2024-25 Board of Directors
FICPA leadership consists of the Board of Directors, Council, and Chapter leaders.
The Board of Directors includes the FICPA Chair, Chair-Elect, Immediate Past Chair, eight Directors, the Chair of the FICPA's Young CPAs Committee (non-voting) and the FICPA's President & CEO, who serves as the Secretary-Treasurer (also, non-voting).
Together, the Board implements the Council’s policies and oversees the Institute’s activities.
Chair
Ed Duarte, CPA, CGMA
Foreign Parts Distributors
Ed Duarte is the 2024-25 Chair of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
“It is truly an honor to lead this historic institution and to give back to my friends and colleagues across the state,” Duarte said. “The CPA profession is at an inflection point, and I am proud to serve our membership at this unique and impactful moment. I look forward to working alongside President & CEO Shelly Weir, my fellow Board and Council members, and the FICPA staff to ensure that Florida CPAs are protected in Tallahassee, respected in other states, and represented at the national level. Together, we can be part of the positive change that pushes our profession forward.”
The Chief Financial Officer of Foreign Parts Distributors, Inc., (FPD) in Miami, Florida, Duarte spent the first 15 years of his career working in public accounting in New York City, South Florida and Puerto Rico as part of Weinick Sanders Leventhal & Co. (1999-2004), Berkowitz Pollack Brant (2004-2006), BDO USA (2006-2010) and Mallah Furman (2011-2015). Now the CFO at FPD, he is the FICPA’s first Chair from business and industry in the last decade, leveraging his experience from both the public and private sectors to connect with accountants, financial professionals and business leaders across the state and across practice areas.
In the next year, Duarte will work closely with Weir to ensure the FICPA is well-positioned to lead its membership through a period of transition and transformation in the profession.
“Ed’s experience in both public accounting and private practice make him an ideal leader for this moment in our history,” Weir said. “As the FICPA continues to play a leading role in shaping the future of accounting, we’re also focused on strengthening and expanding the relationships we’ve worked to cultivate across the business landscape here in Florida. I am excited to partner with Ed, our Board of Directors and the Council to advocate for our priorities, expand our reach and elevate the CPA profession.”
As a member of the FICPA, Duarte previously served as President of the Miami-Downtown Chapter, as a Regional Representative on the FICPA Council (2008-2015), and as Chair of the Chapter Operations, Corporate Finance and Finance & Office Advisory committees, amongst other volunteer leadership positions. He rejoined the FICPA Council in 2017, became a member of the Board of Directors in 2022, and served as Chair-Elect during the 2023-24 fiscal year. He is also a current member of the AICPA Council, a past President of the Cuban-American CPAs Association and an active board member with the Centro Campensino Farmworker Center and Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation.
Chair-Elect
Karen Lake, CPA
Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs
Karen Lake is the Director of Tax Services at Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs and the leader of the firm’s SALT (State and Local Tax) practice.
She previously served on the FICPA Board of Directors from 2018-19 and has chaired the Institute’s State Tax, Corporate Finance and South Florida Accounting Conference Committees.
In 2020, she was presented with the FICPA’s Women to Watch – Experienced Leader Award for her contributions to the CPA profession.
Outside the FICPA, Lake was previously Chair of Florida TaxWatch’s COVID-19 Task Force and its Tax Advisory Council. She has also been an active member and leader in the South Florida and Bahamas Chapter of Toastmasters International.
Immediate Past Chair
Key O'Keefe, CPA
O’Keefe, Somerville and Associates
Key O'Keefe is the Managing Partner at O’Keefe, Somerville and Associates and Immediate Past Chair of the FICPA.
An FICPA member since 1984, O’Keefe began her volunteer leadership in 2009, when her husband, Brian, retired after 30 years of service to the United States Coast Guard. Now settled in Melbourne, O’Keefe first joined the FICPA’s Brevard Chapter, rising from Treasurer to President. She would go on to participate on numerous FICPA Committees and Task Forces before being named to the FICPA Council in 2017 and its Board of Directors in 2019.
