2023 WCCI Conference

Charles Cross is the Vice President of Business and Finance at the University of San Francisco (USF), a Jesuit-Catholic university, with an enrollment of approximately 10,000 students.  Charlie has served in this capacity since 2000 and previously served USF in numerous finance-related roles beginning in 1979.  Charlie is responsible for USF’s financial reporting, budgeting, investment and treasury services, facilities management, risk management, tax compliance, and its NCAA Division I athletic programs.  Charlie serves the Board of Trustees through its Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Facilities Committee, Investment Committee, and its Athletic Oversight Committee. Charlie earned his BA and MBA from the University of San Francisco.  He serves and has served on numerous not-for-profit boards as well as foundation Boards and has chaired the West Coast Conference Finance Committee for over a decade.

Special Agent (SA) Cugno entered on duty with the FBI on May 7, 2000.  He was assigned to the FBI Los Angeles Field Office’s (FBILA) Cyber Crime Squad.  SA Cugno was also a Team Leader for the FBI’s Evidence Response Team (ERT).  As an ERT Team Leader, SA Cugno led crime scene investigators during the collection of evidence in a variety of investigations, including but not limited to, bank robberies, kidnappings, homicides, Agent-involved shootings, and airplane disasters. 

Since 2006, SA Cugno has maintained the position of the FBILA’s Primary Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) Coordinator.  In this role, SA Cugno assists with the investigation of repetitive and violent crimes, counterterrorism, and threatening communications.  In addition to his primary role as the BAU Coordinator, SA Cugno also provides leadership and consultation in the following six specialized areas concurrently: Threat Management Coordinator, Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team – West Coast Team Leader, Threat Assessment ReGional Evaluation Team (TARGET) – Director, Campus Liaison Agent, Adjunct Faculty Instructor, and Crisis Negotiator.

In 2022, SA Cugno was selected to be a member of the California Child Abduction Task Force and Los Angeles County’s Veteran Suicide Review Team (VSRT).

SA Cugno holds a Master of Science Degree in Justice, Law and Society.

Spencer Endicott is a Managing Director in KPMG’s Southern California practice. He has over 20 years of experience in providing financial statements and compliance audits to higher education organizations, foundations, and other not-for-profit entities. He has extensive experience in alternative investments, complex contributions, annuity agreements and uniform guidance audits. Spencer has frequently assisted clients in their initial adoption of new accounting pronouncements. He has also been a member of the firm’s quality performance review inspections team, assessing audit quality and results. He frequently leads technical updates and courses to higher education institutions as well as within KPMG.

Mike’s 45-year career in higher education administration began with 10 years serving in various business and finance roles in the central business office of Claremont University Center (central coordinating institution of The Claremont Colleges at the time). In 1981 he became VP for Business and Finance, and Treasurer of Claremont University Center and in that role served as the chief business officer of the University Center’s two divisions, Claremont Graduate University and the Central Programs and Services of The Claremont Colleges.

Subsequent to Claremont, Mike served as VP of Administration and Finance at Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA, VP of Finance and CFO at Drew University in Madison, NJ, and VP for Finance and Administration at Holy Names University in Oakland, CA. After a little over a year as VPFA at Holy Names, the Board of Trustees appointed Mike HNU’s President, a role he held for 5+ years until his retirement in 2023. During his career, Mike also served on the Boards not-for-profit organizations, primarily in healthcare.

Mike holds a BS in Economics from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and an EMBA from Claremont Graduate University.

