Trainers at the Management Conference | Wipfli LLP

2010 Hosts and Trainers

Howard Gesbeck, your conference host, has over 40 years of experience as an auditor, consultant and trainer. Since 1990, he has presented 230 seminars to over 23,500 participants throughout the United States . He is nationally recognized for his comprehensive work with grant-funded agencies, particularly his expertise regarding Federal regulations, OMB circulars and Head Start knowledge. Howard's informative and interesting presentation style promotes participants' learning and builds comprehensive understanding of the regulations and other materials. Howard has a special talent for developing creative, yet realistic, ways for nonprofits to save money, get more for their money, and use the Internet as an efficient information resource. He knows how to help grant-funded organizations avoid the risks of misspent funds and strengthen the financial picture so they can meet their mission. Howard earned degrees from the University of Wisconsin in accounting and law and is licensed to practice as a CPA in numerous states.

What participants say about Howard:

"I have been attending training with Howard for 19 years. He is now and always has been the most knowledgeable person in regards to the regulations. Best bang for the buck!" - Laurie P. Hall, Finance Director
"As always, Howard shines in his knowledge of Head Start." - Dotti Underwood, HR/Accounting Specialist
"Gesbeck delivers in a way that a non-attorney, non-accounting person can not only understand clearly, but feel empowered that they are truly knowledgeable about the subject after listening to Gesbeck’s training." – Kim Alexander, Board Member
"No matter how much our program has grown as a quality Head Start program (as evidenced by clean federal reviews), Howard always gives us an "ahh haa" moment. We always leave with a list of must do's every time." – Amy Howard, Fiscal Operations Manger.

Steve Lipton, your conference host, understands business and technology. He helps his grant-funded clients effectively use information technology to become more productive and to create financial and organizational success. An expert technology planner, he defines and prioritizes business needs first to implement sound technology solutions for his clients. Successful technology planning and implementation is based on actively involving executive directors, management groups and individual system users on each project, and using proven technology management methodologies. With entertaining leadership techniques-you wonder if his children provided inspiration-Steve keeps work fun and interesting for his staff and clients. Steve earned his MBA from Northern Illinois University.

What participants say about Steve:

"Mr. Lipton was exceptional! Really great presentation – very helpful. His great personality made this session more than enjoyable. Thanks!" – Selinda Shervo, Board Member
"I really enjoyed Steve and Deron and their senses of humor. They delivered the information while keeping this session light and lively." – Rick Davis, IT Director

Denes Tobie, your conference host, knows nonprofit organizations rely on black ink for their operating budgets. Since 1987, she has been working with a variety of nonprofits providing financial and compliance audits, tax-exempt reporting and compliance, and an assortment of management consulting services. "Being proactive, instead of reactive, in our services is how we add value and help our clients succeed," says Denes. "For example, we advised a new nonprofit client to appeal an IRS penalty which had been assessed for noncompliance. Although the client was willing to pay the penalty to eliminate their frustration, we took extra effort to guide them through the appeal process. Within a few short weeks they won. The penalty was dismissed and the organization saved thousands of dollars." Governance training has also been something that has been keeping Denes busy. Boards, policy councils, staff and management have all seen the positive results that come from training in this area. Denes enjoys presenting the results of Wipfli's work—and helpful recommendations--to the boards of directors and management teams who control the destiny of the organizations she serves.

What participants say about Denes:

"Denes is very knowledgeable on NPO financial issues and her sessions are a great learning experience."
"I really enjoyed this session with Denes. She is great at using real life examples." – Janet Loyd, Fiscal Officer
"Denes does an excellent job of presenting materials and provides opportunity for discussion that is beneficial for everyone." – Kim Bisinger, Finance Director
"Denes is an excellent session presenter… very knowledgeable with extensive "hands on" experience." – Bill Kolkmeyer, CPA, Finance Director

Richard Brueckner develops technology solutions that help Wipfli clients effectively achieve their business objectives. He assists clients in technology assessment, planning, and management with over 17 years of information technology (IT) service including software development, network management, and CRM. In the ever-changing electronic environment of business today, Richard keeps step with hardware/software advancements and clearly communicates change and opportunity to Wipfli clients.

Prior to joining Wipfli, Richard accumulated extensive experience in operating systems analysis, management of a nationwide network of remote offices, leading field office upgrade projects, and the development and implementation of backup and disaster recovery procedures.

Stephanie Cavadeas demonstrates exemplary analytical and client service skills in a wide range of industries, especially nonprofits. Included in that experience is tax and assurance work for more than 30 nonprofit organizations. Stephanie enjoys a challenge and does not shy away from digging deeply into her clients' situations. This in-depth experience has helped her develop a keen sense of industry best practices, which she uses to help all of her clients succeed. Clients receive high-quality support and information upon which to base their fiscal and programmatic decisions. At the same time, Stephanie's easy-going style puts clients at ease about the audit process by explaining what exactly transpires during fieldwork.

