BOARD OF DIRECTORS & OFFICERS

Linda Espahbodi

President and CEO – Inspiring Accounting Talent for a Sustainable Society

Prior to becoming president of Inspiring Accounting Talent for a Sustainable Society, Linda Espahbodi was the Director of the Master of Accounting program at the College of William & Mary.  She served in this role for almost six years (June 2009 – March 2015).  Her responsibilities included:  strategic oversight of the program, admission and enrollment management, marketing and visibility, program delivery, student career development, and external relations.  Key strategic initiatives at William and Mary included: (1) the global mindset experiment, an elective course which focuses on students learning how to deal with opportunities and issues in emerging and developed markets; (2) a winter field experience program for students during the busy season of the accounting profession; (3) soft skills enrichment programs; and (4) an expanded CPA Trek to include exposure to legislative and global financial systems.

Before joining The College of William & Mary, Linda was the Director for the Master of Science in Accountancy Program at the University of Notre Dame for nine years.  Linda collaborated with faculty, administrators, staff, and alumni at Notre Dame to set the fledgling program on an upward trajectory.  During her tenure at Notre Dame, Linda partnered with Ernst & Young professionals to help build and advance the “Your Master Program”.  This program attracted many diverse candidates to the University of Notre Dame. 

Linda’s background includes public accounting experience at Price Waterhouse and Deloitte, Haskins and Sells; and industry experience at Boston Scientific Corporation and Raytheon Company. 

Linda holds an undergraduate degree in accounting and a Master of Science in Taxation from Florida International University.  She was certified as a public accountant in the State of Florida.  Linda has completed advanced coursework on Leadership for Senior Executives through The Center for Management Research. 

Professor Reza Espahbodi, Ph.D., CPA

Director

Professor Espahbodi is an accomplished professional whose grounding in accounting, finance and operations management has assisted several institutions of higher learning and small to medium sized companies grow and improve business and operating processes; and a leader who believes that success grows from a clear vision grounded in solid operational planning implemented by motivated people.

Reza joined Washburn University as Dibble Professor of Accounting in August 2012. He teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in auditing and financial analysis and valuation, and conducts research in accounting and auditing topics. Prior to joining Washburn, Reza taught at several universities, including Alabama, Florida International, Indiana South Bend, Massachusetts - Boston, and Suffolk. He also taught at Georgetown in summer of 1983, at Harvard during summers of 1988-1996, and at Sabanci University in Turkey. Reza developed and instructed executive training programs for a Fortune 500 company, Deere and Company, and for various banks and chemical industry executives in Russia. He served as a consultant to Price Waterhouse, developing an economic model to predict the likelihood of an airline going bankrupt. He also served as a consultant to various small to medium-sized (foreign and domestic) businesses, developing information systems and databases for them to compete in their local markets.

Reza has authored many articles, which have been published in the leading journals in Accounting and Finance. He has worked with the former Chancellor at IU South Bend on the development of strategic planning initiatives, cost control, and management of the University.

Reza has pioneered successful academic programs in both public and private sectors. He founded the Master of Science in Accounting (MSA) program at Suffolk University in 1992. Subsequently, he established three additional graduate programs in the Accounting Department and directed the Graduate Programs in Accounting for two years. In 1999, he devised and implemented an executive, summer MSA program at IU South Bend for the accounting recruits of a national accounting firm, Crowe, Chizek and Company. In both cases, the programs are still successfully operating. More recently, Reza has led the development and implementation of several international programs, spanning over three disciplines, for Indiana, Purdue, and Iowa universities.

Jill Elizabeth Mitchell

Director

Jill Mitchell is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). She is an adjunct instructor at George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. Jill is a Past-President of the Washington, DC Chapter of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA), and she served on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA), where she also served on the Educators’ Symposium Task Force and the VSCPA Educational Foundation Scholarship Selection Committee. She was a founding advisor for the NOVA Chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), and she received the Community College Champion Award from NSCS.

