Amaka Nsonwu Farmer

Amaka is a Greensboro native and works as a director with the multiple employer team for TIAA.  In her role, she works to create new Multiple Employer Plans with state associations.  This allows schools to experience lower plan costs, increased administrative duties and enhances financial education for plan participants. Amaka has worked in various roles at TIAA over her tenure, including serving as a Relationship Manager for many independent schools.  In that role, she would regularly travel to different higher-Ed and K-12 campuses around the Southeast working to help with streamlining plan design, creating efficiencies, and to promote positive macro change for plan participants.  Previously, she worked for Vanguard, most recently as a high-net-worth consultant. As a first-generation Nigerian American, Amaka has a great passion for volunteering with refugee communities.  Her favorite pastime involves traveling the world with her son, Odin, and husband, Robert.  She loves learning new things and hopes to continue to make retirement planning easier for individuals across TIAA’s network.

Jim Fries

Jim is an Assurance Partner and Co-Leader of the Not-for-Profit and K-12 Education niches off Brown Edwards. He is based in the Harrisonburg office and has over 19 years of accounting experience, with a focus on not-for-profit organizations, including private education, foundations, healthcare entities, and other social service organizations. In addition, Jim has a wide range of experience in other industries, including employee benefit plans, manufacturers, utilities, and cooperatives. Jim is a member of our peer review services team, providing quality reviews to regional public accounting firms around the country. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accountancy, both from Virginia Tech. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants. Jim serves as a board member at his local chapter of the IMA, the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, and Redeemer Classical School. In addition, he serves on the finance committee of his local church and has board/committee positions on several other not-for-profit organizations.

David Heinen

David has been with the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits since 2007, leading the Center’s public policy and advocacy work and providing non-answers (and occasional useful information) about legal compliance, trends in the nonprofit sector, and advocacy to hundreds of nonprofits. He has served on boards of a variety of local and national nonprofits. David is a graduate of Duke University and the William and Mary School of Law. Before returning to North Carolina to work for the Center, David spent seven years as an attorney with a Washington, D.C. law firm serving the nonprofit community. He lives in Raleigh with his wife and three children, the oldest of whom describes her dad as “weathered.”

As Executive Director of The Resilience Initiative, Dr. Jordan is currently promoting resilience around the world and is known for his headstand to raise awareness. A lifelong educator, Dr. Jordan has developed and led programs in technology, safety, integrity, and wellness. His latest project, Ten10 Finance, promotes financial wellness and knowledge for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Liz Maher, CPA, MBA holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Marquette University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and has worked in public accounting, corporate accounting, and independent schools, including four years of service at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart most recently as their Chief Finance and Resource Officer. With over 15 years of accounting experience, Liz brings expertise in accounting, finance, and tax compliance in her role as director, accounting, and tax programs at NBOA.

A native of Washington, D.C., John Sharon was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, a  rare condition that limits muscle and bone growth in the extremities.  He uses leg braces for walking.  John was mainstreamed into independent schools from 1st grade onward.  He completed his high school years at St. Albans School, graduated cum laude from Connecticut College, and also holds graduate degrees in theology from Regent College in Vancouver, Canada and in education from the University of Massachusetts. John has served in various teaching and administrative roles since 1986. His administrative experience spans elementary, middle and high school levels. He worked at Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill from 2003-2007, and he is currently the Assistant Head of School for Teaching and Learning at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC. In 2001, John served on the faculty for the National Association of Independent Schools’ Summer Diversity Institute, and continues to lead NAIS Institute workshops on ability. He was also co-founder of the Commission on Diversity in Independent Schools in an effort to unify independent schools throughout Connecticut around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. A frequent conference presenter on diversity in education, he has also worked extensively as a speaker and facilitator for the Anti-Defamation League’s “A World of Difference” program. In addition, John has led administrator workshops for Independent School Management in Delaware and has a passion for training and mentoring new school administrators. John also thinks a lot about soccer and music. He is a nationally licensed soccer coach and is a singer, songwriter, and harmonica player. John is married to Amy, an ESL teacher, and they live in North Carolina; they have two all-grown-up children.

Melissa is an assurance Partner and Co-Leader of the Not-for-Profit and K-12 Education niches off Brown Edwards. She is based in the Roanoke office and has over 25 years of accounting experience. Prior to joining Brown Edwards, Melissa was a partner in one of the top 20 firms in the nation where her practice concentrations were in not-for-profit organizations, employee benefit plan audits, and a variety of closely held businesses, including manufacturers, real estate holding companies, distributors, and service organizations. Melissa’s expertise includes assistance in applying accounting standards in a multitude of situations – from everyday transactions to complex, multi-faceted arrangements. This includes assistance in evaluating and complying with new accounting pronouncements, with particular attention to the organizations’ circumstances and industry. In addition, Melissa is routinely called upon to consult on internal control related matters and is well known for her responsible, team-oriented approach. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from Lynchburg College. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

For nearly twenty years, Lisa Gordon Stella has represented clients in litigation, negotiation, employee relations, strategic personnel planning and stakeholder communications. Following her clerkship on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Lisa worked as attorney at a boutique litigation firm in Los Angeles specializing in complex litigation and international arbitration. Relocating to North Carolina in 2001, Lisa then worked as a litigator at the law firms, Kilpatrick Townsend and Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough. After seven years litigating cases in state and federal court and in administrative proceedings, for clients worldwide, she became general counsel for a French technology company. In that capacity, she was charged with overseeing and directing all legal matters in the United States, including employee relation matters. In 2009, leveraging her experience as a former litigator and general counsel, Lisa formed her own firm focused on providing businesses, non-profits and charter schools with legal and strategic advice. As part of her practice, Lisa is a DRC certified mediator and also serves as special counsel, investigating allegations of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, misconduct, whistleblower complaints and conflicts of interest. In her capacity as special counsel, Lisa has investigated a wide range of matters often involving those in the highest levels of leadership. Because of her legal background and communication skills, she is often retained to serve as special counsel by large law firms and multinational corporations. Committed to providing pro bono services, Lisa has devoted hundreds of hours to representing parents in Hague Convention child abduction matters in North Carolina federal courts. For this work, Lisa received the North Carolina Bar Association Pro Bono Award for Young Lawyers, the Award of Merit from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children & the Scarborough Award for Outstanding Work for the Poor from Nelson Mullins. Passionate about serving her clients and her community, Lisa served six years as President of the Elna B. Spaulding Conflict Resolution Center in Durham, North Carolina, ten years as the Vice President of Maureen Joy Charter School and serves as co-chair of the North Carolina Association for Public Charters Schools. She received her A.B from the University of California at Davis, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude, her law degree from the University of Minnesota, Order of the Coif, Magna Cum Laude and served as a judicial clerk for Michael Daly Hawkins of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.