The Atlanta Fed’s Karen Todd. Photo by Stephen Nowland
Karen L. Todd works at the crossroads of the cash culture in the Southeast. Todd handles millions of dollars a day in her role to ensure the nation’s cash supply is free of counterfeit and unsuitable currency.
The notes Todd handles tell a story about the people of the region, whose cash needs are served by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. That’s because the bills carry traces of their past. Some have mold from being stored in a mattress or buried in the ground. Some smell like they survived a fire. Some have contaminants.
“That’s why we wear gloves,” Todd said during a break at Midtown Grounds, the coffee shop in the Atlanta Fed. “Our area is clean, but the money is not.”
Todd—who worked at Ford Motor Company and the US Postal Service before coming to the Fed—operates a high-speed currency machine able to process upwards of 100,000 notes an hour. She must comply with strict internal governance and audit requirements to ensure a well-controlled cash operation. Needless to say, Todd works in one of the more secure areas in the Bank.
The money the Atlanta Fed’s cash specialists handle enters and exits the Bank via armored vehicles. The cash is counted and bad bills removed before the good ones are bundled and disbursed to fulfill orders submitted by banks and depository institutions for public use. Although the use of cash is declining, it still ranked as the third most-used payment instrument in 2023, trailing credit and debit cards, according to a Federal Reserve report.
Todd will mark 25 years in the Fed system this September, with 16 years in Cash Services in Atlanta, preceded by three years in checks in Atlanta and six years in check processing in the Detroit Branch of the Chicago Fed. Todd’s description of her relation with her work at the Atlanta Fed evokes the adage about finding a job you love so you never work a day in your life. Todd credits her colleagues with being the best part of her job. But those relationships start with her outlook on life and how she presents herself to others.
“Be pleasant, present, and in the moment,” is the mantra Todd said she follows. “You never know when your smile or ‘good morning’ is going to be the thing that turns around another person’s day and what blessings may come your way as a result.”
James Monroe, the Atlanta Fed’s director of Human Services, remembers being wowed by Todd as soon as she joined the Atlanta Fed. Monroe was a payment service manager at the time and hired Todd from the Detroit Branch, which was closing its checks operation at the time Todd worked there in checks. A Bank website helped her find a home in Atlanta, which she rented for about five years from a colleague in the Supervision and Regulation Division. Friends at the Bank offered guidance on where to find the best deals on groceries. Every little bit of information helped at a time she was the single parent of three young sons and working a night shift
“Karen was awesome from the minute I first hired her,” Monroe said. “I saw how hard she worked and how eager she was to make sure she was doing things the right way. I don’t think she recognizes how much she’s thought of. It’s just in her nature to say that she has a job to do, and she does it to the best of her abilities, which often exceeds the work of others. She’s striving to achieve as much as possible.”
Monroe’s observation of Todd’s work ethic illuminates something Todd said of her proudest accomplishment at the Atlanta Fed: a series of promotions. It’s not that she’s proud of the positions per se, but because the promotions acknowledge the sense of purpose she brings to the job and the ensuing drive to excel. “Some people work for promotions. I don’t,” Todd said. “It was just about being busy. It was what they say about idle hands. I couldn’t have idle hands. I always go the extra mile.”
Tracy Martin, the Atlanta Fed’s director of Cash Services, recalled when some staff members were issued computer tablets for work purposes. “Without being asked, Karen started coordinating times for the staff to work with IT to get everyone supported,” Martin said. “She reminds her teammates of the latest upgrades and the need to get that done before they lose access to their devices. She thinks about the whole high-speed processing team, making sure they’re OK and have what they need. If she identifies any issues, she strives for the best outcome for the team. And she’s very humble.”
Todd is quick to mention the important role of what she considers her two families: work and home. “When I was gone for my birthday, in January, I had presents in my locker when I came back, cards and gifts,” she said. “My coworkers are always a delight. The cash team is amazing, and we really are a family. We help each other by covering for time off needed, such as birthdays. We do Secret Santa. We celebrate each other, and also do things to make work fun. We really are a family.”
Martin said she wasn’t surprised to hear of the warmth Todd receives from colleagues. “I don’t want to call her a mother figure,” Martin said. “But her teammates rely on her, they confide in her about different things they are going through. People are drawn to her personality. She’s very positive, kind, and amazing. She’s a leader.”
Todd is proud of her children—now grown men of 26, 29, and 32 years. She tells of her “four grands and a new one due in February: three boys and two girls. My grands keep me moving.” She credits her work schedule in her early years at the Atlanta Fed with enabling her to be the mother she wanted to be. “I worked nights, and it let me get them to school and home, get their dinner ready and homework done, and go to bed. I now have no one but me to care for. I can help on any shift if we’re short on staff.”
Work ethic and fellowship are recurring themes in Todd’s conversations. She’s proud of being a self-sufficient mother of three successful sons, who’s also viewed at the Atlanta Fed as a reliable employee and colleague. “I tell all the young people, ‘Stick and stay—you’ve got to put your time in,’ ” Todd said. “Save and plan for your future. Most folks look for the money. I tell them to look for the benefits. We all get sick, we all will need glasses, we all need our teeth worked on. Most people I know are in our 50s and we’re planning for retirement. If I had to leave tomorrow, I’d be good.”
