Markena D. Peavy, Esq.

Markena Peavy is Senior Counsel, U.S. Personal and Business Banking at BMO Harris Bank, N.A.

Prior to joining BMO, Markena was Vice President, Compliance Advisory Manager of MB Financial Bank, N.A. She managed a team of compliance advisors that supported the bank’s consumer lending business units in the areas of Consumer Lending, Indirect Lending, Consumer Loan Documentation, Private Banking, Loan Servicing, Default Administration, and the Mortgage Division.

Markena has held multiple compliance positions at financial institutions and a non-bank mortgage servicer prior to joining MB Financial – as Compliance Attorney with Dovenmuehle Mortgage Company, Mortgage Resolution Specialist with Bank of America N.A., and Legal Analyst with J.P. Morgan Chase.  She has also worked extensively in the area of federal compliance and on litigation matters as outside counsel for various financial institutions.

She earned her J.D. in 2012 from DePaul University College of Law, Chicago, IL and her B.A. in 2003 from Miami University of Oxford, Ohio. She was admitted to the bar of the State of Texas in 2012 and the State of Illinois in 2015. She is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law and teaches Secured Transactions and The Law of Financial Institutions.

Committed to community service and organizational leadership, Markena has served in nonprofit leadership roles, including as Board Secretary and Chair of the Development Committee for eta. 

In these roles, she led fundraising and community initiatives, securing more than $130,000 in grants and sponsorship funds to support annual programming, salaries and operating expenses. She also increased revenue by 180% during her tenure on the Board of Directors. 

Markena brings to board service a passion for the arts, knowledge of legal and regulatory compliance, strategic leadership and planning, and a commitment to rebuilding this organization, preserving its mission and legacy for the next generation of artists