Meet Our Experts

Ms. Bolton is an accounting and auditing professional who earned her master's degree in public accountancy from Keller Graduate School of Management. She is a lead auditor responsible for coordinating and managing audits of higher education, governmental, business, and nonprofit clients. She serves as external chief financial officer, controller, and accountant at various times for our clients who require temporary staffing. Ms. Bolton is a member of the AICPA and GSCPA and is also a CPA candidate.

Ms. Coleman’s passion for serving people makes her an asset to our higher education clients, to whom she provides on-site services—often working directly with students and parents. She performs student financial aid compliance audits, on-site processing services and reconciliations. She has over ten years’ experience in student financial aid and customer service. Prior to joining our firm, Ms. Coleman held many positions, such as processor, counselor, and consultant. She is currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts degree program and does volunteer missionary work through her church.

Mr. Foster has served as an accountant for over a decade, with approximately six years of extensive experience in auditing. His public accounting experience includes single audits, HUD audits, preparing and filing Form 990, and conducting audit interviews (entrance and exit conferences and internal controls) with CFOs, CEOs, accountants, controllers and comptrollers. Mr. Foster has experience performing federal compliance testing, analytical reviews, trial balance testing and internal control testing. Mr. Foster graduated from Oakwood University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Bachelor of Business Administration in business management. Mr. Foster earned a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management and leadership from Capella University. Mr. Foster is a registered forensic investigator and a member of the American Board of Forensic Accounting. Additionally, Mr. Foster is a member of the AICPA and is also a CPA candidate.

Mr. Foster is an accomplished professional with a diverse background. Prior to joining WPG, Mr. Foster worked as an independent consultant on a variety of projects, such as SOX compliance—including information technology general controls (ITGCs) and SEC financial reporting. Mr. Foster has experience with Big 4 and other accounting firms, as well as various companies in a broad range of industries. He is a certified public accountant, certified internal auditor, and certified fraud examiner. He attended Cornell University where he received a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He is a member of the AICPA and GSCPA and enjoys volunteering and mentoring.

Ms. Jefferson is a financial aid professional with over twenty years of experience in higher education administration. She has a strong expertise in Title IV compliance with proven results in reducing and eliminating audit findings. Her experience expands to areas of student accounts, registration, and enrollment management. Ms. Jefferson has experience streamlining the financial aid processes to improve administration and data flow. She has a broad knowledge of various systems such as Jenzabar EX, PowerCAMPUS, EdConnect, EDExpress, Populi, Banner, Datatel and PowerFAIDS. Prior to joining WPG, Ms. Jefferson served as financial aid director and associate vice president for student affairs. Sheri holds a Master of Science degree in management and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

Ms. Johnson has over twenty years of experience in student financial aid services. She has served in a number of important roles, such as default manager, financial aid counselor and Perkins liquidation coordinator. Ms. Johnson has also served as director and interim director of student financial aid. She works with a variety of financial aid software including PowerFaids, CampusVue, Datatel, CAMS, Banner and Jenzabar (CX). Ms. Johnson holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from LeMoyne-Owen College and a master's degree in human resources from Central Michigan University.

Mr. Johnson is a certified public accountant who has a plethora of senior level administrator experience in higher education. Notably, he served as controller at Morehouse College, vice president for fiscal affairs at Paine College, at Fort Valley State University and at Atlanta Metropolitan College. Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Mr. Jones is one of our lead auditors. He has over forty years of experience in public accounting, which includes twenty-five years of working with colleges and universities. Prior to joining our firm, Mr. Jones served as an accounting manager for a local university and as a controller for a large insurance company. His experience includes Sarbanes-Oxley services, and he serves as a temporary external chief financial officer when requested by clients. He is an active member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta and several other social, fraternal, and religious organizations. .

Ms. Jones is a student financial aid associate with over twenty-five years of experience. She has worked in college and university financial aid environments as a director, counselor, file reviewer, student accounts processor and as an auditor. Ms. Jones is a cum laude graduate of Virginia State University with graduate studies in economics at George Washington University.

