MAG Leadership

John is CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG). As CEO, John helps MAG’s 140 plus merchant members to drive positive change and innovation in the payments industry, serving merchants’ interests through collaboration, education and advocacy. 

Prior to joining the MAG, John enjoyed a 20-year career at Walmart holding various leadership positions in Payments Acceptance, Marketing and Financial Services. As part of the leadership of Walmart’s Payments team, John helped shape and implement a comprehensive strategy increasing the ease of payments in an omni-channel environment while ensuring Walmart could deliver on its brand promise of helping its customers save more so they can live better. John chaired both the Merchant Advisory Group and the U.S. Payments Forum Steering Committee.  He also held a steering committee seat for the Federal Reserve’s Faster Payment effort, as well as a seat on the Governance Framework Formation Team.

Industry stakeholders have recognized John for his ability to find common ground and drive positive outcomes from opposing views. John attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree.  He currently lives in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Laura serves as the COO of the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG).  In this role, she is responsible for delivering on operational optimization strategies on behalf of MAG’s merchant members through collaboration with industry stakeholders which is an integral part of MAG’s overall strategic plan. Laura is as an independent consultant to the Merchant Advisory Group and the broader retail community with focus on strategic planning, operational optimization strategies, and cost control tactics specific to consumer payments, emerging payment technologies and trends, and corporate cash management.  

Previously, Townsend led corporate cash, consumer payment, and global digital product management initiatives including emerging innovative consumer experience opportunities at McDonald’s Corporation most recently as the Senior Director, Global Cashless & Digital Products. In addition, Laura has held various leadership roles on external industry boards and special interest groups with the objective to drive positive change in payments through multi-stakeholder collaboration and education.  Laura has an undergraduate degree from Northern Illinois University and is a native of Illinois.

Beth Provenzano is Senior vice president for public affairs at the Merchant Advisory Group.  In this role, Provenzano serves as the MAG’s spokesperson; directs communications strategy and outreach to the media; and leads advocacy efforts with policymakers and regulators.

Prior to joining the MAG, Provenzano was vice president of government relations and political affairs at the National Retail Federation, lobbying on financial services, technology and intellectual property issues before Congress and the Administration, as well as directing advocacy and political engagement with Members of Congress and staff. Previously she served as deputy chief of staff for the Office of the Secretary of the Senate, handling a variety of duties including serving as spokeswoman for the office, preparing testimony and organizing Senate leadership events. Provenzano spent a number of years on Capitol Hill, serving in the offices of former Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., and former Senator Bob Graham, D-Fla.

A graduate of George Washington University, Provenzano received an M.A. in political management. She graduated with honors from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism.

Karina is Strategic Project Manager at the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG). In this role, she provides overall project management through project plan development and monitoring of projects within and across the MAG strategic pillars.

Before joining the MAG, Karina occupied several roles at ExxonMobil, most recently in the payments area. Awarded with the ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubes President's Awards for exceptional business performance, she designed and launched an industry-leading Vendor Management Office that drive continuous improvement and extract additional value from more than 100 IT vendor relationships. Previously, she worked at Petrozuata, a ConocoPhillips Joint Venture in Venezuela and was responsible for corporate communications and social responsibility programs.

Karina holds two Master’s degrees, one in Management Business Administration (IESA) and another in Industrial Relations (USM). She started her career as a journalist after graduating from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications. Bellorin is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian.

Sophia is a Conference Planner with the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG). Specializing in speaker management and conference planning, Sophia works on speaker recruitment and assistance, logistics and future events planning. 

Previously, she worked for Crittenden Partners assisting in the management of virtual, hybrid, and live conferences, executing three conferences quarterly. 

Sophia graduated from Brigham Young University - Idaho with her Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, emphasizing in the fields of event planning and business management. A native of Illinois, Sophia now resides in Idaho.

Wendy serves as the Collaboration Coordinator for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) and in this role is responsible for providing administrative and project management assistance supporting the Collaboration and Innovation Pillars, as well as all active Communities of Practice.

Prior to joining the MAG, she spent the majority career in the Treasury group of a worldwide fast-service restaurant company, which included over ten years in the cashless payments field.  When she is not visiting family in the Chicago suburbs, she resides with her husband in beautiful mid-Missouri.  

Steve Cole is the Tech Engagement Director with the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG), whose mission is to drive positive change and innovation in the payments industry that serves the merchants interest through collaboration, education, and advocacy.  In this role, he is responsible for coordinating and implementing strategies of collective interest to the MAG merchant member community with respect to payments technologies.  Prior to joining the MAG, Steve was a Senior Product Manager at FIS Worldpay for 16 years with a focus on authentication, security products and EMV.  He is a former steering committee member of the U.S. Payments Forum and participated as a business and technical associate at EMVCo.

