Mr. Williams founded this company in February 2003. He has brought it to its current level of expertise and industry leadership by instituting rigorous management, fiscal and accounting standards, by taking an aggressive approach to legislation on behalf of the company's clients, and by assembling a team of the most respected professionals from the education sector, business world and legislative arena. A longtime business accountant who specialized in rapidly growing small businesses, he worked with the prestigious firms of Ernst & Young, and Schultze, Wallace & O'Neil. Mr. Williams holds a master's degree in finance from California State University San Diego, where he also served on the faculty, as well as a master's degree in taxation from Golden Gate University. His undergraduate degree is from Santa Clara University, and he earned his CPA certification in 1987. In addition to supporting a number of philanthropic causes, he currently serves on the board and executive committee of the Sacramento Theatre Company, chairing its finance committee, and is also active with the American Diabetes Association, focusing his fundraising efforts on juvenile diabetes and Tour for the Cure.

Widely viewed as the top education advocate in California, Mr. Gordon is leading our company's legislative advocacy group and oversees SI&A's activities in continuing education, conferences, and professional development. The longtime Executive Director of the California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO), Mr. Gordon previously served for twelve years as the Chief Lobbyist and Assistant Executive Director of the California School Boards Association. He has also served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Robert T. Matsui and as a legislative advocate for the California Building Industry Association. He holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of San Francisco. Prior to that, while completing his undergraduate degree in communication studies at University of California, Davis, he was recruited by the IBM Corporation and served three years in its national marketing division for large systems.

Mr. Hajela's most recent notable accomplishment was in his role as the Lead Counsel for the California School Board Association in the precedent-setting Williams v. State of California legislative settlement. He brings more than a decade of experience in the field of education law, including stints as Special Counsel to the California School Board Association, Legal Counsel for the San Francisco Unified School District, and as a litigation attorney for the Sacramento firm of Olson, Hagel & Fishburn. He earned his juris doctorate in 1994 at the Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

A noted industry expert in line management operations, individual and team coaching, and organizational alignment to meet critical goals, Ms. Cook served as General Manager for AT&T Business Systems, and as a vice president and general manager at ARC, Inc. She has owned a successful consulting business as well, which provided CEO coaching, executive and management training, organizational and managerial effectiveness, and organizational design. Her clients included high-growth companies and companies in transition. She holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and has written a number of articles on conflict management, service and business management issues for trade publications.

With over 30 years experience in state level education policy, Mr. Birdsall is a widely respected analyst and speaker on K-12 issues ranging from school finance to curriculum, assessment and accountability. For 25 years, he owned and operated Birdsall and Associates, a California lobbying firm specializing in K-12 education policy. Prior to that Mr. Birdsall served as Chief of the California Department of Education's Legislative Office and chief of staff of the Department's education program branch. Mr. Birdsall began his career in public service as a budget analysis with the California Department of Finance. He has a B.A. in Political Science and Economics and a M.A. in Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jeri Wenger is widely known and respected among school business officials and personnel for her expertise and state-wide professional development programs on categorical program compliance, attendance accounting, school finance and internal controls. In her recent position as a Principal/Partner with the accounting firm Vicenti, Lloyd & Stutzman LLP, she developed excellent relationships with state and federal agencies and professional associations dedicated to school business and education. Wenger's 30 years of school business and education experience also includes the positions of Director of Fiscal Services for Chino USD, Management Information Systems Manager for San Bernardino COE and Fiscal Services Director for Chaffey JUHSD.