2026 Business Officer Institute

Lori Fitzgibbon is chief financial officer at Fair Hills Country Day School, a small preschool-grade 8 day school in Fair Hills, New Jersey. In this role, she oversees all aspects of the school's business operations, including financial strategy, resource management, facilities and human resources. Previously, Fitzgibbon served as CFO of Carrollwood Day School in Tampa, Florida, and as business manager at Wooster School in Danbury, Connecticut. Prior to this, she worked in public accounting with Fortune 500 companies and in corporate finance roles. Fitzgibbon holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from Lehigh University.

Scott McPherson brings a diverse background in media, finance and operations to his role as the chief finance and operations officer at The Derryfield School. Since joining the school in 2017, McPherson has directed business operations and facilities management, overseeing everything from IT and HR to accounting and auxiliary services. Throughout his career, McPherson has overseen numerous complex construction and renovation projects, managing the full lifecycle from financing and design to the build phase. Prior to working in education, Scott spent 22 years at New Hampshire Public Radio in several roles, including vice president for operations. He began his career in the newsroom as a reporter covering politics and public safety for newspapers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with contributions to The Boston Globe and NPR. McPherson holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Keene State College and a master’s degree in business administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Gwen Pojasek is the chief financial officer at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School and has been with the school for 21 years. In this role, she has overseen $26M in capital projects, including the acquisition of mission-appropriate abutting properties. She also oversees the non-academic operations, including Running Brook Camps. Pojasek currently serves as the president of the Massachusetts Association of Non-Profit Schools and Colleges and is president of the board for the Friends of the Waltham Family School. She has volunteered for several independent school associations, including serving as a member of the Association of Independent Schools of New England professional development committee and serving on NBOA’s Business Officers Council. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from University of Colorado Denver.

Joe Sharp is the CFO/ COO of the Jewish Leadership Academy (JLA) in Miami and is a member of the school's founding team. At JLA, he oversees all aspects of the school's financial and physical plant operations, as well as the construction of their campus. Sharp is in his 12th year of private school leadership in South Florida, where he has gained a reputation for deploying organization-wide systems and maximizing efficiencies to support institutional growth while maintaining financial stability. As principal of Sharp Focus Consulting, he has worked with clients ranging from veteran school and nonprofit leaders to groups interested in opening new schools. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in nonprofit management, and he serves on several local and national professional boards and councils. Sharp is a proud member of the NBOA Leadership Academy 2022–23 cohort, currently serves on the Net Assets Editorial Advisory Committee, and has previously served as an NBOA Connect Ambassador and a member of the NBOA Annual Meeting Program Advisory Committee.

Lisa Turchan is the chief financial officer for The Buckley School, where she has served since 2004. In this role, Turchan built out a $100M campus enhancement plan, grew the school’s enrollment levels, fortified the school’s financial position by increasing net assets, and created a long-term financial vision for the school. Prior to The Buckley School, Turchan spent nearly two decades in senior management roles at Twenty-First Century Fox. She currently serves on the NBOA Board of Directors as the Board Secretary and Chair of Governance Committee. Turchan is a certified public accountant and University of Michigan Business School graduate with public accounting experience at Deloitte.