John Buckley, CPA, CGMA is AAFCPAs’ Education Practice leader, providing audit, tax and advisory solutions to charter schools/Charter Management Organizations, independent schools, colleges/universities, education services and special education providers. He advises both start-up charter schools and multi-site proven providers, as well as the leading CMOs in the country. John regularly presents training sessions on various topics, including: fraud mitigation, increasing operational efficiency while maintaining sound internal controls, and understanding financial statements in collaboration with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools and the National Business Officers Association. He serves on the Board of Christa McAuliffe Charter School.

Beth Figueroa is the Director of Authorizing for the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission. She is a Certified Public Accountant and has spent the last 15 years specializing in school finance and charter schools. During this time she has served in various roles including charter school authorizing, Chief Business Officer, fiscal director, and auditor. She earned her MBA from California Baptist University, where she also received her B.S. in Business Administration.

Raj Thakkar is Founder & CEO of CSBM and highly regarded as an expert on charter school finance. He was named Small Business Person of the Year for New York State by the U.S. Small Business Administration, a Top Entrepreneur by Crain's and an Outstanding Asian American in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center. Raj served as an Adjunct Professor at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service and is Board Treasurer of Camelback Ventures as well as Solar Responders. He attained his MBA in Finance from NYU's Stern School of Business and his BS in Engineering from Hofstra University.