Hutchison Chief Financial Officer Named Finalist for CFO of the Year Award

As Chief Financial Officer, I oversee the school’s financial strategy and operations to ensure long-term sustainability and mission alignment. My responsibilities include budgeting, financial reporting and planning, and resource allocation. I partner with school leadership and the Board of Trustees to support strategic initiatives, manage investments and risk, and steward resources that enrich the student experience.

What is your background – education or other relevant career experience?

I graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a collateral in International Business, and earned a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Memphis. I began my career in audit at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, working with a range of public and private clients as a CPA. I later served as CFO for an investment manager before joining Hutchison.

Hutchison’s greatest strength is the relevance of its mission in today’s rapidly changing educational landscape. As artificial intelligence transforms what it means to be educated, the world needs schools that prepare young women not only with knowledge but with transfer skills—adaptability, creativity, critical thinking, and flexibility. At the same time, research on rising anxiety among adolescents makes clear that well-being can no longer be secondary to achievement. Hutchison’s business model has, for more than 120 years, centered on the whole girl—mind, body, and spirit—refusing to sacrifice wellbeing for short-term accolades. Our focus has consistently been on shaping women of integrity, purpose, and compassion who are prepared to lead and serve in a complex world.

In Memphis, several independent schools compete for a limited pool of families who can afford tuition, making enrollment an ongoing challenge. Rising costs put additional pressure on tuition, yet tuition alone cannot fully fund the investment needed to attract and retain exceptional faculty, provide individualized support, and offer the broad opportunities our girls have to explore their individual interests. Like many nonprofits, Hutchison must balance financial sustainability with accessibility.

We continue to thrive because of the generosity of a community that believes in our mission and recognizes the impact of our alumnae—women of integrity who lead, serve, and raise the next generation to do the same. As CFO, I am committed to stewarding our resources wisely so that we can sustain financial stability while strengthening the distinctive educational experience Hutchison provides.

As an accountant by trade, I enjoy preparing budgets, forecasts, and diving into the numbers. What I love most, however, is using that skill to drive strategic investment—often directly in our people. I thrive on problem-solving and exploring new or better ways to approach processes and projects, and I particularly enjoy collaborating with others to implement these enhanced solutions.

My least favorite tasks are the repetitive, administrative details that don’t allow much creativity. While necessary, I much prefer tackling challenges that let me problem solve, improve processes, and work collaboratively with my team.

How do you measure success? 

For me, success is measured by whether I am building trust or eroding it. As CFO, my role is to tell the school’s financial story—showing clearly how resources are being used to deliver on our mission. That means providing transparency, clarity, and context so our Board, faculty, parents, and donors feel confident in the investments they’ve made in Hutchison. When our constituents can see the impact of their support reflected in the student experience, I know I’ve been successful. 

I am a mom of four. I have a daughter in second grade, a son in first grade, a son in kindergarten (yes, at one point, we had three under three!), and I recently returned from maternity leave after having my 10-week-old son. What I love about this job is that it allows me to drive meaningful change in an organization I deeply believe in, while also being present in my children’s lives. I feel fortunate to balance being an example of a hard-working parent with being fully engaged as a mom, including seeing my daughter benefit directly from the education we provide.