In addition to her service to the FICPA, O’Keefe has also spent the last 20 years working with Junior Achievement (JA), a nonprofit focused on providing financial literacy, career education and entrepreneurship education to students. Each year, she leads multi-session courses with as many as 20 classes of elementary and high school students, introducing them to accounting and championing the CPA profession. She has been named JA’s Volunteer of the Year in three different locations: the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Hampton Roads/Tidewater and Melbourne.
Directors
Kathryn Horton, CPA, CMA, CIDA, CFE
Kathryn K. Horton CPA PA
Kathryn Horton is President of Kathryn K. Horton CPA PA based in Coral Springs, Florida. She is a nationally recognized leader in data analytics and performs audits and reviews of private companies and not-for-profit organizations.
Kathryn has been recognized as a five-time National 40 Under 40 Honoree by CPA Practice Advisor and has served on the FICPA Board of Directors since 2020. She is also a Florida delegate on the AICPA Governing Council.
Kathryn started her involvement with the FICPA through the CPA Day of Service and as a 2018 graduate of the Emerging Leaders Program, subsequently becoming a speaker at various conferences on data analytics, including the Florida CPA Summit, MEGA Conference and Florida University Conferences. She served as Chair of the Young CPA Committee in 2020 and has been an FICPA Council member since 2020. Kathryn has also served on the State and Legislative Policy Committee, Women in Leadership Committee and Technology Committee. She was awarded the 2020 Emerging Leader Woman to Watch by the FICPA and graduated both the 2020 Florida TaxWatch Citizenship Institute and the 2021 AICPA Leadership Academy. Kathryn also presents data analytics to accounting students each semester at local universities and participates in the FICPA’s Hike the Hill in Tallahassee on an annual basis.
She is an active member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce, the Attorney and Accounting Networking Group of Florida, and also volunteers with the Salvation Army, Kayla Cares 4 Kids and Project Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Jennifer Keller, CPA
Crowe
Jennifer Keller is a Senior Tax Manager at Crowe, LLP.
Based in Tampa, Jennifer is a leader in Crowe’s National Retail Dealer services group, which interacts with more than 12,000 dealerships in the U.S. and provides specialized audit, tax, advisory and consulting services that dealers require.
Jennifer has more than nine years of public accounting experience, providing federal tax compliance and consulting to large multi-point dealership groups.
As an active member of the FICPA, she is a graduate of the Emerging Leaders Program, a past member of the Women in Leadership Committee and a Past Chair of the West Coast Chapter and Young CPAs Committee. She is a recipient of the FICPA Horizon Award and in 2024 was named a recipient of the AICPA's Outstanding Young CPAs Award.
In addition to her role on the Board of Directors, she is a member of the FICPA Scholarship Foundation’s Board of Trustees and its Chair-Elect for the 2025-2026 year.
She is an active member in her community, volunteering with various not-for-profit organizations. She has a passion about giving back and helping young accountants become CPAs and leaders in the profession.
Amy Kistka, CPA
Deloitte
Amy Kistka is the Managing Director for Deloitte’s Jacksonville practice.
In addition to serving as a national audit facilitator for Deloitte, she also leads the learning initiatives and strategy for all the firm’s Florida practices.
As a member of the FICPA, she has previously served as a member of the State Legislative Policy Committee and the Women in Leadership Committee.
She was named by the Jacksonville Business Journal as one of its 2018 Women of Influence.
Robert Maya, CPA
Kaufman Rossin
Robert Maya joined Kaufman Rossin in 2013 and is a senior manager in the assurance and advisory services department. He participates in consulting, audit engagements, due diligence projects, and 401(k) audits for clients ranging from start-ups to large international companies in the healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution industries.
Robert is a key contributor in the Firm’s Healthcare Industry Team and co-leader of the Firm’s Emerging Rainmakers Initiative, guiding and training young professionals with sales and business development techniques.
In the community, Robert serves on the Miami Chamber of Commerce HYPE Committee, and the Incubator Grant Committee for the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.
He is a Certified Public Accountant in Florida and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), and the Institute of Management Accountants. He has previously served on the FICPA Council and its Audit Committee.