Harold Hewitt, Jr. joined Chapman University as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 2007.  Mr. Hewitt has served independent higher education as a financial administrator for over 30 years, including as the Assistant to the Treasurer of the Claremont University Center (1986-88), Vice President for Business and Finance at Whittier College (1989-96), Vice President for Business and Finance and CFO at Occidental College (1996-06).  His past professional association service includes:  WACUBO’s representative to the NACUBO Small Institutions Council, the NACUBO Tuition Discounting Survey Advisory Board, Program Chair for NACUBO’s program “The Business of Enrollment Management;” member, WACUBO’s Professional Development Committee; Chair, WACUBO Host and Program Committees; President, WACUBO; and member, NACUBO Board of Directors.  He has made several presentations and participated on program panels for NACUBO, WACUBO, and TIAA-CREF’s Higher Education Institute.  He has been active for years as a volunteer for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WSCUC), serving as a site visit team member, special visit team Chair, panel member for WSCUC appeal and review committees, Co-Chair of WSCUC’s Substantive Change Committee, and Chair of the WSCUC Commission.  He earned his MBA with a concentration in finance from the Drucker School of Management at The Claremont Graduate University, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Chapman University in 2021.

Dr. Robert Lee is an associate professor of accounting and Director of Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.  He earned his Ph.D. in accounting from Drexel University, a master in accountancy degree from Villanova University and a bachelor of arts degree in economics and mathematics from the University of Michigan. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and certified management accountant (CMA).  He has worked for companies such as PwC, KPMG, Conversant, and Thomson Company and currently provides consulting services to companies in the Los Angeles area.   

He has a deep passion for teaching and inspiring students to understand accounting and applying it to the workplace. He currently teaches in the MBA, MS in Applied Finance, MS in Global Business, MS in Real Estate, and online programs at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. Dr. Lee has won various teaching awards, such as the Pepperdine Graziadio Transformation Teaching Award, Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence, PhD Instructor Award and Teaching Assistant Award.

His research focuses on examining the judgment and decision-making process in accounting and auditing contexts. His dissertation was awarded the doctoral student grant from the IMA Research Foundation. In 2015, he received the Rothschild Research Fellow and was awarded a Julian Virtue Scholarship in 2013-14 and 2017-19. Dr. Lee has published in various accounting journals, such as the Journal of Business Ethics, Advances in Taxation, Managerial Auditing Journal, Strategic Finance, Management Accounting Quarterly and others.

He is a member of the American Accounting Association, Institute of Management Accountants, American Institute of CPAs, and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. 

Olga concentrates her practice on tax and structuring aspects of private equity, venture capital and SBIC fund formation and complex business transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, recapitalizations, debt and equity restructurings, and executive compensation.

Olga represents funds and fund sponsors in tax structuring, negotiating, and forming private equity and venture capital funds. She plans and structures other complex business transactions, including corporate mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and venture capital investments. Furthermore, she represents large public and private corporations on tax structuring of IPOs, SPACs, spin-offs, debt restructurings and general tax planning.

Olga regularly represents large and mid-size private equity funds and their management companies. These clients invest in North America, Europe, and Latin America. She also advises real estate funds and investors in tax structuring matters, including REIT counsel and planning and cross-border analysis.

Additionally, Olga is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois College of Law, where she teaches a course on tax structuring of private investment funds and a lecturer at the Venture Capital Institute, where she teaches a course on venture capital funds and investments. 

The Legal 500 US sources describe Olga as “an outstanding partner with deep technical tax knowledge, effective administration of client matters, billing transparency including adherence to budgets and bringing the appropriate individuals with the technical expertise on to client matters.” 

Julie McCulloh joined Gonzaga’s Office of Admission in the summer of 1993 as a receptionist while pursuing her Master’s in Business Administration.  From her early years, Julie worked in various aspects of admission work including transfer counseling and credit evaluation, records management, admission recruiting and counseling, and administration.  She was appointed Dean of Admission in 2003 and served continuously in that role until 2019, when she was appointed to Associate Provost of Enrollment Management and promoted to Vice Provost of Enrollment Management in 2022.  Throughout her time with Gonzaga, she has been involved in various professional organizations including PNACAC, the College Board, ACT, and the Washington Council.

Currently, Julie oversees Undergraduate Admission, Graduate Enrollment Management, Admission Operations, the Center for Lifelong Learning, and Student Financial Services. 