Ms. Lester is a graduate of Savannah State University and has an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management. She has a wealth of professional experience that spans over twenty years in audit and accounting. Ms. Lester serves our firm with distinction on higher education, government, and nonprofit financial audit engagements. She also performs compliance and employee benefit plan audits, assists clients with audit preparation, and provides general accounting consulting.

Mr. Mayer has over thirty years of experience in auditing, accounting, financial management and project consulting. He holds degrees in accounting and economics from Rutgers University. Mr. Mayer has served in the capacities of vice president, controller, IAD manager, auditor, financial analyst, and consultant. He has extensive experience in higher education, having served as an accountant and auditor for nine different institutions. He is also experienced in strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, and cause-and-effect problem resolution. Mr. Mayer is a lead auditor of WPG's higher education, government, and nonprofit clients. He also performs long-term managerial engagements as external chief financial officer and controller.

Mr. Pierce is a dedicated professional with over 10 years of experience in accounting, six of which were working within the Higher Education arena. Prior to joining our firm, Mr. Pierce has served as a Staff Accountant at Claflin University, Bursar (Student Account Manager) at Aiken Technical College, Treasury, and Assistant Controller at Paine College. Mr. Pierce has also served as an Office Accountant for a Private Residential Construction Firm and Staffing Agency. He has a broad knowledge of various systems such as Jenzabar EX, Datatel, and QuickBooks. Mr. Pierce is an associate of WPG’s higher education, government, nonprofit, and charter school clients where he obtained the Georgia Charter School Association Financial Management Certification. Mr. Pierce obtained a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Voorhees University (Formerly College), a Master of Business Administration from Claflin University, and a Master of Higher Education Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

Ms. Shanks has over twenty years of experience in accounting and auditing our firm’s higher education and nonprofit clients. She has assisted with indirect cost proposal policies and procedures manual preparation. Ms. Shanks has served as controller and as lead auditor. She also has conducted training in student financial aid. She is an active member of her church and a member of the Knights of Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary. Ms. Shanks is an alumna of Xavier University of Louisiana.

Mr. Spates began working with our firm as an intern while he was a student of Business Administration at Georgia State University. He is a member of the AICPA and the GSCPA. He has worked on a variety of projects including data analytics, audits, and social media management.

Ms. Thomas is a dedicated professional with over fifteen years of experience in accounting, taxation, and financial management. Prior to joining our firm, Ms. Thomas worked with Fortune 500 companies as a staff accountant and payroll tax manager. She serves our higher education clients as an auditor and consultant. Ms. Thomas is proficient in QuickBooks, Peachtree, MAS 90 and Timberline software. In addition, she prepares corporate, nonprofit and employee benefit plan tax returns. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of Clayton State University where she earned a bachelor's degree in business and marketing. She earned both a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Accounting and Financial Management degree from Keller Graduate School of Management. She is a member of AICPA, GSCPA, NABA and NBMBAA.

Ms. Walker is a student financial aid expert with over fifteen years of experience in consulting and institutional leadership. She provides auditing, reconciliation, and other financial aid services to higher education clients. Ms. Walker earned her MBA from American Intercontinental University and has served on boards of GASFAA and SASFAA.

Ms. Washington is an audit and tax specialist with dual master’s degrees from Mercer University. She has worked with both Big 4 and local firms, focusing on nonprofit and international tax. Her passion for nonprofit work stems from her experience in church finance roles. She is an AICPA and GSCPA member.

Ms. Wheeler is a certified public accountant and higher education specialist. Prior to joining our firm, she served as business manager for The Children’s School, controller for Morris Brown College, and accounting manager for Atlanta Area Technical College. Ms. Wheeler has also served as an accountant for Ivan Allen Company and as a financial analyst for Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. She has a wealth of experience in performing accounting, auditing, financial management and budgeting functions for educational and related institutions. In her various capacities, she has worked directly with a variety of enterprise management software including SCT Banner and Datatel Colleague. Ms. Wheeler holds a cum laude degree in accounting from Dillard University and has done graduate studies at the University of Georgia.