Show Me the Story (Not the Spreadsheet)
October 8 @ 9:00 am – 10:00 am CDT
Virtual Workshop – Live/Online
Fee: $50 for MCN members / $70 for nonmembers
Financial reports don’t have to be intimidating or sleep-inducing. In this session, we’ll explore how to transform complex financial information into engaging visual stories that help staff and board members truly understand your organization’s financial model and health. Using real-world examples and accessible visualization techniques, we’ll move beyond spreadsheets to show how charts, narratives, and visuals can make your financial presentations more meaningful, memorable, and mission-aligned. Whether you’re a finance professional looking to communicate with clarity or a leader seeking to bridge the gap between numbers and impact, this session will equip you with practical tools to make your financial story resonate across your organization.
As a result of attending this session, participants will:
- Gain strategies for translating financial data into clear, compelling visuals that enhance understanding among non-finance audiences.
- Learn how to frame financial information as a story that connects organizational performance to mission and impact.
- Acquire tools and templates to design board and staff financial presentations that inform, engage, and inspire confidence.
Speaker Information
Katelyn Shehu, Chief Financial Officer, Arts Midwest
Katelyn Shehu serves as Chief Financial Officer at Arts Midwest, where she leads the organization’s financial strategy, investment management, and long-term sustainability efforts.
Since joining in 2023, she has focused on strengthening financial infrastructure, advancing multi-year planning, and aligning resources to support Arts Midwest’s mission and growth. Katelyn partners closely with staff and the board to enhance financial literacy, ensure sound stewardship of both operating and invested assets, and guide decision-making that balances stability with strategic opportunity.
Before joining Arts Midwest, Katelyn spent more than a decade at the University of St. Thomas, where she helped secure significant federal relief funding during the pandemic and led one of the university’s largest public debt issuances to advance its strategic plan. She began her career in public accounting at RSM and became a licensed CPA in 2009.
Katelyn is passionate about connecting financial strategy to organizational impact and building systems that support creativity and resilience.
A little more about Katelyn:
When Katelyn isn’t working, she is busy being a mom to son Aiden and daughter Elsa. She loves trying out new recipes, playing piano, reading novels and traveling.
She believes strongly in the importance of giving back to community and currently serves as the Board Treasurer for NeighborWorks Home Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals by helping them buy, fix and keep homes.
You can connect with her on LinkedIn.
Event Details
This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform. Your access link will be emailed to you the day before the event after 12 p.m.
This session will be recorded. The recording will be available to registrants for 14 days after the live event.
Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.
To learn more about events, registration, and payment, visit our Event & Registration FAQ page.
We offer partial scholarships for all of our educational workshops. Visit our Scholarships page for more information.