Julie’s areas of interest in higher education include equity and access, and she works to make a Gonzaga education accessible for those seeking exemplary education for lives of leadership and service for the common good. 

Michael Osborn covers a diverse portfolio of colleges and universities as well as a variety of not-for-profit organizations primarily in the Midwest and Western United States.

Michael has authored various sector related publications, including the Higher Education Outlook and extensive research on the impact of cyber security in higher education. His higher education experience extends to time spent in banking and working directly for a small liberal arts college. Michael was a Vice President in the Education and Not-for-Profit practice at Wells Fargo Bank. He was also the Senior Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at a private college. Michael holds an MBA from Fordham University and a BA from Michigan State University.

John Ojeisekhoba is an Associate Vice President and Chief of Campus Safety at Biola University. Since commencing his career at Biola University in 1998, he has continuously developed proactive strategies and promoted excellence in campus safety. A notable accomplishment is his campus safety model, which identifies critical areas that accomplish the department’s objectives to achieve the highest standards to serve students. As Associate Vice President, he also leads the university’s emergency and disaster resilience efforts and the university’s international travel safety and risk mitigation office. He has participated in and led task forces for the university, the county of Los Angeles, and the state of California. He serves as a Commissioner for the City of La Mirada Public Safety Commission. Chief Ojeisekhoba provided input to the White House on safety and security issues impacting higher education institutions and was appointed by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as an advisor to the Homeland Security Academic Partnership Council (HSAPC).

Chief Ojeisekhoba served as the 64th president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) and has garnered several awards over the years, including the 2023 Award of Distinction from the California College and University Police Chiefs Association, the 2023 National Medal of Peace from the National Stop the Violence Alliance, the 2021 Achievers Award from NOBLE, the Campus Safety Magazine’s Director of the Year Award, the City of La Mirada Mayor’s Award, the Reserve Police Officer of the Year Award, the Merit Award from IACLEA, the Hoffman Award from Biola University, and Special Recognition and Achievement awards from the County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Chief Ojeisekhoba has been part of the adjunct faculty at Biola University for 19 years and serves on both the Biola President’s Executive Leadership Council. He graduated from Biola University with master’s degrees in international business & Intercultural Studies and Organizational Leadership.

Kristy Paredes Collins earned her BA and MA from Pepperdine University. She has a PhD in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University. She has served in higher education since 2005, and returned to Pepperdine in August 2015 as dean of enrollment management. 

Currently the Assistant Vice President for Enrollment, he has been with the University of San Diego since 1999.  He oversees the offices of Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions, Financial Aid, Registrar, and One Stop Student Services Center.  Prior to his current role, he served as Director of Admissions.  

Prior to joining USD, he worked for 13 years at American University in Washington, D.C. He began his admissions career at Fordham University in New York City. 

He received his Bachelor’s degree from St. John’s University and Master’s degree from Teachers College in New York. He has served as Board Member and President of the National Catholic College Admissions Association and recently completed his term on the Board of Directors of the National Association of College Admission Counseling.

With a strong and diverse background in higher education finance, Chief Financial Officer Greg Ramirez, CPA (’03), has developed an expertise in prospective strategy through the design and implementation of collaboration-based forecast processes and sophisticated financial models. As CFO, he provides strategic leadership for the University’s operating budget, financial and capital resources, and finance operations. He is currently responsible for oversight of the Controller’s Office, payroll, accounting, finance systems, payables, purchasing, tax, and financial planning and is the liaison to the Board of Regents on the Finance and Administration Committee.

Ramirez is also a recognized leader in the higher education finance sector, having presented innovative planning and budgeting concepts at the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Oracle User Group annual conferences. He was selected into the 2019 Western Association of College and University Business Officers Leadership Program and was also named Pepperdine University’s 2019 Helen M. Young Fellow.

