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).

Kathleen is a highly respected and accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the field of grants management. Her exceptional skills and expertise have made her a trusted leader and advisor to her team and clients alike. As the Grant Management Solutions Lead in Cherry Bekaert's Risk and Accounting Advisory industry group, Kathleen leads the advisory team for grant administration and compliance engagements, providing clients with comprehensive grant lifecycle management solutions.

Kathleen's professional competency in the full lifecycle of grants management is demonstrated through her certification as a Certified Grants Management Specialist. Her expertise covers a wide range of areas, including risk assessment and gap analysis, subrecipient monitoring and compliance audits, 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance compliance, internal controls, grant reconciliations, workflow analysis, and creating effective processes through digitalization.

Kathleen began her career in grants management working for the North Carolina Department of Correction, where she quickly rose to become the Grants Accounting Manager. She later worked for the Northwest Indiana Planning Commission, where she continued to hone her skills in accounting and grants management. Kathleen then became the Reporting and Compliance Manager for local government, where she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of grant accounting from pre-award to post-award monitoring and compliance. Her experience in this role allowed her to develop a deep understanding of the complexities of grant administration and compliance. Kathleen is highly regarded for her knowledge of ARPA compliance and reporting.

In addition to her work in grants management, Kathleen has extensive experience in accounting and financial management. Kathleen is also an accomplished speaker and presenter. She has presented on grants management compliance and internal controls at the NGMA Annual Grants Training and GPC GrantSummit conferences. She also leads a grants management podcast for Cherry Bekaert, sharing her insights and expertise with a wider audience.

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.