Ken White Distinguished Business Officer Award

Given to exceptionally active and inspiring chief business officers who have dedicated their careers to support others in the field beyond their own school campus.

Criteria

Nominees may include chief business officers who have made outstanding contributions over several years to the broader field of independent school business operations and have served as a leader and role model throughout the national independent school business officer community. Nominees for this award, the association's highest honor, must be affiliated with an NBOA member school.

Nomination Questions:

• Is the nominee retiring during this current school year?
• Has the nominee's head of school been notified?
• Number of years in current position?
• Total number of years of independent school business office/operations experience?
• How has the nominee demonstrated leadership within the profession on the state, regional, or national level? Please give specific examples.
• Describe how the nominee has provided service to other schools, business officers, and groups. Please give specific examples.
• Share in your own words why your nominee is deserving of NBOA's Distinguished Business Officer Award, the highest honor given by the association for professional achievement.
• What is your relationship to the nominee and how long have you worked with or known them?

Recipients

The recipient is announced in January, and the award is presented at NBOA's Annual Meeting.

2026 Recipient

Ann Marie Tidona

Director of Finance, Operations and Strategic Projects
Friends Academy
Locust Valley, NY

Ann Marie Tidona, CPA, is director of finance, operations and strategic projects at Friends Academy, which she has served for 27 years. During that time, she has filled numerous leadership roles in New York and across the country. She served two terms on the NBOA Board of Directors, including one as treasurer, and also as faculty at the Business Officer Institute. In 2008, Tidona received NBOA’s Will J. Hancock Unsung Hero Award for outstanding service to her school.

Beyond NBOA, Tidona has held key leadership roles with NYSAIS, including chair and conference chair of the NYSAIS Business Affairs Council and member of the NYSAIS Health Insurance Program Advisory Committee. She has served on the Board and as an officer of  Independent School Data Exchange (INDEX). Tidona is known for her work with demographic data analyses, and has widely shared replicable techniques to help schools better understand their markets.

Past Recipients

Every year since 1999, NBOA has honored an extraordinary professional with the Distinguished Business Officer Award. View the award's past recipients.

About Ken White

The Distinguished Business Officer Award honors the legacy of Kenneth A. White, Jr., who had a passion for this field and an incurable desire to help others. He could discuss business matters anywhere, and always had extra time for problems and questions. Ken pushed himself to find ways to do things better. He was a visionary, not just for his school, but for all schools. Upon his death in 1996, speakers at his memorial services recognized him as "a man of deep faith," a "mentor," and an "inspiration," as well as a valued colleague, neighbor, and friend.

Ken held a top financial position at Davison-Elkin College, and then served for 21 years at Westminster School in Atlanta. He was a founding member of MISBO (Mid-South Independent School Business Officers), and was active in many other organizations, especially ABOIS (Association of Business Officers of Independent Schools), and also served a term on the NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) Business Service Committee.