The Community Foundation for Southern Arizona invests for the long term through a diversified portfolio consisting of different global asset classes. CFSA governs the investment of assets through an Investment Policy Statement that is annually approved by CFSA’s Board of Trustees. Performance is monitored throughout the year by an Investment Committee.
Investment Committee | Fiscal Year 2024
DR. DAVID BAKER was the superintendent of Flowing Wells School District in Tucson, Arizona. His 30-year career began when he accepted a position as a fourth-grade teacher. David worked as an assistant principal, elementary school, and middle school principal before moving into district administration. As an associate superintendent, he spent ten years overseeing technology, curriculum, and instruction. He earned his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Arizona and worked as an adjunct instructor for graduate courses at The University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University before his hiring as superintendent. During his superintendency, he earned the Arizona School Administrators All Arizona Superintendent award for his focus on creating an environment of high academic expectations, expanding extra-curricular activities, and creating opportunities for students and staff to engage in meaningful activities. Since retiring, he has been an active member of Old Pueblo Rotary and has volunteered as a community representative for Literacy Connects. As a lifelong Tucsonan, David remains interested and engaged in the community on educational issues and works with the College and Career Office in Flowing Wells to help students pursue college access.
SHAWN BEST, M.S., CFP®, has more than fifteen years of experience in wealth management and finance. He cares deeply about getting to know his clients and helping them reach their short and long-term goals. Shawn Best focuses on assisting clients in all financial planning areas at the Tucson office of Meridian Wealth Management LLC. Shawn’s experience ranges from Retirement Planning, Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Education Planning, Investment Management, Risk Management and Insurance Planning. During his career, Shawn has utilized his industry experience in retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, education planning, investment management, and wealth transfer to serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families, small business owners, and non-profit organizations.
NICOLLETTE DALY is the Director of Finance at Tohono Chul Park. Previously she was CFO of the Primavera Foundation and the Community Food Bank. She spent almost a decade in the construction industry, where she discovered her passion for accounting. She returned to school to get her Bachelor’s and Master of Accounting degrees from the Eller School of Accountancy. Upon graduation, she earned her Certified Public Accountant licensure and a Non-Profit Executive Leadership certification from the ASU Lodestar Center. After several years in public accounting, Nicollette moved to the nonprofit sector, first as the CFO of the Community Food Bank and now the Primavera Foundation. She enjoys teaching accounting, taxation, and leadership as a guest lecturer at the University of Arizona and providing accounting knowledge to smaller nonprofit organizations. She serves on various nonprofit boards, including the Advisory Board for the School of Accountancy at Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.
NANCY M. DAVIS has served as a board member and officer of several nonprofit organizations here in Arizona. She is a past board chair of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and is a current board member of the Humanities Seminars Program at the University of Arizona and the Banner Health Foundation in Phoenix. She is a past General Chair of Angel Charity for Children (2006) and has served on the boards of the UMC Foundation, Opening Minds Through the Arts (OMA), and Project YES. She has been a Tucson resident since 1999. Her professional experience included 18 years with Fidelity Investments in Boston, and she has an MBA in Finance from Northeastern University.
YAMEN FELLAH is a wealth advisor at Raymond James. Previously, Yamen was a financial advisor at Edward Jones and Merrill Lynch. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and is a member of the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona investment committee. A Tucson native, he works to humanize investing. It starts with building a relationship of trust, understanding, and partnership. The aim is to empower clients to make informed decisions and have a sense of purpose with their wealth. Yamen uses an established process to build personalized strategies to help clients achieve their goals and invests his time in understanding what clients are working towards before they make any investment decisions. In his free time, Yamen enjoys exploring Tucson’s amazing bicycle paths, outdoor trails, and golf courses.
