We are Papilio Collective

Papilio means butterfly in Latin — symbolizing transformation, growth, and possibility.

We are a boutique strategic consulting and professional services firm specializing in human-centered transformation.

From Idea to Impact: Our Story

Papilio Collective is a women-owned, strategic financial consulting firm where human and technical insights ignite innovative collaboration. We take a human-centered, data-driven approach to meet you where you are, going beyond conventional consulting services and vendor processes.

Our paths have taken us across the country and internationally, where we’ve acquired comprehensive skillsets of diverse methodologies and processes that have led to groundbreaking advancement across many industries. Drawing on hundreds of years of combined experience, our founders saw a tremendous opportunity to become a support system like no other. And thus, Papilio Collective was born.

Latin for butterfly, Papilio represents the beautiful outcome only made possible through a transformational process. That’s exactly what we seek to do for the YOU!

Headquartered in Northern California, we are passionately dedicated to redefining what it means to be a financial consulting agency, delivering unparalleled experiences and transformational outcomes for the financial industry at large. From Credit Unions and Banks to Fintech’s, to Small and Mid-sized businesses, we’re dedicated to empowering our peers to thrive and confidently tackle the challenges of the industry’s next evolution.

We genuinely care about the success of our industry and prioritize building impactful relationships with those who align. We believe collective success defines our industry’s future and that meaningful progress can create ripple effects of positive change.

We look forward to partnering with you on your next big initiative! Learn more about our areas of expertise and how we leverage our industry ecosystem to provide next-level support.

We are nimble, empathetic innovators who seek to empower you with the tools, resources, methodologies, and experience you dream about.

What We Offer Gallery 02

We Get It Done

We are passionately dedicated to redefining what it means to be a financial consulting agency and want to be your partner, advocate, and confidante. We love to get things accomplished—we are known for it!

Charlie Lai
I've had the privilege of collaborating with Tarrah and Rob for years. As innovators in the financial services industry, they are relentless in their pursuit of transformative change. Our partnership has influenced the creation of impactful solutions that truly make a difference in the communities we serve. They constantly seek new and novel ways to address today’s business challenges, connecting bright, like-minded professionals to work towards common goals. Working with them is always a rewarding experience.
Charlie Lai
Fairwinds Credit Union
Dave Goulden
Papilio isn't just a partner; they're your key to unlocking the Credit Union market. Their in-depth industry expertise guides you every step of the way, from high-level strategy to tactical execution. Papilio's impressive network opens doors, connecting you directly with senior decision-makers at lightning speed. If you are a fintech looking to break into or expand the Credit Union channel, I'd highly recommend working with Papilio.
Dave Goulden
Fundshine
Ning Duong
Over the years, I've had the privilege of knowing the leaders of Papilio and have seen their genuine passion for making a difference firsthand. They don't just focus on the customer but are deeply committed to creating positive impacts for everyone involved. They truly desire to elevate the entire industry and ensure every interaction and decision contributes to the greater good. It's rare to find a team so dedicated to uplifting both people and the financial world at large.
Ning Duong
Credit Union West

The Collective

Let’s Build the Future Together

Our Leadership Team is comprised of experts who have dedicated their professional careers to delivering exceptional outcomes. 

Tarrah Palomino

Tarrah Palomino

Founder & Chief Executive Officer
20+ years in transformation, change management, & strategy

Read More ➞

Alexiss Abad

Alexiss Abad

Principal Consultant
Organizational Development | Change Expert | L&D

Read More ➞

Matthew Rose

Matthew Rose

Principal Consultant
Technologist | Card/ATM | Conversion Expert

Read More ➞

Rob Mills

Rob Mills

Principal Consultant
Expert Technologist | Data Enthusiast | Fintech Strategy

Read More ➞

Teal Gaydos

Teal Gaydos

Principal Consultant
BPI | Strategic Planning

Read More ➞

Derek Owens

Derek Owens

Principal Consultant
Marketing | Brand Evolution

Read More ➞

Making a positive difference isn’t a “nice to have,” it is part of our DNA

Connect with Us

Having experienced day-to-day exchanges firsthand, we’ve faced the struggles found in roadblocks and learned the best methods for adapting. These methods have equipped us with a unique skill set and remarkable attributes that we can bring to every project. We can also train your teams on these distinctive methodologies.

