2022 Business Officer Institute

Donna Orem was named President of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) in November 2016. NAIS provides services to more than 1,800 schools and associations of schools in the United States and abroad, including 1,500 nonprofit, private K-12 schools in the U.S. Orem served as the Chief Operating Officer for NAIS for 11 years before becoming president. She joined NAIS in 1998 as the Vice President for Educational Leadership, later becoming the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Research. Prior to joining NAIS, she served as the Vice President for Products and Services Development at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE, has served as president and CEO of the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) since 2010. He is currently as a member of the American Society of Association Executives’ (ASAE) board of directors as well as a trustee for the Enrollment Management Association (EMA). Previously, he served as a trustee for One Schoolhouse, an innovative online school offering supplemental education to independent schools, and Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC. Prior to his current role, Shields was senior vice president and chief planning officer at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO), where he worked for nearly 10 years.

Grace H. 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. She has significant experience formulating and implementing policies and procedures that assist her clients in complying with applicable state and federal laws, and provides them with proactive and preventive strategies. Lee 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, where she developed or oversaw resources and programs for independent schools in the areas of employment law, risk management and other compliance matters. Lee holds a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from Northwestern University.

Gretchen Warner is Madeira's 10th Head of School. She is an experienced girls' school administrator. Before becoming Head of School at Madeira, Ms. Warner served as Director of the Upper School at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles, CA (Grades 9-12, all girls, 495 students) where she worked closely with senior administrators in providing leadership to faculty, students, and parents in the Upper School. In addition to her responsibilities as Director of the Upper School, Warner served on the Strategic Planning Committee, as the Accreditation Chair and was the Dean of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Students and the STEM Coordinator. As Director of the Upper School, she helped redesign and pilot a new advisory/mentorship program; established the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership T earn and learning series. Warner received her B.S. in Chemistry from Virginia Tech and her M.A. in Chemistry from The University of Virginia.

Alex Heiberger is the Chief Financial Officer of The Madeira School, an independent boarding and day school that educates girls in grades 9-12. Prior to this position he served as Associate Dean of Administration at the School of Nursing and Health Studies at Georgetown University. Heiberger has leadership experience in higher education, health care management, and medical center operations. In addition, he has more than a decade of service on the board of directors of Hoya Federal Credit Union.

Motivated by organizations’ missions and driven by results, Jon Hockman brings more than two decades of consulting experience with hundreds of associations in the U.S. and abroad to McKinley Advisors. His personal mission is to help leaders of organizations make the best decisions regarding their strategy, people and performance challenges. A specialist in facilitating communication, Jon has aided clients in areas including strategic planning, team/group efficacy, change management, organizational culture/climate and leadership development. Prior to joining McKinley, Jon founded the d3 Group, a successful consultancy focused on strengthening associations. He also served as a partner of KRW International, the CEO of Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity and was a major gifts fundraiser for both the American University and the Children’s Defense Fund.

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 across multiple delivery channels, including many partnerships with other associations serving independent schools. She serves on the NBOA Board of Directors’ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion task force and leads NBOA’s volunteer Business Officers Council, in addition to providing content expertise on finance, accounting, tax and other independent school business, operations, governance and legal matters of import to independent school practitioners and leaders. Hillen also serves on the teaching faculty for the Master of Education in Independent School Leadership program at Vanderbilt University’s Department of Leadership, Policy & Organizations at Peabody College. She came to NBOA in early 2017 after eight years at Harpeth Hall School, where she served as the associate director of finance and operations, following prior service as controller and manager of accounting. Before joining Harpeth Hall, Hillen was a lead senior auditor with Ernst & Young, LLP, a Big 4 public accounting firm. She is involved in governance, fiduciary leadership, donor stewardship and strategic financial planning and analysis in her role as a board member for several nonprofit organizations, including the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Renewal House and the Junior League of Nashville, of which she is immediate past president.

Liz Maher, CPA, MBA holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Marquette University and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and has worked in public accounting, corporate accounting, and independent schools, including four years of service at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart most recently as their Chief Finance and Resource Officer. With over 15 years of accounting experience, Liz brings expertise in accounting, finance, and tax compliance in her role as director, accounting, and tax programs at NBOA.

Markunas supports NBOA's full line of professional development offerings including the NBOA Annual Meeting, Business Officer Institute, webinars and online courses, as well as providing resources and support to members.  A former independent school business officer, she develops and delivers programs and content related to independent school business operations, leadership and governance, and nonprofit accounting practices. Markunas joined NBOA in early 2015 after serving as the director of finance and operations at The Avery Coonley School for 12 years. Before joining the independent school community, she worked in corporate finance at a global corporation and in engineering consulting.

Amber Stockham, SPHR, is NBOA’s director, human resources and programs, and has over 15 years of human resources experience. She leads the development and delivery of human resources programs and serves as the expert on regulatory compliance, talent acquisition and management, organizational planning, and compensation and benefits at independent schools. Stockham came to NBOA after six years at Miss Hall’s School, an independent day/boarding school for girls in Massachusetts, where she served as the director of human resources. Before joining Miss Hall’s School, she worked in a variety of industries, including social services and manufacturing. She holds a B.A. in social sciences and psychology from Bard College.