Shannon Lunsford is the Senior Director of Operations for the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. She leads business operations across Edson E+I and serves as a liaison with Knowledge Enterprise service units to ensure that they are partnering effectively to achieve E+I objectives. Working closely with leadership and in collaboration with the entire team, Shannon also oversees the operational functionality in the continuing efforts to scale E+I. Shannon has served prior roles at ASU, having previously worked as the Center Operations Manager for both the Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center and the Global Center for Applied Health Research within the School of Social Work, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions and as a Project Director for the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Shannon has also held administrative and operational positions within the nonprofit, wealth management, and compliance industries. She has a Master of Administration, Leadership emphasis, with Distinction, from Northern Arizona University and a Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Arizona State University.

Roberto "RG" Garza is a Financial Manager within the ASU Knowledge Enterprise Finance Department. With adept oversight of budgets, accounts, and reporting, RG drives financial integrity for the J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute. RG's forte lies in tackling intricate financial challenges with strategic finesse. His role is characterized by innovative problem-solving and a track record of maintaining financial robustness while amplifying impact. RG's proficiency in devising strategic solutions continues to shape and elevate KE's financial landscape, making him a coveted collaborator and an inspiration to emerging financial leaders.

Linda Kosten has served University of Denver for 30 years and is currently the Senior Vice Provost for University Budget, Planning, and Administration. She manages the development of budget, oversees the institutional research and campus partners business offices, and coordinates multi-year strategic planning. She recently served as Interim CFO. Linda’s book, Decentralized Budgeting and the Academic Dean: Perspectives on the Effectiveness of Responsibility Center Management (2009), explores the effectiveness of RCM from the perspectives of 146 deans at 27 universities. She has consulted with other universities transitioning to decentralized budgeting, worked with the Lumina Foundation on investigating the connections between states’ outcomes-based funding policies and RCM, and currently teaches higher education finance at DU. Linda is a registered yoga teacher having completed a 200-hour program through LifePower Yoga. She has her Ph.D. and MA in higher education from University of Denver and her BA in theatre and psychology from UCSC.

Leslie Brunelli is the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer at Washington State University. In this role, Leslie manages the financial and physical assets of the WSU system, including all aspects of the university’s financial and capital planning, information technology services, human resources, compliance and risk management, and real estate portfolio. With more than 25 years in higher education financial leadership, Leslie previously served as the Senior Vice Chancellor and Treasurer at the University of Denver, where she directed the university’s financial activities and generated policy and management practices to support the campus strategic vision. Leslie guided the campus financial response related to the pandemic and revamped financial reporting to provide greater clarity and transparency around university processes. She served as the chair of the University of Denver Retirement Plan Fiduciary Delegation Committee and was a board member of the Colorado Alliance for Research Libraries. Prior to her appointment at DU, Leslie served the University of South Carolina system in several positions with progressively increasing responsibility leaving that campus as the Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in business administration from the University of South Carolina.

Lori Seager became the Vice President for Finance & Chief Financial Officer at Colorado College in April of 2023 after serving four years as the Associate Vice President for Finance at CC. She spent the early years of her career working as an auditor for KPMG. A few years later, she transitioned to higher education business and finance, working for 12 years at New Mexico State University, and then 6 years at the University of Puget Sound before coming to Colorado College. Lori enjoys volunteering with the Western Association of College and University Business Officers and currently participates in various committees, including the Small Institutions Committee, the 2024 Program Committee, and the 2025 Program Committee, and was the 2022 Annual Conference host committee chair. She also serves on the WACUBO board as the third vice president/2025 Program Committee Chair.

