Meet the Team

Payroll Manager

Shari Fox

Shari is the EdFinMN payroll manager with over 20 years of payroll experience at a regional support entity for SMART Finance and has served charter schools in a private capacity for 7 years.

When not working, she spends as much time as possible at the beach with her Husband and friends.

CFO & Founding Director

Scott Brown

A co-owner and co-founder of EdFinMN, Scott holds an MBA from the University of St. Thomas and is an active CPA in the state of MN. Scott brings experience as an auditor, as a nonprofit board member, and in traditional school districts to the world of school finance and education support organizations. 

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Scott believes schools (traditional, charter, and private) need to have strong operations to allow for efficient and effective instruction. He wants EdFin staff to be a part of your team and have a strong partnership at all levels of your finance relationship: CFO, Accounts Payable, and Payroll.

More than just a bookkeeping team, Scott wants to be part of your strategic direction through shared integrity and passion and a clients-first approach.

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Payables Manager

Hillis Byrnes

Hillis Byrnes has been working in education-related fields since graduating from Macalester College in 2008. She holds a master’s degree in special education from the University of St. Thomas. Hillis moved out of the classroom and into school finance in 2021.  She’s been delighted to continue her work supporting students behind-the-scenes as accounts payable staff. In her free time, she enjoys playing pretend and writing silly songs with her 3 year old.

Accounts Payable Specialist

Nick Ylonen

Nick brings a diverse background of experience to his role at EdFin- from a degree in psychology to working as a real estate agent (hit him up if you are looking to buy or sell) and working in a school.

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In his free time, Nick is busy! He has three active kids playing hockey and his wife runs a school in Shoreview. 

Grants Manager

Shannon Swenson

Shannon comes with 15 years of experience in school finance. She has worked in both charter schools and a traditional district. She has done everything from accounts payable to payroll. She has experience in MEGS, SEDRA and SERVS. Shannon holds 3 associate’s degrees in accounting, business, and technology.

In Shannon’s spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and helping on the family farm.

CEO & Founding Director

Kyle Knudson

A co-owner and co-founder  of EdFinMN, Kyle specializes in charter school finance and consultation, working to bring the big hearts of our client’s vision to a budget that can be successfully executed while not threatening the financial standing of the organization.    

Kyle values working with clients who want to partner with EdFinMN to develop new and creative ways to meet the needs of Minnesota’s students. The backbone of EdFin is built on 5 core values:

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• Integrity

• Partner-Clients first

• Passion

• Job isn’t done until the job is done right

• Respect

Each of these values embodies what Kyle hopes to bring to EdFinMN clients daily. It is important to Kyle that clients feel those values in all interactions with EdFinMN staff. None of us are perfect—we all have “days” occasionally. However, Kyle’s goal is always to have these values at the forefront of interactions with clients and decisions made at EdFinMN.

Kyle holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. 

Operations 

Joseph Sovine

Joseph has worked with MN Charter schools of all sizes for over 7 years. As a finance manager, Joseph partners with school leaders to increase their understanding of the complex world of charter school finance — giving them the tools they need to take full ownership of their budgets. To this end, he takes an inordinate amount of joy in building budgets that are simultaneously comprehensive and intuitive.

With the goal of understanding each school’s specific needs, Joseph puts an emphasis on building strong client relationships. He takes pride in offering counsel that not only meets state requirements and the financial wellness of each organization but also reflects the school’s individual goals.

Quality

Bridget Peterson

Bridget Peterson has been with EdFin since the beginning and working charter schools for 3 years.  Previously, she served as the Director of Finance of a local, traditional district for over 17 years and prior to that as an auditor of local governments and schools. Her experience and understanding of entities of all sizes benefits the Schools’ admin teams and Boards as she continued to be an expert of the EdFin team. Bridget works tirelessly for the greater education industry and her clients and is a true believer that the job isn't done until it is done right. High standards of integrity and respect drive Bridget, not only when working with clients but also members of the EdFin staff. Bridget holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Payroll Supervisor

Amanda Rasinski

Amanda Rasinski has been working in school finance for roughly 6 years with experience in payroll, accounts payable and receivables. Graduating from St. Catherine University with a bachelor’s in business administration and concentration in small business/entrepreneurship. She continues to contemplate returning to school for her MBA.

In her free time, she attends her niece and nephew’s sporting events and spends time with family.

Operations 

Brady Hoffman, CPA

Brady Hoffman has been working in school finance for almost 20 years. He comes to EdFin with a broad perspective as a past auditor, CFO, and Business Manager who was worked with charter schools, traditional districts and intermediate districts over his career.

Payroll

Marjorie Hakala

Marjorie is a Minnesota native and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and Hamline University. Before coming to EdFinMN, she worked variously as an editor, creative writing instructor, naturalist, and all-around administrator. Marjorie lives in Saint Paul with her cat, bike, and collections of books she would like to read as well as tabletop games she would like to get around to playing.

Accountant, Controller & Fixer of Accounting

Chelsy Jenkins

Chelsy brings a wealth of experience in varying roles- from accounts payables, grants, payroll and CFO. She knows the full range of the client experience!

Chelsy enjoys riding her horses, playing softball, gardening and, even though it might be dorky, doing accounting.