Kathryn (Katy) Roig joined the University of San Diego in 2007 and currently serves as the Vice President for Finance & CFO. Ms. Roig has been actively involved in the management of USD’s finances, first as Controller from 2007 to 2011, then as Associate Vice President for Finance from 2011 to 2019, and now as Vice President for Finance & CFO.  In this capacity, she leads the Finance Office, comprised of five distinct operating units, all providing core financial services to the University of San Diego community.  The Finance Office strives to provide innovative financial leadership and business solutions that support an exemplary educational experience for our students.  Our mission is founded upon integrity, teamwork and preeminent resource stewardship to ensure USD’s financial strength for generations to come.

The Associate Vice President for Finance’s Office oversees Reporting & Compliance, the Controller’s Office, Procurement and the Real Estate Administrator.  Reporting & Compliance involves oversight of all compliance efforts associated with the university’s financial portfolio; this includes USD’s Section 501c(3) tax exemption, monitoring compliance on the university’s tax-exempt bond portfolio; and administering all other financial federal and state tax and compliance laws. Procurement purchases goods and services in the conduct of university business and construction. This unit negotiates competitive supplier contracts and performs vendor evaluations. The Real Estate Administrator oversees the university’s off-campus rental housing program and the Faculty Home Buying Assistance Program.

The Controller’s Office is responsible for financial record keeping and internal controls and includes the offices of Accounting and Payroll. The Accounting Office maintains the university’s general ledger, the system of record for all financial transactions. Accounting manages the month and year-end closures of the university’s financial records and performs all post-award reporting for government grants and contracts. The Payroll Office processes paychecks, taxes, withholdings, and remittances for over two thousand employees and student workers.  The Payroll team oversees the University’s time-keeping system and also provides support surrounding federal and state taxation issues to the University’s non-U.S. resident student population.

The Office of Budget & Planning develops annual budgets and long-term financial plans that support USD’s mission and strategic objectives. This unit monitors spending for over five hundred department operating budgets and implements capital funding initiatives for the renewal of equipment, buildings and grounds in the conduct of maintaining USD’s aesthetic standards.

The Office of Risk Management protects property, environmental, financial, and other resources in the conduct of university business. This unit negotiates and manages all commercial insurance policies and trains campus personnel on emergency preparedness and business continuity.

Student Financial Services is responsible for billing and collecting tuition, room, board, and other fees for over 8,000 students. This unit includes the Loan Administration team, which administers, disburses, and collects student loans for all federal and campus-based loan programs. The Cashier’s Office accepts and processes payments made to the university for tuition and fees. The Cashier also processes daily deposits for dining services, bookstore, and athletic ticket sales among others, to the university’s central operating account.

Treasury & Financial Systems portfolio includes oversight of the Treasury, Financial Systems, Accounts Payable, and the Torero Travel and Expense teams.  Treasury manages the university’s cash flow and short, intermediate, and long-term investment portfolios, including management of the University’s endowment portfolio and related reporting.  The Treasury team is the direct liaison with the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and the University’s global investment research and consulting partner, Cambridge Associates.  Additionally, the Treasury team is responsible for data security standards for all credit card terminals on campus, also known as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance.  Financial Systems is responsible for the oversight and maintenance of the university’s financial systems, including Oracle, Noetix, Concur, and Kronos. Accounts Payable processes the university’s cash disbursements to suppliers and employees for expense reimbursement. The Torero Travel and Expense team manages the university’s travel program and Onecard credit card programs, administered through the SAP Concur platform.

Katy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a Master of Science in Executive Leadership (MSEL) from the University of San Diego. Her public accounting experience focused on not-for-profit organizations, specifically in the healthcare industry. This led to her first industry position as the Controller for the Sharp Healthcare system of four hospitals, two medical groups and a health plan.

Katy and her husband Rob have called San Diego home for the past 20 years.  They spend their weekends enjoying all that San Diego has to offer with their two sons, Bryce and Cooper.

