41 Emerging Leaders in the Accounting Profession Enhance Their Knowledge and Skills in N.C.
AICPA Announces Graduates of 10th Annual Leadership Academy
Durham (October 15, 2018) – The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is pleased to announce the 41 promising young CPAs from around the country who graduated from the 2018 AICPA Leadership Academy, a rigorous four-day program intended to inspire, nurture and empower the next generation of CPA leaders.
AICPA Leadership Academy takes place in an interactive workshop setting that gives participants access to advanced leadership training, networking activities and presentations from some of the profession’s top thought leaders. This year’s event was held in Durham, North Carolina.
The 2018 class discussed key issues and interacted with influential leaders in the profession including Eric Hansen, CPA, CGMA, AICPA Chair and Association of International Certified Professional Accountants Chair, Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, President and CEO of the AICPA and CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, Executive Vice president of Firm Services for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
“One of my key objectives as chair has been focusing on how we can advance learning opportunities and invest in the profession’s future leaders,” said Hansen. “For 10 years, Leadership Academy has been a shining example of AICPA’s dedication to developing the next generation of CPAs. This year’s class is an extremely talented group that I’m sure will make outstanding contributions to the profession in the changing times ahead.”
AICPA Leadership Academy is meant to serve as a succession plan for the CPA profession, ensuring a strong base of competent and committed leaders who understand the legacy of the profession, and have the passion and skills necessary to address the challenges of an ever-changing global business environment. The event also encourages self-reflection and a thoughtful exploration of how leadership impacts their personal and professional lives.
“The academy has brought so much clarity and insight to what it means to be an effective leader,” said 2018 Leadership Academy graduate Kelly Mann, a senior manager at Seim Johnson. “It has helped me understand what my most important values are and how they impact my decision making. I have also learned how important consciousness and reflection are to good leadership and how I can bring these lessons back with me, to benefit my firm and the people and organizations I support.”
The program was designed to strengthen and expand the leadership skills of promising young professionals while they network with a peer group of talented and motivated CPAs. The 2018 participants comprised the tenth graduating class, and more than 350 CPAs have now graduated from the program.
The 2018 Leadership Academy attendees were recommended by their employers, state CPA societies or both. Candidates submitted resumes and a statement explaining how participating in the Leadership Academy would impact them personally and professionally. They also wrote an essay on the topic, “The future will bring significant changes to the accounting profession. What do leaders have to get right, in order to successfully lead?”
This year’s class included representatives from 34 states. Participants were selected from public accounting firms of all sizes, business and industry and consulting firms. The class contained a diverse range of ethnicities and was split nearly evenly between males and females. The average age of the attendees was 32.
“Forty-one CPAs came together to unlearn our unconscious biases of ourselves as leaders,” said Gary Wood, partner at Compere Robinette CPAs and a 2018 Leadership Academy graduate. “The results were transformative, both personally and professionally.”
Details for the 2019 Leadership Academy are available online. The application period is now open.
The full 2018 Leadership Academy class is listed below in alphabetical order:
Paul Arab, Home Federal Bank of Tennessee, Knoxville Tennessee
Chris Bell, Arkansas Electric Cooperatives, Inc., Little Rock Arkansas
Ashley Bryan, Threaded Fasteners, Inc., Mobile Alabama
Joseph Caplan, Mazars USA LLP, Edison New Jersey
Jenna Christensen, Eide Bailly LLP, Mankato, Minnesota
Kenesha Coleman, AbbVie Inc., North Chicago, Illinois
Sara deJuliis, Albero, Kupferman & Associates, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware
Audra Dixon, Ernst & Young LLP, Denver, Colorado
Samantha Doe, Kositzka, Wicks & Company, Alexandria, Virginia
Kamal Eko, Aronson, LLC, Rockville, Maryland
Josh Elder, Peters & Chandler P.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Ben Field, Benjamin H Field CPA, PC, Phoenix, Arizona
Verenice Flores, Fair, Anderson and Langerman, Las Vegas, Nevada
Kyle Graham, Tanner LLC, Salt Lake City, Utah
Natalie Heacock, Patrick Lumber Co, Portland, Oregon
John Hermus, Sheehan & Company CPA PC, Brightwaters, New York
Chris Hervochon, eviCore Healthcare, Bluffton, South Carolina
Ryan Johns, Altman Rogers & Co, Anchorage, Alaska
Deena Keasler, Topp McWhorter Harvey, PLLC, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Alexandrea Keller, Williams & Company, CPA's, Onawa, Iowa
Katie Krblich, Charles A. Krblich, P.A., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Lijah Lokenauth, Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, Florida
Danny Manimbo, Schellman & Company, LLC, Broomfield, Colorado
Kelly Mann, Seim Johnson, LLP, Omaha, Nebraska
Damien Martin, BKD, LLP, Springfield, Missouri
Ashley Miller, Plodzik & Sanderson PA, Concord, New Hampshire
Maddie Miller, Wipfli, LLP, Bozeman, Montana
Bayaan Oluyadi, CohnReznick LLP, Roseland, New Jersey
Kenneth Omoruyi, Schlumberger, Houston, Texas
Sarah Peltakian, Raimondo Pettit Group, Irvine, California
John Perkins, Accuride Corporation, Evansville, Indiana
Aaron Peters, Peters & Associates PC, Falls Church, Virginia
Leanna Polidoro, Matrix Financial, LLC, Wellesley, Massachusetts
Byron Porter, PwC, Houston, Texas
Michelle Schumacher, Microsoft, West Fargo, North Dakota
Andrew Somich, Rea and Associates, Cleveland, Ohio
Garrett Stenhouse, DiSanto, Priest & Company, Warwick, Rhode Island
Melanie Urwiller, Lenhart, Mason & Associates, LLC, Casper, Wyoming
Lauren Williams, Johnson Lambert LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina
Gary Wood, Compere Robinette CPAs, Ozark, Missouri
Katie Zahner, Brown Smith Wallace, Creve Coeur, Missouri
Media Contact:
Brian Simpson
919-402-4641
brian.simpson@aicpa-cima.org
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