FICPA leadership consists of the Board of Directors, Council, and Chapter leaders.
The Board of Directors includes the FICPA chair, chair-elect, nine 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. Each officer, with the exception of the CEO, serves a two-year term that runs from July 1 to June 30.
Chair
Key G. O'Keefe, CPA
Chair-Elect
Ed Duarte, CPA, CGMA
Ed Duarte is the Chief Financial Officer of Foreign Parts Distributors, Inc. (FPD), a worldwide leader in the automotive aftermarket industry.
Prior to joining FPD in 2015, Ed served in various leadership roles at national and regional public accounting firms in New York, Puerto Rico and Miami covering a full range of professional services including audit, accounting, financial reporting and consulting.
Ed received his Bachelor of Arts in Accounting & Finance from Florida International University and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Florida and New York.
Ed has served the FICPA in various roles since 2006. He currently serves on the AICPA Council. Additionally, under the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Ed serves as a member of the Clay Ford Scholarship Committee. Ed has previously served as President of the Cuban American CPA Association and Foundation.
Ed is a founding member of the executive board of directors with the Live Like Bella™ Foundation and works passionately with the team to meet their mission and vision statements to help find a cure for pediatric cancer. Ed has graciously served as a volunteer in numerous worthy charitable organizations in the community.
Ed is married to his beloved wife Miriam. They have three children and reside in Boca Raton, FL.
Kathryn K. Horton, CPA, CMA, CIDA, CFE
Kathryn Horton is President of Kathryn K. Horton CPA PA based in Coral Springs, Florida.
Kathryn is a nationally recognized leader in data analytics and performs audits and reviews of private companies and not-for-profit organizations.
Kathryn was recognized as a 2021, 2020 and 2019 National 40 Under 40 Honoree by CPA Practice Advisor, and has served on the FICPA Board of Directors since 2020. Kathryn 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. Kathryn 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. Kathryn 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.
Kathryn is an active member of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce and the Attorney and Accounting Networking Group of Florida. She also volunteers with the Salvation Army, Kayla Cares 4 Kids and Project Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Elizabeth Jackson, CPA
Elizabeth Jackson is a Transfer Pricing Manager at RSM US LLP. She currently serves as co-leader of RSM’s South Florida STAR (‘Stewardship and Teamwork for the Advancement and Retention of RSM’s Women’) employee network group and engages in RSM’s recruitment activities to identify future leaders within the accounting, finance, and economics industries.
Jackson is a past FICPA Leadership Academy graduate and an FICPA Horizon Award recipient. Last month, during the FICPA’s annual MEGA Conference, she was presented the 2023 Women to Watch - Emerging Leader Award for her contributions to the accounting profession during the first decade of her career.
As the current Chair of the FICPA’s Young CPAs Committee for members 35 and under, she will serve a one-year term as a non-voting participant on the Board.
Jennifer Keller, CPA
Jennifer Keller is a senior tax manager at Crowe, LLP.
Based in Tampa, she is a leader in Crowe’s National Retail Dealer services group, which interacts with more than 12,000 dealerships in the US and provides specialized audit, tax, advisory and consulting services that dealers require.
Jennifer has over 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 has completed the Emerging Leaders Program, served as a regional advisor for the program, served on the Women in Leadership committee and participated as a speaker at the scholarship nights, served as the West Coast Chapter Chair and Chair of the Young CPA committee. She has recently been appointed to the FICPA Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for the FICPA Scholarship Foundation. She was the recipient of the 2021 Horizon Awards, which recognizes the brightest young CPAs at the forefront of the accounting profession.
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
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.
Karen Lake, CPA
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 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.
Chris Oatis, CPA
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
Brion Sharpe, CPA
Jesus Socorro, CPA
Jesus Socorro is the Managing Partner of BDO USA LLP’s Management Consulting practice. He has extensive prior board experience, having served public companies, regulatory bodies and nonprofits. He was first named to the Florida Board of Accountancy in 2016 and later served as the BOA’s Vice Chair and Chair.
He is the former President of the FICPA’s Miami Chapter, a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Board Treasurer of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is a graduate of Florida International University, Northwestern University and Harvard Business School.