Meredith Shears, Secretary

Meredith Shears is a proud mother of two McLean School students, Nick ’26 and Chris ’28. Currently, she provides expertise on financial statement audits, accounting, risk management, and internal controls to federal entities.

Prior to being an independent consultant. Ms. Shears was a partner at Cotton & Company, LLP, a regional accounting firm with nearly 200 professionals. She has led financial statement audits; large, multifaceted consulting engagements; and performance audits at numerous federal organizations – all with varying organizational structures, cultures, leadership styles, risks, and in different states of change. In addition to client facing work, Ms. Shears was involved in managing Cotton & Company, including strategic planning, business development and marketing efforts, and mentoring and training its professionals.

Ms. Shears has a BS in Biology from James Madison University, an Accounting Certificate from the University of Virginia, and a MBA from Marymount University. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Virginia. Ms. Shears is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Association of Government Accountants (AGA). She has served as Institute of Internal Auditors DC Chapter board member and represented Cotton & Company, LLP on the AGA’s Corporate Partner Accounting and Auditing Committee.

Meredith resides in Arlington, VA, with her husband, their two sons, two cats, and their Norwegian buhund. She enjoys family movie and game nights, walking their dog, and traveling.