Summary

Overview

Work History

Education

Skills

Certifications Licenses And Memberships

Technical Experience

Volunteer Experience

Timeline

ANGELA WATT

Evanston

Summary

Dynamic compliance and risk management professional with extensive experience at Discover Financial Services. Proven track record in regulatory change management and third-party risk management, driving compliance initiatives and enhancing operational efficiency. Adept at project management and fostering collaboration across teams, ensuring adherence to complex regulations while mitigating financial risk.

Overview

years of professional experience

Work History

Principal Business Risk Control Specialist

Discover Financial Services

Riverwoods

11.2023 - Current

Lead risk identification and management strategies across the Decisions and Analysis (DNA) organization, partnering with Legal, Compliance, and Corporate Risk functions.
Design and implement business-unit-specific approaches to operational, compliance, and control risk identification and assessment within marketing and communications technologies.
Oversee risk assessment, control development, process documentation, testing, remediation, and third-party risk management activities.
Educate and train business partners on U.S. federal and state regulatory requirements, ensuring consistent implementation across all business and product units.
Evaluate operations across DNA business units to identify control enhancements and ensure legal, technology, and process changes are effectively triaged and integrated.
Develop and maintain tools, job aids, and processes to streamline compliance with policy and control requirements.
Monitor and improve the risk and control environment, performing oversight, root cause analysis, and managing post-launch control evaluations.
Lead timely risk reporting, including Operational Risk Events (OREs), consumer complaints, and remediation activities; and present insights to senior leadership.
Support team oversight and staff development through coaching and review, in coordination with senior leadership.
Manage complex projects in exam readiness, control standardization, business continuity planning, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Regulatory Compliance Analyst

Fay Financial LLC.

Chicago

12.2021 - 06.2023

Monitored regulatory and compliance trends in mortgage and financial services to ensure company adherence to federal, state, and investor requirements.
Assessed the impact of new laws through gap and risk assessments, defining specific compliance actions for servicing and origination operations.
Translated complex legal and regulatory requirements into actionable business strategies by collaborating with business units and executive leadership.
Led cross-functional compliance initiatives to align operations with UDAAP, ECOA, TILA-RESPA, FCRA, GLBA, CPRA, and other federal/state regulations.
Facilitated internal control and government compliance reviews, identifying process gaps and driving timely remediation in partnership with Quality Assurance teams.
Provided subject matter expertise in issue resolution and investigations, working closely with in-house counsel and leadership to mitigate financial and reputational risk.
Conducted compliance training for department and executive leaders on regulatory changes and risk management practices.
Managed regulatory change tracking tools, led compliance status reporting, and developed dashboards and executive summaries for senior leadership.
Coordinated regulatory change meetings and ensured documentation and communication aligned with compliance, governance, and PMO standards.
Engaged stakeholders across Legal, Risk, Audit, HR, and Finance to promote a strong compliance culture and support continuous improvement initiatives.

Loss Mitigation Policy & Procedure Writer III, Compliance & Audit Liaison

Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc.

Lake Zurich

05.2019 - 12.2021

Reviewed and updated policies, procedures, and job aids in response to federal, state, GSE, and investor regulatory changes, ensuring alignment with compliance standards.
Partnered with department leaders to create and revise procedural documentation across multiple business units, including Loss Mitigation, Foreclosure, and Audit.
Tracked procedural updates and maintained version control via SharePoint; ensured firmwide communication and training on new or revised compliance requirements.
Conducted departmental training sessions on procedural changes and maintained training acknowledgements to ensure compliance accountability.
Collaborated with leadership during weekly compliance meetings to provide updates on regulatory changes, audit findings, and corrective actions.
Developed and implemented global procedures by synthesizing meeting outcomes and translating them into standardized compliance documentation.
Created and maintained a comprehensive Project Plan to monitor implementation of policy changes and responses to client audit inquiries.
Managed detailed audit response processes, including drafting letters, obtaining approvals, and maintaining thorough audit documentation trails.
Delivered prompt and professional responses to both internal and external audit inquiries and conducted legal research to support compliance tracking.
Demonstrated agility in adapting to changing regulatory environments, streamlining workflows, and supporting business continuity through compliance initiatives.

Firmwide CLE Compliance Coordinator

Kirkland & Ellis LLP