Sure, you know Al Foice, our Chief Audit Executive, but how much do you know about the rest of your Internal Audit Team? Who has a dog named after the GOAT? Who currently has the most certifications of the group? Read on learn more about our team.
Nichol Astillero, CIA
Nichol is a Senior Associate on the Financial & Operational team. Prior to joining NLG in 2019, Nichol spent 10 years with Keurig DR. Pepper in Corporate Finance and Internal Audit roles. She received her MS in Accountancy and her BS in Accountancy from Bentley College. Nichol is an active member of the St. Francis Xavier Home & School Association, and she puts her accounting skills to good use serving as the Treasurer.
Fun fact about Nichol: Nichol and her family can be found on the mountain every weekend all winter long. Nichol has even skied down the Alps a time or two as a member of the US KPMG ski team.
Brittany Bernier
Brittany is an Associate Auditor on the Financial & Operational team. Before joining Internal Audit in 2019, Brittany spent time as both an Actuarial Systems Analyst and a Replacement Technician. This allows Brittany to bring additional knowledge and insight to the team that someone with a “traditional” audit/accounting background may not have. Brittany holds a BS from Lyndon State College, where she studied Atmospheric Sciences and Applied Mathematics.
Fun fact about Brittany: Brittany is our resident Disney World expert and tries to plan a vacation every 18 months. She knows all the tips and tricks about the resort.
Rob Clifford, CPA, CITP, CISA, CIA
Rob is a Senior IT Auditor Consultant on the IT Audit Team. Before joining NLG in 2013, Rob was an Audit Manager for Johnson & Lambert Co. LLP. Rob also spent time working at IBM in Production Engineering Support. Rob received his BS in Business Administration with a dual concentration in Management Information Systems and Accounting from UVM.
Fun fact about Rob: Rob is a proud father of three, with the oldest headed off to college next year and the youngest headed off to Kindergarten.
Brooke Codling
Brooke is an Associate Auditor on the Financial & Operational team. Brooke joined the team as an Intern in May 2017 and started full-time as an Associate Auditor in January 2019. Brooke graduated from UVM with a BS in Business Administration and a Concentration in Accounting. She just recently received her MS in Accountancy from University of Arizona Global Campus.
Fun fact about Brooke: She is an Officer (Lecturing Knight) and member of the Board of Directors of the Barre Elks Lodge. Brooke spends a lot of time volunteering at various Elk events, including serving meals with her husband at Senior Dinners.
Kristen Cooper, CPA
Kristen is an Audit Manager on the Financial and Operational Team. Before joining NLG in 2015, Kristen was a Senior Audit Manager at KPMG. Kristen holds a BS in Accounting and Business Administration from St. Michaels College. Kristen serves on the Board of Child Care Resources, where she serves as the Treasurer and a member of the strategic planning committee.
Fun fact about Kristen: Kristen and her husband own a 9-year-old pitt/lab mix named Harry, who owns an outfit for each occasion that he proudly wears. A rain day – check; formal tux – check; day in the park – check. The collection started because when Harry was adopted, he did not have fur on his belly and would get cold in the VT weather, but kept going, because if you have it you should flaunt it!
Jeremie Cotnoir
Jeremie is an IT Auditor on the IT Audit Team. Jeremie has been with NLG for nine years. Jeremie just recently transferred to the IT Audit Team from the Financial and Operational Team where he spent many years helping our Model Audit Rule testing run smoothly. Jeremie received a BA in Business Administration from Ashford University and is currently pursuing is CISA designation from ISACA.
Fun Fact about Jeremie: Jeremie is a huge pit bike/dirt bike enthusiast. He also used to play bass guitar for some local VT band. If you catch Jeremie’s background in a Team’s meeting you can see many of his favorite guitars hanging from the wall.
Justin Holmes, CIA
Justin Holmes is an Audit Manager on the Financial and Operational Team. Justin has been with NLG for six years. Justin joined the audit team in 2019, coming the Risk team. Prior to joining NLG, Justin worked at J.P. Morgan, focusing on Operational Risk and Business Resiliency. He received a BS in Finance from Ohio University.
Fun Fact about Justin: Justin is the amateur mountain climber and skydiver of the group (not many auditors are on the shortlist of skydivers!). He is also a WWII history buff and collector.
John Kords
John is an Associate Auditor on the Financial and Operational team. Prior to joining the Internal Audit team, John spent time in other parts of NLG, including as an Agency Specialist, a Business Analyst, and an Equity Trader. John received a BS in Operations Management from Drexel University and an MBA from St. Joseph’s University. John, along with Jeremie is our Alteryx expert, often working data analytics and routines into much of our audit work.
Fun fact about John: When John’s daughter was five, she sent Tony Bennet a fan letter. The family received a call from Mr. Bennet’s manager, who gave them backstage passes to meet Tony Bennet after his show.
Shelby Loura
Shelby is our newest Associate Auditor on the Financial and Operational team. Shelby joined the team as an Intern in May 2019 and started full-time as an Associate Auditor in May 2021. (As you can see, we really love our interns!) Shelby graduated from UVM with a BS in Business Administration and a Concentration in Accounting in May.
Fun fact about Shelby: Shelby is our most musically gifted member of the audit team. She can play 4 instruments. Our hope is that she and Jeremie start a musical group!
Kaj Samsom, CPA
Kaj is the Deputy Chief Auditor. Kaj joined NLG in 2019. Before joining Audit, Kaj was Vermont’s Commissioner of Taxes, and prior to that Deputy Commissioner of Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation. Kaj received both his Bachelors’ and Masters’ degree from UVM.
Fun Fact about Kaj: Kaj worked for several years on a dairy farm, and jokingly refers to that job as time spent as a “bovine lacto-extraction engineer”.
Melissa Taft, CISA
Melissa is the IT Auditor Manager for the IT Audit Team. Melissa has been with NLG for over 35 years. Prior to joining Internal Audit, Melissa was a Systems Analyst/Software Developer in IT. Melissa holds a BA in Criminal Justice from Norwich University. Melissa currently serves as the secretary on the Board of Directors of the Green Mountain Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and helps to plan many of the trainings that are usually held right here at NLG.
Fun fact about Melissa: Melissa enjoys outdoor activities, traveling and spending time with family and friends. Melissa’s family keeps her very busy! She has three grown children, one adorable granddaughter, and a very active Golden Retriever named Brady (named after her favorite QB and the GOAT).