Our Faculty

Wendy Achilles began her career in public accounting as an auditor and transitioned to corporate taxation. She worked as a tax manager for a multinational corporation in eastern North Carolina where she performed tax compliance, international tax research, and SEC reporting. She left industry in 1999 to pursue a career in academics. She earned her PhD in accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University and her research interests include accounting education and online learning retention strategies. She is a licensed CPA in North Carolina.

Alisa Agozzino is an experienced instructor and expert of Public Relations Writing and Research, Business and Professional Speaking, Communication Research Methods, Digital Branding, Principles of Social Media, Public Speaking and Publicity, Media and Campaigns. She researches how social media or digital platforms impacts different industries. She received her PhD and MA from Bowling Green State University and her BA from Ohio Northern University.

Mike Aguilar is a senior lecturer of economics at UNC and director of the Credential in Quantitative Financial Economics, which is sponsored by and run in conjunction with the NASDAQ Foundation. His research centers on empirical finance and econometrics, inference with heavy tailed processes, portfolio theory, financial market informational efficiency, and private equity through the Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise at UNC Kenan-Flagler. He received his PhD in economics from UNC and a master’s in economics from NYU.

Frances Ellington is a senior tax manager at Green Hasson Janks. She served she as tax manager at Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. and Deloitte Tax, LLP in Los Angeles. She has worked on federal and state tax issues across the U.S. and completed three international rotations in India with Deloitte Tax, LLP. She is active CPA in California and North Carolina. She received her DBA from at Grenoble Ecole de Management and her MAC and BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Joshua Holley is a veteran of Big 4 accounting, and worked on technical accounting related to IPO and M&A transactions in New York. He started his own company providing fractional CFO services to early-stage, high-growth startups before he joined Gnomish Hat, a subscription box business, as executive vice president. He received a master’s of accountancy from Vanderbilt University and a BSBA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He is a CPA and Certified Internal Auditor. Previous to his university studies he served in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Ashraf Jaffer is an expert in financial accounting, financial statement analysis and managerial accounting. She teaches in the online MAC and MBA programs at UNC Kenan-Flagler, and an award-winning teacher. Her research focuses the theoretical issues of incentive compensation design, issues of information in capital markets, corporate finance and market microstructure. She received her PhD and MSc in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics, and a BA in economics from Grinnell College.

Chris Kennedy is responsible for the governance of models at Regions Bank in Birmingham, Alabama. He is co-founder and adviser of multiple startups, some of which are in fintech. His prior work includes banking quantitative audit modeling and analytics, corporate finance, credit modeling, accounting, engineering research, population healthcare quality management, retail operations and regulatory compliance. He received his PhD in nuclear engineering from NC State and received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Griffin Kennedy is a partner with an ownership stake in a restaurant group with operations around Chapel Hill and neighboring counties. He worked for PwC in its assurance practice and specialized in the audits and control implementation of life science, manufacturing, and non-profit companies. At Square1 Bank he worked as a portfolio analyst in the life-science practice to provide venture debt to start-up companies on the eastern seaboard. He received his MAC from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his BA in economics from UNC.

Brad Lindsey’s teaches in the areas of taxation and financial accounting. His primary research interests are in corporate tax avoidance, international taxation, accounting for income taxes and capital markets. Before he began his academic career, he worked for Deloitte and EY, where he was promoted to senior manager. He earned his PhD from UNC Kenan-Flagler and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University.

Shana Lyman has worked in accounting and tax for more than 20 years. She began her career in public accounting with Arthur Andersen’s tax practice in Atlanta. She has worked with several high net worth families, a boutique firm that serviced high net-worth families throughout the U.S. and in public accounting as a senior manager in corporate accounting and tax, servicing mainly small- to medium-size businesses and their entrepreneur owners. She is a CPA in Marietta, Georgia. She received a MAC from the University of Georgia and a BS in international business from Auburn University.

Matt Render leads the financial reporting, business unit control, accounting policy, commodity accounting and accounting development teams for Citadel and Citadel Securities. Previously he held roles at BP plc and Ernst & Young’s Assurance Services practice. He worked with large multinational companies in the oil and gas, financial services, commodity trading, manufacturing, mining and metals, and renewable industry sectors with both U.S. GAAP and IFRS reporting requirements. He is a CPA with Illinois and Washington licenses. He earned his MBA from the University of Chicago,  MSA from the University of Notre Dame and a BS in accountancy from Northern Illinois University.

Michael Schmidt has held numerous communication-based positions across the healthcare, higher education, and consulting industries. Mike began his formal communication training as a Teaching Assistant for renowned UNC Kenan-Flagler Professor and author, Dr. Heidi Schultz. A graduate of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and Michigan State University, Mike fully believes in the power of effective communication strategies and techniques. When he’s not teaching online classes, Mike flies single-engine airplanes in pursuit of outdoor adventures with his dog, Sparta.

Alexis Sexton has spent the last decade in academic healthcare administration at the University of California at both the San Diego and Los Angeles campuses. From infectious diseases, to hemophilia to psychiatry, she works with stakeholders at all levels to engage, communicate and progress developments in care paradigms. She received her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler, her master of public health from San Diego State University and her a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis.

Tom Staab is senior vice president, CFO and treasurer of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He has extensive experience with the financial stewardship of publicly traded companies, drug development, commercialization of pharmaceutical products, and raising capital through strategic partnerships, equity and debt financings. He previously served as EVP, CFO and treasurer of Inspire Pharmaceuticals. worked for PwC, providing audit and business advisory services to national and multinational corporations in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, and communications industries. He received his MAC and BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Mike Szalkowski runs a family office for a high net-worth individual who sold their business to Berkshire Hathaway in 2001. In that capacity, he is in charge of investments, accounting, income tax preparation, and estate planning. He began his career in 1988 at Arthur Andersen in the tax department, where he was instrumental in establishing its investment advisory practice. In 1996, he left Andersen to join Ernst & Young to run its high net worth practice in the Atlanta office.  He received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his BBA in accounting from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta

Karen Trott has worked in accounting for more than 20 years, primarily in the areas of individual, partnership, S corporation, and estate and gift tax. She served as a senior manager at Deloitte LLP in its private client advisors group, where she was responsible for all aspects of tax planning and financial planning for her high net worth clients. She also served as VP with U.S. Trust Company in its wealth management group. She manages her own business providing family office services for two high net worth families. She is a CPA and a certified financial planner. She earned her MAC and BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Casey Wentz is an attorney with Barringer Sasser, LLP in Cary, North Carolina. His areas of specialty include business/corporate transactions, contract law, corporate and individual taxation and commercial real estate. He has served as a city attorney and a legislative assistant in the North Carolina General Assembly. He is a member of the North Carolina Association of CPAs, AICPA, Tenth Judicial District Bar and North Carolina Bar Association. He received his JD from the UNC School of Law and earned his BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Libby Whitaker works in the financial services industry in an accounting policy role with Credit Suisse. She worked at joined Ernst & Young as a researcher in its national accounting services department in New York, and later moved into audit roles in its Raleigh and Grand Cayman, BWI offices. She graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler with both MAC and BSBA degrees.

Wendy Wilson specializes in teaching financial reporting and tax. She began her career in academia after working as a tax consultant for Arthur Andersen, LLP in Miami, Florida. She received her PhD in accounting from UNC Kenan-Flagler, MS in accounting from the University of Virginia and BA in accounting and finance from Florida State University.