Akron University
 

Professor: Suzanne Gradisher, JD, MTax, MBA, CPA (inactive) | Phone (330) 972-6330 | Email: smg16@uakron.edu

Suzanne Gradisher is an Associate Professor of Business Law at The University of Akron. Suzanne earned her BBA in accounting from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, an MBA from Kent State University, a MTax and J.D. from the University of Akron.  She previously served as the Director of the university’s CFP® Board of Standard’s Inc. registered program and faculty advisor to the school’s FPA student chapter. She is currently the Chapter Advisor for Delta Sigma Pi, Theta Kappa chapter. She focuses her research on accounting, taxation, financial planning, and law. 

 

Jordan Acord | Phone: (216) 633-8940 | Email: jwa35@uakron.edu      

Jordan Acord is an undergraduate student majoring in Financial Planning at the University of Akron. Jordan interned at a firm over the summer learning the ins and outs of what goes into a smaller firm. He is a part of the University’s Marching Band as well as the Basketball Band. Jordan is currently looking for a full-time position following his graduation in May 2024.

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Alyssa St John | Phone: (234) 303-6175 | Email: ads235@uakron.edu

Alyssa St John is a senior Statistics – Actuarial Science major and is also minoring in Risk Management and Insurance at the University of Akron. She is currently studying for her P exam, which she plans to sit for in May. Alyssa currently works for a consulting company, CBIZ, as an actuarial intern. She is also President of her Gamma Iota Sigma chapter. Through both of these opportunities, she has learned a great deal about the opportunities for herself, and others, within the finance and insurance industries. Alyssa is currently looking for full-time employment following her graduation in May 2024.

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Slippery Rock University

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Professor: Lua Augustin | Phone: 724-738-4374 | Email: lua.augustin@sru.edu

Lua A. V. Augustin is an Associate Professor of Finance at Slippery Rock University, where she teaches Personal Financial Planning, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Insurance at the undergraduate level. She also teaches Global Dynamics of Business and Managerial Finance at the graduate level. Dr. Augustin's research interests include financial literacy, credit usage, and alternative investments. Dr. Augustin received her Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University, her M.Ed. from Lamar University, and her MBA and BBA from Midwestern State University. She currently serves as the faculty advisor for Beta Gamma Sigma, which is the honor society for the College of Business.

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Jessica Stroh | Phone: (412) 328-3801 | Email: Jes1038@sru.edu

Jessica is a senior dual major in marketing and finance at Slippery Rock University. During her time at Slippery Rock University, she has made the Dean's List for six consecutive semesters. She was also a recipient of the presidential scholar award which is given to the top 20 students in each class. On campus she is involved in the Rock-Solid Investment Club, American Marketing Association (AMA), Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, and Beta Gamma Sigma Honors Society where she is the vice president of alumni relations. Last year she presented research at the Slippery Rock Symposium for Student Research. The focus of her research was on the lack of female representation within the financial sector.

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Outside of school, Jessica works for Gateway Hospice as a marketing assistant as well as the Monroeville Marlins Swim Association as a swim coach. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walking her dogs, and going to sporting events. After receiving her undergraduate degree in December 2023, she plans to return to Slippery Rock University to pursue her master’s in business administration with a concentration in finance.

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Erin Wallace | Phone: (724)968-9029 | Email: Emw1020@sru.edu

Erin Wallace is a senior dual major in marketing and information systems at Slippery Rock University. She is a secretary and project manager of Slippery Rock’s American Marketing Association chapter and is the Senator for the college of business in the student government association. She found her passion for finance through the Rock-Solid Investment Club and has been a member for 3 years. While being involved in school, Erin has been able to maintain a GPA of 3.75 and is a recurring member of the Dean’s List. Recently, she has been accepted to Slippery Rock University’s MBA program where she plans to continue her studies after graduation.

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Erin recently finished her internship at Cleveland Cliffs, where she worked in the Information Technology department for a year and a half. Before that, she was a Project Management Intern at Webcleats, a software development company. Outside of school and work, Erin enjoys spending time outside and going to visit family and friends. After she is finished with her master’s degree, Erin plans to pursue a career in market research.

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Texas A & M University

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Professor: Nick Kilmer, MBA | Phone: (979)-845-4060 | Email: nkilmer@tamu.edu

Nick Kilmer is an instructor for the Texas A&M Financial Planning Program in the Department of Agricultural Economics. He instructs AGLS 235 Foundations of Money Education, which teaches students about banking, credit, home buying, investing, etc. Prior to teaching, Nick founded the Texas A&M Money Education Center, managed the Texas A&M Veteran Services Office, served as a financial aid supervisor at Texas A&M, and worked in financial planning and banking.

