Faculty and advisors

Rebecca Thoune

Signing Director, CliftonLarsonAllen

Hunter Arwood

Partner, Falco Sult

Hunter manages Falco Sult’s business brokerage and business valuation engagements. He joined the team in July 2019 after a brief hiatus from the firm. Hunter brings valuable insights to clients that he has gained from over nine years of professional experience serving local business owners in the Pacific Northwest, since graduating cum laude from Western Washington University in 2015. As both a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Valuation Analyst, Hunter leverages his expertise in business valuation and fluency in financial analysis to provide clear answers to clients who are seeking to either understand what their business is worth or for those who are considering a sale or transition of their business.

Colby Mayberry

Financial Advisor, Edward Jones

Colby is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Washington state, where he works closely with supply chain professionals and small business owners to build and manage their financial strategies. He holds multiple professional designations including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®), Certified Exit Planning Advisor® (CEPA®), and Accredited Asset Management Specialist™ (AAMS®). Known for his client-focused approach, Colby is committed to helping clients achieve their long-term financial goals through thoughtful planning and ongoing guidance.

Bill Scott

Principal, CliftonLarsonAllen

Bill is a Principal in the Agriculture, Food and Beverage industry group at CliftonLarsonAllen, specializing in tax planning and compliance. With over 13 years of experience at CLA, he serves as the Western Ohio office AFB industry group leader. Industry practice areas include cooperatives, producers, and manufacturing and distribution. Bill is a leader on CLA’s national cooperative tax team and leads monthly team calls to discuss cooperative related tax topics. Bill is a frequent speaker on tax reform and other tax related topics, including industry-specific conference breakout sessions and seminars.

Dave Policano

Founder, Policano Consulting

Dave is a consulting CFO providing financial leadership, business operations, and strategic advisory services to nonprofits, social businesses and for-profits. He has more than 10 years of experience in investing, advisory, and operating roles leading teams, implementing solutions and offering insights to help companies grow and innovate.

Christine Rico 

Founder & Consulting CFO, CFO on Speed Dial

Christine has 25 years of experience in business development, financial management and coaching to support business owners with critical financial decisions and building profit. She is a CFO who advises food companies on financial strategy and profit optimization while sharing in the delight of setting new food trends.

Alison Lingane

Founder and CEO of Ownership Capital Lab

A serial social entrepreneur, Alison has dedicated her career to leveraging business as a force for good. She is a nationally recognized employee ownership expert, having co-founded Project Equity, a leader in the movement to harness employee ownership to maintain thriving local business communities, honor selling owners’ legacies, and address income and wealth inequality. Alison also founded the Employee Ownership Catalyst Fund, developed to address a critical bank financing gap for employee ownership transitions.

Brett Heeger

Founding Partner, Gundzik Gundzik Heeger

Corporate and securities attorney focused on community wealth building and social-impact minded businesses, and leader of a law firm operating as a worker-owned cooperative. Strong experience leveraging legal tools to support client goals: from profit and growth to impact and inclusion. Regular presenter and writer on employee ownership matters for both legal and lay audiences.

Chris Wingard

Attorney, Kleinbard

Chris is an associate in Kleinbard’s Business & Finance Practice. He advises corporations, shareholders, directors and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustees on a wide variety of ESOP-related issues. He provides guidance regarding ESOP transactions, corporate governance, business succession planning, ESOP plan design and ongoing ESOP compliance.

Michael Pasahow

Counsel, Faegre Drinker

I am a trusted adviser to corporate and fiduciary clients, focusing on employee benefits law and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions. In particular, ownership transitions and fostering successful employee-owned businesses. I also leverage my decade-plus experience with ESOP administration to assist my clients with qualified plan compliance and correction matters as well as ESOP sustainability.

Sam Brownell

Financial Advisor and Founder, Stratus Wealth Advisors

Sam Brownell, CVA, CFA, MBA has been a financial professional since 2006 and formed Stratus Capital Management in July 2013 to provide goals-based financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, and independent business owners. As the firm grew, an increasing number of independent business owners sought Sam’s advice on their short and long-term planning needs, including valuation, tax strategy, business continuity planning, and succession planning. In 2019, Sam obtained the CVA certification from the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) in order to better serve the valuation and succession planning needs of his independent business owner clients.

Sam earned his BA in Economics from Loyola University in Maryland and his MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Prior to forming Stratus Wealth Advisors, Sam worked in trading, valuation, and research at two investment banks, where he became a CFA Charterholder, and was an economic consultant analyzing structured financial products and other fixed income securities.

In his free time, Sam gives back to his community as treasurer of a local, DC-area non-profit focused on teaching children to swim, and he is also an avid fly fisherman. Sam and his wife, Sara, reside in Kensington, MD, with their sons Felix and Finn.

Alexandra Devendra

Owner, Attorney, Aligned Law

Sulayman Nyang, Jr.

Financial Advisor, MBA, CEPA, Edward Jones

As an Edward Jones financial advisor, I am proud to serve a wide variety of clients across the country. Specifically, I work with serious individual investors, executives and multi-generational families to develop retirement, wealth accumulation and wealth transfer strategies. I also enjoy working with business owners and nonprofit organizations, with whom I create strategies to help with business succession, asset growth, tax strategies, charitable giving and wealth transfer. No matter the situation, my clients are assured that I will work tirelessly to help them achieve their goals confidently and comfortably. Additionally, I help my clients understand the investment world in terms they can understand so they know why I suggest a specific strategy and what to expect from it.

