Member Biographies
Mitch Anderson is a Co-Founding Member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC, and served as the group’s inaugural Sergeant-At-Arms (2008-2009).
Mitch holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering, Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, where he graduated magna cum laude.
After graduating from ASU, Mitch went to work for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in San Diego, California. There, Mitch designed mechanical components for the military’s Predator variant unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Mitch currently works as a Senior Engineer for SRP in Tempe, Arizona, after completing the company’s rotational engineering program. Mitch currently performs machinery diagnostics, project management and design work for numerous power plants in Arizona.
Mitch is a certified Engineer-in-Training (EIT) and a Level II Vibration Analyst.
Michael Barber is a Co-Founding Member and the current Technology Officer for 1820 Investment Group.
Michael resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Tammy, and dog, McDoogle. In his spare time, he blogs about digital marketing and life at.
Jim Blakely is a Co-Founding Member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC and served as the group’s Co-Secretary (2008-2009).
Jim is a founding partner of Blakely Walters Wealth Management LLC, an independent financial advising/planning company which currently provides investment advisory and financial planning services to over 200 clients ranging from single individuals to large companies.
Jim has been a Financial Advisor since 2003, and has been recognized by the Million Dollar Round Table as among the top 2% of licensed advisors in the world.
Jim has a B.S. in Marketing from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, and is currently pursuing the professional designation of Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
Outside of work, Jim enjoys spending time with his growing family, volunteering as a youth leader at his church, and participating in an array of outdoor activities.
Ken Bonham is a Co-Founding Member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC.
Dan obtained his MBA with an emphasis in international business in 2011. While in the MBA program, Dan served on the Executive Student Advisory Board and assisted in refining and reviewing the newly drafted bylaws. Dan also coordinated with director level faculty and assisted in defining the mission and scope of the new organization. Intent on acquiring a diverse mix of business knowledge, he rigorously pursued many extra classes while working toward his MBA.
In his spare time Dan enjoys international travel, studying economic and technological trends, self‑defense/martial arts and reading and learning about anything and everything.
Nick Jensen is a co-founding member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC and served as its inaugural President. Nick currently serves as the Tax Matters Partners for the group and as Chair of the Audit Committee.
Nick is an associate attorney at Lewis and Roca LLP, where he concentrates his practice on business and real estate transactions. In his corporate practice, Nick counsels clients in business formations and entity selection, commercial transactions, mergers, acquisitions, restructuring, private offerings and joint ventures and the tax issues related to those transactions for corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and individuals. In his real estate practice, Nick represents a wide range of investors, including institutional investors, corporate portfolio managers, REITs, private equity firms and developers in all types of transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures, development projects, capital raising, refinancings, sales, 1031 exchanges, leases, and sale-leasebacks.
Nick is also a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Arizona. He is the Director and President of Young Tax Professionals, and has lectured and written on a broad range of taxation and corporate securities-related issues such as the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, asset protection and limited liability companies, formation of tax-exempt organizations, and taxation of Islamic financial instruments.
Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Arizona State University, W.P. Carey School of Business, a juris doctorate from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, and a master of laws in taxation from New York University School of Law.
Nick was born and raised in Oregon and currently resides in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, Melissa, and their dog, Zooey. Nick enjoys running, cycling, cooking, travel, playing Angry Birds on his iPhone and rooting for the Portland Timbers.
Scott Kaufmann is a Co-Founding Member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC. Scott previously served as the inaugural Portfolio Manager and also as Vice President.
Scott is an entrepreneur at heart, with a particular passion for real estate and investments. Scott is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Lambda Alpha International Student Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Scott is also a founder of Lucid Agency, an online marketing agency. Scott earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the Barrett Honors College through the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Scott also holds a Masters in Real Estate Development (MRED) from Arizona State University.
Prior to completing his Masters in Real Estate Development, Scott performed a variety of financial and marketing roles at a respected interactive marketing and advertising agency, with responsibilities for oversight and strategic development of the nationwide interactive marketing initiatives for such companies as Pulte Homes, University of Phoenix, Olive Garden and many more.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. Mike also earned a Masters of Business Administration from ASU and is licensed in the State of Arizona as CPA.
