The Net Assets Podcast from NBOA

Hosted by NBOA

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Sep 2026

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About the show

The Net Assets podcast delves into the most pressing issues in independent school business and operations. Delivered by NBOA, the only national nonprofit membership association focused exclusively on fostering financial and operational excellence among independent PK-12 schools, each episode is based on a popular article in NBOA’s Net Assets magazine. 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. In each lively exchange, host Jeff Shields, NBOA president and CEO, teases out the human stories behind the printed story.

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28 recent

October 27, 2026Episode 2732 min

Tapping the Potential of an Intergenerational Workplace, with Professor Megan Gerhardt

Megan Gerhardt, Ph.D., makes the case that generational diversity in the workplace can be a source of strength, advancing learning and new ideas in a school. It can also be a source of contention, and in conversation with host Jeff Shields, Gerhardt walks through a few ways leaders can encourage understanding and dialogue when generational differences arise. Gerhardt also discusses the often conflicting guidance that students are given about use of AI in school and the workplace. A widely respected author, Gerhardt will deliver a keynote at the 2027 NBOA Annual Meeting in Dallas, February 21-24, where she will speak on "Unlocking Gentelligence."

September 29, 2026Episode 2628 min

Accessible, Affordable Independent Schools, with Vice President Mark Mitchell

Determining financial aid is more an art than a science, explains Mark Mitchell, NAIS Vice President of Access and Affordability in this episode of the Net Assets Podcast. Every independent school has a unique set of resources, applicants and mission-aligned goals that makes the process at each school different. On the whole, however, schools have been offering more financial aid to wealthier families and less to families with high financial need since the Great Recession of 2008. At the same time, financial aid budgets have been creeping upwards over the years. Mitchell discusses with NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields how school leaders can work toward a "both/and" mindset and lead goal-oriented discussions about financial aid allocations. They also discuss effective governance practices and financial aid in higher education versus independent schools.

August 18, 2026Episode 2526 min

Upping Your Data Game, with Distinguished Business Officer Ann Marie Tidona

Ann Marie Tidona is the 2026 recipient of NBOA's Ken White Distinguished Business Officer Award. She joins host and NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields to discuss the power of data in her decision-making over the years and how data-informed projections have proven not only accurate but instrumental over time. Beginning with demographic projections many years ago and moving into all areas of financial and operational data, Tidona dives deep and shares how she finds the sweet spot of sharing just enough data with relevant stakeholders. She also discusses undergoing a major systems transition at Friends Academy , where she has served as director of finance, operations and strategic projects for 27 years. Finally Tidona shares how teaching a popular financial literacy course at Friends is one way she has connected with directly with students and prepared the next generation to take on the mantel of financial management.

July 28, 2026Episode 2424 min

Cyber Crime Is Organized Crime, with Managing Director Bob Olsen

Cyber risk is now undeniably enterprise risk that impacts nearly every aspect of school operations. In this episode of the Net Assets Podcast, Bob Olsen, managing director at Hilco Global, joins NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields to discuss why cybersecurity has become a leadership priority for independent schools. Drawing on years of experience at the intersection of cybersecurity and education, Olsen explains why the Canvas breach that affected 275 million users this past spring came as no surprise, and he offers practical, high-level guidance for school leaders looking to strengthen their risk management strategies. He also explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping the cyber threat landscape.

June 23, 2026Episode 2325 min

Optimizing Auxiliary Programs for Alternative Revenue, with CFO Weston Outlaw

Weston Outlaw currently serves as CFO at Columbus Academy, a co-ed country day school in Columbus, Ohio. But his relationship with independent schools goes far back, to his own childhood, when he was educated at two beloved institutions that transformed his career trajectory and life. Outlaw talks with NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields about his work in auxiliary programming from part-time jobs in college through business leader roles at other Midwestern independent schools, where he helped transform auxiliary programs and alternative revenue into critical levers of financial sustainability.

May 19, 2026Episode 2222 min

The Best Way To Merge? Rip the Band-Aid Off, with CFO Frank Aloise

In this episode, Frank Aloise, chief financial officer at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia, joins NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields to discuss leadership in independent schools, particularly during a merger. Recorded in-person at the 2026 NBOA Annual Meeting, Aloise reflects on the time and energy required to complete the merger itself, on both the business and cultural sides, as well as the remarkable outcomes of the merged school 15 years later. He also reflects on the importance of taking care of his health in this demanding but rewarding profession, the value of professional connections to advancing his school and career, and the process of modernizing an independent school business office.

April 21, 2026Episode 2121 min

AI Strategy for Business Operations, with CFO Nancy Greene

Nancy Greene, CFO and vice president for finance and operations at Pine Crest School in Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has received just about every major NBOA honor, thanks to her dedication to the schools she's served and forward thinking in the business office. It's no surprise she's at the forefront of strategic AI adoption, for which Pine Crest received the 2026 Jeffrey Shields Innovation in Independent School Business Operations award. In this episode with host NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields, Greene explains how a school of any size can get started with thoughtful AI deployments in their business office, and how Pine Crest is hiring differently now with strategic AI in place. Greene also discusses how she has stayed ahead of the curve in many areas, including ERM and executive compensation.

March 24, 2026Episode 2021 min

Building Leadership and Belonging in Independent School Business, with CFO Dallas Joseph

In this episode, recorded live at the 2026 NBOA Annual Meeting in Orlando, host and NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields sits down with Dallas Joseph, chief financial and operating officer at Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Joseph reflects on the centrality of personal connections, generosity and inclusivity to the profession and the association since its earliest days, as well as the business officer's shifting role from tactical business management to strategic financial leadership. The conversation also explores the unique mission-driven nature of independent schools, particularly the CFO’s role in advancing access through financial aid, as well as the importance of building strong teams to sustain long-term success. Joseph, NBOA’s first Board Chair of color and first Ken White Distinguished Business Officer Award recipient of color, to name a couple of the many firsts in his career, discusses his trailblazing legacy within the profession with clarity and candor.

February 24, 2026Episode 1930 min

Building a Stronger Academic-Business Office Bridge, with Leadership Expert Patrick Scheuermann

In this episode, host and NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields speaks with Patrick Schuermann, Ed.D., recipient of the 2026 Sarah Daignault Outstanding Support of Independent Schools Award. Schuermann reflects on his work helping independent schools align academic and business leadership, from his days launching Vanderbilt’s independent school leadership master’s program to his current work advising schools on compensation strategy today. He explains how he believes leadership may be getting simpler, and how the NBOA Leadership Academy, which he co-directs, explores essential leadership qualities such as presence, humility and curiosity. Schuermann also discusses how compensation strategy and affordability challenges are shaping school strategy, and, as a bonus, the practical implementation of virtual reality in independent school classrooms.

January 22, 2026Episode 1824 min

Unlearning in the Business Office, with Futurist Heather McGowan

Heather McGowan is an award-winning industrial designer, futurist and author. She will keynote the final day of the 2026 NBOA Annual Meeting, which also features a morning of AI focused sessions. In conversation with NBOA President and CEO Jeff Shields, McGowan shares how today's independent school business leaders can embrace continuous learning — and unlearning — to keep their practices up to speed. Together they explore effective uses of AI in the workplace, which enhance rather than replace the human workforce, as well as broader adaptation practices that leaders honed during the pandemic and can be tapped again today.

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