Deana Dearry has an extensive background in accounting, human resources, technology planning, and project implementation. For the last seven years she has focused on partnering with grant-funded organizations across the country to assist them with developing effective and efficient HR and Payroll processes and technology solutions. She has also facilitated and led HR and Technology training sessions specifically targeted to GFP requirements and staff. Deana feels that she knows what it takes to get the work done and will take the time to get to know each agency's individual needs. She views an organization's goals as her goals, their challenges as her challenges. Deana and the Galaxy Technologies team are committed to the ongoing development of efficient, automated solutions for Staff Information Management and "Exceeding Customer Expectations with Service and Value!"

Karl Eck dedicates his time to performing audits of nonprofit organizations. He has worked with more than 30 different nonprofit organizations, including Community Action organizations, Head Start programs and Workforce Investment Boards. He has substantial experience completing and reviewing Form 990 returns as well as in-depth knowledge of Federal regulations.

With this knowledge, Karl helps clients navigate through the audit and helps provide solutions to mitigate any findings. “Providing clients with a clear and concise picture of their finances gives them assurance that their organization is functioning properly. If there are any issues, we can help solve them,” says Karl.

Don Emery is a consultant in Wipfli's information technology consulting group. Drawing upon his extensive information technology experience, Don is able to work closely with his clients to provide technology needs assessments and solution recommendations. Understanding the client's needs and providing expert support services are his top priorities. By first familiarizing himself with the client's business, Don is then able to accurately assess their needs in order to determine the most appropriate action and offer beneficial support.

Prior to joining Wipfli, Don's worked in technology roles with several Fortune 500 companies and as an IT manager for a local nonprofit organization. Don is able to draw on these diverse experiences to provide a wide range of services and is able to secure successful results.

Peggy Farah recently returned to the consulting arena after more than eleven years of nonprofit leadership with the American Lung Association in Minnesota (ALAMN). During her tenure with the ALAMN, Peggy guided the organization through periods of significant growth and change and worked as a member of a task force to improve financial reporting and accountability throughout the larger organization. Prior to her work with the (ALAMN), Peggy spent several years in nonprofit auditing and Sage MIP Fund Accounting software implementation through two Minneapolis public accounting firms. Peggy now couples this experience with her tenure as a nonprofit financial leader to assist her clients in planning, implementation and training for Sage MIP Fund Accounting. Her goal is to help nonprofit clients optimize their impact on the communities they serve through effective and efficient business processes and ultimately high-level accountability.

Seth Finestack is a leader in Wipfli's continuous improvement consulting group. He helps his clients drive business objectives by partnering on organizational effectiveness, performance management, and strategic communications initiatives. Seth has supported executives across multiple industries and functions for the past ten years. A strong believer in results-oriented change, Seth helps bring clarity to areas of management traditionally looked at as “too soft” or risky to engage. Whether delivering a targeted communication plan or developing a sales force competency model, Seth strives to align solutions with the key performance goals of his clients. Seth's work considers all critical areas within the organizations he helps: people, process, and technology. Drawing from his background of consulting for Fortune 500 organizations, Seth helps clients understand how leading practices in human capital management and process improvement can take root in their organizations. Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach, Seth takes time to understand each client's unique situation and culture.

John Hemming specializes in large and small nonprofit agencies. His experience includes auditing and analyzing grant-funded programs, CAP agencies, Workforce Investment Boards, Head Starts, and complex accounting issues for agencies of all sizes. Since joining Wipfli, he has served over 30 nonprofit clients by helping them with the planning and completion of financial statements and OMB Circular A-133 audits. John enjoys teaching and applying the many facets of nonprofit and grant-funded audit standards to clients. What really makes his job worthwhile are the people he works with at the various agencies, the services he provides for them, and the outcomes achieved.

What participants say about John:

"John did a good job presenting on a very problematic subject. Gave good guidelines!"
"John very knowledgeable on in-kind, great resources." – Rhonda Nelson, Fiscal Officer
"Informative presentation by John." – Amy Berry, Family Service Manager

Janet Johnson combines her expertise in the analysis of financial and administrative systems and processes to gain greater productivity and effectiveness for her nonprofit clients. She has worked with small and large nonprofit organizations and units of state government including State of Wisconsin Investment Board, State of Wisconsin Dept. of Workforce Development, and the University of Wisconsin System. Janet is always eager to share her knowledge and skills with clients by providing education on how to implement new processes, and change old ones, to save time and money. To uncover revolutionary ideas on how to work smarter, she uses interview techniques, flow chart analysis, and process description tools to develop recommendations for improvements that clients can easily implement. Janet's experience includes Total Quality Management, planning, training, and facilitation with a variety of organizations. In addition, Janet offered her extensive knowledge and was a co-author of Wipfli's Model Accounting and Financial Policies and Procedures Manual.