I have pursued extensive training in entrepreneurship and exit planning in order to further assist business owners with exit planning needs and executive compensation structures. I hold the Certified Exit Planning Advisor® designation, in addition to an MBA from the Porter Byrum School of Business at Wingate University.

I am honored to partner with clients throughout their lives by helping them not only plan for the expected but prepare for the unexpected with diverse protection strategies

Martin Staubus

Senior Consultant, Former Executive Director, UCSD Beyster Institute

As a Senior Consultant for the UCSD Beyster Institute, Martin enables private business owners to liquidate their stock on their own terms by selling to an ESOP. He also leads growing companies through the process of designing equity compensation programs that motivate performance through a stake in success.

Abran Villegas

Managing Director, Lazear Capital Partners

Abran Villegas is a native of Albuquerque and has spent the last 23 years in banking. At Lazear Capital Partners, his focus is on finding creative solutions for his clients. Areas of expertise include Solar, Tax Credits, Owner Occupied Real Estate, Contractors and Middle Market Businesses.

He holds a Bachelor’s from Georgetown and an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management. He plays in a mariachi and also serves on various nonprofit boards. Charitable work includes the Maricopa Community College Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, Tiempo, Inc. and SW Center for HIV and Aids.

Stacey Smith

Senior Vice President, Head of Programs

Stacey has spent most of her career helping businesses examine their impact and aligning it with their values. She started as a CPA with Arthur Andersen, then moved into strategy and organizational development. Seeking to devote her financial expertise to social and environmental issues, she was an early mover in the field of sustainability and corporate responsibility in the US. She joined Business for Social Responsibility in 2001 to build their business consulting practice and spent the next decade guiding Fortune 500 companies to address their negative impacts. Recently, Stacey began consulting to nonprofits and foundations to strengthen their strategy, management, and governance practices. Through her work with the Public Equity Group and her own independent practice, she explored the structural barriers to wealth and other drivers of generational poverty. At Project Equity she is helping grow our team of professionals to accelerate the adoption of employee ownership as a key to building wealth and high-quality careers in communities. In addition to having been a licensed CPA, Stacey has a degree in Business Administration from the University of Vermont and has done coursework in International Business Studies at the University of Copenhagen. When she is not working, you can find her hiking the Bay Area hills, indulging in the restaurant scene, and playing with her family.

Emily Bergstrom

Former Senior Manager of Investments & Partnerships, Project Equity

Emily is the Director of Manufacturing Operations for Meliora Cleaning Products. Before that she served as the Senior Manager, Investments & Partnerships at Project Equity for several years. At Project Equity, she advised owners on the benefits of transitioning their company to an employee-owned structure. Emily has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with a focus on operations and economics. She received a Fulbright scholarship and spent two years abroad in Latin America, becoming fluent in Spanish. She earned her undergraduate degree at Michigan State University and comes from a long line of hard-working Detroiters.

Laura Flores

Senior Client Services Manager, Oakland

Laura started her career as a community organizer and developed a passion for advancing equity and social justice. In her most recent role, she supported 10 nonprofit organizations to build operational infrastructure that drives their mission. As a Client Services Manager for Project Equity, she simplifies the process for owners to sell their business and for employees to become owners. She is an agile facilitator and capacity builder with a knack for making information accessible and engaging diverse audiences. She received her BA in Global Studies from the University of California Santa Barbara and an MBA from Mills College. She is a wannabe bookworm who enjoys a good cortado, meditating, and nurturing her creativity.

David Gray

Director, Client Services

David Gray is the Director of Client Services at Project Equity, where he has spent many years helping businesses transition to employee ownership. His entrepreneurial experience spans founding and operating retail ventures focused on social impact, including fair-trade and sustainable business models. David has successfully launched startups, managed operations, and led business development initiatives across various sectors. Drawing from his extensive background in leadership and social enterprise, David brings his unique perspective to addressing the complex challenges businesses face when transitioning to EO. His particular focus is on expanding innovative ownership models like Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs).

In the field, David actively cultivates strategic partnerships. He is adept at fostering collaboration among practitioners, advocates, and organizations within the employee ownership ecosystem to broaden access to these emerging solutions.

Additionally, David excels in developing strategic governance plans that support organizational growth. With his extensive training and experience in conflict mediation, he facilitates difficult conversations, guiding them to creative solutions. His understanding of interpersonal dynamics helps build trust, develop leadership, and cast a vision for viable new organizational realities.

Courtney Kemp

Senior Client Services Manager

Courtney is passionate about driving positive social, economic and environmental impact in local communities through supporting the operations of small businesses and social enterprises. Over the past five years as an impact investing and strategy consultant for nonprofits, foundations and private stakeholders, her work has spanned eight countries over four continents. Her experience has solidified her belief that shared prosperity powered by multi-sector solutions can positively impact underserved populations and the planet we all share. Courtney is based in the Pacific Northwest and is fluent in French. She holds a BA in Applied Political Economics from the University of Arizona, an MA in Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and an MBA in Social Finance and Impact Management from Middlebury College. In her spare time, Courtney enjoys digging into a good book, exploring the outdoors, and traveling near and far.