Nicolle Taylor serves as Pepperdine University’s Vice President and Chief Business Officer, overseeing many operational areas and functions, including public safety, business/auxiliary services, sustainability, governmental and regulatory affairs, graduate campuses, human resources, real estate operations, and special programs. In her leadership capacity, Nicolle Taylor serves on the University’s Steering Committee, University Management Committee, and is the Vice Chair of the Emergency Operations Committee (EOC), which is Pepperdine’s centralized decision-making body during emergencies, managing issues including health and safety, emergency operations, government and agency coordination, communications, institutional coordination, tracking and distilling crisis information, forecasting implications, and benchmarking.

She is a double Pepperdine alumna, holding a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Seaver College and a Juris Doctor degree from the Caruso School of Law. Prior to rejoining the Pepperdine community in 2015, she worked in the investment industry for 15 years.

Brian Thomason, Vice President for Finance and Controller at Chapman University, earned a BBA in Finance, from Abilene Christian University (TX) and his MBA in Finance from Auburn University.  Brian began his career at Pepperdine University in the Office of Financial Planning but soon returned to ACU as Manager of Financial Planning and Reporting.  In 2004, he began his second tour of duty at Pepperdine University and in 2007 was named University Controller, and Associate Vice President in 2011.  After a three-year stint at JP Morgan, serving their commercial bank as an in-house expert on the Higher Education industry and working with over 100 colleges and universities to improve their financial operations, Brian was appointed to the position of Vice President of Finance and Controller at Chapman University in August 2021. Brian is a CPA and has over 25 years’ experience in higher education finance and accounting.  In addition, he has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine’s Seaver College, Graziadio School of Business and Management, and at Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics.  He is also Executive Vice President of the BMW Car Club of America and is a member of the Board of Global Samaritan Resources, an Abilene, TX-based non-profit that sends medical relief supplies and equipment around the world.

Lindsay is a Partner in Cambridge Associates’ San Francisco office. For the past 27 years he has focused on serving colleges, universities, and foundations with charitable missions. He works with institutions on investment issues around asset allocation, manager selection, manager access, risk tolerance, and performance evaluation. He also serves as specialist consultant focused on private investments, including venture capital, growth equity, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, private credit, energy, and agriculture. 

Prior to joining Cambridge Associates in 1995, Lindsay performed equity research on technology stocks at Volpe, Welty. Previously, he was the Director of Client Services and Technical Development at Securities Data Company for six years. In this role, he also managed the research effort of the firm’s public and private securities offering databases.

Al Vasquez spent 34 years in law enforcement at several agencies with the last 16 years as a Police Chief at four (4) educational institutions. He worked overseas with the United Nations in Bosnia, Kosovo, and East Timor. Additionally, he worked for the US Department of Justice-International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program-US DOJ ICITAP.

Educationally, Al received his Bachelor of Science degree from CSU-Los Angeles, his first Master’s degree from Chapman University, his Doctorate from the University of Southern California, and his second Master’s degree from the US Naval Postgraduate School-Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

Additionally, Al is currently employed by Chapman University as the Vice President for Enterprise Risk and Safety. Prior to that, he was an Associate Vice President for Strategic Enterprise Risk Management at Cal Poly Pomona, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enterprise Risk Management at UC Riverside and Assistant Vice Chancellor and Police Chief at UC Merced. He also worked at Santa Monica College and in the K12 system educational systems as a Police Chief.

The incidents he will be discussing today occurred while he was Police Chief at Santa Monica College and UC Merced.

Daniel Wu is an accomplished technical leader with more than two decades of experience in software engineering, AI/ML, and team development.

As the Head of Commercial Banking IA and Machine Learning at JP Morgan Chase, he spearheads the transformation of financial services through the innovative use of AI. Daniel’s diverse professional background encompasses various successful ventures, including the creation of point of care expert systems, co-founding an online personal finance marketplace, and building an online real estate brokerage platform.

Passionate about technology democratization and ethical AI practices, Daniel actively promotes these principles through his involvement in computer science and AI/ML education programs. He is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences, business leader gatherings, and corporate training events, where he shares his insights and experiences.

Daniel holds his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University.