What participants say about Janet:

"Very Good! Janet is amazing! She is so knowledgeable and helpful."
"Janet is very knowledgeable and provides practical ideas for immediate use."
"Howard and Janet are going to help me from being on the 6 o’clock news." – John Aitken, CFO

Julia Johnson is an experienced organizational development and human resources professional with over 15 years of diversified experience in the areas of human resource management, training and development, base and incentive compensation system design, organizational structure, and succession planning. Skilled at recognizing critical issues and related symptoms, Julia is able to approach problem solving from both a tactical and strategic perspective thereby aligning day-to-day activities with long-term goals and objectives. By first understanding where an organization is relative to where they want to be, she is able to identify and implement effective solutions supportive to the uniqueness of every organization. Julia is passionate about creating learning environments and has developed and conducted numerous presentations on topics including but not limited to: change management, coaching for improved performance, conflict resolution, gender communications, generational diversity, rewards and recognition, retention, managing paid time off, pay for performance, and compensation systems.

Deron Kling brings over ten years of management experience with information technology management, executive leadership, and business process improvement to the Grant-Funded Programs Team. Deron is able to play a key role in transition management and business planning. He has established, planned, and administered overall policies and goals for IT departments, leading teams through extensive redesign. Deron looks to balance the delivered services with the cost of development by demonstrating creative and cost-effective approaches to meeting organizational needs.Deron has also conducted network upgrade and redesign efforts and designed and deployed a data storage and executive decision support solution, in both cases deploying current technologies and leveraging hardware/software advancements to significantly improve operations.

What participants say about Deron:

"Very good information on file retention. Deron seems very passionate on his subject."
"Loved Deron and Scott, they are great presenters and kept me awake." – Kelly Pope, Program Coordinator
"I really thought both Deron and Scott did a very good workshop, good training atmosphere." – Vicki Muars, Fiscal Director
"Really enjoyed Steve and Deron and their senses of humor. They delivered the information while keeping this session light and lively." – Rick Davis, IT Director

Mavis Luther offers over twenty years of hands-on human resource management experience, dealing with everyday issues in an ever-changing work environment, where no two days are the same. As a consultant, she works with organizations to help her clients develop solutions that benefit the employees and the organization. A knowledgeable and effective presenter and facilitator, Mavis has conducted numerous presentations on hiring, interviewing, writing employee handbooks, developing and conducting performance appraisals, coaching for improved performance, dealing with problem performance, preventing harassment in the workplace, and understanding generational diversity. Always popular is her presentation on developing, implementing and managing human resource departments for profits and nonprofits. In addition, Mavis offered her extensive knowledge and was a team-author of Wipfli's “Model Human Resources Policies and Procedures”.

Peter Olsen works exclusively with nonprofit clients to provide the expert information that they expect. By focusing his efforts and experiences in this sector, he has developed critical business skills that benefit nonprofit organizations. Peter has a real passion for serving nonprofit organizations. He has served on the board for the City of Festivals Foundation and the Consumer Satisfaction Team. Under his term as president, the foundation filed its nonprofit application with the IRS, filed its sales tax-exemption application, and developed its bylaws and articles of incorporation. As the treasurer for the Consumer Satisfaction Team, Peter helped the organization serve the patients or the “consumers” of the Milwaukee County Mental Health Division by supporting the staff and executive director with their financial requirements. Peter helped prepare the financial information for the annual audit, oversaw the Finance Committee that reviewed and approved the annual budget, and provided general financial support.

Maile Pa'alani brings a unique mixture of auditing, accounting and information technology experience to Wipfli's nonprofit clients. Maile is a Certified Consultant and Trainer for Sage MIP Fund Accounting and a Certified Consultant for Sage Fundraising 50. The combination of these skills with her auditing experience and regulatory knowledge gives a very specialized perspective to our software implementations, training and ongoing support. Whether she is doing an audit, implementing a system, or creating a training plan, Maile's goal is to help organizations increase the efficiency of their operations by seeing the big picture, then focusing on the details. She leverages real life examples as tools for teaching both new and veteran technology users about new software.