Leah has oversight of the development, implementation, and maintenance for the MAG education strategy to increase the merchants’ knowledge in the payments space in order to enable an improved and equitable payments ecosystem. Providing expertise on instructional design and development of learning activities to support overall MAG education efforts. In addition, Leah has oversight of the MAG’s learning management system, MAG branding and creative design as well as website content updates.

Leah has over a decade of expertise in Nonprofit Organization management, Learning Development, Communications and Marketing. She is an expert at developing creative marketing strategies and overseeing the creation of internal and external collateral materials.

Leah received a bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Catherine in Communication Studies and a Master’s in Education degree from Saint Mary’s University in Learning Design Technology.

Erica Forman is the Merchant Advisory Group’s (MAG) Communications Manager.  In this role, Erica manages website content, email marketing (MAGMails), and the editorial calendar; supports the Advocacy & Communications and International Committees; and collaborates across pillars to execute communications support of MAG’s programs and events.

Erica has worked in the trade association industry for 20 years in marketing and communications, with extensive experience in content marketing and member retention. In her previous role, she worked on web content management, graphic design, and email marketing. 

Erica received her associates degree in web design from Minneapolis Community and Technical College and resides in Minnesota.

Kari currently serves as the Director, Member and Administrative Services for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG).  In this role she is responsible for managing members and sponsors, coordinating board of directors and committee meetings in addition to assisting with conference efforts and providing administrative support.  Kari has been with the MAG since 2011.

Kari graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD.  Prior to joining the MAG Kari was an Executive Assistant for a large direct selling company in Minnesota.  Kari currently resides in Northwest Arkansas.

Emily serves as part of the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) staff in a variety of roles. She is responsible for database management, planning and facilitation of MAG webinars, supports with website and communications content, coordinates event registration, , assists with member engagement and renewals, and supports various projects and initiatives the MAG takes on. Emily has 4 years of Association Management experience and has been a part of the MAG team for 3 years.

Emily graduated with a bachelor of arts in psychology from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University in St. Joseph, MN. Prior to joining the Harrington Company, Emily did two years of AmeriCorps with a non-profit called College Possible. She is a member of Associations North and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Karen is an Administrative Assistant for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG).  In this role she assists the Director of Member Services as well as MAG staff.  Karen has been with the MAG since 2013.

Karen graduated with a BA degree in Elementary Education, minors in Mathematics and Psychology from the University of Minnesota.  Karen also runs her own art quilting business and competes internationally.  Previously, she worked as the Sales and Marketing Manager for a manufacturing company in Minnesota.  Karen currently resides in Northwest Arkansas.

Jennifer supports the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG) as Manager, Conferences and Events. In her role Jennifer works closely with the MAG Director of Tech Engagement to lead all of the logistical and content planning efforts for our Tech Forums. She also plans, manages and executes all of MAG webinars and provides additional planning and logistical support to the Conference Director to execute the Annual and Mid-Year Conferences.

Prior to joining MAG, she served as the Meetings and Events Manager for the North American Primary Care Research Association. She was responsible for the planning and execution of mid-year and annual conferences and brings experience in multiple facets of the events industry for both in-person and virtual events. Jennifer graduated from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's degree in Hospitality Management, with an emphasis in Conference and Event Planning and currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andrea serves as the Merchant Advisory Group’s (MAG) Director of Conference and Events. In this role, she collaborates with staff and key stakeholders to lead MAG's conference strategy and logistics.

Andrea was previously Senior Program Manager with Freddie Mac, where she oversaw conference and event management and a variety of other critical projects for the multifamily division.  Prior to her time at Freddie Mac, she was Director of Administration for the financial industry trade association CRE Finance Council (CREFC) where she managed Human Resources, Financial Operations and was an integral member of the conference planning team.

A native of Minnesota, Andrea currently resides in Maryland.  She attended The Ohio State University where she earned undergraduate degrees in International Business and Spanish before moving on to complete her MBA degree from George Washington University in Washington, DC.  Andrea holds both Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Meeting Planner (CMP) certifications.

Amy serves as the Executive Director for the Merchant Advisory Group (MAG). In this role, she is responsible for coordinating day-to-day operations including working with the Board of Directors and MAG staff to accomplish strategic goals, plan educational programs and conferences, member engagement, marketing efforts, database management, and financial and budget oversight. Amy has over 15+ years association management experience and has worked with a variety of professional associations during her tenure.

Amy graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. Prior to joining the Harrington Company, Amy worked as a college recruiter for a computer software company in the Denver area. She is a member of Associations North and the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).