About Us
John Francis, President of 1st Choice Advisors, started working with nonprofits back in 1986, notably the United Way of Greater St. Louis and later Saint Louis University. He saw a growing need for better reporting technology in the nonprofit sector. He then founded NFP Consultants in 1993 and partnered with Micro Information Products (MIP) out of Austin, TX, becoming one of their first partners to help lead the channel in MIP success for well over a decade. Since 2013, he now owns and operates 1st Choice Advisors.
1st Choice utilizes both in-house consultants and other top nonprofit expertise across the country to tailor fit the needs of each project and organization they work with. We have remote offices in Tampa, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, and Puerto Rico.
Meet the Team
John Francis
President
John has worked with nonprofit clients since 1986. He has since led hundreds of fund accounting software implementations and training courses around the world. He is currently based in New Port Richey, FL where he runs the primary 1st Choice Advisors office with his wife and marketing lead, Teresa Francis. He currently volunteers in his downtime for the Alzheimer’s Association.
Samuel Francis
Senior Account Manager
Since graduating from Northeastern University in 2017, Samuel has overseen account management, customer relationship management, and search engine optimization. Through his efforts, 1st Choice has grown fourfold in worldwide MIP on-premise and subscription sales, joining the Community Brands’ top 10 program partner list and reaching #1 as of June 2020. His past work includes The Walt Disney Company and Feeding America.
Amy Lee
MIP Advisor, CPA
Amy spent many years at Deloitte as an auditor and audit manager. In addition to being a Certified MIP Consultant, she is also an active volunteer with the community and on the school board at Ascension School in Oak Park, IL. Her experience will help you with financial management, audit prep and accounting.
Joe Wallach
Senior MIP Advisor
Joe is a CPA based in the St. Louis area. He has over 25 years experience working with nonprofit accounting systems. He also worked as a Manager at MIP. He was the sole proprietor of Wallach Consulting in North Carolina for 15+ years. He volunteers regularly with the Lion’s Club in Eureka and enjoys playing baseball.
Margaret Ring
Grants & Technical Writing Specialist
Margaret is based in Raleigh, NC and has over 20 years of experience working for government and nonprofit agencies providing grant writing and evaluation, program training and management services. Having reviewed and rated many grant applications and developed scoring sheets, she has expert insight into what funders are seeking in modern proposals. She holds a Master’s Degree in both Social Work and Human and Community Development.
JLB Group, LLC
Financial Management Specialist in Puerto Rico
JLB Group has been serving clients in the Caribbean for over 35 years. They are recognized as a leader in accounting and management systems for nonprofits, government agencies, medical centers and educational institutions. They partner with us on the MIP products for their customers. They also specialize in Sage Fixed Asset Systems (FAS).
Careers
If you have extensive MIP experience, contact us. We are always looking for the next great advisor.