Meet the Board of Directors.

Michael is a seasoned restructuring professional with extensive experience in the areas of corporate debt, mergers and acquisitions, financial operations, stakeholder management, and operational restructurings. He received his Bachelor of Science and master’s in accounting at St. Bonaventure University. Since then, he has had more than 20 years of experience as a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, director at Zolfo Cooper LLC, vice president at Great American Group, and executive director at Donlin Recano & Co.

In his current role as a managing partner at Wyse Advisors, a boutique firm focused on distress/special situations, Michael provides his expertise through advisory, C-Level positions or sitting on boards. Michael has experience across all shapes and sizes of industries, ranging in revenues from $10 million to $20 billion.

Michael retired in June 2018 after a 36-year career in financial services. From October 1996 to June 2018, he worked for Delaware Investments/Macquarie Investment Management as senior vice president and head of municipal credit research. He was head of the company’s municipal research operations, managing a team of seven research analysts, covering over $10 billion in municipal bonds under management. He was also responsible for sector analysis of continuing care retirement communities, skilled nursing facilities, land secured/special assessments, and workouts. Before joining Macquarie Investment Management, which includes the former Delaware Investments, he was vice president and senior municipal analyst for T. Rowe Price for eight years.

Michael received a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, in environmental design from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts and a member of the Society of Municipal Analysts. Michael is actively involved in several Philadelphia-area charities, including the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation, Johnson Historic House, the Pennsylvania Prison Society, and the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Tim was born and raised in Houston. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration at The University of Texas Austin, and received his Master in Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is also a Certified Turnaround Professional.

Tim currently serves as Chairman and CEO of ZeoGas, LLC, development stage company whose debut project is a large scale natural gas to methanol plant in Port Arthur, Texas. Tim has served as the Chief Operating Officer of a publicly traded engineering company and both a restructuring advisor and Chief Executive Officer of several private companies. Tim began his career with nearly 10 years with then Andersen Consulting, now Accenture. He has also helped several not-for-profits establish sustainable operating plans and financial discipline. Tim is very active in the professional ethics, leading the Business Ethics Forum for the last 20 years and serving as a trustee for the Texas Center for Legal Ethics from to 2016-2021, as well as its Treasurer and Chairman of the Finance and Audit Committee. Tim and Elisabeth, his wife of 31 years, have raised their four children here in Houston.

Sylvia Mayer, a lifelong Houstonian, is an arbitrator, mediator, and attorney living in Houston, Texas.  She graduated from Washington University in 1987, cum laude, with a B.A. in Theater. After working for three years in the arts community in Houston, Sylvia went to law school and, in 1993, graduated from the University of Houston Law Center, summa cum laude.

Sylvia has been involved in a number of non-profits and charitable organizations in Houston, including previously serving on the Board of Seven Acres for several years.

In 2014, after 20 years with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where she worked on corporate bankruptcies and commercial litigation, Sylvia launched S. Mayer Law to focus her practice on mediation and arbitration. member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals and a TMCA Credentialed Advanced Mediator, Sylvia Mayer serves on several arbitration and mediation rosters for civil, commercial, consumer, employment, and healthcare disputes.

Carolyn Yapp is originally from California but has lived most of her life in Houston which she calls home. She went to the University of Georgia where she earned her degrees in Business & Marketing and is an avid “UGA Dawgs” sports fan.

Carolyn worked for Shell Oil Company for over 33 years where she became a global leader in Sales and Marketing. In her last assignment before retiring, Carolyn had global responsibilities for Shell’s Retail business where she traveled the world to help Shell’s business partners and customers to get the most out of their Marketing programs.

Giving back and volunteering has always been a passion and an important part of Carolyn’s personal life. She is on the board of the nonprofit, The Lellow Foundation, where the mission is to help economically disadvantaged children with special needs.

Carolyn has a personal connection to the Buckingham where her mother lived and flourished for many years. She is very pleased to be on the Buckingham Board of Directors where she hopes to use her considerable marketing experience to benefit the organization.