Prior to joining the faculty at NOVA, Jill was a senior auditor with Ernst & Young’s Business Risk Services practice in Miami, Florida. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and graduated from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce with an M.S. in Accounting through EY’s Your Master Plan program. She has a B.B.A. in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia. She earned a graduate certificate in E-Learning Instructional Design from GMU, and she is pursuing an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Instructional Design and Technology.

Frank J. Wood

Director

Prior to retiring in February, 2015, Frank Wood worked in Finance and Accounting for over thirty eight years; the first three of which were in Public Accounting and the last thirty five of which were for five corporations whose primary business interests were in mining, both within the U.S. and internationally.  For the last ten years, he served as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of two publicly held U.S. based coal mining companies, Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ANR) and Foundation Coal Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:FCL).  FCL was acquired by ANR in 2009.  Both FCL and ANR were originally formed with the backing of private equity sponsors and entered the public equity markets via Initial Public Offerings.

In his tenures as CFO, Frank Wood was responsible for: external financial reporting (including Sarbanes Oxley compliance), investor relations, income tax compliance and planning, treasury, insurance and surety, internal management reporting and financial planning, and, at various times, information technology.  He was the primary management liaison to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.  Prior to assuming the CFO role, he was a corporate controller, business unit controller, vice president of financial planning and analysis, budget analyst and director of operations accounting. 

Frank holds an undergraduate degree in Accounting from the College of William & Mary and an MBA from Indiana University.  During his two years at Indiana University, Frank served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate accounting classes.  He was certified as a public accountant in the State of Virginia.  During the course of his career, he resided in seven different locations throughout the United States.  He currently serves on the Accounting Programs Board of the Mason School of Business at William & Mary and the Board of Trustees of Norfolk Academy, an independent secondary school in Norfolk, VA.  His main philanthropic interests are education and medical research.  He enjoys travel, golf, automotive history, military history and cinema.

FOUNDING ADVISERS

Ken Bouyer

Ken Bouyer is the EY Americas Director of Inclusiveness Recruiting. In this role, he is responsible for developing and implementing the global EY organization’s recruiting strategy to build and attract diverse and inclusive talent pools for member firms in the Americas. Diversity at EY is defined broadly and includes gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, generational differences, and more. Fostering an inclusive work culture where all individuals are valued for their differences and can achieve their full potential is a global priority and a business imperative for EY. The organization strives to reflect the changes in world demographics, taking into account the new mix of cultures and individual characteristics that build its talent pool. Ken frequently serves as an EY and industry group spokesperson on both diversity and recruiting trends at a range of events and with leading media outlets.
Ken has served in a variety of roles since joining the Assurance practice of Ernst & Young LLP in 1990. Prior to his current role, Ken was a Director in the firm’s Advisory Services practice, supporting various global internal audit clients. He continues to serve the firm’s clients in Advisory Services today.
Ken is currently the Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. Additionally, he is a Board Member and the Chair of the Audit Committee for the American Accounting Association. Ken also serves on various university accounting and dean’s advisory boards. He is a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and the ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting) organization.
Previously, Ken was a Board Member and International President of Beta Alpha Psi. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Federation for the Schools of Accountancy (FSA). Ken is a recipient of the FSA's "Practitioner Service Award" for his distinguished service to the profession of accounting and accounting education. He is also a recipient of NABA’s Presidential Award for his extraordinary accomplishments and leadership in the accounting profession and his commitment to and support of NABA.
Ken has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and AICPA member.
Ken currently resides in New Jersey with his wife, Shorn, and their daughter, Kelsie.

Kim Drumgo

Kim Drumgo is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  In her role at the AICPA, she is responsible working with universities, state CPA societies, specialty CPAs and accounting organizations throughout the nation to develop best practices in the recruitment, retention and advancement of minorities in the accounting profession.  She also serves as the Vice Chair of the National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion.

Prior to her role at AICPA, Kim served as the Chief Diversity Official (CDO) of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.  As the CDO, Kim was responsible for leading the company’s diversity journey and providing ongoing enterprise focus on the value diversity and inclusion.  In her first year as the Chief Diversity Official, Kim led the company to be recognized by DiversityInc as one of 20 companies nationwide who are up and coming in the area of diversity. 

