Webinars

T.J. Hughes, SBA Manager and Head of Specialty Lending, Truist (formerly BB&T and SunTrust)

T.J. Hughes currently serves as head of specialty lending at Truist. He oversees the delivery of small business and middle market specialized lending across the commercial community and retail community bank platforms, inclusive of asset based lending, secured finance, SBA lending, franchise finance and program lending. Hughes is also responsible for leading Truist’s PPP originations effort and is a part of the steering committee driving PPP Forgiveness.

John Lynch, Education Industry Vertical Manager, Truist

John Lynch brings more than 25 years of banking experience to his role as head of Truist Bank’s education industry specialty practice. He partners with teammates to provide tailored solutions to organizations operating in this critical and dynamic industry. Lynch’s efforts focus on delivering commercial and capital markets banking solutions to the public and private higher education and the K-12 independent school sectors across Truist Bank’s coverage markets.

John Fagg, Co-head of Litigation, White Collar, Regulatory Defense and Investigations, Moore & Van Allen

John Fagg is co-head of both the litigation team and the white collar, regulatory defense, and investigations practice at Moore & Van Allen. Fagg regularly represents companies and executives under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, SEC, Offices of Inspector General (SBA, Department of State and Department of Defense), State Attorneys General and many other federal and state enforcement authorities. A significant portion of his practice involves representing companies and individuals in criminal and civil investigations and proceedings related to the financial services industry.

Amy Johnson, Partner, Moore & Van Allen

Amy Johnson has practiced in the area of public finance for 25 years. She regularly serves as underwriter’s counsel, bank counsel, borrower’s counsel and trustee’s counsel. A significant portion of her practice is focused on independent schools, colleges and universities.

Christine DiMenna, MS, CPA, Principal, blumshapiro

As a principal in blumshapiro’s advisory group, Christine DiMennaprovides audit and risk assessment services to a wide variety of companies and nonprofit organizations, including foundations, colleges, universities, independent schools and healthcare organizations. She provides services such as Sarbanes-Oxley readiness and compliance, corporate compliance, internal audit, risk management and assessment of internal controls.

John Toscano, CPA, Partner, blumshapiro

John Toscano is a partner at blumshapiro and co-leader of the firm’s education practice. Toscano’s’s primary focus throughout his career of more than 28 years has been serving educational institutions of all types and providing specific expertise on endowment-related matters. His experience includes providing accounting, auditing, tax and advisory services to clients in various industries, including education, nonprofits, construction and manufacturing.

Jennifer Osland Hillen, CPA, CGMA, Chief Learning Officer, National Business Officers Association

Jennifer Osland Hillen, CPA, CGMA, is NBOA's chief learning officer. She serves as a strategic partner to the president and CEO and leads the staff team charged with delivering the association’s broad and diverse portfolio of programs, industry guidance and resources to members and constituents. Hillen serves on the NBOA Board of Directors’ diversity, equity & inclusion task force and leads NBOA’s volunteer Business Officers Council. Shealso serves on the teaching faculty for the master of education in independent school leadership program at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

Daniel Rodas, Partner, Isaacson, Miller

Dan Rodas has conducted more than 100 retained searches for educational organizations and is a senior partner at one of the nation’s largest executive search firms. A graduate of Williams College and former independent schoolteacher, he holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard and an MBA and Ph.D. in education from Stanford. A frequent presenter at national conferences and professional development programs, he recently completed a term as a national trustee of the College Board.

Matthew D. Batastini, Managing Partner and Member of the Employment and Education Practice groups, Schwartz Hannum PC

Matthew Batastini counsels Schwartz Hannum PC’s corporate and education clients on all aspects of the employment relationship and represents those clients in state and federal courts as well as before agencies, including the EEOC, MCAD, NYSDHR, DOL, OSHA and NLRB. He has defended clients against claims involving discrimination, harassment, whistleblowing, wage and hour laws, trade secrets, breaches of non-compete or other restrictive covenants, and executive compensation. He has extensive experience advising clients on the drafting and enforceability of post-employment restrictions.

