, both Orchard and Velocity were acquired in complex regulatory-heavy transactions.  At Velocity, she facilitated the licensure of a US-based spot exchange, and oversaw the process of obtaining Broker-Dealer and ATS licenses to facilitate the secondary sale of digital asset securities. Lindsay's additional prior experience includes serving as in-house legal counsel at Bloomberg and Assistant General Counsel at Kroll Bond Rating Agency.

Elizabeth N. Pendleton (Liz) is a Chief Trial Attorney in the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Enforcement. Based in the CFTC’s Chicago office, Liz supervises teams of trial attorneys, investigators and economists, and has represented the Commission in a broad range of matters including those involving cryptocurrency fraud and manipulation, failure to register, false reporting, trade practice violations, and Ponzi schemes. Liz recently concluded a three year tenure as a co-chair of the Division’s Digital Asset Task Force and currently serves on the Commission’s Digital Commodities Working Group where she advises on legal and policy issues in the digital asset space.

Liz Steininger is the CEO/Managing Director of Least Authority, a leading Web3 security consulting company and builder of privacy enhancing technology products, including Private.Storage and Winden.App. Least Authority specializes in securing Web3 products, capability-based security and implementing advanced cryptography, especially zero-knowledge proofs and multi-party computations. Beyond security audits for new technologies, Least Authority has also released the MoonMath Manual, a practical guide for developers to understand zero-knowledge proofs. The company focuses on cutting-edge security and empowering users to control their right to privacy.Liz is an experienced entrepreneur, growing Least Authority over the last 7 years. Prior, Liz was a Senior Program Manager at the Open Technology Fund, where she utilized public funds to support internet freedom projects and the community structures that support them. Liz has worked for local and federal US governments to adopt digital systems and foster innovation from within, including open source software implementations and local community partnerships. Liz has over 22 years of experience in the tech industry working on numerous projects at the edge of innovation. She holds an M.S. in Management & Technology and B.S. in Digital Media.

Liz Sweigart, PhD, MBA is a business leader with over 20 years of expertise in strategy, operations, and people management. Her career ranges from startups to Fortune 500 companies, with deep expertise in decentralized web technology, blockchain, SaaS, consumer goods, energy, and more. As CFO of Versatus Labs, Inc., she leads the financial strategy of an innovative blockchain technology startup redefining Web3 through full-stack decentralization.Previously, Liz served as Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Safe Kids AI and as a partner at PwC's Global Structuring practice, where she optimized global systems to improve cash flows. As co-founder of Verse Consulting and a former investment banker at Houlihan Lokey, she has demonstrated an aptitude for navigating complex business challenges. Her foundational roles at Arthur Andersen and The Episcopal Diocese of Texas reinforced her fiscal management skills and commitment to ethical business practices.Passionate about social impact, Liz is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for Mental Health America of Greater Houston and mentors veterans through American Corporate Partners. She served on the board of Genesys Works Houston for six years.Academically, Liz is an adjunct professor at The Chicago School, teaching social and organizational psychology, and a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University's Computer Science department in the STIR Lab. Her work has appeared in leading journals, and she has presented globally on strategic planning, risk management, leadership development, and mental wellness. Her award-winning blog, recognized by InsideOut, reflects her advocacy for mental health, and she shares her journey through writing and speaking engagements.She holds a BA from Rice University, an MBA in Operations and Supply Chain Management from the University of St. Thomas (Houston), and a PhD in Organizational Leadership from The Chicago School. Liz is an active member of the American Psychological Association, International Coaching Federation, and Society of Consulting Psychology. As a credentialed coach, she empowers emerging and established leaders to unlock their potential.Liz is adept at addressing various topics, including Blockchain for Good, DAOs and Governance, ESG, Financial Inclusion, Leadership, Mentorship, Product, Strategy, Risk Management, Startup operations, Entrepreneurship, Taxation, Web3, Web2.5, and Work/Life balance.

Currently Head of Marketing EMEA at Talos, Lorna transitioned into crypto in 2021 where she served as Senior Marketing Manager at Blockchain.com and a co-chair at the EU’s INATBA - International Association for Trusted Blockchain Associations.Lorna's Marketing journey began after she earned her Bachelor's degree in Marine Biology. Her scientific foundation led to a passion for disruptive technologies.She has given guest lectures on the disruptive potential of cryptocurrency at LSE, is the podcast host of INATBA's ReFi and Financial Inclusion, and spoken at conferences including ETH Miami and Zebu Live.

Seasoned compliance professional and lawyer specializing in AML/CFT, digital assets, and financial crime prevention. With a career spanning over a decade in banking, fintech, and crypto, she has held key compliance roles at leading organizations such as Tether, Reserve, Airtm, and Blockchain.com. Her expertise ranges from complex investigations to daily KYC/KYB and transaction monitoring, as well as reporting and regulatory Compliance. She holds multiple industry certifications, including CEC and advanced blockchain monitoring credentials (CRC, CEIC, CKC).Passionate about fostering leadership and mentorship in the crypto and regulatory space, Macarena is committed to empowering professionals, promoting diversity, and advancing responsible innovation in the digital assets ecosystem.

Maggje Sklar is the Principal and Founder of Sklar Strategies LLC and Managing Director at SEDA Experts.  Her work includes advising on a range of financial regulatory, compliance, enforcement, and policy matters involving financial markets, financial institutions, regulated entities, investment firms, and fintech and start-up companies, involving derivatives, commodities, securities, cryptocurrency, DeFi, and digital assets.  Ms. Sklar is also the Chair of the Global Digital Asset and Cryptocurrency Association’s (Global DCA) Public Policy and Regulation Committee, and a founding member of the Association of Women in Cryptocurrency.  

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Ms. Sklar was previously a Banking and Financial Services Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine.  Before that, she was the Senior Policy Advisor and Director of International Engagement, Financial Markets Group, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  Before joining the Federal Reserve, Ms. Sklar served in various roles at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, DC, including as the Senior Counsel to the Chairman, Senior Counsel to a Commissioner, Deputy to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, an Associate Director in the Office of International Affairs, the Senior Counsel to LabCFTC, and a Special Counsel in the Division of Market Oversight.  Ms. Sklar was previously a complex civil litigator and government enforcement defense attorney at international law firms for financial services institutions, banks, payment processors, hedge funds, energy companies, and their executives.

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She is a cum laude graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and Georgetown University.