Educational Investment Fund - Board of Directors
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors assists the faculty advisor of the EIF program, and has primary responsibility for providing oversight of EIF investment activities and maximizing opportunities through which EIF students can increase their knowledge of the investment decision-making process.
The members of the EIF Board of Directors are investment and finance professionals. Many are alumni of the EIF program.
Jim Andreoni | Northern Trust Wealth Management 
Portfolio Manager
Jim joined Norther Trust as a senior analyst in the fund accounting group for large corporate clients. Currently, Jim is Personal Investment Portfolio Manager, and was a Regional Director of Investment Practice Strategy within Northern Trust’s investment practice, focused on our proprietary Goals Driven Wealth Management philosophy. He’s a Vice President and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.
Jim graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in finance and a minor in accounting. He went on to earn his MBA from Benedictine University.
Jim is married and resides in Naperville with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys golfing, spending time fishing, and boating. He volunteers for Autism Speaks in Chicago.
Brian Christensen | David Vaughn Investments 
Senior Vice President & CIO, Partner
Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Eastern Illinois University and Master of Business Administration from Illinois State University. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst Designation. Prior to joining the firm, Brian worked for Caterpillar Inc., where he managed short-term foreign currency exposure and then moved to a position of overseeing management of Caterpillar's pension assets. He also worked for Caterpillar Investment Management Ltd., where he helped create the Preferred Group family of mutual funds and also managed a small-cap equity and U.S. government securities portfolio.
Brian is a principal at DVI and is a member of the Management Committee that oversees the daily operations of the firm. He also serves as the Chief Investment Officer of the firm, where he leads the Investment Committee responsible for investment strategy, equity research and portfolio management. Since 1998, Brian has been directly responsible for DVI's Florida division.
Brian and his wife reside in Germantown Hills and have two children. He sits on the Eastern Illinois University Lumpkin School of Business Advisory Board, and the boards for the Illinois State University Educational Investment Fund, the South Side Mission of Peoria, and the Germantown Hills Fire Protection District in Woodford County. When not busy at DVI, Brian enjoys hunting, fishing, bicycling and following his children's activities.
Scott Davis | Renaissance Wealth Management BN 
Senior Wealth Advisor, Owner
Scott is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and has a Bachelor and Master of Science in Finance (MSF). His focus is individualized comprehensive financial planning and asset management services for small business owners and individual clients. When working with clients, Scott believes that building a complete financial projection for a client helps he and his team understand what a client is trying to accomplish and therefore provide specific advice tailored to each clients’ needs. Specialties: Comprehensive personal financial planning including retirement income distributions, financial education, investment planning, risk management, small business planning and qualified retirement plans.
Personal: Scott grew up the Northwest suburbs of Chicago before moving to Normal to attend Illinois State University. Scott and his wife, Molly, reside in Normal with their three children. Scott has many different hobbies, but there are too many to list them all. Here are a few of his favorites; reading, cooking and barbequing, woodworking, and attending NFL football games. He is a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan.
Community Involvement: Scott has a passion to be involved in the community and serves with several different organizations including Midwest Food Bank, Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army, United Way, Leadership McLean County, American Red Cross, and Eastview Christian Church.
David Deneen | Wells Fargo Advisors 
Senor Vice President - Investment Officer
With more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry, Dave Deneen is committed to providing his clients the highest level of professionalism and personal service. He specializes in comprehensive investment and retirement planning, and believes a good investment program enhances personal wealth by increasing income - consistent with each client's risk tolerance. Once he fully understands his client's goals then he will work toward recommending an appropriate investment program.
Dave graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor's degree in finance in 1982 and joined a predecessor firm of Wells Fargo Advisors in 1984. He is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) practitioner and a Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC).
Dave has served on the boards of the Bloomington YMCA, the C.C.H.S. Foundation, and the Illinois State University Education Investment Fund. Dave lives in Bloomington with his wife, Katie, and their three daughters.
Andrew Finks | COUNTRY Trust Bank 
Portfolio Manager
Andy Finks graduated from Illinois State in 2004 with a degree in Finance and is an alumnus of the Educational Investment Fund course. Andy worked at Caterpillar Inc. from 2005 to 2007 where he was part of the company’s finance rotational program. During his time at Caterpillar, he spent a year in Peoria, Illinois doing equity research and a year in Miami, Florida where he was part of a team that oversaw the financial strength of the company’s dealer network in Latin America.
In 2007, Andy joined The Northern Trust Company in Chicago, where he performed investment performance analysis. He then pursued private wealth management, starting as an investment associate helping senior portfolio managers with their clients, and over time became a portfolio manager with his own book of clients. While working in Chicago, Andy completed the Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) program and attained a Master of Business Administration degree at DePaul University. Since 2013, Andy has been an investment professional with COUNTRY Financial. From 2013 to 2018 his focus was on private wealth management and equity research.
