Diversity Task Force

Loie Chambers is a learning specialist on the Learning & Development team at Ameris Bank, focusing on training the commercial side of the bank. She is passionate about sharing knowledge and helping others realize their full potential by coaching them through processes. Loie joined Ameris Bank in 2011 through a bank acquisition, and as a former Commercial Banking assistant, she brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to her current role. Additionally, Loie is a Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) and serves as the vice president of The Voice of a Lion, Ameris Bank’s Toastmasters club. She is committed to mentoring her club members and helping them develop their leadership and communication skills, stating that she is walking in her purpose. Loie is a wife, mother of three and a published author. She enjoys reading and analyzing poetry, working out, spending time with her family and cooking. She is an avid couponer and can spend hours scouring for deals. Loie centers her life on the scriptural premise, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Angie Crockett is a Treasury Management product specialist at Ameris Bank, specializing in commercial card and integrated payables. She has more than 25 years of diverse banking experience, including relationship management, sales support, portfolio management, lending and corporate cards. A proud Georgia native, Angie’s academic journey includes a master’s degree from Kaplan University and a bachelor’s from Point University. She is an avid runner, proudly completing events like the Disney Half Marathon and various 5K and 10K runs. With their kids grown, Angie and her husband, Shane, have embraced the joys of RV camping and love exploring the beauty of state parks together. They are also ambassadors for the Masonic Children’s Home of Georgia, actively participating in fundraisers and creating memorable experiences for the children. Angie takes pleasure in the outdoors and giving back to her community.
 

Julie Dargani joined Ameris to lead the middle market banking strategy in North Carolina in early 2024 was promoted to Charlotte market president later that year. She has more than 25 years of finance experience and has a diverse background in direct credit lending, structured finance, private equity leverage finance and capital markets advisory to middle market companies. Julie is committed to the local community and has been a panelist for numerous organizations throughout her career, most recently including the Smart Business Deal Makers Conference, Charlotte Economics Club and ACG Women in Leadership. She also served on several nonprofit boards and committees, including Young Athletes Special Olympics of North Carolina, Lifespan, Girls Scouts Hornets’ Nest Council’s Advancement Committee and the British American Business Council. Julie loves hanging out with her husband, their two teenage girls and their two dachshunds. Her family enjoys checking out local parks, libraries and bookstores. At home, they are all about board games, and when the weather’s nice, they have fun outside playing sports in their cul-de-sac.

Nick Ferrer serves as the Treasury Management sales director at Ameris Bank and has more than 23 years of banking experience, 19 of which have been in Treasury Management. He has a passion for educating others about fraud, and throughout his financial career has led seminars as a subject matter expert on fraud mitigating practices, the future state of payments and various treasury-related topics at multiple organizations, conferences and other forums. He also has written multiple articles for publications about fraud mitigation practices. Nick served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, where he deployed on multiple overseas combat and peace-keeping assignments with both the Department of Defense and United Nations. He is dedicated to mentoring veterans transitioning from military life into the business world. He enjoys teaching martial arts to veterans with physical/non-visible disabilities and has worked with various not-for-profits such as Wounded Warrior Project, Bunker Labs, Operation Wet Vet and Budo Foundation. In his spare time, Nick enjoys spending time with his wife and their son, Maximus, exploring nature, traveling and coaching Maximus in various sports.

Annie is the CBA team leader for the Homebuilder Division and has been with Ameris for more than 15 years by way of the Fidelity merger. She has more than 20 years of banking experience in both construction lending administration and retail banking management. Annie loves being involved in her hometown community of Jacksonville and currently serves on the board of the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council. When not at work, Annie enjoys camping and jeeping with her husband, and spending time with her family, friends and faith community.

James Gordineer is a commercial loan closing specialist based out of Atlanta and has been with Ameris since 2021. He has more than 13 years of finance experience, starting as a small business bookkeeper and branching into consumer loan operations while living in Portland, Oregon in 2015. His educational background is in economics and mathematics. Outside of his studies, he served as the treasurer for the Clayton State University Gay-Straight Alliance in 2012 and was a member of the Portland State Aerospace Society for two years learning rocketry and helping with finances. He enjoys a variety of hobbies from video games to woodworking and gardening, though his current passion is bothering his dog Grand Duchess Wiggles of Stockbridge-shire, Protectress of the Realm.

Military Brat raised around the world, Married to a Veteran, 4 Children and 10 Grandchildren, a Great Grandchild on the way. 

  

Finance professional with 40 years of experience serving in the Health Care industry, Private Business, Commercial and Retail Banking in the Chicago, Dallas, Raleigh and Savannah areas and now home in South Carolina.  As the Director for Coastal Bank I joined the Ameris Bank family when we were purchased and moved to the role of RAM for SC, Corporate Experience Strategist to create our first Culture Surveys and elevate the Ambassadors, and then back to my first love of Treasury in 2020 after supporting the PPP project. 

  Hobbies include staying physically fit to keep up with my Grandchildren, gardening, painting, woodworking (to reimagine things nature leaves behind) and being the voice for those that stood and served our Country and because of their sacrifice now deal with PTSD. 

