Nikki in 2018.

At the beginning of 1999, Nikki Shelton-Moss was a newlywed with a decade of experience already under her belt at Community Financial Service Centers, which introduced her to the world of financial services — and in particular, her favorite area: fighting fraud. When Lyneen Fischer and Mary Rose Balzer hired Nikki as a customer service supervisor, none of them could have known she’d still be at North Shore Bank 20 years later, with stints as a security services rep, training specialist for the last 12 years, and now loss prevention manager.

As a security services representative, in a then-new department headed by Peggy Theisen, Nikki says she had a habit of holding longer conversations with branch staff and other employees who needed to be advised about breaches of protocol. “I would always say, ‘Let’s pull up the policy,’ because I wanted them to understand why we did it that way, and I loved sharing what I knew with people who were interested,” Nikki says.

Nikki, back in 1999.

“I cannot believe it has been 12 years since Nikki and I worked for Peggy in security services!” says her onetime work partner Lisa Wesela. “Nikki was the best partner in crimefighting! She has been a mentor, a confidant, and an inspiration — but most of all I am proud to call her my friend!” (Lisa adds: “A little fun fact about Nikki is her love of pears! She taught me to enjoy them as well, and to this day I cannot eat a pear without thinking about her.”)

Nikki’s love of sharing knowledge led naturally to her shift into the training specialist position. And now, with Jaime Sagler fully integrated into that role, Nikki is excitedly settling into her new job.

“I have been blessed with a lifetime of friendships here,” she says. “I’ve worked with people who have really become more like family. I have been trained and mentored by some of the most experienced and talented people in this field. For these things, I will forever be grateful.”

What was working for Community Financial Service Centers like?
CFSC provided me with a strong foundation in financial operations, such as cash handling, vault management, and customer service. In the beginning, I was a floater there, mainly working at different locations throughout the Milwaukee area. That gave me exposure to a wide range of markets and introduced me to my true love: fraud detection and prevention. I began developing and enjoyed sharpening my skills at recognizing various types, including check fraud, cash counterfeiting, and ID theft. Later, I also became responsible for training and onboarding new hires.

What was your family or living situation like then, and how has it changed?
Well, I was a newlywed with no children, so needless to say, life was a lot simpler! I have been married now for 21 years, and we are the proud parents of a 15-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. We also are caregivers for my mother, who suffers from dementia. She keeps us all on our toes!

How did you end up moving from security services into training?
Security was always very interesting to me — catching the bad guys, protecting our customers’ accounts. But I also always loved operations and giving people the tools they needed to succeed. My partner in security services, Lisa, was the first to see that the training position was open and said, “Oh, wow — look at this.” And I turned and looked at Peggy, and she laughed and was like, “Oh boy.” She knew that was what I liked to do. I really wanted that job. I interviewed while out on maternity leave.

Last of all, how’s it going in the new role?
It’s going! Last Friday was the end of my first week. A lot has changed in the security department. The foundation is still the same, but technology has changed a lot of things. I am hard at work catching up.

What was it like to win last year’s Legacy Leader award?
To be recognized by my family here for demonstrating in my role what the bank’s legacy stands for was beyond exciting for me. It truly reminded me of why I chose and will always choose to provide service the North Shore way.

What has 20 years at North Shore Bank taught you?
When you love what you do, the people you do it with, and remember exactly who you really work for — the customer — the years will fly by, and ultimately, the only things you will remember are the laughter and the lessons learned.

On that note, if you could go back and give 1999 Nikki one work-related piece of advice, what would it be?
Show up with intent and purpose. Do your absolute best, and anything can happen for you.