Ask us how!
Tarrah Palomino

Tarrah Palomino

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Connect

Driving Innovation and Strategic Leadership in Financial Services

Tarrah is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience leading change for organizations dedicated to enhancing financial health and personal welfare. Known for her expertise in spearheading innovation, launching pioneering products, and excelling in dynamic environments, Tarrah is driven by a passion for human-centered design concepts that empower customers and organizations to achieve their next-generation goals. She excels in building and leading high-performing teams, delivering best-in-class experiences that enhance revenue streams and drive operational efficiencies.
Tarrah's expertise encompasses strategic planning, solution design, digital engagement, change management, and more. She has a proven track record in identifying new market opportunities and fostering cross-team collaboration that fuels growth on both sides of the table. Her leadership is complemented by strong public speaking skills and delivering top-level presentations that inspire and inform.

As Chief ExecutiveOfficer at Papilio Collective, Tarrah oversees the organization’s growth and operation, including brand strategy, go-to-market decisions, and operational excellence, ensuring exceptional experiences for employees and customers alike. Earlier in her career, she developed software solutions for State and Local Government and Education, focusing on public health, social services, and digital commerce. Her previous roles included Director of Product Management at Perceptyx and Executive Director of Digital Banking Product Strategy at NCR, where she shaped forward-thinking strategies for North America's digital banking landscape, supporting over 600 financial institutions and 22 million customers. During this time, Tarrah was responsible for strategic partnerships and the innovation labs driving change for financial services. Before NCR, Tarrah served as Vice President at a $3 billion Community Credit Union, where she led transformations across technology, data, and human experience.
Throughout her career, Tarrah has been recognized for her contributions to digital transformation and customer-centric innovation. She has been a featured speaker at industry conferences and has received awards for integrity, teamwork, and leadership excellence. Tarrah continues to drive impactful change in the financial services sector, blending innovation, human empathy, and strategic foresight to propel organizations toward sustained growth and customer satisfaction.

Alexiss Abad

Alexiss Abad

Sr. Director, Organizational Experience

Connect

Experience-Centric Innovator | Cultural & Strategic Alignment Enthusiast | Transformative Results Driver

Serving the financial services industry for 20 years, Alexiss has excelled in multiple leadership and sales roles, demonstrating her well-rounded expertise ranging from retail operations to process transformation, change management, quality assurance, and strategic readiness. With a dedicated passion for curating engaging experiences for all, from executive sponsors to frontline employees, she’s undoubtedly become the connective tissue helping bridge the gap between front and back-end understanding and translation between human and technical elements. Having honed her skills around organizational change management (OCM), internal communications, employee and customer experience, learning and development, and more, her innovative, empathetic approach to championing change has positioned her as a visionary thought leader.

Alexiss' leadership has positively impacted hundreds of individuals, overseeing key positions like Assistant Vice President of Training Branches, Retail Operations, Education & Development, and Strategic Readiness. As a Prosci-certified and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt leader, she continuously brings her passion to help internal and external environments thrive through human transformation. Her unwavering pursuit for excellence and fostering human-first experiences through authenticity and empathy has made her an inspirational presence and breath of fresh air in the industry.

Matthew Rose

Matthew Rose

Chief Operating Officer

Driving Scalable Innovation Through Operational Excellence

Results-driven technologist with 18+ years of thought leadership, proven innovation, and an unwavering dedication to delivering exceptional results. He’s self-motivated and outcome-driven with a reputation for finding creative approaches to significantly improve technology ecosystems and processes with a strong focus in Financial Services. Matthew thrives on finding win-win outcomes to difficult business and technical challenges.  

Led a cross-functional team of developers, consultants, and systems engineers in the creation of a best-in-class customer experience across all service channels by designing and implementing a new development stack. Technologies implemented include Mongo DB, NGINX, React/Redux, Node.js (MNRN), and CI/CD pipeline.  

