Finance Committee Bios
Ward Cerny - Chair
Ward Cerny is an at-large member of the Founding Board. Ward holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from Georgetown University and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He currently works for Bernstein Global Wealth Management as a Financial Advisor to individuals, foundations and endowments. Previously, he worked in Denver and throughout the world in international mergers & acquisitions in energy & power. Ward was a founding leader of the IDEA Academy, currently known as IDEA Public Schools, a leading group of charter schools in Texas. He also serves on the boards of the Colorado Council for Economic Education and the Association for Corporate Growth, Denver Chapter. Ward and his wife, Gabriela, live in Littleton with their three daughters.
Andy Beggins - Vice-Chair
Andy Beggins has lived in Colorado since 2000. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Operations Research from the University of Texas and has worked in a number of different industries in a variety of roles. For ten years he was in the Natural Gas industry in Houston, Texas including a six year stint in which he involved in the building of a start-up company that he and his partners later sold to Koch Industries. For the past seven years Andy has worked in the residential mortgage servicing business and is currently employed by Specialized Loan Servicing (“SLS”), located in Highlands Ranch, CO. With SLS, Andy has taken on a variety of different roles including Process Development and Improvement, building and managing the company’s Internal Audit function, building and managing the company’s Investor/Client Relations department, and various roles within the company’s Finance department. He currently is part of the Finance department and manages the processes of Service Structuring and Pricing, Portfolio Forecast Modeling and Business Development Support.
Roger Nagel - Assistant Vice-Chair
Roger Nagel grew up on a farm in Monticello, Iowa, lived in Orange County, CA for many years, and moved to Colorado in 2008. He has Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. in International Business from California State University, Fullerton. Roger’s experience includes over 10 years in the For-Profit Education industry, specializing in areas of budgets, forecasts, and performance management. He is currently Director of Financial Planning & Analysis for Heald College. Roger and his wife, Lori, live in Highlands Ranch with their two sons.
Ryan Patterson - Financial Director
Ryan Patterson is the Finance Director for the Finance Committee. Ryan graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. He currently works for Janus Capital Mutual Funds in the Financial Reporting department. Ryan and his wife, Rachelle, moved to Colorado in 2004 after spending 7 years living in San Francisco. They currently live in Highlands Ranch with their three children (the oldest having just started kindergarten) and 2 dogs. Ryan enjoys golfing, music, riding his motorcycles, and camping in the Rockies.
Patrick Wolf - FInancial Manager
Patrick Wolf was raised in Portland, OR. Patrick loves the mountains and the coast. After serving a term in the Navy, Patrick went on to serve a 2 year mission where he met his wife Jody. After 12 years of marriage, they have 4 children. Patrick owned his own business for 8 years, dealing in all areas of real estate and development in many parts of the country. In 2008, Patrick and his family moved to CO when he took a position with a mortgage servicing company in Highlands Ranch. Patrick currently supervises a team of Loss Mitigation associates at Specialized Loan Servicing.
Kent Barwind - Member
Kent currently serves as the Director of Finance and Accounting for the Colomer Group, USA, a global leader in professional beauty markets. At Colomer, Kent is responsible for overall finance and accounting operations and financial reporting. Prior to joining Colomer, Kent served as a senior finance manager with the Pepsi Bottling Group where he was responsible for managing volume and revenue in a 14-state business unit. Kent began his professional career with Procter & Gamble in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Kent received his MBA from the University of Chicago, graduating with honors. He graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Management Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In his spare time, Kent coaches baseball and football in the South JeffCo Sports Association. Kent and his wife have four children and are excited to take an active part in the BFA community.
Brenda Sepan - Non-voting member
Brenda Sepan is extremely excited to be joining the Ben Franklin Academy team as the Business Manager. Her professional background includes Market Research Consulting for Equifax, Inc. as well as Marketing and Business Development in the Automotive Industry. In addition, she owned a small Colorado-based consulting business which performed general accounting support to small/medium sized businesses. She is also a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Brenda comes to us from the business office of a neighboring charter school. A proud Colorado native, Brenda graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in Business Administration. She enjoys spending time outdoors, camping and hiking and has recently taken an interest in running and Tae Bo with hopes of finishing the Rock and Roll Colorado Half Marathon this year. An important aspect of her life is her family family; her husband Joe, two sons (who will both be attending Ben Franklin) and a dog named Gus.
