2023-24 Board of Directors

Key O'Keefe

O’Keefe, Somerville and Associates

Key O'Keefe is the 2023-24 Chair of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

“I am honored to serve as Chair of this great organization, and I am proud to give back to the profession that has given me so much,” O’Keefe, Managing Partner at O’Keefe, Somerville and Associates, PLLC, said. “I sincerely believe in the mission and vision of the FICPA, and I am passionate about sharing the story of our profession. Together, we can promote the profession, protect the license, and support the next generation of CPAs.”

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, 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.

In the next year, O’Keefe will work alongside FICPA President & CEO Shelly Weir to engage FICPA members and help recruit and retain the next generation of CPAs in Florida.

Ed Duarte, CPA, CGMA

Foreign Parts Distributors

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 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.

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. 

Jennifer Keller

Crowe

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

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. 

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 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

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 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

PwC

Brion serves as a Director in the Trust Solutions audit practice of PwC 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.

He is serving his second term as a member of the Board.

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.

Jesus Socorro

BDO USA

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. 

Elizabeth Jackson, CPA

RSM US

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.

In June, 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.