Nekeya O’Connor has at over 20 years of accounting, finance and nonprofit management experience. Her areas of expertise include auditing, budgeting, human resources, grant management, nonprofit management, financial reporting, accounting and federal regulations. In various roles for her current agency, O’Connor negotiates grant budgets, supports supplemental award funding, prepares federal award packages for deviation and encumbrance approval and monitors grantee operations to ensure compliance with federal regulations. Additionally, O’Connor was tapped to be a lead specialist to develop a division and agency wide training for grants management specialists on processes, Uniform Guidance regulations, Health and Human Services grants policies and federal award monitoring. Since November 2024, O’Connor has served as fiscal specialist and subject matter expert for the Office of Head Start’s Program Operations Division, supporting and overseeing key nationwide fiscal initiatives such as improper payment reviews, interpretation and implementation of federal fiscal regulation, fiscal oversight and monitoring, disallowances and training and technical assistance. Prior to this current role, O’Connor served as a supervisory program specialist in the Office of Head Start, Region III, providing oversight to recipients in Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. In this position, O’Connor utilized her management experience to oversee six federal staff, funding of over $450M, and services provided to over 20,000 children and families. O’Connor is also a lecturer, facilitating courses on nonprofit management, business management, accounting and finance. In her private consulting practice, O’Connor serves a thought partner, strategic planning facilitator, mentor and subject matter expert for small, minority-led nonprofits and faith-based organizations, focusing on implementing financial oversight, financial reporting and human resource best practices.
Prior to joining the federal government, O’Connor served as a Head Start fiscal and real property expert with the National Center on Program Management & Fiscal Operations (PMFO). In this role, O’Connor participated in the content development, facilitation, training and technical assistance of Head Start fiscal topics that included cost allocation, implementation of fiscal regulations, federal financial reporting, monitoring and non-federal match. Additionally, she served as the real property facilities initiative content lead, developing content and training materials for regional offices on federal interest and real property financial reporting. O’Connor has also served as the chief financial officer for a Head Start Early Head Start program specializing in staff management, budgeting, financial analysis, strategic
planning and implementation, management training and grant management.
A proud alumnus of Howard University, O’Connor holds a bachelor's in business administration in accounting. She also earned a master's in public administration and an advanced graduate certificate in nonprofit management from Long Island University-Brooklyn. Her other academic and professional achievements include receiving two certificates in grants management from management concepts, being a 2017 UCLA Head Start management fellow, a 2018 Nike starting block leadership fellow, a certified nonprofit accounting professional (CNAP) awarded by the Fiscal Management Institute, and a certified public manager (CPM) credentialed at the University of Baltimore.
Dubbed as a program-minded fiscal specialist, O’Connor has a passion for numbers and a heart for people. Her greatest civic desire is to serve as a financial management resource to community organizations. She and her husband are the proud fur-parents of a seven-year old Jack Russell Pug named Hendrix, and a three-year old Frenchton named Halo.
Covers the fundamentals of accounting and financial management for public and nonprofit organizations. Through course readings, case studies, and short assignments, students will learn how to understand and use public sector financial information to inform decision making. The first half of the course will focus on: operating budgets, cash budgets, tools for evaluating capital budgeting decisions, and an introduction to accounting principles. Topics in the second half of the course include financial reporting, financial condition analysis, and unique aspects of accounting for public and nonprofit organizations. Along the way, students will gain familiarity with spreadsheet applications and financial calculations. By the end of the course, students should be able to read and interpret financial information and perform straightforward financial analyses.
Schedule of Classes
Prerequisite(s): PLCY688R recommended