Team

Julie Burklund has led the Business Intelligence and Analytics team with GBX Group since 2018. She provides data analysis and GIS mapping for economic impact consulting projects for Silverlode.

Before joining GBX Group, Julie was a Real Estate Analyst and Assistant Development Manager at First Interstate Properties, a real estate development company, providing data analysis for new construction projects and assisting with the ongoing asset management of several retail properties. Prior to joining First Interstate Properties, Julie was a Research Assistant at the Great Lakes Environment Finance Center at Cleveland State University.

Julie has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Truman State University and a Master of Science in Urban Studies from Cleveland State University. She completed a full stack web development certification at Case Western University in 2017.

Rick has over 35 years of experience in computer science, information technology, and network and system administration. As the Director of Enterprise Solutions, Rick is responsible for the design, implementation, configuration, support, measures of performance, and enhancements to company-wide applications and data solutions. He also plays a leadership role in safeguarding system and data security.

Before working at Silverlode, Rick was an IT Contractor in which he implemented and trained people on cybersecurity, completed OS migration, and installed and upgraded servers, firewalls, and switches, etc.  Before this, he was a Network Administrator at The Council for Economic Opportunities in Greater Cleveland (CEOGC) for a little over four years. At this position, Rick developed a SharePoint IT Trouble Ticket system for the company as well as their Intranet. He also performed computer and network system modifications, managed projects to help modernize the company, and deployed migration of OS, applications, and servers as well as migration from onsite to Cloud storage, etc. 

Rick completed his Associate’s Degree in Computer Science with a focus on Network Security at the ECPI College of Technology. He went on to receive his Bachelor's Degree in Network and System Administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In 2017, he received his Master of Science in Information Technology at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Kaitlin is a Historic Tax Credit Consultant at Silverlode and a Transactional Tax Counsel at GBX Group. She has 15 years of experience in the legal field, including over 10 years of experience in community development and project financing using historic preservation tax credits, new markets tax credits, other tax credits, and federal, state, and local grants and loans.  Immediately before joining Silverlode Consulting and GBX Group, Kaitlin was a Member at McDonald Hopkins LLC.

Kaitlin has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from John Carroll University. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.  She completed coursework in the Master of Public Affairs program at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Julie has over 25 years of experience in credits and incentives consulting. Prior to joining Silverlode Consulting, Julie was a Senior Tax Manager at Equifax Workforce Solutions where she managed the Tax Research Department and GIS group. Julie has worked with over 100 clients, researching and analyzing their locations to identify statutory and negotiated tax incentive opportunities. She is an expert at incentive analysis, which matches a company’s locations to beneficial tax credits and incentives.

At First Advantage Tax Consulting Services, Julie was the Director in their Tax Credits and Incentives Division, where she led a group of tax consultants who identified and secured statutory and discretionary tax incentives for all 50 states.

Earlier in her career, Julie managed the Cincinnati credits and incentives practice for PwC. At PwC she focused on negotiated incentives and helped clients to obtain lucrative tax credits and incentives for new and expanding corporate facilities.

Julie earned her Bachelor of Arts at University of California, Irvine and her MBA at the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Julie is a Certified Public Accountant in Ohio (inactive).

As GBX Group’s Marketing Manager, Cassie Fornick creates company marketing materials for investor communications, property transactions, and client presentations. She also plans all external and internal events and manages website analytics. Cassie is involved with external communications, client deliverables, and project management for Silverlode projects.

Cassie joined GBX in 2018 and worked with the business development team before transitioning to marketing. Prior to joining GBX, Cassie worked in event planning and sales.

Cassie has a Bachelor of Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and event planning from LIM College in New York.

Sarah Giegold is a Senior Tax Consultant with over 17 years of experience in Tax Consulting. At Silverlode, Sarah is responsible for assisting clients to obtain lucrative Federal and State Tax Credits and Incentives.

