Chapter Board

As you can see we are in need of board members. If you are interested in helping us rebuild our

chapter, please contact any member of the board.

Meet your board members

Mara Ballard, CFE, CMA: is the current Columbia, South Carolina IMA Chapter President. She was a forensic accountant with the law firm of Ballard & Watson in West Columbia, South Carolina before opening her own Forensic Accounting Practice: Ballard Forensics, LLC.  She grew up in the Pacific Northwest, graduated from the University of Puget Sound (the other UPS) and moved to South Carolina some 35+ years ago.  She started her career in the insurance industry first as a cost accountant with Blue Cross Blue Shield South Carolina (BCBSSC) then as a Manager for their then HMO Companion HealthCare.  She left there after 13 years to take a position with Colonial Life.  It was during her time at BCBSSC that she first became interested in "becoming a CMA and it is a decision I will never regret.  It launched my career in ways I could never have expected."

Nancy L Probst: has been a member of IMA since 1986. She is the current Columbia, South Carolina IMA Chapter Prof. Ed. VP and in previous years has served as the chapter’s Treasurer and President. She attained the IMA Leadership Academy Platinum Level in 2020.  She had worked as an accountant for several years before becoming controller for a steel company in California in the late 1980’s. She moved to South Carolina in 1992 where she was controller for a mid-sized law firm for 15 years before joining Robinson McFadden as Law Firm Administrator. She obtained her Certified Legal Manger designation during her time there. In 2017 she became the Church Business Administrator at Shandon United Methodist Church where she currently works.