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McKenna Martin | Phone: (210)-262-6114 | Email: kennamartin03@tamu.edu

McKenna Martin, Class of 2025, is a Finance major with a double minor in Financial Planning and Spanish. She is involved with several student organizations at Texas A&M, including the Judo Team and the Financial Planning Student Association (FPSA). Recently, she was chosen to be a part of the Texas A&M FPA competition team for the 2023 year and has since been to two conferences for financial planning. She has hopes of completing her CFP® certification after graduation.

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Emily Harris | Phone: (210)-721-1602 | Email: emilyharris@tamu.edu

Emily Harris, Class of 2026, is an Accounting major with a Financial Planning minor. She plans to pursue the PPA program at Texas A&M and graduate with a Masters in Finance in five years. She is involved in Aggie Sisters for Christ, a women's organization at Texas A&M, as well as serving as the treasurer of the Financial Planning Student Association (FPSA). She also was selected for the FPA Financial Planning Competition for the 2023 year, representing Texas A&M as part of their competition team. For the summer of 2023, she worked at a Christian camp in Houston called Camp Eagle to grow in her faith while taking financial planning classes to expand her knowledge.  Emily is excited to participate in this competition as she is not decided on what her future holds but looks forward to hearing insight from professionals in the financial planning industry to explore her options to help decide whether she wants to pursue the CPA or CFP® certification.

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Kate Phillips | Phone: (936)-203-9357 | Email: kdelaneyp@tamu.edu

Howdy! My name is Kate Phillips and I am a sophomore accounting major at May’s Business School in Texas A&M University. I am a returning Financial Connextion competitor (I sailed with you all last year) and I am excited to say that I recently got accepted into the financial planning minor at TAMU and will begin pursuing that this spring! I’m very involved on campus. I am a member of Aggie Camping and a “Big” (older mentor for incoming TAMU students) freshman leadership organization called FRWD (Freshman Reflecting While Developing).

In my free time I love hiking, traveling, and reading. I am also a licensed real estate agent and have been working on growing my business all while balancing school and social events. I love staying busy and have a passion for working hard to better myself and those around me. I look forward to hopefully seeing you all again this winter!

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Ava Foster | Phone: (210)-542-7709 | Email: avaf18@tamu.edu 

Howdy! My name is Ava Foster and I am currently enrolled as a junior Industrial Distributions student at Texas A&M University- college of engineering. I started off my college education at Texas A&M University-Chevron Engineering Academy in San Antonio. This is a dual enrollment program where I took one class with an A&M professor at the community college campus and my other basic credits through the community college. This allowed me to stay home for the first year and still be a Texas A&M student. After a year I transitioned over to the college station campus as a sophomore. I also went through the entry to a major process or ETAM where I was accepted into chemical engineering. While in chemical engineering I was a marketing intern for a small start-up named Quicc. They are a company that uses software to automate closed captions. During this time I realized I was much better with people than I was with chemicals. Having this realization sparked my interest in business and I switched my major to Industrial Distribution. While I still appreciate my time in chemical engineering I knew I made the right choice when I walked into my first ID class and for the first time saw people smiling. Aside from school I am an avid reader, painter, and dreamer. I love making new connections with people and going on adventures.

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Texas Tech University

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Professor: Joseph Johnson, MS | Phone: (214) 335-9511 | Email: Joseph.a.Johnson@ttu.edu

Joseph Johnson is a Ph.D. candidate and Graduate Part-Time Instructor at Texas Tech University's School of Financial Planning. Course instruction experience includes financial planning fundamentals, risk management, and capstone. His research agenda includes long-term care insurance, retirement planning, and fintech.

 

Kade Sparger | Phone: (254) 243-0969 | Email: Kade.sparger@ttu.edu

My name is Kade Sparger, and I grew up in a small rural town in Texas called Gorman. I graduated from Gorman High School as Salutatorian and began attending Texas Tech University in pursuance of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in the Fall of 2018. In 2020 I graduated from Texas Tech University with Summa Cum Laude honors and two publications with me as coauthor. After, I worked for two and a half years as a Teller Supervisor in Lubbock, Texas. In Fall 2022 I began pursuing a bachelor’s degree in personal financial planning but soon switched to the Master’s track in Spring of 2023. My expected graduation date is Spring 2024, and I hope to use my familiarity of Psychology to expand on the client relationship and help to enhance what we know of client biases and how mental health affects financial advising and wellness overall.

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Andrew Matz | Phone: (660) 596-3710 | Email: amatz@ttu.edu

My name is Andrew Matz, and I grew up in a small town in Missouri called Sedalia. I lived in Sedalia for my entire life until moving to Lubbock in 2021 to begin my degree in Personal Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. I am very involved in the program and am President of Personal Financial Planning Association and I’m an educator in Knowledge Empowering You (KEY) where I give personal finance presentations in the Lubbock community. Last summer I completed my first internship with a wealth management firm and I am now looking forward to my second internship next summer before I graduate in May 2025.