Mike began his professional career at a regional public accounting firm in Arizona where he worked as an auditor, performing annual audits and quarterly reviews on publicly held companies in a wide range of industries, including mining, manufacturing, technology, and financial services. During his time in public accounting, Mike gained experience in financial statement and SEC filing preparation, stock option and warrant valuation, and M&A accounting and disclosures. After three years in public accounting Mike moved to industry and went to work as a financial analyst for a mid-sized consumer products company that sold its products globally. As a financial analyst Mike designed and implemented product margin analysis reporting tools, cash flow planning tools, and inventory control systems based on the “Order Up To” model of inventory control. Mike is currently a Regional Controller for Troon Golf in Scottsdale where he is responsible for the accounting and finance operations of up to 15high end private and daily-fee golf clubs across the United States. In addition to managing the accounting and finance operations, Mike is working on various projects centered on returning the golf clubs to a state of profitability and finding ways to maintain an extraordinary golf experience while being financially efficient.
Early on in Bill’s career, much of his work focused on performance engineering at local power plants, performing tests on various system components. Currently Bill is working on large capital projects pertaining to emission control equipment.
Shane Thompson, Co-Founding Member and Inaugural Vice-President, has been elected for the 2011-2012 year as Vice President of the 1820 Investment Group LLC.
Shane holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Arizona State University. Shane also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) through ASU’s W.P. Carey College of Business with areas of emphasis in International Business and Finance. In this program he studied emerging business environments in Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou, China, as well as Delhi, Pune and Mumbai, India.
Shane’s professional background includes over a decade of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering roles including design, project management and business operations. Shane is also carries a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Civil Engineering in the State of Arizona.
Shane is currently an Account Executive for Goodrich Aerostructures, a Fortune 500 company, where he provides aftermarket support to Airline clients in the regions of Japan, Korea, Malaysia and India subcontinent.
Shane is also an Ironman Triathlete and hobbies include sailing, reading and enjoying San Diego with his wife.
As an investor and businessperson, Shane has a keen interest in emerging markets, and specifically BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China).
Michael Vargas was a co-founding member of the 1820 Investment Group and has served as an officer on the executive committee for the past three years, including serving as president of the group from July 2010 to July 2011.
Professionally, Michael is a government affairs representative with Arizona’s largest and longest-serving electric utility company, Arizona Public Service (APS). At APS, Michael works with state and locally elected government officials and various state, county, and municipal agencies. There he primarily helps represent APS on the legislative front at the state level.
Prior to his role at APS, Michael was a legislative affairs assistant at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction at the Arizona Department of Education. Additionally, he worked for a public relations firm that specialized in political consulting and strategic communications.
Michael has volunteered on behalf of the International Republican Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes democracy abroad.
Michael is a graduate of Arizona State University.
Ike Wilson is a Co-Founding Member of 1820 Investment Group LLC.
Ike moved to Arizona in June of 2005 after completing a degree in Radiologic Technology from New Mexico State University. He is currently working in the Radiology field as a Radiologic Technologist with Cigna Medical Group of Arizona. Ike is a member of the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, American Society of Radiologic Technologists, and Medical Radiologic Technology Board of Examiners. While working with Cigna, Ike has also been certified in Bone Density by The International Society for Clinical Densitometry.
Outside of his professional career, Ike spends his time playing team sports, wakeboarding, and cheering on the Phoenix Suns. As a new dog owner, he also enjoys training his new dog, Cooper.
As an investor, Ike is an eager student of varying investment principles and strategies. With only a small amount of experience in investing other than retirement accounts, he has greatly increased his investment knowledge while participating in 1820 Investment Group, LLC.
Xingyu (Shawn) Wu is a member of 1820 Investment Group, LLC.
Shawn received his MBA from Arizona State University in 2011. In 2000, Shawn received a Master of Accounting from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Shawn is also a CFA Charterholder.
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