Deb Pagel is highly skilled at analyzing situations and getting to the real issue in order to help clients implement effective solutions. In addition to her operations and vast human resource experience, Debra also has a sound understanding of systems and logic from her MIS background. With nearly 20 years of hands-on experience, Debra is a human resource veteran. Her background in change management, recruiting, hiring, compensation, training, organizational and team development allows her to provide her clients the best possible advice based on real world experience. A highly accomplished trainer and facilitator, Debra has presented numerous workshops on many human resource topics including change management, leadership and development, interviewing, compensation, time management, supervisory skills, and harassment.

Kenny Retzl recently joined Wipfli LLP's Nonprofit and Government Practice, bringing a great passion for building lasting client relationships. “Working alongside those who are helping others, whether in government or nonprofit organizations, provides me with great satisfaction,” says Kenny. He wants his clients to look to him, and Wipfli, as a valued resource and advisor—not just as an auditor who comes once a year and forgets about their ongoing needs.

Prior to joining Wipfli, Kenny spent nearly five years auditing municipalities, state agencies, colleges, and technical college districts. Kenny has experience working on several different types of engagements, including financial, TIF, and A-133 audits, but says his true passion is working with clients and ensuring they get the most value from an audit. He looks forward to continuing Wipfli's high-quality, customer-focused services.

Rich Ruvelson has nearly 25 years of experience in providing tax services to nonprofit clients, including colleges and universities, hospitals and hospital systems, federated fund-raising agencies, private foundations, religious organizations, private schools, grant-funded organizations, trade associations, and other entities. He has worked closely with clients on a wide range of nonprofit issues including unrelated business income tax, exemption, choice of entity, lobbying, private foundation rules and charitable giving and substantiation. Prior to joining Wipfli, Rich gained experience through leadership roles with nonprofit tax practices in Southern California, New England, the Pacific Northwest, and Kansas. Rich has worked with both Big 4 and local accounting firms and has worked with both large and small nonprofit clients. Outside of public accounting, he has served as corporate tax manager of the University of Washington and as treasurer and finance director of the California Endowment. Rich is currently an adjunct professor in the Master of Business Taxation Program at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. He has also served as an active board member on a wide variety of nonprofit boards. Rich's knowledge and experience, together with his understanding of a client's business operations, are unique among nonprofit tax advisors and consultants.

Eric Waldron

For over a decade, Eric Waldron's focus has been on making clients more successful by assisting them in driving their risk management strategy into tactical execution and offering them real results by lowering their financial, operations, and information technology (IT) risks. The solutions Eric designs, executes, and manages are client-focused, sustainable, and exceed client expectations while meeting budgetary and other constraints.

In addition to serving his clients, Eric also seeks to educate others about risk services topics by conducting speaking engagements and serving as a roundtable facilitator with organizations such as the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), Financial Managers Association (FMA), and Association for Operations Management (APICS).

Jeff Wulf conducts financial and operational systems reviews for organizations. The purpose of these reviews is to give each organization an assessment of its current processes, to identify areas for financial and operational workflow improvement, and to redesign processes that enable organizational goals and objectives to be met and exceeded. Jeff Wulf combines experiences in management consulting and process improvement to provide a unique blend of talents for Wipfli's grant-funded clients. According to Jeff, “Inevitably, every successful organization will be forced to change and most change is difficult and unpleasant. Our consulting model focuses on your strategic mission and vision, so that the performance goals of your business are always at the forefront of our teamwork with you. We challenge ourselves to envision ideas that could make an immediate and long-term impact on the effectiveness and bottom-line performance of your organization.”

Mike Yankunas is a partner in Wipfli's Valuation, Forensic, and Litigation services group. Mike provides assurance services and an array of management consulting services for a number of industry groups, including nonprofit organizations. Mike is an experienced Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), having worked on numerous fraud cases dating back to 1988. His significant experience in this area of practice has resulted in his retention for various types of investigations, expert witness assignments, public speaking engagements, and board of director presentations. He has also authored various articles relating to fraud prevention and detection, and holds the designation Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Gerry Zack is an expert in financial and strategic management issues of nonprofit organizations. He has significant experience in fraud prevention and investigation, internal controls, compliance and ethics programs, risk management, auditing, accounting, and strategic planning, as well as developing and delivering training programs and publications in each of these areas. Gerry is the founder and president of Nonprofit Resource Center and Zack, P.C. Gerry is the author of the book, Fraud and Abuse in Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to Prevention and Detection (pub. 2003 by John Wiley & Sons). His most recent book, Fair Value Accounting Fraud: New Global Risks and Detection Techniques, was published in 2009. In addition to being a Certified Public Accountant, Gerry is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional. He is the recipient of the 2009 James Baker Trainer of the Year Award from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) He also serves on the ACFE faculty, delivering anti-fraud training throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

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