Shea is the corporate recruiter for Ameris Bank and has been in the recruiting field for 20+ years, filling roles ranging from entry level to C-suite executives. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management information systems from Auburn University and holds two certifications in recruitment and staffing. She is the co-chair for the Indispensables ERG and a member of the Women in Banking and Veterans ERGs. Shea is the proud mother of a zoo that includes four sons, two dogs, one cat and two grand kitties. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, knitting and spending time with her husband, Greg.

Eric Jones joined Ameris Bank in January 2023 and is a treasury management sales associate, providing sales support coverage for both the regional and specialty treasury management sales teams. Eric is a 14-year banking veteran, having served in various retail and commercial banking/treasury management roles throughout his career. Eric graduated from Vincennes University in 2017 and holds the Certified Treasury Professional credential. Prior to joining Ameris Bank, Eric served as regional chair of Fifth Third Bank’s African American Business Resource Group and currently serves as co-chair of Ameris Bank’s The Place (BIPOC) Employee Resource Group. Additionally, Eric serves as board vice chair of the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s Young Professional Leaders. Eric is a proud supporter of the United Way of Greater Atlanta, Grove Park Foundation and Community Sustainability Enterprise.

Juan Mendoza has worked at Ameris Bank for 10 years, starting his career as a teller and now serving as a vice president and metro Business banker. In 2021, he was nominated for the Mentor Ameris program with Chief Information Officer Ross Creasy as his mentor and graduated from the Georgia Banking School two years later. Beyond his corporate role, Juan is deeply involved in community initiatives. He serves as president of the Old Fourth Ward Business Association and as the entrepreneur development chair of the Hispanic Young Professional and Entrepreneurs (HYPE). In 2024, he was awarded the HYPE Young Professional of the Year by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and was also a 35 Under 35 award winner by Gwinnett Young Professionals, a division of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

Shah is a senior HR generalist at Ameris Bank, supporting our Retail, Marketing, Treasury and US Premium Finance divisions. Shah has 20 years of experience in human resources management in corporate and medical settings, as well as four years of college admissions experience at Emory University. She has a passion for helping professionals and students achieve their highest goals. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in human resources from Clemson University. She has two daughters: one who graduated from Clemson University and is currently pursuing graduate studies, and another who is a junior at Stanford University. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with family and friends, exercising, following NFL and college football, karaoke and dancing.

Carolyn has been in the banking industry for more than 15 years and is currently the assistant branch manager in our Marietta, Ga. location. She has a passion for putting people first and approaches everyone with an equal amount of compassion, empathy and understanding for their individual needs. Carolyn has a big heart and serves her community as a life coach through the Freewoman program and is launching a post-abuse/trauma healing program that provides spiritual-based life coaching, therapy and financial support for those fleeing spousal abuse. Carolyn grew up and lived in the Destin/Fort Walton Beach area for 27 years before moving to Georgia in 2011. She is a dog mom and a member of an all-women’s sporting clays team.

Jen is a commercial banker in Orlando and is involved in the Central Florida community. She has held several roles with the Joe R. Lee Boys and Girls Club of Eatonville, from general volunteer to various positions on the board, since 2018. Her involvement aims to help bridge the gap between what grants and government funding provide and what it takes to develop responsible corporate citizens and next generation taxpayers and deliver back to our community.

Elizabeth is a human resources generalist for Ameris Bank, following more than 13 years on the retail banking side of Ameris and other financial institutions. She loves working with people and building strong relationships, whether with customers or teammates. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with loved ones, walking the Atlanta Beltline, and raising money and awareness for rare cancer research.

Shermeia Sherman is the DEI Program Coordinator at Ameris Bank, where she encourages employees to lift their voices, promote employee engagement, and build meaningful and strong relationships within the community. Shermeia has been in the Financial Services Industry for 24 years, where she has held key leadership positions and lead teams to exceed their goals.
Shermeia is a graduate of the University of West Georgia, with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Gerontology. Shermeia furthered her education by graduating from Strayer University, with a master’s degree in Human Resource Management. 
Because Shermeia is passionate about helping others and the less fortunate, she takes great pride in volunteering at several nonprofit organizations including Hosea Helps. 
Shermeia is also a proud mother of 1!

Dana is an assistant vice president and underwriting supervisor on the Consumer Lending team. With more than 22 years of management and banking experience, her leadership, optimism and motivation to be an excellent team player has afforded her the opportunity to hold various roles throughout her 18-year career with the bank. Her educational background is in business administration and fashion design. Dana has a sincere interest in the needs of others and is dedicated to serving and giving back within her community. In her free time, she enjoys crafting, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two children.

Kiara is a Vice President, Learning Specialist II on the Learning and Development team. Kiara has a demonstrated history of working in the banking industry where she has served in numerous roles including branch manager, personal banker, consumer lender, and universal banker. Kiara’s passion is interacting with colleagues and helping them realize their full potential through the learning resources that we have here at Ameris Bank. Kiara has a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a Master of Science degree in leadership, and an MBA. She is a member of the Diversity Task Force here at Ameris where she serves as the co-chair for the GenUnited employee resource group and is a member of the Women in Banking ERG, The Place ERG, and Minds Matter ERG. She is also currently serving as the secretary for the Voice of a Lion Toastmasters Club here at the bank.

Yolanda Wallace is the CTR/MIL/WLM Manager and an assistant vice president at Ameris Bank. She is a graduate from Georgia Southern University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and a minor in French. In addition to her thirty-plus years of banking experience, she is also a published author.