CPE Speakers

Prior to joining Elon, Dr. Burke had a varied career in professional services and industry.  Recent experience includes serving as an executive leader focused on cybersecurity, assisting clients with enterprise governance, risk, and compliance services at CDW Corporation. Clients range from large, global organizations operating in various industries to smaller, fast-growing entrepreneurial organizations. Since clients are subject to an evolving regulatory landscape, he has provided consulting services addressing various legal and industry frameworks, including SOX, FTC, HIPAA, NIST, ISO, COBIT and COSO.

As a founding member of national professional services firm Focal Point Data Risk (and its predecessor firm Sunera), he served as a national practice leader and lead audit executive for many internal audit outsource and co-source engagements reporting to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors.  In addition, he was the founder and managing partner of Focal Point Data Risk Assurance, an affiliated CPA firm of Focal Point Data Risk, that issued SOC 1/2/3 and HITRUST reports.  Focal Point Data Risk was acquired by CDW in 2021.

Prior to Focal Point, he served as the Chief Financial Officer of a national healthcare services firm and held progressive financial leadership positions in both publicly traded companies and in public accounting.

Dr. Burke completed his PhD at Florida Atlantic University and has research interests in audit, cybersecurity, governance, and regulatory impact.

David Clark is Managing Director and Higher Education Advisory Practice Leader at BDO. He has spent two decades providing guidance and support for institutions of higher education in improving compliance, governance, operations, and risk management activities. He often works with clients to evaluate and enhance business processes and control environments, as well as evaluating compliance with federal spending regulations (notably 2 CFR 200, the FAR and agency-specific grant manuals) and evaluating the overall compliance framework and processes in place for colleges and universities.

Prior to joining BDO, he served as a Director in the Risk, Internal Audit, and Cybersecurity consulting practice of another international accounting firm as well as a Senior Internal Audit Manager at one of the country’s leading financial institutions. David is based out of Raleigh, NC and can be reached at dclark@bdo.com.

Justin Culbertson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Accounting at Elon University, has dedicated 15 years to serving both public and private companies, leveraging his deep expertise in accounting and financial reporting to deliver financial clarity to the middle market. Through his role at Elon University, he utilizes this expertise to guide the next generation of accounting professionals as an instructor for the University’s Intermediate Accounting series.

Justin’s experience includes financial reporting and transaction support, accounting standards implementation, and strategic insights and industry trends.

In 2024, Justin also founded Culbertson Consulting to partner with early-stage life sciences and technology companies, delivering the financial clarity needed to drive efficient growth and innovation. Through Culbertson Consulting, Justin remains committed to empowering companies with the insights and strategies necessary to thrive in an ever-evolving financial landscape.

I have extensive experience in the mortgage and student loan industry.  I began my career in 2005 with AIG as a risk management analyst.  Fatefully, I would have this role during the rise and fall of the historic American mortgage bubble. In this role, I was on the team responsible for evaluating and pricing insurance coverage on over $10B in mortgage-backed securities and assessing the credit quality of all potential MBS portfolios.  We saw stellar portfolios in the initial rise of the housing market but the credit quality rapidly deteriorated as mortgage lenders began loosening credit qualifications.  Our risk team’s findings were responsible for raising the flag that revealed the inevitable housing market crash and AIG’s collapse. (Sidenote: Hollywood really did an excellent job on the accuracy of the film The Big Short.) My tenure with AIG during the bailout was professionally one of the hardest times in my life but it catapulted me into the industry as a source of knowledge.  After the bailout, I spent the next decade working with many large corporations to help rebuild and reshape a healthy mortgage insurance and mortgage servicing industry.  Somewhere upon building statistical default models and tightening credit risk guidelines, I realized I needed my own professional bailout.  I decided to follow my passion to teach and bring my professional experience into the classroom to build the next generation of Economists.

Undergraduate degree in Business Management from Elon University, 2003.  MBA from Elon University in 2008.  Law degree from Elon University in 2011.  Partner at Oertel Koonts & Oertel, PLLC in Burlington, NC.  Practice areas include Estate and Trust Planning, Estate Administration and Litigation and Adult Guardianship.  Appointed Alamance County Public Guardian in 2023.

Lakeisha Magwood Vance is an accomplished leader with a comprehensive background in information technology, program oversight, and curriculum development within academic environments. She holds a B.S. in Accounting, a B.S. in Information Systems, and an M.S. in Information Technology Management. She completed the three degrees at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her background includes web development, database administration, and over 15 years of experience at Alamance Community College, where she held multiple roles, including web technologies instructor, distance learning coordinator, and department head of the Information Technology department. She is currently an MIS and business analytics lecturer at Elon University. She recently co-authored the 15th edition of the textbook, Principles of Information Systems, published by Cengage Group. In addition, she leads multiple STEM education initiatives that educate underrepresented groups about STEM careers and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Resource Center of Greensboro in North Carolina and Habitat for Humanity of Alamance County.

John Wimmer served as Chief Information Officer of Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the largest national and state park concessioner in the United States, before retiring in 2019. He focused on building strong teams, deepening key executive relationships, and implementing technology models that advanced business goals, enhanced quality, reduced overall costs, and maximized profitability. During his tenure, he flawlessly orchestrated integration of several new entities into the Xanterra portfolio as the company grew through acquisition, including several traditional hospitality additions (Deer Creek State Park and Lodge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park, The Grand Hotel and the Kingsmill Resort) as well as non-traditional additions such as The Grand Canyon Railway, Vermont Bicycle/Adventure Tours, and Windstar Cruises.  In addition to his role as Chief Information Officer at Xanterra, Mr. Wimmer served as both an Adjunct Professor (teaching classes in both Information Technology and Business Analytics) in the MBA program at The University of Denver, as well as served as a member of the advisory board for the Business Information & Analytics program since 2015.

Upon retirement, Mr. Wimmer relocated to Burlington, North Carolina, and accepted a position teaching undergraduate classes in Management Information Systems at Elon University.  He used this as an opportunity to teach the next generation of business leaders and help these students learn how to use technology to be successful in today’s business world.  In addition to his normal class schedule, Mr. Wimmer also led workshops for non-students (including individuals in the local community and former students), helping them learn the skills needed to obtain their Microsoft Excel certification.  Mr. Wimmer also used his technology skills to help better leverage the technology available at Elon within the class setting.  He also led the development of a new Cybersecurity Management minor at Elon, which started classes in Fall 2024.

In addition to teaching, Mr. Wimmer serves on the Board of Directors for the Burlington Downtown Corporation and as the Vice Chair of the Advisory Board for the Inn at Elon.

Keith Wood is both an attorney and a CPA with a special background in taxes. He is also a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law.

Keith’s practice is focused on business, tax and estate planning for a wide range of clients, including new startups, entrepreneurs and multigenerational family-owned companies. He counsels these closely held enterprises in the unique challenges they face – from succession planning, tax planning and management structures to effective compensation strategies.

Keith frequently speaks to groups on tax and business succession topics and has been honored by the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants with multiple “Outstanding Speaker” awards.