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University of Northern Florida

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Professor: Inga Timmerman, Ph.D., CFP® | Email: inga.timmerman@unf.edu

Inga Timmerman has a PhD in finance from Florida Atlantic University. She joined the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida in August 2022.  Before UNF, she had academic appointments at California State University in Los Angeles and Oregon State University.  Inga’s research focuses on two main areas: individual financial decision making and issues related to the financial advising profession.  As a Certified Financial Planner, Inga is a practicing academic who maintains a private practice that focuses on individual financial decision making.

 

Raya Farooque | Phone: 904-254-9623 | Email: N01556122@unf.edu

Raya Farooque is a finance and financial planning major at the University of North Florida. She has experience in consumer banking and is currently a notary public in the state of Florida. Raya aims to sit for the CFP designation after graduation. Her decision to pursue a future in financial advising is due to her experience working as a banker assisting clients, and she seeks to expand her knowledge to better serve her clients in the future.

 

Matthew Roa | Phone: 754-757-7718 | Email: N01504592@unf.edu

Matthew Roa is a business administration and financial planning major at the University of North Florida. He has experience working at an award-winning CPA firm as an administrative assistant and works with his family’s insurance brokerage business. Matthew aspires to one day hold the CFP designation and start his own RIA firm assisting families and businesses in achieving their financial goals and aspirations.

 

University of Missouri – St. Louis

 

Professor: Gary Flotron, MBA, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®| Phone: (314) 308-9428 | Email: flotrong@umsl.edu

Gary Flotron is the Associate Director Financial Planning Programs at the College of Business Administration, University of Missouri - St. Louis, where he teaches courses in estate and trust planning, financial planning, retirement planning, employee benefits and life insurance. He is also principal of G. L. Flotron & Associates and specializes in the areas of trust-owned life insurance, estate and business planning, and executive and employee benefit plans.

 

Courtney Taylor | Phone (314) 701-2671 | Email: cat2hf@umsl.edu

Courtney, a senior at the University of Missouri St. Louis, is a first-generation college student pursing a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on finance. Currently, she serves as the Director of Operations in the finance club. Before joining, she attended St. Louis Community College, were she actively participated in campus organizations. Where, she became a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society, which is the highest academic recognition the college provides. While serving as President. Additionally, she was a member of the Student Government Association (SGA), serving as the Executive Board Representative. In this role, she advocated for students, staff, and administers by influencing decisions that improved the general state of affairs on campus, in the district, and in the community, as she completed her associate degree. In the spring of 2024, Courtney will finish her bachelor's degree. Post-graduation she would like to pursue a career in the finance industry that values her ability as a hard worker, who takes on any necessary task. Through great productivity and the capacity to finish tasks quickly. While possessing the ambition and drive to collaborate well with others in a team.

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Carter Wiegman | Phone (618) 315-3711 | Email: cwdc@umsl.edu

Carter, a second-generation college student, is a senior at the University of Missouri--St. Louis (UMSL) and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in finance. Prior to his devotion to studies at UMSL, he was a student at Lewis and Clark Community College where he earned his associate degree. While furthering his education, Carter has excelled in the automotive sales industry as well as outdoor, recreational equipment sales. In May of 2024, he will be completing his degree and post-graduation, and would like to earn a position in the finance field where he can advance his knowledge and utilize his skills in the most efficient way possible.

 

Franklin University

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Tracie Miller, PhD, CPA | Email: tracie.miller@franklin.edu

Dr. Tracie Miller, CPA, is the chair of the Accounting program at Franklin University. She has extensive teaching experience including faculty appointments at Austin Community College, Texas State University, Aims Community College, and The University of Texas-Austin. Dr. Miller received her doctoral degree from Texas A&M University. She has public accounting experience with Deloitte Tax LLP. She serves in numerous leadership roles for American Accounting Association, American Institute of CPAs, Teachers of Accounting at Two-Year Colleges, and Texas Society of CPAs. Dr. Miller has received several teaching and professional awards including the AAA / J. Michael and Mary Anne / Deloitte Foundation Cook Prize, TXCPA Outstanding Accounting Educator, and AICPA Bea Sanders Award. Dr. Miller is also an author of several accounting textbooks published by Pearson. 

 

Aims Community College

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Lori Hatchell, Professor | Phone 303.717.4207 (cell) | Email: lori.hatchell@aims.edu

With over 32 years of education experience, Lori is a full-time accounting and business professor at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado. She has practical work experience from various accounting firms and spent many years teaching secondary business and being the adviser to Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).  She is an instructor for varied accounting courses and assists with curriculum development.  Lori has developed many partnerships with the local business community through her sabbatical semester and business tours for her Capstone course.  She is a current member or has been a member of the following professional organizations: Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA), FBLA (professional membership), Colorado Business Educators (CBE), National Business Education Association (NBEA), American Accounting Association (AAA), and Teachers of Accounting at Two Year Colleges (TACTYC) serving as the treasurer.  Lori is currently serving as a chairperson for CTLA (Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting), which is part of AAA.