Since 2018 he has focused on commercial real estate investment. In 2020, he earned the Chartered Realty Investor Associate designation. In his spare time Andy enjoys reading, exercise, mentoring, outdoor activities, and spending time with friends and family
Ryan Forberg | The Northern Trust Company 
Vice President - Senior Fixed Income Trader
Ryan Forberg is a Vice President at The Northern Trust Company, Chicago and is a Senior Fixed Income Trader within Northern Trust Securities Inc. His primary focus is working with outsourced trading clients in Northern Trust’s Integrated Trading Solutions (ITS) and provides trade execution, idea generation, market insight, and portfolio optimization. Ryan also supports Northern Trust Securities’ wealth brokerage and institutional sales efforts along with transition management trading.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Ryan was a Vice President, Portfolio Manager at RMB Capital Management, Chicago and oversaw the firm’s fixed income strategies including Taxable Short-Duration, Intermediate Government/Credit, Aggregate Core Plus, Long-Duration, and Tax-Exempt Municipal mandates. Ryan’s key responsibilities while at RMB Capital were strategy, portfolio management and construction, sector/macroeconomic/company research, trading, and business development. Ryan was a Data Integrity Analyst at Guggenheim Partners, Chicago before joining RMB Capital.
Ryan received a B.S. degree, magna cum laude, in Finance from Illinois State University.
Ryan is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the CFA Society Chicago. He is Series 7 and 63 licensed. He also serves on the board of directors for the Educational Investment Fund at Illinois State University.
John Jaburek | Wells Fargo Advisors 
Managing Principal
John is Managing Principal at Wells Fargo, helping individuals select specific investments to developing a retirement plan. With access to a broad array of company resources -- including research analysts and economic and market experts -- I can help you make informed investment decisions based on your specific needs.
Chelsie Moore | COUNTRY Financial 
Director of Wealth Management & Financial Planning
Chelsie leads an experienced team of Portfolio Managers, Private Wealth Consultants, Advanced Planners, and Internal Wholesalers. She also chairs the Mutual Fund Selection and the COUNTRY Trust Bank Investment Advisory Committees and is a voting member of the Asset Allocation Committee.
Her team conducts market, economic and asset research to be utilized both in client (~$4 billion) and insurance company portfolios (~$13 billion), oversees the strategic and tactical allocations of modeled portfolios, and acts as a resource regarding the strategy, direction, and initiatives of the Investment Services division. The teams are also responsible for creating and delivering complex financial plans alongside COUNTRY representatives to clients and supporting 32 products including wealth management, annuities, life insurance and 529s.
Chelsie has held various positions since starting with COUNTRY in 2009, but most of her career has been within the Investments Department where she participated in various investment committees and was responsible for following the US Large Cap Utilities sector.
Chelsie grew up in Champaign before moving to Normal to attend Illinois State University to achieve her Bachelor’s in Finance. She also holds the Charter Financial Analyst (CFA) designation as well as the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Chelsie and her husband, Brent, reside in Downs with their two young children, Kennedy (5) and Maverick (1). They love spending time together in their free time – like listening to live music, hiking, fishing, and going to sporting events, especially the Redbirds!
Doug Throneburg | First American Bank 
Senior Vice President Managing Director – Wealth Advisory
Doug has over 25 years of wealth management experience and currently serves as the Managing Director of Wealth Advisory at First American Bank. In this role, he is responsible for the management and oversight of the Investment Department, Client Advisory, Financial Planning, Private Bank, and Business Development. Prior to joining First American Bank in 2005, Doug worked as a financial planner within a CPA firm catering to high-net-worth families.
Doug holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from Illinois State University and an MBA from North Central College. He is a Certified Financial Planner Practitioner, a licensed Illinois Certified Public Accountant, and a CFA Charter holder. He has earned the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement designation from the CFA Institute, is a member of the CFA Society of Chicago, and serves as an adjunct faculty member at the Keller Graduate School of Management. In addition, Doug is a board member of the Educational Investment Fund at Illinois State University charged with overseeing a student-managed investment portfolio.
Doug lives in St. Charles, IL with his wife, Lesley, who is also an alum of Illinois State, along with their two sons and golden retriever. In his free time, Doug enjoys playing golf and watching college and NFL football.
Colin Wons | Bridge Bank 
Vice President - Leveraged Finance
Colin started his career in Investment Banking and brings Capital Markets and Corporate Banking expertise to the Board of Directors. Mr. Wons currently serves as a Vice President in the Sponsor Finance Group at Bridge Bank, a Division of Western Alliance Bank (NYSE: WAL).
In his role at Bridge Bank he is responsible for new business originations, including structuring, underwriting and executing middle-market leveraged buyout transactions for private equity sponsors, with a focus on technology companies. He received his BS in Finance and Economics from Illinois State University and has completed courses at the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business.
Additional EIF Board Members include:
- Daly Andersson, Tenet Wealth Partners
- Arijan Arslani, Busey Wealth Management
- Brandon Belt, Northern Trust Company
- Kevin Ahlgrim | FIL Chair, Illinois State University
- Ajay Samant | Dean - College of Business, Illinois State University
- Stella Liao | FIL Department, Illinois State University
- Tom Howe | FIL Department, Illinois State University