Navigators of Change.
Igniters of Inspiration.
Agents of Progress.

Gary Shamis

Chief Executive Officer

Gary Shamis assumed responsibility for his father’s accounting firm in 1981. Over the thirty-five years that followed, he took revenues from $225,000 to approaching $100 million and employees from a dozen to 600. He built the 37th largest independent accounting and consulting firm in the nation, before combining SS&G, Inc. with BDO USA, LLP in 2014.

Today, as principal of Winding River Consulting, a business advisory services company, Gary is a highly sought after speaker, facilitator, and consultant.

In its inaugural list of Managing Partner Elite in Accounting in 2012, Accounting Today identified Shamis as one of only ten people recognized for qualities required of a person in a firm’s leadership role.

He is the “very model of the modern managing partner, and this list is more or less unimaginable without him,” it stated, adding “he invented, codified, or popularized most of the strategies and best practices that are now taken for granted.”

David M. Toth

Chief Growth Officer

David Toth is a distinguished consultant recognized for his strategic expertise in fostering growth and enhancing practice management within the accounting and advisory sectors. With almost two decades of leadership experience, he has become a vital strategic partner to numerous firms, specializing in digital transformation and strategic growth, leadership development, management consulting and strategic facilitation.

Recognized as one of the youngest and most forward-thinking advisors to managing partners and niche/office/practice leaders, David has earned a reputation for being a candid, dynamic strategist. His ability to bridge the gap between the broader business world and the accounting profession has led to the creation of impactful programs that set firms apart from the competition.

In his pivotal role with Winding River Consulting’s premier program, MPB | Leadership Accelerated, David enhances communication and collaboration among firm leadership, partners, and growth teams, ensuring alignment and fostering an environment conducive to shared success. Furthermore, he is the founder of the Digital Deep Dive Summit, an influential annual seminar that has successfully convened leaders from over 50 firms in the past three years to advance digital strategy through robust peer-to-peer engagement.

David’s contributions to the field have earned him numerous accolades, including being named one of CPA Practice Advisor's '20 under 40 Top Influencers' in 2022 and a 'Notable Leader in Accounting & Consulting' in 2023 by Crain's Cleveland Business.

Mary Ann Shamis

Chief Financial Officer

Mary Ann Shamis brings over 40 years of expertise in payroll and business management to her role as Chief Financial Officer at Winding River Consulting. With a background in public accounting and employee benefits, Mary Ann co-founded Paytime Integrated Payroll Solutions in 1981, establishing a Cleveland-based business that has since grown to become a trusted leader in payroll services. Paytime sold to CBIZ in 2019, the only publicly traded CPA firm in the US.

Throughout her career, Mary Ann has been guided by a steadfast commitment to her core values:

• Delivering superior client service
• Creating a positive and empowering work environment
• Fostering professional growth and development for employees
• Upholding customer satisfaction and integrity

Mary Ann’s extensive experience and dedication to excellence make her a vital part of Winding River Consulting’s leadership team.

Nicole Shirey

Operations Administrator

Nicole Shirey plays a pivotal role in managing a wide array of responsibilities at Winding River Consulting. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the office, ensuring smooth workflow and efficient resource management. She leverages her diverse experience to enhance organizational effectiveness in supporting the executive team. Nicole assists with the company's social media marketing efforts and enhances the company's online presence to ensure effective engagement with clients and stakeholders.

She oversees client relations, communication, and service. With many projects and events, Nicole is responsible for coordination, promotion, and management, as well as related schedules and budgets. She supervises internal protocols assuring consistency, functionality, and accuracy, maintaining uniformity in our complex, multi-layered structure.

Nicole’s dedication to both personal and professional growth is reflected in her proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement initiatives within the organization. Her focus is team-based, promoting innovative ideas, fostering culture, improving outcomes, and ensuring the collaboration and communication that are so critical to our successes.

Nicole enjoys quality time with her husband and children and maintains a deep-rooted passion for researching local history and family ancestry.

Taylor King

Events Marketing Manager

Taylor King is a master architect of unforgettable experiences. As Winding River Consulting’s Events Marketing Manager, she designs and orchestrates our high-impact events that spark meaningful connections and drive organizational success. With an eye for design, focus on strategy, and commitment to excellence, Taylor applies data-driven insights to optimize event outcomes. Maintaining a Net Promoter Score (NPS)consistently above 80—far surpassing industry standards—she fine-tunes every detail to maximize engagement, participation, and return on investment.

Taylor’s oversight spans WRC’s flagship programs, including MPB | Leadership Accelerated, Basic Training Bootcamp, Digital Deep Dive, and Winning Ways. Through these initiatives, she ensures WRC’s mission to educate, connect, and inspire is brought to life, strengthening relationships and elevating the client experience.

In her free time, Taylor enjoys running half marathons, spending time outdoors, and boating on Lake Erie with her family and dogs.

Scott J. Allen, Ph.D.

Leadership Management Consultant

Scott J. Allen, Ph.D., is an award-winning educator passionate about working with people at all levels and across industries. He serves as an instructor in SMU’s Cox School of Business Executive Education and spent more than 18 years as a professor of management. His areas of expertise include leader development, the future of work, and executive communication.

Scott has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He’s the co-author of several books, including The Little Book of Leadership Development: 50 Ways to Bring Out the Leader in Every Employee; Emotionally Intelligent Leadership: A Guide for College Students; Discovering Leadership: Designing Your Success; and Captovation: Online Presentations by Design. Scott hosts Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders, ranked among the world's top 2.5% of podcasts. Along with the podcast, he publishes a weekly newsletter.

