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, 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

Key O'Keefe

 

Key O'Keefe is a partner with O’Keefe, Somerville & Associates PLLC. She provides tax and accounting services to small businesses, individuals, and estates and trusts.

An Alabama native, Key and her family settled in Melbourne when her husband retired after 30 years of service in the Coast Guard.

Since returning to Florida she’s been active with the FICPA serving the local chapter, on several state committees, state task force and on Council and Board.

A passion for financial literacy education has led to over 20 years volunteering coast to coast with Junior Achievement and continues with Junior Achievement of the Space Coast where she serves on the board and is a frequent volunteer in the classroom. 

She considers her greatest accomplishment her two beautiful children, Daniel and Aime, both of whom she claims are pretty much perfect except neither visits often enough. 

University.


Chair-Elect

Ed Duarte, CPA, CGMA

Ed Duarte
 

 

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. 


Directors

Kathryn K. Horton, CPA, CMA, CIDA, CFE

2020 w2w

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

 

 

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

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

Mindy Rankin Crop

Mindy Rankin, CPA, 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 is 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

Brion Sharpe

 

 

Brion serves as a Director in the Trust Solutions practice of PwC in the Central Florida area.

He 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.

Brion is excited to serve in his second term on the Board and has enjoyed supporting the leadership efforts of both Past Chair Bivona and Chair Dozier as well as President & CEO Weir since she joined the association.

The outreach and advocacy efforts of the FICPA have been unparalleled and we look forward to continuing those efforts to connect with our members and protect and enhance the value of their license.

This will be especially important with the upcoming changes to the CPA exam along with the increasing number of young CPAs which are vital to our success.   


Jesus Socorro, CPA

Jesus Socorro

 


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.