Beginning in January 2024, Ruth Johnston began serving as Acting Vice President, NACUBO Consulting, in addition to her other consulting work through RAJ Consulting. Prior to that Ruth served as the System Vice Chancellor and Chief Operating Office at New Mexico State University. Over her nearly four-year tenure, Ruth oversaw areas including Finance & Business Services, Facilities, ERM & Safety, Human Resources, Information & Communication Technologies, Government & Community Relations, and Marketing & Communications. Prior to this, Ruth held the role of Vice-Chancellor at the University of Washington (UW) Bothell where she oversaw finance, facilities, IT, HR, and more. She held the position of Associate Vice President/Provost for many years at UW (Seattle). Her leadership included Financial Management, Planning & Administration, School of Nursing, Organizational Excellence, UW Extension, Training & Development, and Housing & Food Services

Ruth holds a doctorate in organizational development/higher education, a master's degree in human relations, and a bachelor's in counseling psychology/social sciences. Ruth served as President and Board Member of the Western Association of College & University Business Officers (WACUBO), and has served on boards of NACUBO, Network for Change and Continuous Innovation (NCCI), American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), and the Institute for Student Services Professionals (ISSP).

Gregg Goldman is the Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of finance for Hillspire, LLC. Gregg was the vice chancellor and CFO for UCLA. Prior to that he served as senior vice president for business affairs and CFO at the University of Arizona. Before that, he was senior associate dean and CFO for the USC Marshall School of Business, senior assistant dean for the UC Irvine Graduate School of Management, and director of financial services for the UCLA Library system until 1996. A past board chair of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), Gregg is a graduate of Thomas Edison State College and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Robert Moore retired last year from the Chief Business Officer role at Colorado College after 14 years of service. For one of those years, Robert also served as the Acting Co-President. His areas of responsibility included Facilities Services, Controller, Budget, Purchasing, Childcare, Endowment Reporting, and food service operations. Before Colorado College, Robert served in the Chief Business Officer role at the University of Colorado System Office and the Colorado School of Mines. He also served in a leadership position for the Colorado Higher Education Coordinating Board and as the Staff Director for the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado General Assembly. He is a past president of WACUBO and a past board chair of NACUBO.

Jean M. Vock served as senior vice president for Business Affairs and chief financial officer (CFO) for UNLV. There Jean directed the division that provides the business, financial, operational, planning, and physical infrastructure that undergird UNLV’s academic, research, and service mission. Jean now acts as a consultant, coach and mentor in the higher-ed and non-profit communities. 

Jean has more than 30 years of leadership experience in higher education. She previously held both central administrative and college administration positions at University of Arizona, including chief financial officer for two academic colleges and assistant comptroller. Prior to her time in higher education, she worked for the State of Arizona and the defense industry in the financial, compliance, internal, and corporate auditing departments.

Harold Hewitt earned his M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. Harold W. Hewitt, Jr. has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Chapman University in Orange, California since 2007. His prior service includes: CFO for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, VP and CFO of Occidental College in Los Angeles, and VP and CFO of Whittier College. He is a past member of the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) Board of Directors, and past chair of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), the regional accreditor for California and Hawaii 4-year and graduate institutions. Harold currently serves on the WSCUC Review Committee.

Daniel Peterson holds an MBA in Finance from University of Washington Foster School of Business as well as a bachelor’s degree from The Foster School.  He is a CPA and CTP.  Daniel Peterson is an Assistant Treasurer with the University of Washington, and prepares the long-term financial forecast for U.W. Finance, which helps determine debt capacity and ratings for the University.  He partners with the cash forecasting team at University of Washington.  Previously, he was Sr. Treasury Analyst for Boeing’s internal capital financing unit, Boeing Capital Corporation, with a focus on cash management, investment, cash forecasting, and banking operations.  He is currently the Co-President of the Northwest AFP and has volunteered with this group of experienced financial professionals for 5 years.

Michael Nicolescu is the Director of Client Success for Synario. He leads the team responsible for the implementation and ongoing support of all Synario users. In this role, he oversees the training and onboarding of all clients, the development and customization of all client models on the platform, and the ongoing success of all customer engagements. Within PFM, he serves as Vice Chair of the Employee Advisory Committee and participates in the Mentor Program for new employees