Sarah was a Senior Quality Program Manager at Equifax Workforce Solutions for six years. Sarah worked with large clients to maximize their WOTC (Work Opportunity Tax Credit) opportunities. Sarah’s previous role at Equifax was an Account Manager providing resources to deliver robust HR solutions including onboarding, employment verification, and I-9. At CliftonLarsonAllen, Sarah handled sales and use taxes for reverse audits and assisted large clients with sales tax refunds. After graduating from college, Sarah worked as a Tax Incentive Specialist at First Advantage.

Sarah has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Purdue University and was a member of the Purdue Accounting Association.

For over 15 years, Allison has identified and maximized tax incentive opportunities and managed compliance for location based incentives, training grants, and other statutory and negotiated incentives for corporate clients.

Before joining Silverlode, Allison was a Senior Tax Manager at Equifax Workforce Solutions. She led the Location Based Incentives team and was responsible for identifying and growing credit opportunities and delivering credit calculations. Prior to joining Equifax, Allison was a Tax Manager at First Advantage where she managed a client base with location based incentives projects and worked closely with developers to enhance automated credit calculation procedures.

Allison earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Purdue University. Allison has completed Six Sigma Green Belt training and various related tax incentive efficiency projects.

For more than 20 years, Maureen has directed high-performing teams of expert credit and incentives professionals and provided business growth opportunities to hundreds of corporate clients. She identifies opportunities for growth and development through establishing strategic process improvements, evaluating performance, and managing projects across business. She has worked with clients to design and implement tax credit and incentive strategies, performed comprehensive tax credit reviews, as well as the negotiation of economic development incentives.

Prior to leading Silverlode Consulting’s Location Based Incentives team, Maureen was the Director of Business Incentives for Equifax Workforce Solutions. Maureen led the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Client Support and Location Based Incentives team. Earlier in her career, Maureen held several other Equifax leadership positions in credit and incentives delivery and compliance and tax research. Maureen began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where she managed the National Incentive Compliance Practice.

Maureen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with concentrations in Marketing and Information Systems from Ursuline College. She is a member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

Kathy is an Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Specialist with over 35 years of experience in accounting. Kathy processes all incoming invoices for payment and also invoices and manages the collection efforts for Silverlode.

Kathy has held several positions in her career, increasing in scope and responsibilities. Prior to working at GBX, Kathy worked at Providence Healthcare Management and AIY Properties, Inc.

Kathy is working on completing her Associate’s Degree in Accounting from Cuyahoga Community College.

Dennis has over 25 years of experience advising private and public-sector organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico in the areas of corporate site selection, feasibility analysis, economic incentives, public finance, economic impact modeling, and economic development strategy. Dennis provides strategic guidance to businesses, developers, economic development organizations, and governmental entities involved in large-scale economic development projects. 

Prior to founding Silverlode Consulting in 2002, Dennis was the Lake Erie Area Director of Site Selection & Incentives Services for EY. He also served as a Senior Manager in the Location and Incentives Advisory Services Group of PwC. Dennis began his career in the financial assurance practice of PwC.

A certified public accountant, Dennis is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC). Dennis earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from John Carroll University. Dennis is also an IMPLAN Certified Economist.

Michelle Moll has been an integral part of Silverlode for over a decade. Michelle is an IMPLAN Certified Economist and spearheads Silverlode's modeling for economic impact and other analyses for corporate and public sector clients. Michelle also works with corporate clients to negotiate, procure, and manage compliance for economic incentives. 

Prior to joining Silverlode, Michelle was a financial analyst with Netrex, which spun off of the Progressive Diversified Business Group, a subsidiary of The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies. Michelle was responsible for product pricing and conducting cost analysis for the leasing agents of large automobile makers. Earlier in her career, Michelle worked as a Senior Auditor for PwC and conducted audits for large real estate and manufacturing companies.

Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Miami University and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive).

Kelly Moody has been a consultant with Silverlode Consulting since 2012. She manages client relationships and projects for Silverlode’s economic impact consulting services and a variety of other service lines. Kelly is also involved with new business development efforts and communications across service lines.

