Lauren joined CESO in 2022 as a Finance Consultant after spending over a decade in finance and accounting roles. Her combination of big-picture strategic thinking and in-depth knowledge of K-12 finance operations makes her a powerful resource for school district teams.

Prior to being the Director of Finance for Orono Public Schools (MN), Lauren spent four years in the private sector serving as Accounting Manager and Senior Financial Accountant for a Minneapolis-based Fortune 100 company. Prior to that she spent three years as a Governmental Auditor for several Minnesota school districts.

She graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and earned her MBA from Hamline University in 2019. She has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant since 2012.

Landon supports all CESO key service areas on everything from AR/AP to reconciliations, billing, client care, and more. He joined our team in 2019 as an intern before graduating from North Central University with a degree in accounting and finance. While he has always been fascinated by the education industry, Landon loves the mission of CESO and feels privileged to be part of an organization that takes the pressure off school staff around the country.

Through his work on the CESO Finance team, Nik manages internal finance operations for each of our key service areas. Before joining CESO in 2019, he worked for three years in tax information reporting after earning his Bachelor degree in Business Administrator from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Nik loves building and refining financial processes to help our teams deliver the best possible service to all CESO clients.

Margo worked in school finance and operations in four Minnesota districts (Edina, Prior Lake-Savage, Faribault and Owatonna) over her 35 year career. Her experience includes public communication for all areas of school finance and operations plus implementation of processes that contribute toward the long-term fiscal health of the district. Margo's passion for her work continues to be the belief that through sound operational management we positively impact students, staff, families, and communities. She is an advocate for equitable allocation of limited resources to ensure successful education for all.

She received the 2019 Minnesota Association of School Business Officials (MASBO) Outstanding Lifetime Contribution Award and is past President of MASBO. Throughout the years, she has served in various leadership roles at MASBO, Schools for Equity in Education, Schoolfinances.com, and the Minnesota Department of Education. In addition to being a MASBO mentor, she shares her knowledge through Ehler's school finance workshops and Minnesota State University.

With over 15 years of experience in finance - with the past eight in district or school-adjacent roles - Kris brings a compelling mix of public and private sector knowledge to our CESO team. In her role, she provides leadership and guidance to district clients by advocating for accounting best practices, assisting with MDE reporting and project management, and more.

Kris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with an emphasis on Information Systems from St. Cloud State University and is a member of the Minnesota Association for School Business Officials (MASBO).

As a Finance Consultant, Bonnie brings years of experience with her - most recently from Willmar Public Schools (MN) as a staff accountant, payroll manager, and then district accountant. In joining CESO, she's also come full circle as she provided consulting financial services to clients during her time at CliftonLarsonAllen. Her unique perspective benefits districts of all sizes. Outside of work, Bonnie tends to a large vegetable garden and she and her husband take their camper to warmer places like Texas and Florida. If it's anywhere near a beach, you can bet that Bonnie will be there!

Adrienne joined the CESO team after 13+ years of public sector finance experience with Minneapolis-based accounting firm Malloy, Montague, Karnowski, Radosevich & Co (MMKR). She specialized in public accounting and governmental audits, successfully guiding clients through the ever-changing complexities related to administering federal funds. Additionally, CESO can provide unique federal funding help as she has emerged as a leading resource on Federal Uniform Guidance and compliance with various federal financial programs for school districts and local governments.

A junior at North Central University, Evan is excited to expand his business experience through an internship on the CESO Finance team. He believes strongly in the power of community connection and is seeing first hand how fiscal responsibility strategically strengthens school district communities.

Pam joins CESO with over 20 years of experience working within school finance in Minnesota districts. A true Minnesotan at heart, she grew up in Duluth and earned her accounting degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Pam also holds a School Finance and Operations (SFO) certification.

In addition to spending the past 12 years as Finance & Human Resources Manager for Eastern Carver County Schools, she has also served in roles such as Payroll Director for Minneapolis Public Schools, Accounting Supervisor for Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196 and Finance Project Manager for Burnsville School District. Prior to working in school finance, she was a controller for several private businesses in the Twin Cities.

A past winner of the annual MASBO School Business Official of the Year Award, she is passionate about mentoring other school finance professionals by building meaningful relationships. She thrives on finding what sparks each person's interest and developing a plan to help them achieve their goals.

Outside of work, she enjoys reading, playing pickeball and spending time with her three adult children and two grandchildren. She now escapes Minnesota winters whenever she can - usually in Florida - and is currently open to any feedback on how to improve her golf game.