ESOP Program Instructors

Myah Moore Irick is the founder of the Irick Group & Senior Vice President at Merrill Private Wealth Management. Myah specializes in providing wealth planning & investment strategies to founders, executives, successful families & mission-based investment guidance for nonprofits. She serves on several boards regionally and nationally. Her experience as Miss Oregon 2003, inspired her commitment to promoting equity for women. Myah received a B.A. from Lewis & Clark College, an M.A. from Columbia University, & a joint M.B.A. with honors from Brown University and Instituto de Empresa.

Linshuang (pronounced “Lin-Shang”) Lu is a Principal at Praxis Consulting Group. She provides organization development, strategic planning, leadership development and culture change services to nonprofits and employee-owned companies. She is passionate about helping organizations develop their leaders and foster deeper staff engagement in order to create better workplaces and achieve greater impact. Linshuang serves of the Ownership Culture Committee of the ESOP Association, and regularly speaks and writes on topics related to employee ownership culture, leadership development, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She serves on the Board of the National Center for Employee Ownership and has served on the Board of the ESOP Association. Linshuang holds a Master of Science in Organization Development from American University. 

Sean-Tamba Matthew is a shareholder of the law firm Stevens & Lee and also works with its affiliated business, SES ESOP Strategies. He advises companies, business owners, boards of directors and employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trustees on transactional, corporate governance and formation matters related to the design and implementation of ESOPs. Sean is a frequent guest speaker on a range of ESOP-related issues. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. In addition, Sean is a member of the leadership council for the Business Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, an advisory board member of Talley Management Group, an employee-owned company, and a member of the executive committee of The ESOP Association’s Public Policy Council. Sean was named among the 2021 Greater Philadelphia Region’s “40 Under 40” honorees by the Philadelphia Business Journal. He received his J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania.  

Philip Reeves is a Founding Partner at Apis & Heritage Capital Partners, a mezzanine debt private equity fund that preserves legacies for founders, delivers impact and returns for investors, and builds wealth for workers of color using employee ownership. He is a seasoned entrepreneur and business leader with a background in business development, mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance and executive management.  Previously, Philip partnered with 1863 Ventures, where he led an industry-agnostic program focused on scaling New Majority businesses through operational improvements, sustainable sales processes, human capital best practices and financial management. Philip’s background includes serving as the Manager of Small Business Technology and Innovation for the Government of the District of Columbia and working in corporate development for a growing government contractor, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and business development. Philip began his career in private equity at Lehman Brothers. He is the former President (Curator) of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Washington, DC Hub and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Morehouse College.

As the Vice President of Certification, LaKesha White leads the WBENC WBE and WOSB certification standardization and compliance efforts by overseeing the Regional Partner Organizations’ processes. LaKesha is responsible for all certification-related training for RPO Staff and Certification Committee members and managing WBENC’s proprietary database, WBENCLink2.0.

Prior to joining WBENC in 2011, LaKesha served as Director of Certification for the Women’s Business Enterprise Council – South from 2003-2007, then transferred her services from Louisiana to be the Carolinas Certification Program Manager for the Greater Women’s Business Council until 2010. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Stephen A. White is the Founder and Managing Partner of Onyx Partners Group, an independent business valuation advisory firm. Stephen provides valuation services for purposes including employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) corporate valuations (acquisitions, sales, pre-money, and post-money valuations), gift & estate, bankruptcy reorganizations, and establishing buy sell agreements.

Noteworthy industry experience includes income producing healthcare professions, real estate, construction, professional services, food services, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and technology. He is a frequent speaker at NACVA® conferences, Industry Correspondent on Around the Valuation World®, and a contributor to the Valuation Examiner magazine, a professional development journal for consulting disciplines and the Valuation Pulse©.