About
Mr. Al Strain serves as an independent director and compliance committee chair for the Tortoise Tax-Advantaged Social Infrastructure Interval Fund. He began his professional career at Ernst & Young, working in manufacturing, local government, service company and banking industries.
Mr. Strain also spent 27 years at State Street Corporation, serving as executive vice president and managing director of the Kansas City operations. In that role, he was responsible for all services provided to the mutual fund and insurance industry clients. Mr. Strain retired from State Street in 2008, and during 2009-10 was a full-time professor in the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, teaching in the areas of financial and managerial accounting, effective business presentations and financial statement analysis. He also served as the faculty adviser for master’s degree candidates in accounting and taught courses in the Executive MBA program. Mr. Strain joined the Kauffman Foundation in 2010, which serves twin missions of entrepreneurship and education. He was asked to build new business models for Kauffman’s work in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and entrepreneurship opportunities for post-9/11 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Mr. Strain completed these projects and was requested by the Kauffman board to assume the role of chief financial officer in 2011, serving in that capacity until 2014. He then rejoined the Bloch School teaching staff for the 2014 fall semester. He also served as an independent director and audit committee chair of the Scout Funds from 2012 until the sale of the adviser at the end of 2017. He currently holds the position of Clinical Assistant Professor of Accounting at Rockhurst University.
Mr. Strain has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in accounting from the University of Missouri - Columbia. He is also a certified public accountant and chartered global management accountant (inactive), and a member of the American Institute of CPAs, as well as the Missouri Society of CPAs. Mr. Strain has been a member of the Civic Council of Kansas City, an executive committee member of the Downtown Council of Kansas City, a board member of Brush Creek Partners, an advisory council member of Missouri Central University and an advisory council member of the Bloch School. He has served on numerous other civic and charitable organizations in the Kansas City community. Mr. Strain currently serves on the board of Villa Saint Francis Catholic Nursing Home and as a financial mentor for Catholic Charities. He is a U.S. Army veteran, having served on active duty from 1972-74.