Scott frequently serves as a keynote speaker. In addition, he consults, facilitates workshops, and leads retreats across industries. Recent engagements include Catholic Charities, Cleveland Leadership Center, Key Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Progressive, Nestle, EY, Siegfried Group, GGI Global Alliance, Family Office Exchange, Dallas Area Rapid Transit, Sherwin Williams, Whiting-Turner, Vocon, Toyota Motor North America, Lexus, Gee Automotive, Crestron, NASA-Glenn, Elbit America, Oatey, Lubrizol, Enbridge (Dominion), Endeavor Energy Resources, TransAlta, Endeavor Energy Resources FedEx Custom Critical, Thompson Hine LLP, Nordson, MetroHealth, and Cleveland Clinic.

Scott served on the board of the International Leadership Association, Association of Leadership Educators, and Management and Organizational Behavior Teaching Society. He was named an ILA Fellow by the International Leadership Association in 2021.

Teri Schaffer, CPA

Leadership Consultant & Executive Coach

Teri Schaffer knows that a title doesn’t make a person a leader. And she understands why. While the profession is quick to promote people into leadership roles, accountants don’t always receive the mentoring, information, and education they require to lead with confidence and impact. 

With more than three decades of public accounting experience, she has an innate understanding of the importance of professional and leadership development and has made it a priority in her career. She is committed to evolving professionals into the best versions of themselves by amplifying the importance of managing professionals as individuals, not as a collective. Yet she also recognizes how critical it is to balance both partner and team development.

Teri was most recently the Assurance Office Managing Partner for the Northeast Ohio offices of BDO for five years, and 20 years with SS&G/BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading professional services firms. Before that, she spent almost a decade at a Big 4, where she led her firm’s healthcare industry expansion team; several years as the controller of a $400 million managed care organization, including operational oversight and budget management.

She is recognized for having improved practice performance, both during and after the pandemic, through a combination of intentional staff development, client retention, and recognition of the quality and value of services produced and delivered by her team.

Miami University, B.S. Business, Accounting

Ilana Isakov Katz

Marketing Strategist

As a marketing strategist, Ilana Isakov Katz relishes the opportunity to combine the art and science of marketing to create integrated marketing communications solutions. Drawing on her experience with Fortune 500 company clients, Ilana designs, implements, and measures performance-driven and results-oriented plans and programs to support dynamic objectives.

She is an award-winning marketing communications professional with extensive involvement in marketing, branding, and advertising. Ilana develops creative and design direction for successful corporate identity and brand building campaigns. She is a speechwriter, ghostwriter, business writer, and copywriter. She is an ardent follower of AP Style standards and an Oxford comma enthusiast.

With comprehensive experience in community, employee, media, and public relations, she has worked alongside CEOs to compose messaging platforms and content that support corporate positioning. Ilana has served as national media spokesperson for purposes of general corporate representation and in times of crisis.

Ilana spent more than a decade as director of marketing for SS&G, Inc. (now BDO) where she oversaw the advertising, PR, website and social media, and events, as well as business development engagement and client service delivery.

• BA, Advertising and Public Relations, Simmons College
• MBA, Global Marketing, John Carroll University
• Accredited in Public Relations, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
• Certificate in Reputation Management, PRSA

Trisha Daho

Culture and Leadership Consultant

With a law degree from Case Western Reserve University and a business degree from Miami University, Trisha brings practical results-driven insights as well as leadership acumen. She regularly writes and speaks on a variety of topics, including authenticity in leadership, high-impact teams, creating growth cultures, accelerating leaders, and many more.

Trisha is married to a Frenchman named Bachir, whom she met while on vacation in Paris. They plan to travel the world together as soon as he is permanently stateside. In her spare time, Trisha fosters Labrador Retrievers, travels to faraway places, and watches lots of foreign films.

Matt Terlop

Physical Trainer

• BA, Communications, John Carroll University
• Former Member, U.S. Martial Arts Team
• United States Federal Law Enforcement Academy (FLETC)
• Certified, International Sports Science Association (ISSA)

Bruce Hennes

Crisis Communication & PR Consultant

Bruce Hennes is chief executive officer of Hennes Communications, one of the few firms in North America focused exclusively on crisis communications and crisis management.

With a client list that includes Goodyear, NASA, Avery Dennison and Kent State University, Hennes Communications serves over 180 clients a year in virtually every market sector – including scores of government agencies, municipalities, nursing homes, nonprofits, school districts, accounting firms, law firms -- and their clients that are “on trial in the Court of Public Opinion.”

A former keynoter at LeadingEdge and American Bar Association conferences, Bruce currently serves on the executive committee of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. In 2023, he was appointed Assistant Professor at Ohio University’s Scripps School of Communication.  Bruces also serves as an adjunct professor at Cleveland State University’s College of Urban Affairs and, for the last four years, he has served on the faculty of the Ohio State Bar Association’s Leadership Academy.

Bruce was named a “Go-To Thought Leader” by the National Law Review for columns he contributed to one of the most widely read business law websites in the U.S.  And for five consecutive years, he has been named to the Lawdragon 100 Leading Consultants and Strategists, the definitive guide to the financiers, recruiters, marketing and communication gurus on whom the legal profession relies. According to Lawdragon, "These are 100 of the most trusted advisors to the legal profession."