Lelania Howard's passion for uncovering the stories that numbers tell began early in her career. As a junior CPA at a consulting firm in Bellevue WA, she was tasked with unraveling complex fraud schemes. She would analyze financial records, identifying patterns in the data, then transform the findings into compelling, courtroom-ready visuals. “It was exciting,” she recalls, “to uncover the trends and trace the numerical path of a criminal. And then to present it in a way that anyone could understand.”
Drawing on her background in business and psychology from the University of Notre Dame, Lelania sees data sets as the interplay of concrete realities, human decisions, and possibility. Her career began in auditing, where she mastered the basics. She later advanced to financial forecasting, where she honed her ability to derive strategic insights from complex data.
Lelania at Sticky Fingers Cooking
Today, as Sticky Fingers Cooking®’s CFO, Lelania oversees the company’s financial health, ensuring that the team’s passion for teaching kids to cook is complemented by a sound and sustainable business model. Recognizing that not everyone shares her comfort with numbers, she especially enjoys demystifying financial details for new franchise owners. “The best part of my job is working one-on-one with our new franchise owners and helping them on their path to bring cooking to kids. We’re all about teaching at Sticky Fingers Cooking… I guess I really like teaching, too!” She says with a breezy laugh.
“Lelania has a unique talent for simplifying challenging financial topics,” says Erin Fletter, CEO of Sticky Fingers Cooking®. “She's also one of the kindest people I know. She truly wants the best for everyone. Her genuinely kind, hands-on approach to financial education is a tremendous support to our franchise owners. We simply couldn’t do this without her.”
Lelania at Home: Balancing More Than Just the Books
Beyond financial matters, Lelania balances a life full of family, adventure, and food! When hosting for the holidays, the whole family piles into the kitchen to make Grandma Lita’s tamales, from scratch. (I’ve had them, and they’re delicious!)
Lelania is also a dedicated runner, always in training for her next race. Her most recent and favorite race thus far was completing three legs of the rigorous Hood to Coast relay—a 196-mile race through Oregon’s scenic yet intense terrain. "Setting goals for races keeps me motivated," she explains, revealing the same goal-oriented passion that drives her professional life.
Whether she’s lacing up her running shoes for the next big race or poring over the latest financial forecast, Lelania is always looking ahead. She’s seeing not just what exists but what’s possible!
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