2024 Not-for-Profit Conference Bundle

Rachel is a dedicated professional with a passion for not-for-profit service. She earned her bachelor's degree in accounting from Lee University in 2021, followed by a Master of Business Administration in 2022. Rachel is a certified public accountant (CPA) in the state of Tennessee.

In June 2022, Rachel joined a leading accounting firm specializing in serving not-for-profit organizations. As an auditor, she brings her expertise in performing assurance services for colleges, international missions organizations, churches, and a diverse range of other not-for-profits.

Raised in ministry, Rachel brings a deep understanding of not-for-profit challenges and opportunities. She is committed to building meaningful client relationships and supporting their missions.

Beyond her profession, Rachel advocates for community involvement and lifelong learning. She is an active member of her church and seeks opportunities to contribute to her community.

Dr. Michaelia Black is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Lee University’s School of Business in Cleveland, TN. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and doctorate from Liberty University. She is a certified public accountant and member of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Michaelia has spent over 18 years teaching accounting to students at various institutions. Her specialties are in cost accounting, analytics, and accounting information systems. In addition to higher education, she is experienced in non-profit accounting, risk management, internal audit, financial statement reporting, endowment funds, and grant accounting.

As a senior manager at Cherry Bekaert's Government and Public Sector practice, Jack has spent the past eight years specializing in providing audit and advisory services for various government entities, including municipalities, state agencies, counties, school districts, colleges, tribes, and special districts. He is experienced in audit preparation and fieldwork, policy and procedure creation, new standard implementations, GASB technical accounting assistance, internal control reviews, risk assessments, state compliance reviews, and Annual Comprehensive Financial Report preparation.

Jack also works with government and not-for-profit organizations that expend federal and state funding. Services to these clients include OMB Circular/Uniform Grant Guidance compliance, policy review, SEFA and Data Collection Form preparation, lost revenue calculation reviews, and Single Audit preparation.

Vanessa Hammond is the Director of Grants and Foundation Relations at Lee University, a private, not-for-profit institution in Cleveland, Tennessee. She established the Grants Office in 1997 and has spent the last 27 years directing all aspects of grant seeking at the university for grants from federal, state, local, corporate, and private foundation funders.

Vanessa coordinates the full grant cycle and has extensive experience in researching funding opportunities, writing proposals, preparing grant budgets, financial management, compliance, reporting, and close-out. Her team’s grant portfolio currently includes 43 active grants ranging from a $1,000 Walmart Community Grant to a five-year, $1.3M U.S. Department of Education grant and includes funding for programming, operations, research, endowment, and capital projects.

In addition, Vanessa teaches the occasional literature course and serves as a trustee of the Cleveland-Bradley County Public Library. She serves on the board of the local public education foundation and advises not-for-profit leaders on grant opportunities. She earned a B.S. degree from Lee University and M.A. degree in English from Wake Forest University. She is a member of the Grant Professionals Association and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

As a Senior Associate in Cherry Bekaert's Government & Public Sector industry group, Kathleen is part of the advisory team for grant administration and compliance engagements which provides clients with grant lifecycle management solutions. Her career in accounting and grants management spans over 20 years. She is a Certified Grants Management Specialist. Her expertise includes full cycle grant management and accounting, Risk assessment and gap analysis, subrecipient monitoring and risk assessment, 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance compliance, internal controls, grant reconciliations, workflow analysis, and creating effective processes through digitalization.

Kathleen has worked in various grant and accounting positions throughout her work life. Kathleen began her grants career working for the North Carolina Department of Correction as an accounts payable manager and subsequently as a grants manager. Her career progressed to working for an Indiana planning commission in accounting and grants, and then as a compliance manager for local government. She also has several years of experience working in accounting and grants management for non-profit community health care. Kathleen has implemented and digitalized both GASB and grant management programs for local government. Her experience has provided her the advantage of understanding the environment and specific issues of the of the people she now serves.

Dr. Glenn L. Helms was the Arthur Young Fellow in IT Auditing at the University of Houston and has served as Director of Certification for the International Certified Information Systems Auditor program. He has served on numerous national and international academic and professional committees, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant's Auditing Standards Board's Computer Auditing Subcommittee and its Specialized Accreditation Board.

He has recent and numerous years' experience in public accounting and serves as a consultant to various organizations. He has provided consulting services to Fortune 100 firms, Big Four CPA firms, and financial institutions throughout North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Some of his experience includes assisting a publicly held company in establishing an IT auditing department, performing audits of local governments, and designing accounting systems for a variety of types of entities

He has presented over 2,000 professional seminars and conferences. He has published over 50 articles in a wide range of practitioner and academic journals. He has served on the editorial advisory boards of several national and international journals. His over twenty-five books address security, fraud, and internal controls (for small and public entities) in a variety of systems, including Cloud based and E-commerce systems. His recent works include several books on forensic accounting.

Glenn is a multiple year recipient of the outstanding Discussion Leader Award from the AICPA. He has received similar awards from several state societies and universities.