ACAMS Today is saddened to announce the passing of one of its devoted contributors and supporters, Deborah Hitzeroth, CAMS-FCI, who died peacefully in the company of her loved ones on Sunday, August 20, from complications due to breast cancer.

An anti-money laundering (AML) compliance professional with more than 20 years of experience, Hitzeroth was a freelance AML/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance consultant. She had previously worked for the United States Postal Service (USPS) as an AML/BSA compliance officer and a banking officer. In her role as AML/BSA compliance officer, she was responsible for all aspects of AML/BSA compliance for the USPS’ 32,000 retail locations, including establishing, implementing and maintaining AML/BSA compliance policies and procedures and managing suspicious activity detection and reporting.

Born in Missouri and raised by two great aunts and a great uncle, Hitzeroth graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri in 1983 and later worked for newspapers in Waco, Texas, and Chula Vista, California. She married her husband, Ryan Hitzeroth, who served in the U.S. Navy, in Columbia, Missouri, in 1988. Hitzeroth and her husband lived in Virginia, California and Texas before her husband’s job brought them to northern Virginia, where they lived since 1992.

Hitzeroth, who received a master’s degree in business administration from Loyola University, was an avid reader who enjoyed traveling around the world. She also enjoyed outdoor activities including scuba diving and golf. Family was an important part of her life and she cherished being an aunt and great aunt to her nieces and nephews who lived throughout the U.S.

A longtime, dedicated member of the ACAMS Today Editorial Committee, Hitzeroth had served as chair of the committee and as a member of the CAMS Exam Task Force. Hitzeroth had also been a member of the U.S. Treasury National U.S. Risk Assessment Team.