Robert earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Central Florida.
Chris Oatis, CPA
Grant Thornton
Chris Oatis is a Partner at Grant Thornton with a focus on state and local tax.
He joined the FICPA Council in 2021 and was previously Chair and Vice Chair of the Institute’s State Tax Committee and a member of its State Legislative Policy Committee.
Oatis also served on the Florida Board of Pilot Commissioners, as Vice Chair of its Pilotage Rate Review and Legislative committees.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and received both his bachelor’s in finance and his master’s in accounting from the University of Florida.
Mindy Rankin, CPA, CCD
Warren Averett
Mindy Rankin is a Member of Warren Averett, LLC.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a minor in Information Systems from Troy University in Troy, AL, where she played Division I softball.
She went on to earn a Master of Accountancy with a Concentration in Taxation from the University of West Florida. Her primary practice area is in the construction industry, as she provides reviews, compilations, and assistance to contractors on percentage completion accounting as they obtain bonding for projects. She spends the rest of her time preparing tax returns for individuals and small businesses.
She was appointed by Governor Rick Scott to serve on the Florida Board of Accountancy (2016-2020), served on the FICPA Board of Directors and Council, YCPA committee, Membership committee, and was a Chapter officer for the Miracle Strip Chapter having served as President, President-Elect, and Treasurer. In the local community, she served on the Board of Directors of Girls, Inc. of Bay County for six years, currently is Treasurer of the Panama City Chapter of Troy Alumni, and recently completed a 12-year term on the Board of Directors of Tyndall Federal Credit Union.
Rankin was named by CPA Technology Magazine to the list of Top Forty CPA’s Under Forty in 2009.
She and her husband, Eric, reside in Panama City, FL with their three Siberian huskies (Tebow Joe, Rally Joe, and Rocket Joe).
Brion Sharpe, CPA
PwC
Brion serves as PwC's Assurance Director in the Central Florida area and has more than 20 years of experience in public accounting, primarily in the commercial real estate sector.
He is active in the community as a speaker at university accounting events and through service to local organizations like the Ronald McDonald House of Central Florida.
As a volunteer leader with the FICPA, Brion is a past chair and vice chair and active member of the Accounting Principles & Auditing Standards Committee. He has been the lead and co-lead on multiple FICPA exposure draft responses. He is also an active member of the State Legislative Policy Committee and has previously contributed to an award-winning Florida CPA Today article. He is a previous member of the Young CPAs Committee and was recognized as one of the FICPA’s 26 Under 36 honorees.
Brion is an alumnus of the University of Florida where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and continues to support the Fisher School of Accounting.
Alex Sueiro, CPA
PAAST
Alexander Sueiro is a Founding Partner of PAAST, P.L. He has more than 25 years of experience providing assurance, business consulting, and forensic accounting and litigation support services to a diverse client base in a variety of industries.
Alex specializes in internal and external audits, and reviews of financial institutions. He has managed a variety of engagements, including loan portfolio reviews, bank-wide risk assessments, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering audits, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act audits, compliance audits and information technology audits. In addition, he has experience testing beta versions of bank software programs.
Alex is an adjunct accounting professor at Florida International University. He has lectured at the FICPA Miami Dade Chapter, the Association of Cuban Accountants in Exile, and the University of Miami.
Prior to co-founding the firm, Alex was a senior manager at a regional accounting firm. He was in charge of the firm’s financial institution practice, and was responsible for managing and reviewing compliance audits, internal audits and external audits.
Kyle Gosiewski, CPA
Crowe
Kyle Gosiewski is a Tax Manager at Crowe and part of the firm's national dealership group, servicing a wide range of car dealership groups across the nation. He also is involved with the company’s new hire trainings and recruiting.
He is a regular attendee of the FICPA Scholarship Foundation and Chapter events, a graduate of the FICPA leadership Academy, and an active participant during volunteer opportunities, most notable the CPA Day of Service.
As the current Chair of the FICPA’s Young CPAs Committee for members 35 and under, he will serve a one-year term as a non-voting participant on the Board.