Kirsten White, Partner, Schwartz Hannum PC

Kirsten White is a partner at Schwartz Hannum PC and a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment and Education Practice groups. White prioritizes exceptional client service in her legal work, and her client-first approach emphasizes accessibility, responsiveness and personal investment in meeting client objectives.

Amber Stockham, Director, Human Resources Programs, NBOA

Amber Stockham, SPHR, holds bachelor’s degrees in social sciences and psychology from Bard College and worked in a variety of industries, including social services and manufacturing, before serving for six years as the director of human resources at Miss Hall’s School, an independent day/boarding school for girls in grades 9-12. With more than 15 years of human resources experience, Stockham brings expertise in regulatory compliance, talent acquisition and management, organizational planning, and compensation and benefits design to her role as director, human resources programs at NBOA.

Janice Gregerson, Associate, Education Practice, Venable LLP

Janice Gregerson is an associate with the Education Practice at Venable LLP. She focuses her practice on employment counseling and independent school law. Gregerson represents a variety of clients, with a primary focus on independent schools. She works collaboratively with her clients, actively joining their teams to ensure she is intimately familiar with each organization's operations, mission and environment.

Grace Lee, NBOA Legal Counsel and Partner, Education Practice, Venable LLP

Grace Lee is a partner with Venable, LLP in the Labor and Employment Practice. Lee is an independent school law attorney whose practice focuses on employment law, risk management and other compliance and regulatory matters that impact independent schools and nonprofit organizations. Lee has extensive experience helping schools implement compliant policies and adopt preventative strategies, and she has defended schools against claims regarding employment discrimination, harassment, retaliatory discharge, and wage and hour violations before administrative agencies and federal and state courts. She previously served as NBOA’s vice president, legal affairs. Lee holds a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from Northwestern University.

Brad Rathgeber, Head of School and CEO, One Schoolhouse

Brad Rathgeber is the head of school/chief executive officer of One Schoolhouse, a nonprofit consortium of independent schools, which he helped found in 2009. Previously, Rathgeber worked as the director of technology at Holton-Arms School. He has presented at many national and international conferences on online learning, including the Virtual School Symposium and the NAIS Annual Conference, and has been quoted on the topic of online learning by the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and PBS.

Chris Brueningsen, Head of School, The Kiski School

Chris Brueningsen is the head of The Kiski School, a boys’ boarding school in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania. His first teaching job was as a math and physics instructor at Kiski from 1990 to 1996. He subsequently served as the mathematics department chair and director of studies at Brunswick School in Connecticut, and later was the head of upper school at Nichols School in Buffalo. In 2002, he returned to Kiski to become the school’s seventh head of school. He received a B.S. from Muhlenberg College and an M.Ed. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

John Griffith, CPA, Vice President and Endowment Specialist, Hirtle Callaghan

John Griffith, CPA, is a vice president and endowment specialist with Hirtle Callaghan. He works with schools on financial planning and creating customized asset allocations. Griffith has more than 28 years of higher education experience. Before joining Hirtle Callaghan, from 2003 until 2014, he was the chief financial officer and treasurer of Bryn Mawr College. There he oversaw an $850 million endowment, managed cash, issued debt and was responsible for budgeting and strategy planning. During the Great Recession, Bryn Mawr was one of only a few colleges whose debt rating was upgraded. Prior to Bryn Mawr, Griffith spent 15 years in various financial roles at the University of New Hampshire. He earned a master’s degree in finance from Bentley University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of New Hampshire.

Lucie Lapovsky, Owner, Lapovsky Consulting

Lucie Lapovsky is an economist who consults, writes and speaks widely on issues related to education finance, pricing, strategy, governance and enrollment management. Lapovsky has more than 30 years of experience in higher education finance. She served as president of Mercy College, a multi–campus institution of 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 1999 to 2004, and before that as vice president for finance at Goucher College. Lapovsky has served on the board of the Packer Collegiate Institute and the McDonogh School and is a consultant with the National Association of Independent Schools. She received her B.A. from Goucher College, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.