FOX Rising Gen Advisory Board

Hillary Elmore Cage
Elmore Companies

Austin McDonald
President and COO, McDonald Development Company

Mercy Goddard
Vice President and Family Member, Investment Resources Corporation

Mary Grace Hinkle
Director, Hinkle Holding Company and MBA Candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

Presenter Biographies

Nate Imfeld
Attorney, Foley & Lardner LLP

Nate Imfeld is an attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP, and advises and represents clients — especially family-owned or -controlled businesses — in solving complex generational succession and family office planning problems, including shareholder disputes, securities and trust litigation, and other fiduciary issues.  Nate’s passion is helping his clients assess, manage, and navigate difficult situations to find creative solutions, educating and guiding them through the legal issues so they can make informed business decisions.  In addition to his professional work, Nate is also a married-in family member in a Gen 6 family.

Nate received his law degree from Marquette University Law School, and his undergraduate degree from American University.
 

Robert (Bob) L. Hammett
Vice President, Chifam LLC

Bob is a fifth-generation family member who serves as Vice President of a single family office (SFO) that administers numerous trusts for about 80 family members. The office helps family trustees and beneficiaries by engaging and supervising the work of outside professionals while having a small staff that deals directly with the members of the extended family. The focus of the office is on trust administration and accounting, estate planning, investment manager coordination, fiduciary and financial education, annual visits with family members, monthly newsletters, and estate and income tax return preparation. Bob is a CPA/PFS, CFP, MBA with prior professional work experience in public accounting and banking with a primary focus on estate, gift, and trust planning and taxation. The SFO is not directly involved in day to day activities of the legacy operating businesses located in the Pacific Northwest (newsprint and forestry, broadcasting and print media, and real estate) and a portfolio of actively managed direct investments. He is also a Past-Chair of their Family Council and has participated in several Family Assembly committees (i.e., Governance, Education, Introductions and Reunions).

Bob previously worked at Deloitte & Touche, Home Savings of America/Washington Mutual Bank, KPMG LLP, and Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset. Bob earned a BA in Mathematics, Economics and Accounting at Claremont McKenna College and an MBA in Finance and Policy Studies (Competitive Strategy) at the University of Chicago Graduate (Booth) School of Business. 

Stephanie A. Hammett
Chifam LLC, NextGen

Stephanie Hammett is a sixth-generation family member served by Chifam LLC (a single family office, SFO). She is a beneficiary of and a co-trustee on trusts managed by the SFO. The office helps family trustees and beneficiaries by engaging and supervising the work of outside professionals while having a small staff that deals with the members of the extended family. The focus of the office is on trust administration and accounting, estate planning, investment manager coordination, fiduciary and financial education, annual visits with family members, monthly newsletters, and estate and fiduciary income tax return preparation. 

A recent graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (liberal arts and sciences great books curriculum), Stephanie is considering a career in the Arts Journalism. She has interned in several of the family's legacy operating businesses (newsprint and forestry, broadcasting and print media, real estate and insurance) and participated on various Family Council/Assembly committees. She currently works for Inland Northwest Opera as Artistic Administrator and Assistant to the General Director. 

Torri Hawley
Windway Capital, NextGen

Torri Hawley is a seventh-generation member of the Vollrath Company, a stainless steel small-wares company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. While not involved in the family business, she plays an active role in governance. 

Torri attended Stetson University, where she graduated with a degree in Family Enterprise, and later completed the Family Firm Institute’s Certificate in Family Business Advising and Family Wealth Advising. She has shared her perspective as a next generation stakeholder for Family Business Magazine's Transitions Conference, Daughters In Charge, Purposeful Planning Institute and Family Office Exchange. 

In 2014, Torri was nominated as one of Family Business Magazine’s “25 Under 35: Next-Gen Members to Watch”. She now lives in Denver, Colorado, where she works for a fourth-generation family business.
 

Justin Rockefeller
Global Director, Family Offices and Foundations, Addepar

Justin Rockefeller is Global Director of Family Offices and Foundations at Addepar, a financial technology and services company empowering leading investment management firms to spend more time on what matters most: investing, building relationships, and growing their business. They provide advanced data management, portfolio analytics, and consolidated reporting to family offices, wealth advisors, and large financial institutions tracking more than $1.5T on our platform. 

Justin cofounded and chairs The ImPact, a membership network of families who are committed to making investments with measurable social impact. The ImPact provides families with the knowledge and network they need to make more impact investments more effectively, and uses sophisticated technology for data aggregation, analytics, and reporting to shift the narrative of impact investing from one of inputs (dollars committed) to outcomes (impact created). Its purpose is to improve the probability and pace of solving social problems by increasing the flow of capital to investments generating measurable social impact. From 2009 - 2018, Justin served on the board and investment committee of Rockefeller Brothers Fund; he helped steer the private foundation towards mission-aligned investing of its endowment. Justin received a B.A. from Princeton University, and lives in New York with his wife and two daughters.

Sarah Kerr Severson
Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP

Sarah Kerr Severson takes a holistic approach to helping individuals and multigenerational families implement and manage comprehensive estate plans and business succession plans. Sarah brings an instinct for facilitating transition and a keen awareness of the “softer side,” familial and social issues, which uniquely position her to guide clients through special needs planning, wealth transfer planning and charitable planning techniques.

A counselor to those with significant wealth, Sarah assesses her client’s circumstances, diagnoses the issues and coordinates a plan that meets both immediate and long-term goals. Her holistic approach takes into account all of the financial, personal, tax and non-tax objectives in play.

Sarah recognizes that her client’s plans and established entities have lives of their own; they need continuous care and feeding. Sarah quarterbacks all issues that affect her clients and takes very seriously her role as a trusted business adviser and confidant for current and future generations.

FOX Presenters

Heather Asher Abramson
Regional Director Membership, West

Heather Abramson is the Regional Director of Membership for Family Office Exchange (FOX). Heather has three major roles at FOX. First, she provides a variety of member services and supports the specific needs for family business-owning members. Secondly, Heather is a member of the FOX member development team and assesses the needs of prospective FOX members by helping them achieve their goals. Heather also runs FOX’s Rising Gen Community, which is designed to provide next-generation family members an opportunity to learn, share experiences, and develop skills as future leaders.

Before joining FOX in 2008, Heather served as Strategic Marketing and Events Manager at Aon Corporation. While at Aon, Heather planned and executed more than 100 large-scale events and created the marketing and project execution for Aon’s South America Division. Earlier in her career, she worked on Capitol Hill for a U.S. senator and in the foreign policy department at a lobbying organization. She also has previous experience working in a Chicago-based family office.

Heather has a B.A. degree in journalism, public relations, and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She graduated with honors from DePaul University with an M.A. in organizational and multi-cultural communications.