Brittany Elliser serves as the Southwest area leader of the KPMG Development and Exempt Organizations (DEO) Tax Practice. Over the last 14 years, she has served numerous tax-exempt organizations across the United States and is based in Louisiana. Brittany is responsible for higher education, healthcare, and various other tax-exempt organizations. Brittany provides several tax compliance and consulting services including providing consulting services on topics such as unrelated business income, payroll and compensation issues, and net investment income tax for private colleges and universities. She earned a B.A in General Business and a B.S in Accounting from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Anu Varadharajan, KPMG, Los Angeles, Director, Accounting Methods & Credit Services (AMCS), advises clients on aligning their tax strategy to their overall ESG strategy and enabling clients to identify global, federal, and local credits and incentives to drive their sustainability journey. Anu collaborates with various KPMG teams from Audit, Advisory, and Tax to provide holistic solutions to clients. She also works with KPMG Ignition to develop solutions to enable benchmarking and leverage data to develop unique solutions. Anu holds an MBA from the University of Rochester William E. Simon Business School, a BBA from the National University of Singapore, and is a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants and an Enrolled Agent. Anu has also completed the NYU Executive Sustainability program with a focus on ESG reporting. She also serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Public Health Institute and is a member of the Board for Benjamin Franklin High School, New Orleans.

Jessica Libby is a Principal with KPMG's Trade & Customs practice, leading domestic content analysis under the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA) for KPMG. She has held various senior-level global trade compliance and supply chain roles in private industry for a Fortune 500 retailer, as well as acting as a trade consultant for a DC-based law firm and the Department of Commerce. Jessica leads KPMG’s Domestic Preferences services, including supporting clients on the IRA, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), and other domestic preference programs (Buy America, Buy American, etc.). This support includes providing pragmatic guidance to clients as they analyze their supply chains to meet domestic content requirements, including soliciting supplier documents and working with suppliers to assess substantial transformation, content calculations, and project strategy. Jessica is also providing guidance to industry groups and C-Suite/Boards regarding implementation and compliance with the IRA/IIJA, as well as speaking on national panels regarding the new IRA Domestic Content requirements.

Jason Strauss, Lobo Energy, Incorporated, CEO/President, Jason Strauss is the President/CEO of Lobo Energy, Incorporated, a research park actcorporation for the University of New Mexico. Lobo Energy assists the University with management and supervision of the planning, design, engineering, contracting, energy conservation, and commissioning services for assigned projects. It is also responsible for reviewing utility regulatory issues while monitoring long-term technological innovation and sustainable practices. In 2012, Jason was named energy manager of the year by the NewMexico chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers and has served as the CEO since 2014. The University's energy conservation program has avoided energy usage by 26% since 2009. Jason has been with the University of New Mexico for 23 years. Prior to his roles with LoboEnergy, he served as an assistant football coach at The University of New Mexico.

James Dwyer has over 24 years of experience in higher education business operations that started out during middle school summer vacations when he and several other brave souls were sequestered in an ancient student union rec room with stacks of used textbooks to clean. Since then Dwyer has served in multiple roles at Bridgewater State University (MA), Mills College (CA), University of La Verne (CA), The Claremont Colleges (CA), University of Georgia (GA) and Arizona State University (AZ). He is now the Assistant Vice President of Auxiliary Business Services at Arizona State University and is responsible for a wide portfolio of operations, strategic partnerships and initiatives. Dwyer graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in social science and received his MBA from the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business.

Mary Perry’s current role involves aligning partners with Follett’s thought leadership and distinctive offerings. She fosters strategic relationships to develop new stores and customer experiences, leveraging her sales background to create rich partnerships and offer custom solutions to advance shared missions. Mary’s own academic experience fuels her ongoing passion to make a difference for students, providing affordable products that advance the student journey. She understands Follett can change lives by making it easier for students to learn and by giving students access to the resources they need to be successful. Mary truly values her customers as partners in advancing the greater good through academic and alumni experiences. Mary joined Follett as Vice President of Marketing across the western United States. In this role, she grew accounts by almost 200% and closed the largest account in the western U.S. She also implemented a process for renewals, standardizing and tracking best practices. Mary earned her B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and her M.B.A. from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. After six years of service with the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, Mary fulfilled the maximum two terms. She also served on the Western Association of College and University Business Officers (WACUBO) business partner advisory committee, planning conferences and fostering engagement with members. Mary serves on panels discussing topics such as campus trends, course materials affordability, and equitable access to course materials. She has also been recognized with numerous leadership awards.