Kim has also acquired over 17 years of experience in project management, specifically in the technology field.  Kim has held positions in state government at the North Carolina Department of Revenue where she served as both a Quality Assurance Manager and a Project Manager in the Information Services division.  She also worked with Keane, Inc. as a senior consultant on banking and government initiatives. She began her career with Anderson Consulting (now Accenture) as a senior consultant on several change management and process improvement engagements. 

Kim holds a bachelor of science degree from UNC Chapel Hill in Public Health and a master’s in business administration from the University of Maryland.  She is also a certified Project Management Professional and certified in the administration of the Global Mindset Inventory assessment.

She is an active board member of the PhD Project which seeks to increase the diversity of corporate America by increasing the diversity of business school faculty.  She also serves on the UNC Chapel Hill Corporate Advisory Partnership program.  In 2013, Kim was recognized as one of 25 Influence Black Woman in Business by the Network Business Journal.  Kim has also been recognized by journals such as The Network Journal and Profiles of Diversity Journal for her leadership in diversity and inclusion.

Jeannette Faber

Jeannette Faber previously served as the Product Channel Manager for NASBA’s International Evaluation Services and Candidate Performance Products, as well as the organization’s wholly owned subsidiary, Aequo International. Jeannette launched and operated her own photography company for five years before being introduced to the landscape of higher education with the Financial Aid office at Harvard College. While in Cambridge she worked closely with students and parents to navigate their educational loan options and prepare for repayment. From 2011 to 2013 Jeannette took a break from employment to focus her efforts on training and competing as a professional runner, representing the Boston Athletic Association and then Brooks and Newton Running. Her greatest athletic achievement came in 2012 when she won the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis and was selected to represent the United States at the 2013 IAAF World Marathon Championship in Moscow. Jeannette holds a B.A. in Photography from Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI).

Jamie Fowler

Jamie is the National Managing Partner, Tax Services at Grant Thornton LLP. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world’s leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms. Fowler is a member of the firm’s Senior Leadership Team, with responsibility for one of the firm’s three main business lines (Tax Services, Audit Services and Advisory Services). 

Fowler previously served as managing partner for the Atlantic Coast Territory, overseeing all service lines for the territory.  Fowler has held a number of service line, geography and industry leadership roles at Grant Thornton, including principal architect of the Grant Thornton Shared Services Center in Bangalore, India. Prior to joining Grant Thornton in 2003, Fowler served in leadership roles for KPMG in Atlanta, Dallas and New York, where she was tax partner in charge of transportation for North America.  
An accomplished change agent and transformational leader, Fowler has more than 32 years of experience leading large-scale organizational structuring for companies worldwide. She is a frequent resource to Capitol Hill, where she consults with members of Congress and others on tax and accounting matters.
Fowler is a certified public accountant in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Texas. She received a master’s degree in Accounting from the University of Virginia, and was a fellow of the Grant Thornton Senior Leadership Programme at the Said Business School, University of Oxford.
Among many volunteer leadership commitments, Fowler serves on the board of directors of the Manhattan Theatre Club.