Matt enabled the business to gain greater insight into business analytics and business intelligence through the implementation of Power BI, Reporting Services, and Master Data Services. Technologies implemented include SQL 2014 and 2016 AlwaysOn availability groups and migration of all mission critical applications from a legacy cluster with zero business impact. 

Rob Mills

Rob Mills

Principal Strategist

Connect

Driving Strategic Innovation Excellence

Providing award-winning leadership and operational excellence for nearly three decades, Rob has been a dynamic leader in the financial industry, combining expertise in strategy, innovation, technology, and precise execution. His career highlights a deep understanding of the collaborative dynamics between credit union boards, CEOs, and professional staff, focused on defining strategic direction and empowering teams to deliver exceptional value and industry-leading solutions to their members and organizations.

Throughout his career, Rob has applied his expertise to a wide range of financial entities, including credit unions, fintech companies, online banking software firms, and credit reporting companies. This breadth of experience underscores his versatility and deep-rooted knowledge of industry dynamics, making him a respected figure in financial sector leadership.

With his leadership extending beyond, he has played integral roles on corporate advisory boards for industry giants like Fiserv and NCR, where he chaired the NCR/Fiserv Joint Advisory Board and led the Fiserv DNA API and Extensibility Sub-Committee. Additionally, his contributions to professional associations such as Fintech PDX, Agile PDX, and Mobile Portland highlight his commitment to advancing industry standards and fostering collaboration across financial ecosystems.

Rob continues to drive innovation and excellence in the financial industry, leveraging his extensive experience and steadfast commitment to advancing the strategic goals of credit unions, community banks, and industry partners.

Teal Gaydos

Teal Gaydos

Principal Consultant, Operational Strategy & Transformation

Connect

Transforming Complexity into Clarity with Human-Centered Operational Strategy

Professional Summary

Teal is an accomplished operations and strategy leader with over two decades of experience delivering transformative results across government, healthcare, and nonprofit sectors. Her passion lies in finding better ways for organizations to do business—ways that not only optimize systems but also empower the people behind them. She believes that when you make employees’ jobs easier, morale, productivity, and performance naturally follow.

Throughout her career, Teal has led large-scale, high-impact initiatives with multi-million-dollar budgets, cross-functional teams of 60+, and fast-moving timelines—all while navigating strict regulatory environments. From launching the Health Corps program during the COVID-19 crisis to enhancing data interoperability across California’s Health and Human Services departments, she has consistently delivered results in environments where stakes are high and pressure is constant. Her work has also included developing syndromic surveillance infrastructure, modernizing vital records systems, and guiding cloud migration planning for statewide systems.

Teal brings deep experience in facilitating strategic planning at every level of an organization, from executive leadership to grassroots nonprofits. She has coached C-suite leaders, led team-building and conflict resolution sessions, and facilitated hundreds of process mapping and business process improvement (BPI) initiatives. Her ability to remain calm in chaos—honed from her background in emergency medicine and human resources—allows her to lead teams through uncertainty and change with clarity, empathy, and purpose.

As a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Scrum Product Owner (CSPO), and Six Sigma Green Belt, Teal combines agile methodologies with a people-first mindset. She is relentless in her pursuit of improvement and deeply committed to helping others realize their full potential—whatever that may look like for them.

Derek Owens

Derek Owens

Chief Marketing Strategist

Connect

Driving Growth at the Intersection of Data, Storytelling, and Strategy

Derek Owens is Chief Marketing Strategist at Papilio Collective, where he brings over two decades of experience designing and scaling marketing programs for financial institutions, fintechs, and lifestyle brands. Known for blending data-driven insights with creative storytelling, Derek leads efforts that align brand, digital engagement, and marketing operations to deliver measurable growth. His ability to simplify complex product narratives while architecting scalable campaigns helps clients modernize their marketing engine and deepen customer loyalty. 

Derek’s background includes executive leadership roles at Intuit, NCR, and Digital Insight, where he built and led marketing, partnerships, analytics, and go-to-market teams across banking, hospitality, and retail verticals. He has launched AI-driven marketing systems, rebuilt channel strategies for multi-billion-dollar organizations, and driven major brand evolutions through digital transformation. Derek’s leadership style emphasizes clarity, collaboration, and a passion for crafting experiences that matter—both for clients and their customers.