Jody Gilzene, Esq.

Founder & Senior Executive Officer
U.S. Air Force Veteran

Jody brings over 18 years of diverse and dynamic professional experience. Whether consulting, coaching, delivering specialized training, speaking, writing, or offering objective insight, she has been a clear, steady, and trustworthy partner in helping clients navigate complex challenges across various sectors.

She is privileged to lead our new business development and engagement with experts and subcontractors.

Before forming Knapdale Group LLC, Jody was a Vice President and Assistant General Counsel - Global Financial Crimes for JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest bank in the U.S. and the fifth largest bank globally. She regularly advised senior executives across the global enterprise on significant government investigations, cross-border financial crime matters, regulatory compliance, and enterprise-wide legal risk mitigation.

Previously, Jody served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutor) in the U.S. Department of Justice, in West Texas. While at the DOJ, she conducted complex criminal investigations and handled a broad array of high-stakes federal crimes, including money laundering, corruption and bribery, drug trafficking, immigration fraud, various customs-related violations, computer-related crimes, wire fraud, cultural properties and art theft, false representations to government officials, and financial fraud. Jody also litigated criminal cases in federal district court, collaborating with agents and other attorneys, as lead counsel.

Early in her legal career, Jody served as an active duty Judge Advocate General (military officer and attorney) in the U.S. Air Force. Her assignments on active duty included service as a prosecutor, ethics advisor, general counsel, criminal defense attorney, and employment law civil litigation attorney in diverse, high-stakes environments across multiple countries, to include a deployment to the Middle East.

While attending law school to obtain her Juris Doctor, Jody worked full-time as a criminal investigator for a county government agency, handling financial crime investigations and restitution matters in the Economic Crimes Unit.

Education

Master of Business Administration (MBA), Management, Cornell University

Master of Laws (LLM), Securities & Financial Regulation, Georgetown University Law Center

Juris Doctor (JD), Law, Cooley Law School

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Criminal Justice, University of Illinois at Chicago

Attorney Licenses

Texas & Michigan

Certification

Trained Mediator, University of Texas School of Law

Interesting Facts

Jody was a Division I NCAA basketball scholarship student-athlete throughout all four years of college.

Jody is a first-generation immigrant, born in Kingston, Jamaica.

In her free time, Jody enjoys spending time with her family and close friends, traveling, and learning new skills. She is currently learning Spanish.

Jody's Social Media

LinkedIn