Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE

Net Assets Podcast

Net Assets PodcastNBOA’s Net Assets podcast delves into today’s most pressing issues in independent school business and operations. Episodes are inspired by popular articles in Net Assets magazine and feature school leaders that appear in the latest issue. In each thought-provoking exchange, host Jeff Shields, NBOA president and CEO, teases out the human stories behind the printed story. Chief financial and operational officers alongside other leaders of school business share what inspires and challenges them as well as their approaches to problem solving and innovation.

For more Net Assets content, see our digital news site.

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  • Leadership

  • Membership

  • Risk Management

Episode 14: From Crisis Management to Embedded Leadership, with Distinguished Business Officer Sandi Pierce

Sandi Pierce has served Cate School for more than 30 years. This school year, she is moving out of finance and operations to become the school's associate head, full stop.
  • Diversity and Inclusion

  • Enrollment

  • Leadership

Episode 13: Keys to an Effective Enrollment-Business Office Partnership, with Assistant Head for Enrollment Kathy Gonzalez

Gonzalez shares how she strengthens her relationship with the business office, her involvement with equity and inclusion in the community, and her leadership of the robust enrollment team at Hawken.
  • Boards and Trustees

  • Governance

  • Leadership

Episode 12: Board Tables Turned, with past and present NBOA Board Chairs Duncan Booth and Beth Pollard

In this episode, Beth Pollard and Duncan Booth discuss what they've learned serving the NBOA Board of Directors and particularly as chair, including building trust and moderating honest conversations.
  • Leadership

  • Marketing

  • Summer Camp

Episode 11: Strategic Risk-Taking with CFO Olaf Weckesser

When leaders at The Pingry School had the opportunity to acquire property from a nearby closing independent school, they seized it, even though they hadn't mapped out all the details.
  • Culture

  • Employee Benefits

  • Leadership

Episode 10: Creative and Cost-Effective Benefits, with Head of School Josh Abrams

An intentionally small, financially accessible school, Meridian has launched creative and cost-effective faculty support programs to retain faculty, including a housing assistance grant.
  • Change Management

  • Culture

  • Leadership

Episode 9: Independent Schools at a Crossroads, with John Gulla

John Gulla, executive director of the Edward E. Ford Foundation, shares insights from a remarkable career that has taken him to more than 750 independent schools.
  • Accounting

  • Diversity and Inclusion

  • Technology

Episode 8: Accounting with AI, with Partner Kathy Ferguson, CPA

Kathy Ferguson, partner at Armanino, shares her journey from education to auditing and offers insights on AI in the independent school business office. She also explores cryptocurrency and women's leadership.
  • Human Resources

  • Legal

  • Risk Management

Episode 7: Hot Legal Topics, with Legal Counsel Grace H. Lee

Grace H. Lee, NBOA’s legal counsel, shares why she got into the legal profession and discusses hot topics in independent school legal affairs with host Jeff Shields, NBOA's president and CEO.
  • Human Resources

  • Professional Development

  • Salary

Episode 6: Retaining Staff in a Tight Labor Market, with CFO Jerry Walker

Jerry Walker, associate head of school for finance and operations at Kent Denver School, shares his school’s strategies for retaining staff talent with podcast host NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields.
  • Change Management

  • Culture

  • Leadership

Episode 5: Tapping Workplace Creativity, with Keynote Speaker Kyle Scheele

NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields discusses with 2025 NBOA Annual Meeting keynote speaker Kyle Scheele the process behind some of his outlandish projects and about being creative in the workplace.

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About the Host

Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE

Jeff Shields

Jeff Shields, FASAE, CAE, has served as president and CEO of NBOA since March 2010. NBOA is the premier national association serving the needs of business officers and business operations staff at independent schools in areas including accounting, finance, tax, risk management, human resources and facilities.  The association has grown from 23 founding member schools in 1998 to over 1,300 U.S. member schools, plus member schools in Mexico, Canada and 25 other countries around the globe during its 25-year history. Today, NBOA provides nearly 1,600 member schools, business partners, associations and other organizations with a full range of live events, webinars, online courses, publications, web resources, original research, volunteer leadership opportunities, among other services to its growing membership.

Shields is a sought-after speaker delivering keynotes and educational sessions to numerous independent school audiences that include business officers and business operations staff, heads of school, trustees and other school leaders on the state, regional and national levels.

Prior to his current role, Shields was employed by the National Association of College and University Business Officers for 10 years. At the time of his departure, he served as the organization’s senior vice president and chief planning officer. He began his career in association management as the assistant director for leadership training at the National Association of Home Builders.

His current board service includes serving as a director for AMHIC, a healthcare consortium for educational associations in Washington, DC, as well as a trustee for the Enrollment Management Association. Previous board service includes serving as a director for the American Society of Association Executives, as a director for One Schoolhouse, an innovative online school offering supplemental education to independent schools, and as trustee for Georgetown Day School in Washington, DC.

An active member of the American Society of Association Executives, Shields has been recognized as an ASAE Fellow (FASAE) and has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. He holds a BA from Shippensburg University and an MA from The Ohio State University.

He resides in DC and is the proud father of his 17-year-old daughter Samantha.

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