MATT HAERTZEN has over 25 years of experience in the investment industry. He helps his clients learn more about investing, budgeting, and financial planning so they can achieve their financial, retirement, and life goals. As a Senior Investment Advisor for WT Wealth Management and Senior Lecturer of Finance for the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, Matt’s unique combination of investment experience and educational focus helps him serve his clients in a way that sets him apart from other advisors. Matt is also a CFA Charterholder and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), which means he is held to extremely high professional and ethical standards and always puts his client’s best interests first. Matt’s passion for investing and career success stems from extensive work experience in the investment community. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with an MBA, Matt began his career with Ameriprise Financial, where he managed a staff of analysts supporting the quantitative mutual fund product line. From there, he went on to work for the University of Minnesota Endowment, a $650 million fund where he was responsible for asset allocation and manager selection. Matt then joined a trust company in Washington, where he was responsible for managing $600 million in large capitalization stocks. He transitioned to manage a combined $1 billion in assets for the Idaho Endowment Fund, Judge’s Retirement System, and the Idaho State Insurance Fund in Boise, Idaho. Matt also consulted for Cogent Partners where he designed a global timber fund that traded publicly on the London AIM Exchange. Fulfilling his interest in helping others with investing, Matt began his investment advisor career as a founding partner of Four Peaks Wealth Management in Flagstaff, Arizona.
MATTHEW HARRIS is a Managing Director and Founding Partner at Attessa Capital. Before founding the firm, he was Founder and Chief Investment Officer at Harrison Wealth Management. Before founding Harrison Wealth Management, he was Partner and Co-Chief Investment Officer at RMH Investment Management. Before relocating to Tucson, Mr. Harrison was a Vice President and Institutional Portfolio Manager at Northern Trust. In that role, he managed investments for various pension plans, foundations, endowments, and nonprofits. He began his investment career as an Analyst at Relational Investors (a San Diego-based investment firm with over $12 billion under management). Mr. Harrison taught Applied Portfolio Management to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Arizona and remains a frequent guest lecturer. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona with a major in finance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder (CFA®), a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), and serves in various leadership positions at several non-profit organizations, including the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
RICHARD MUNDINGER brings over two decades of investment management experience to serve the investment needs of RMH Investment Management clients. He is an active member of the Tucson community, serving on the Investment Committee, Finance Committee, and Board of Trustees for the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and Rotary International. He was also past President of the CFA Society of Tucson. Before joining RMH, Richard was a Principal at Sunrise Capital Management, LLC where he utilized a total return investment strategy to smooth out portfolio volatility and enhance returns. This total return philosophy is the basis behind RMH’s approach to investment management. Before that, Richard was Vice President at RBC Dain Rauscher overseeing investment management for retirement and pre-retirement clients, and held institutional equity and derivatives positions for several investment firms in Canada. Richard has earned the right to use the CFA designation and has written a variety of published articles on topics such as hedging concentrated stock positions, investment policy statements, and asset allocation strategies. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance.
GORDON REYNOLDS started Ridgway Private Wealth in May 2021. At Ridgway Private Wealth, Gordon advises clients, handles investment management and planning, and oversees the management of the firm. Before Ridgway Private Wealth, Gordon was a Senior Investment Strategist with Wells Fargo Private Bank for 17 years. Before that, Gordon was a Senior Portfolio manager with UMB Bank in Kansas City, MO, for 4 years and U.S. Central Capital Markets in Overland Park, KS, for 3 years. Gordon also spent 9 years as an adjunct Finance Professor in Kansas City with Baker University and Rockhurst University. Gordon has a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Rockhurst University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. Gordon holds the professional designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Gordon is also Series 7, 63 & 65 licensed with FINRA. Gordon is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Tucson, the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, and the Southern Arizona Financial Planners Association.
MELODY ROBIDOUX founded the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation in 1990 which became the Melody S. Robidoux Foundation Fund held at the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona in 2015. Her philanthropy over the last 30 years has focused on: social justice change, advocacy, education, and greater equity for women and children; endowments and other funding in colleges and schools at The University of Arizona; the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona; mental healthcare for youth; multiple capital campaigns; and many non-profits both in Tucson and the Seattle area. In 1992, Ms. Robidoux co-founded the Women’s Foundation for the State of Arizona and continues as a major donor and member of the Advisory Council. Ms. Robidoux is an Arizona native and graduated with a B.A. and a J.D. from The University of Arizona. In 2020, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences for her commitment to transformation and betterment of the Southwest and engagement at The University of Arizona. She is recognized in the Women’s Plaza of Honor on campus. Ms. Robidoux was a co-owner and CEO of a global technology company based in Tucson in the late 1980s and started her philanthropic career after selling her corporate shares in 1990.
