2025 Conference Speakers

Holly Backstrom
Forensic & Integrity Services Manager, Ernst & Young

Holly Backstrom is a Forensic & Integrity Services Manager at Ernst & Young, based in Dallas, TX. She has leadership experience in AI, eDiscovery, information governance, forensic data analytics, integrity and remediation services, and legal technology consulting. Holly has worked across various sectors, including public sector, oil and gas, healthcare, and has a strong focus on consumer goods, technology, and life sciences.

Holly is committed to organizational digitization and views data as an organization’s most valuable asset in understanding its operations and planning for the future. By responsibly leveraging data, Holly supports organizations in making informed decisions that help mitigate risk and are grounded in strong data fluency. She translates technology solutions into business outcomes, enabling companies to enhance their overall operational agility and resilience, reduce costs, gain competitive advantages, and ultimately drive sustainable growth.

Outside of her passion for data, Holly enjoys golf, volleyball, Pilates, and long walks with her dog. She also greatly values her role as a Dallas CASA (court appointed special advocate), advocating for abused and neglected children that are in protective care.

Jared Eutsler
Associate Professor of Accounting, G. Brint Ryan College of Business

Dr. Jared Eutsler, Associate Professor of Accounting, has been with the G. Brint Ryan College of Business since 2016. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration-Accounting from the University of Central Florida, a Masters in Accountancy and Information Systems from Arizona State University, and a Bachelors in Accountancy from Grand Canyon University. He is a CPA, CMA, CFM, and CFE. Dr. Eutsler specializes in teaching auditing and fraud examination. He has previously been awarded the G. Brint Ryan College of Business Teaching Innovation Award. His research interests include various aspects of auditing, including audit regulation and fraud. His work appears in journals including Accounting Organizations and Society, Journal of Business Ethics, Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Advances in Behavioral Accounting Research, Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Forensic Accounting Research, Small Business Economics, and Accounting Horizons. Dr. Eutsler has experience in external audit working at Ernst and Young and also in audit regulation working at the PCAOB in Washington. He currently serves on the Audit & Finance committee for the City of Corinth and on the Board of Directors for Denton County Transportation Authority.

Allison Mentele
Senior Statistician for the Unified Program Integrity Contractor for the Southwest Jurisdiction with Qlarant

Allison Mentele is a Senior Statistician for the Unified Program Integrity Contractor for the Southwest jurisdiction with Qlarant; tasked with protecting the Medicare Trust Fund and Medicaid federal and state funds. She supports the UPIC's health care fraud investigations through the appeals process; specifically at the Administrative Law Judge level through position papers and testimony as an expert in Medicare statistical guidelines. Her efforts have resulted in a complete uphold rate, with some cases being overturned successfully at the higher levels. Her education includes a BS in Human Biology and MS in Epidemiology from Michigan State University with experience which includes over a decade of Medicare appeals experience. She enjoys the intersection of statistics and the courtroom and the unique challenges therein. In her free time, she enjoys parks and ice cream with her husband and three year old daughter.

Allison's will be presenting on "Sampling for All: How to include random sampling to (hopefully) decrease workload." In this session, participants will learn how to incorporate basic statistical methodologies into your investigations to ascertain patterns, fraud indicators and potential recoveries without a complete review of documentation. Develop the vocabulary to articulate these concepts in a professional setting.

Stephen Lee
Former Federal Prosecutor, United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois

Stephen Lee is a former federal prosecutor who served as the senior counsel to the health care fraud unit in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and is now a solo practitioner focusing on health care fraud and data analytics.  Since going into private practice, he was won acquittals and dismissals in several health care fraud trials.  He is a graduate of Yale College and Columbia Law School and is admitted in New York, Illinois, and California.

Jason Jordan
Assistant Professor of Accounting, Texas Woman's University

Jason Jordan, CPA, PhD is an assistant professor of accounting at Texas Woman’s University. He earned his PhD in Business - Accounting from The University of North Texas, and his BS and Master of Accountancy degrees from Brigham Young University. Prior to his academic career, Jordan worked as an auditor at Deloitte & Touche and as a controller for Challenger Schools. Jordan specializes in behavioral research, exploring the topics of ethics, auditor judgment, whistleblowing, and fraud.

Jonathan Meltz
Senior Attorney, Chapman Law Group's White-Collar Defense & Government Investigations Practice

Don Southerland, Jr.
Principal, Don B. Southerland, Jr., CPA

Don is a CPA and CFE who solely practices Forensic Accounting fraud investigations through his CPA firm.  Don is a former FBI Special Agent, where he focused on White Collar Crime and Public Corruption.  He is a current Board member of the ACFE Dallas Chapter.  Don has significant experience in helping home buyers of new construction determine why the cost of their home exceeded the contract price, whether for a fixed cost or cost plus contract.

Interested in speaking at next year's conference? Contact info@dallasacfe.org.