Jeanette Franzel

Jeanette Franzel is a nationally and internationally recognized board member, regulator, and audit executive with expertise in corporate governance, risk management, strategic alignment, internal controls, and financial auditing. She has a long-standing reputation for constructive and collaborative approaches to solving difficult problems and has interacted with a wide range of stakeholder groups in the U.S. and internationally. 
She most recently was a Board Member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), a position she held for six years through January 2018.  She provided strategic oversight for all PCAOB mission programs to oversee the audits of public companies and brokers and dealers that file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).   
Ms. Franzel brought extensive audit experience to the PCAOB after a distinguished career at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).  She ended her tenure as Managing Director, overseeing all aspects of GAO’s financial audits of the U.S. federal government. She also provided leadership for GAO’s interdisciplinary teams, which performed a wide range of high-profile performance audits related to how well federal agencies met their objectives and missions.   
From 2008 through 2011, Ms. Franzel’s team provided oversight of the U.S. government’s efforts to stabilize the financial markets and promote economic recovery. 
Ms. Franzel has testified numerous times before congressional committees and subcommittees on governance and accountability issues in a variety of government agencies and programs.  
For four years, Ms. Franzel was named as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People” by Accounting Today. She was also the recipient of GAO's Distinguished Service Award and the AICPA's Outstanding CPA in Government Award.     
Ms. Franzel is a highly sought out speaker for professional conferences. She also devotes time to providing guest lectures and meeting with faculty at universities around the country.  
Ms. Franzel has an MBA from George Mason University and a B.A. in Accounting and Spanish from the College of St. Teresa. She also completed the Senior Executive Fellows program at Harvard University. 

Mike McDonald

Mike McDonald serves as the Director for Education products in Accounting and Finance at Wiley Publishing.   He manages a global portfolio of widely adopted educational print and software solutions for the higher education marketplace.  Mike has over 12 years of experience in higher education publishing.  He travels to dozens of colleges and universities each year and maintains networks with the top accounting teaching faculty in North America.  He has a passion for helping students achieve and have positive learning experiences so that they can ultimately contribute to their full potential. Prior to working in publishing, Mike worked for Thomson Financial in San Francisco as an analyst in their Capital Markets Intelligence group.

Mike holds a B.A. in History from Cornell University and currently resides in New Jersey with his wife, Erin, and their sons, Stephen and Patrick.  On any given weekend they can be found enjoying the great outdoors.

Brad Ridlehoover

Mr. Ridlehoover is a business tax associate with McGuireWoods LLP and is located in the Richmond office.  Brad focuses his practice on tax controversy matters including assisting clients with Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits, administrative appeals, and tax litigation. He represents individuals, businesses, and estates before the U.S. Tax Court and federal courts including the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Court of Appeals for the Fourth and Seventh Circuits. Brad has experience handling cases involving income, estate, gift, international and excise tax matters. Brad has served as an adjunct professor for the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary since 2011 teaching business law to both undergraduates and masters of accounting students. Brad has also served as an adjunct professor at Virginia Commonwealth University since 2012 where he has taught tax practice and procedure. In connection with the Federal Tax Clinic at the William & Mary Law School, Brad works with law students to represent low-income taxpayers before the IRS and the U.S. Tax Court. Brad is on the Board of Directors of the Community Tax Law Project, a low-income taxpayer clinic, based in Richmond, VA.  

Professor G. Thomas White, Ph.D., CPA

Professor White has taught accounting and auditing at the Mason School of Business at the College of William and Mary for thirty-one years. He is the former Assistant Dean for Accounting Programs, Director of the Master of Accounting Program, Director of the Executive MBA Program, and Accounting Program Chair at the W&M Mason School of Business.  Before joining the W&M faculty he previously worked in public accounting and taught at Virginia Tech.  Professor White received undergraduate and MBA degrees from William and Mary, and his Ph.D. in accounting from Virginia Tech. 

His teaching and research interests are in financial reporting and analysis, management control, and assurance services areas.  Professor White has published articles on a variety of accounting and auditing topics in academic and professional journals, such as Accounting Horizons, Auditing:  A Journal of Practice and Theory, Internal Auditing, Internal Auditor, Business Communications Quarterly, and CPA Journal. 

Professor White has designed and presented numerous executive education seminars around the country.  In addition, he has led several international residency programs for executive MBA students.  He also helped develop and teach a global mindset course for graduate accounting students sponsored by the W&M Mason School of Business MAcc Program. 

He has consulted with public companies on a variety of accounting issues including implementation of Section 404 Sarbanes-Oxley internal controls assessment by management.  He was Program Chair for a series of three “Excellence in Financial Reporting” Conferences, sponsored by Norfolk Southern Corporation and hosted by the W&M Mason School of Business.  Professor White is a member of the American Accounting Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.