We first met Jason Terwilliger back in 2013 when he arrived to audit our financials for the first time. After that we saw Jason each spring, bustling around the office and helping us make sure that all of our financial ducks were in a row. Then in May, he decided to come work for us! (That means our financials must be pretty great, right?) We sat down with Jason to learn a little more about him and his new role as our Chief Financial Officer.
Name: Jason Terwilliger
Hometown: Dunnville, Kentucky
Education: Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Georgetown College
Fun Fact: Jason has trained in Los Angeles to become a Bikram yoga instructor!
Q: What about working with CoEd as an auditor led you to want to work FOR CoEd?
A: CoEd was always one of my favorite clients for two reasons. I liked the people and always got along really well with the staff, and I was also really impressed with the mission here. Being able to help kids get better access to education is something I can get fully on board with. When this job opened up at CoEd, it was just perfect timing!
Q: What have your previous positions been like? How do you think they’ve prepared you for the work you’ll do here at CoEd?
A: My whole career has been working with nonprofits! I worked as an accountant at Georgetown College for 7 years, which gave me a good background in nonprofit accounting and statistical reporting. It made me think about nonprofit entities as a whole. At the accounting firm that I worked for here in Cincy, I had 30-35 nonprofits that I worked with, which gave me a great professional network of nonprofits. CoEd seemed to be a perfect match.
Q: You kicked off your time at CoEd by travelling to Guatemala for 6 weeks to sharpen your Spanish skills and get acquainted with the accounting team! What was it like?
A: Guatemala was probably one of the best experiences of my life, honestly. I travel a lot, but I have to say Guatemala is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen!
For years I’ve said that my biggest regret from my college days was that I didn’t study abroad. This gave me an opportunity to be able to really “dig in” to life in a different country, a different culture, and a different language. I got to meet our Guatemalan accounting team, which was probably the best way to start my position here. Now we have a relationship: they know me, and I know them. If I hadn’t started this job with my time down there, it would have been difficult to develop those relationships.
I can already tell how much further ahead I am in my Spanish from being down in Guatemala, immersed in it. Learning Spanish here is nothing like it was there—every day was 5 hours of classes, 3 hours practicing Spanish with my CoEd colleagues, and the rest of the time navigating Antigua and Guatemala City. I found the people of Guatemala to be just wonderful people, and it made me even prouder to be able to do what I’m doing at CoEd. I can’t wait to go back!
Jason hiking around Lake Atitlan
Jason making a friend
Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: I get together with my friends every other week for what we call “Supper Club,” and we cook together and share a meal, which is awesome. I enjoy doing yoga, and I love to be outdoors. I love biking and kayaking, so pretty much anytime I can be outside and enjoy nature is awesome!
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
A: I’m happy to be here, and I’m looking forward to working with CoEd!
Thank you, Jason! We are so excited to have you as part of our team!