Getting to know Carolyn Wilhelm

Carolyn Wilhelm, Chief financial officer, Heartspring

Wilhelm first heard about Heartspring more than 20 years ago, when she was working for a company that conducted audits for them.

“I never did one of them, but I heard a lot of good things about Heartspring, what they do for the kids,” she said.

Since Dec. 7, she has been able to see for herself as CFO at the nonprofit, which operates a residential and day school program for children from across the nation who have severe developmental disabilities.

Wilhelm grew up in Great Bend and moved to Wichita to finish her business administration degree with a major in accounting at Wichita State University.

“I took a couple accounting classes in high school and really enjoyed it,” she said.

She has 30 years’ experience in the field, including eight with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita and four with a long-term care facility in Newton. Most recently, she was CFO at Alltite, which specializes in calibration services and tool sales.

“My background is in a wide variety of organizations – big, small, not-for-profit, for-profit,” she said. “There’s just a different mentality working for a nonprofit. You go to work and feel like you’ve made a difference in someone’s life.”

Wilhelm and her husband, Jerry, have two grown children – Kevin and Erica – who live in Wichita. She enjoys hiking and photography.

Joe Stumpe

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 6:52 AM with the headline "Getting to know Carolyn Wilhelm."