1995
2000
1995 Named captain of
Washington and Lee University
women’s basketball team
1996 Graduated from
Washington and Lee University
1996 Joined Arthur Andersen
LLP as an audit associate
2000 Licensed as a certified
public accountant
2002 Joined Simpson
& Osborne as an audit
department supervisor
2005
2008 Promoted to partner
at Dixon Hughes Goodman
2010
2012 Named to the Young
Guns Class of 2013 by WVE
2015
2017 Named the office
managing partner for Dixon
Hughes Goodman
2020
“I did not make it to this point
in my life without the help
of many people, so giving
of myself to others is the way
I can pay that forward.”
how to work together with others and
organize to get things done.”
This drive for success and inclusion
has influenced every area of Ballard’s life,
from her work at DHG to her volunteer
commitments. An ambitious leader, she
has a passion for mentoring young women
both in her office and in the community.
“As an assurance partner at Dixon
Hughes Goodman, I provide accounting,
auditing and consulting services to clients
in a variety of industries, and I love the
camaraderie that comes from working
with a team focused on helping clients
achieve their business goals,” she says.
“As a mentor, I try to provide perspective
to help others find the confidence to take
risks and seize their career goals. When
someone sees you as a mentor, it is be-
cause they have developed a trust in you
and your judgment.”
Ballard credits her own professional
mentor, Sandy Thomas, a recently retired
partner at DHG, for inspiring her to mentor
and encourage others.
“Sandy has shown me how to be a
successful woman in public accounting,”
she says. “She is always someone I can
talk to about the challenges of being a
successful professional, mother, wife and
community volunteer. She has supported
me for many years, and I wouldn’t be
where I am today without her.”
In the community, Ballard currently
exercises her mentorship skills as a volun-
teer, board member and finance commit-
tee member for the Girl Scouts of Black
Diamond Council and Daymark, Inc. In
the past, she has served as president of the
Junior League of Charleston, volunteer
for the Gabriel Project of West Virginia,
softball coach for Mountaineer Little
League and assistant basketball coach
for First Presbyterian Church Charleston.
She has also given her time to the YMCA
Sojourner’s Shelter for Homeless Women
& Families, March of Dimes, Habitat for
Humanity, American Heart Association,
Manna Meal, Mountaineer Food Bank,
the Charleston Area Alliance Elevations
Professional Women’s Network and the
West Virginia Society of Certified Public
Accountants.
“I like to work with causes that speak
to me personally and professionally, and I
have a passion for helping young women
grow into future leaders,” she says. “I
feel it is incumbent on those of us who
have achieved success to give time to
help those not as fortunate, as well as to
volunteer our skills to charitable organi-
zations to help both the organizations and
the individuals they serve to achieve their
goals. I did not make it to this point in
my life without the help of many people,
so giving of myself to others is the way I
can pay that forward.”
Ballard considers her greatest pro-
fessional achievement her promotion to
partner at DHG in 2008, and she con-
tinues to pay forward that good fortune
in the Charleston community she loves.
“When I was voted in as a partner, it
was a formal acknowledgment of the trust
and confidence the other partners have
in me as a professional to serve and rep-
resent the firm and its clients,” she says.
“I love doing that here in West Virginia.
The people are welcoming and friendly
and always willing to help out anyone in
need. It is a wonderful place to live, work
and raise a family.”
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