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CTCPA Women's Awards

(Rocky Hill, CT) – The Connecticut Society of CPAs (CTCPA) will honor 14 outstanding women at the CTCPA Women's Awards event on Wednesday, January 17, 2024 from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the TPC River Highlands.

Awardees will be honored in three categories: Distinguished Service, Women to Watch, and Aspiring CPAs (a new category for 2024). 

This is the fifth year the CTCPA has honored outstanding females in the profession.

“We are thrilled to honor a record 14 recipients of this year's CTCPA Women's Awards,” said CTCPA Executive Director and CEO Bonnie Stewart. “From seasoned professionals to those early in their career paths, these dynamic women are leading innovation and growth in an ever-changing environment. They have all touched the lives of countless colleagues, mentees, and clients as they work to support others, protect the public interest, and promote fiscal responsibility and transparency.”

Honorees are as follows:

Distinguished Service Award Winners

Melissa S. Beeler, CPA
Deloitte Tax, LLP

Melissa is a managing director in Deloitte Tax's Business Tax Services (BTS) group in Hartford. In her role, she serves both SEC and non-SEC clients in a variety of industries.

Mary Kay Curtiss, MSPA, CPA
CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)

Mary Kay is a principal at CLA's West Hartford office, where she specializes in providing audit services to nonprofits. She is also CLA's national nonprofit assurance leader and New England nonprofit growth network industry leader. 

Stacy R. Farber, CPA
UHY LLP

Stacy is an audit partner with UHY LLP, where she serves as the audit and assurance practice leader for the Connecticut office as well as the northeast region employee benefit plan practice leader. 
 

Teresa J. Opalacz, CPA
Guilmartin, DiPiro & Sokolowski LLC

Teresa is an audit and consulting partner with Guilmartin, DiPiro & Sokolowski, LLC.  She works with her fellow partners on planning, quality control, talent, and process optimization. 

Jennifer J. Schempp, CPA
Beers, Hamerman, Cohen & Burger, PC

Jennifer is a partner with Beers, Hamerman, Cohen & Burger, PC and is part of the team that oversees the audit and assurance practice at the firm. She has expertise in the employee benefit plan industry, specializing in ERISA plan auditing. 

Women to Watch Winners

Rebecca W. Lyman, CPA
CohnReznick

Rebecca is a senior manager in CohnReznick's not-for-profit and construction industry practice groups. She works at both a local and national level with various teams to improve audit efficiency and provide value-added recommendations to clients. 

Amber Moore, CPA
Goldblatt Bokoff LLC

Amber is a partner with Goldblatt Bokoff, providing tax, assurance, and advisory  services to small to mid-size businesses as well as handling many of the firm's internal technology needs.

Katherine M. Patnaude, CPA, MSA
PKF O'Connor Davies

Katherine is an audit partner with PKF O'Connor Davies in the public sector group, providing audit and consulting services for a wide variety of municipal entities including cities, towns, boroughs, and districts. 

Lindsay Tessler, CPA  
Whittlesey PC

Lindsay is an audit manager at Whittlesey, providing audit services to financial  institutions, with a primary focus on banks, credit unions, and employee benefit plans.

Aspiring CPAs Winners

Marissa Bartone
Ernst & Young

Marissa is an audit senior in the financial services sector of Ernst & Young. She provides assurance services for high-profile insurance clients, develops effective audit strategies, and drives efficiencies within audit procedures. 

Bridgette Eguizabal
Kaman Corporation 

Bridgette is a senior internal auditor at Kaman Corporation. She is part of the internal audit department, a team responsible for conducting various types of audits in order to provide objective assurance that the company's governance, risk management, and internal control environment are operating effectively. 
 

Emily Kindle
Whittlesey PC

Emily is a supervisor in the Whittlesey audit department. She leads and conducts financial statement audits and reviews for clients across various industries, including affordable housing, real estate entities, and non-profit organizations.

Mariam Noorzad
Ernst & Young

Mariam is a senior assurance accountant at Ernst & Young specializing in the insurance sector. She provides audit services to PCAOB and SEC registered clients by developing audit strategies, coordinating audit procedures through project management, and ensuring the highest quality of work and standards are met. 

Christina Roy
Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina

As a newly minted senior audit associate at Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina, Christina works closely with team members and clients to deliver high-quality audits, constructive suggestions, and financial statements.

With a membership of more than 6,000 in public practice, business and industry, government, and education, the CTCPA's mission is to advocate on behalf of the accounting profession, foster a professional community, and provide high-quality professional development opportunities.

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