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Business Teachers Conference
Theodore Brown, PhD
Prof. of Management & Leadership, Chair of Business & Information Systems at Oakwood University
Dr. Theodore Brown Sr.
Dr. Theodore Brown Sr. is a graduate of Oakwood University (B.S. Business Administration/Theology), Amberton University (MBAs in General Business and Management) and Andrews University (PhD Leadership/Emphasis in Financial Management). At Oakwood University, Brown has received continuous appointment as a Professor of Management and Leadership, and currently serves as the Chair of the Department of Business and Information Systems in the School of Business. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Leadership in the School of Education at Andrews University, and served as an Adjunct Professor of Management at Brookhaven College.
Dr. Brown has taught numerous traditional and online courses in leadership and management. His degree is applied to the research study of the roles, responsibilities and relationships of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in the context of leadership and management in non-profit religious organizations. Dr. Brown’s professional career includes 20+ years in academia, and over 34 years of service in the areas of auditing, accounting, trust services, chief financial officer (CFO)/treasurer, and pastoral ministry for the Southwest Region Conference, Lake Region Conference and South Central Conference. During his 14 year tenure as CFO/Treasurer, Brown achieved, by God’s grace, unprecedented success in accounting and strategic financial leadership.
Born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and raised in Orlando, Florida, Josefer Montes is Vice President of Marketing and Communications and the Chief Inclusion Officer at Kettering Health Network. Josefer earned his PhD from The University of Southern Mississippi and has experience in sales and marketing management, institutional advancement, and higher education, including six years at Walla Walla University, where he served as Professor and Dean of the School of Business. He is married to Heather, a full-time mom and former dental hygienist, they have two kids, Camden, 12, and Cora, 6. According to Josefer, “I used to be cool and interesting, but then I had children, and now I am a complete bore that likes to go to sleep as early as I can.”
Dr. Sheehan currently serves on the campus of Southern Adventist University as the Dean of the School of Business. She is also responsible for facilitating workplace learning and leadership development courses for employees, and providing outside consulting services in these areas, primarily to denominational constituents. Her 25+ years of leadership and management in diverse fields provides extensive knowledge and experience to draw upon when working with individuals and teams. She holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from the School of Business and Leadership at Regent University (PhD), a Master of Arts in Religious Studies (Southern Adventist University), and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science (Kennesaw State University). She is also credentialed as a facilitator with Development Dimensions International and as a consultant with the Paradigm Personality Labs (aka Center for Applied Cognitive Studies). Dr. Sheehan is committed to go where God calls, using her gifts and experience to encourage people to "know and grow” spiritually, emotionally, and professionally.
Dr. Kofi Appiah Okyere has been at Syracuse University since 2005. He is the Director of Graduate Accounting Programs at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. He directs both the online and on-campus Master of Science programs in Professional Accounting. In his leadership role at Syracuse University, he has also partnered with CPA firms, National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) and Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) to recruit, retain, and place students in the financial services industry. Kofi earned his MBA from Indiana University and his PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a licensed CPA with experience in Big-4 public accounting. He is a member of the American Accounting Association (AAA), NABA and AICPA. He has served on leadership committees at both AAA and AICPA . He is also a Board Leadership Fellow at the National Association of Corporate Directors. He has served as director on the boards of two financial institutions.
James Thompson is currently the Associate Vice President for Innovation at the University of Notre Dame. James has over 17 years of academic and industry experience in the biological sciences currently serving as a partner at Pit Road Fund and previously serving as interim Executive Director and Director of the Engineering Team at University of Utah Technology & Venture Commercialization, the Executive Director and Director of R&D at the Spendlove Research Foundation, Director of New Product Development at Echelon Biosciences, Adjunct Professor of Biology at Salt Lake Community College and the Director of Business Development for both Frontier Scientific and Echelon Biosciences. Over the last 17 years, James has founded and served in management capacities in the following companies: Allerief, Energy Innovation Services, Quansys Biosciences and Petrobio Tech.