Before joining Silverlode, Kelly was a Manager of Consulting at Allegro Realty Advisors, Ltd., a corporate real estate services firm. She spent five years providing real estate advisory services to corporations, municipalities, and not-for-profit clients. Prior to joining Allegro, Kelly served as a Manager at Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO), a regional economic development organization in Northeast Ohio. 

Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Richmond. She sits on the board of directors for Open Doors Academy and is a member of Cleveland Bridge Builders Class of 2008.

Rebecca Neumann is an Associate Consultant at Silverlode. Rebecca augments the economic impact, economic incentives, and economic development teams through research and analysis, project management, and client engagement. Rebecca is also training to be an IMPLAN Certified Economist and assists with modeling for economic impact and other analyses for corporate and public sector clients.

Prior to joining Silverlode, Rebecca worked in the tax department of a large health system. Rebecca graduated Summa cum laude from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. She majored in Economics with a minor in Finance. She also earned an Associate of Arts from Lorain County Community College.

Sarah Risher is a Senior Consultant with over twenty years of experience advising clients to identify incentives and credit opportunities, structure and negotiate tax and business incentive packages, and identify alternative methods to obtain federal, state, and local fiscal benefits. Sarah is committed to maximizing value for her clients and implementing new credit and incentive strategies nationwide.

Prior to joining Silverlode Consulting, Sarah was a Manager at EY’s Business Incentives Group. She also worked in the Credits and Incentives Group at PwC. Her experience includes working with public sector organizations and companies from a number of industries including food processing, auto manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, insurance, and financial services. 

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Logistics from John Carroll University. 

As Chief Technology Officer at GBX Group, Brian Walmsley brings over 30 years of experience in IT strategy and executive management. Brian’s primary responsibilities include managing corporate enterprise platforms and planning strategic long-term technology needs. He and his team developed and implemented an online guided interview system to streamline the Subscription Document process for investors.

Brian began his career with Davies Can Company, a $100 million Division of Van Dorn Company. He managed all aspects of their Information Technologies Department including application development, infrastructure and data center operations. His responsibilities included IT strategy, staff management, and budgeting. Prior to working at Davies, Brian held several positions within OfficeMax Inc. – an $8+ billion office supply retailer. He served as Director of eCommerce Systems and was instrumental in the development, launch and operations of OfficeMax.com where he directed the site to over $500 million annually. In addition, he held the position of Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture and managed the merger between OfficeMax retail and Boise Office Products – a Chicago-based contract stationer. Brian led security reviews of both corporate and store systems, and has worked closely with the FBI and Secret Service on security-related matters.

Brian earned an AS in Computer Science and Accounting from the Institute of Computer Management.

Jean Williams has worked at GBX Group for more than 19 years. Currently, she serves as Senior Executive Assistant, providing support to the company’s President, Silverlode Consulting’s President, and other senior management. Jean was also instrumental in helping to develop the investor relations platform for GBX ensuring that investors receive an exceptional experience. She has over 40 years of corporate administrative experience including both leadership and supervisory roles.

As the first associate to join GBX, Jean’s rich knowledge extends her service as a role model and culture-driver for the company. She is also a mentor for other members of the administrative team.

Earlier in her career, Jean worked for EY as Executive Secretary to several partners, including providing support to the Managing Partner in the Tax Department. Jean also worked abroad for a non-government/missions organization in Albania and was the in-country president with Hope for the World. For close to a decade, she provided support and counseling to Albanian orphans looking to lead more purposeful lives.

As GBX Group’s Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, Cary Zimmerman advises the company and its leadership generally on legal issues arising from business operations. This includes counseling on regulatory and compliance matters involving corporate, securities, privacy, and cybersecurity legal issues.

Cary joined GBX after practicing law at several law firms, where she supported companies at all growth stages and provided counsel on real estate investment fund structure, operations, and compliance. Earlier in her career, Cary was Senior Counsel for Progressive Insurance, a Fortune 500 company, where she advised executives on securities and corporate governance matters and supported various business units with transactional and regulatory needs.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science with a French minor, Cary received both her Juris Doctor and Master of Science in Management – Finance from Case Western Reserve University.