NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University and the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce will host the June installment of the Virtual Business Series from noon-1 p.m. Thursday, June 11. The virtual Lunch and Learn is intended to help small business owners develop strategies to remain afloat during turbulent and uncertain times. The upcoming session will focus on the Payroll Protection Program, background, overview, loan calculations and requirements for forgiveness.
Featured speakers will be faculty from NSU’s School of Business, Dr. Melissa Aldredge, Dr. Vianka Miranda and Dr. Mark Swanstrom.
Registration is available at https://bit.ly/NSUVBS-June.
Aldredge holds a Doctor of Business Administration in advanced accounting and has over 25 years of teaching experience at the collegiate level. She currently serves as coordinator of Accounting for the College of Business and Technology at NSU. In 2019, she received the NSU Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award and was awarded the Poindexter Foundation Endowed Professorship in Accounting.
Aldredge is a Certified Public Accountant with prior “Big 8” public accounting experience and is an active member of the Louisiana Society of CPAs where she serves on the Accounting Education Issues Committee. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and consults part-time as a CPA. She and her husband Corwyn are also small business entrepreneurs owning three restaurants, a bar and a property company in Natchitoches.
Swanstrom, professor of finance and accreditation/assessment coordinator for his department, is the Kilpatrick Life Insurance Professor of Finance at NSU where he has taught finance since 2001. He is also a CFA charterholder and is licensed as an agent for PC and LH insurance.
Swanstrom’s research interests are in corporate governance and behavioral finance and he has published multiple articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is also a consultant for private industry, with expertise in corporate finance, corporate governance and compensation and mergers and acquisitions.
Miranda is a business professional and consultant with government sector and private industry experience encompassing administration, finance, data analysis, strategic planning and organizational development. She operated a business in the Greater New Orleans region during and after the 2005 Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil spill. Miranda has been a small business owner since 2004 and maintained operations before, during and after the disasters.
She is an assistant professor of finance at NSU, where she holds the Tommy Johnson Endowed Professorship in Business, Miranda holds a Doctorate of Business Administration in finance with special research interest in entrepreneurship and small business development and sustainability, a Master of Business Administration in finance, a post-baccalaureate certificate in applied business studies and a bachelor’s degree in financial economics. She is a licensed Louisiana real estate broker and Six Sigma Black Belt candidate.
The new monthly Lunch and Learn Virtual Business Series is intended to feature guest speakers and seminars aimed at assisting local businesses and the community in remaining strong and intact in a turbulent economic climate and the “new normal” to follow.
