2025-26 Board of Directors

Lake is a Director of Tax Services at Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs, where she leads the firm’s State and Local Tax (SALT) practice.  Prior to joining the firm in 2009, she held positions with Deloitte, KPMG, Arthur Anderson, the Eckerd Corporation and the Florida Department of Revenue. With experience in a Big 4 public accounting firms, a corporate tax department and as a state auditor, she understands the full range of tax issues most businesses face. She is the third member of Berkowitz Pollack Brant to serve as FICPA Chair, joining Richard Berkowitz (2005-06) and Ken Strauss (2013-14).

“Karen Lake continues the FICPA’s long and decorated tradition of turning to the right person at exactly the right time,” FICPA President & CEO Shelly Weir said. “With significant changes to state tax policy being actively discussed at the state and federal level, Karen is the ideal Chair to guide our organization in the year ahead. I look forward to partnering with her as the FICPA continues its work to protect and promote the CPA profession in Florida.”

A member of the FICPA for the last 25 years, Karen has served on the FICPA Board of Directors (2018-19, 2023-present), the FICPA Council (2021-2023) and previously chaired the FICPA’s State Tax Committee, Corporate Finance Committee and South Florida Accounting Conference Committee. In 2020, she was recipient of the FICPA’s Women to Watch Experienced Leader Award, recognizing her significant contributions to the CPA profession. Outside the FICPA, she is an active member of the AICPA Council and its SALT Technical Research Panel. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Florida TaxWatch, chairing its Tax Advisory Panel.

“It’s my honor to pass the FICPA’s historic gavel to my friend and colleague, Karen Lake,” Immediate Past Chair and Foreign Parts Distributors Chief Financial Officer Ed Duarte said. “Karen and I have truly risen together through our connection to Berkowitz Pollack Brant, our service to the FICPA and our continued professional relationship. Our organization is as strong as our volunteer leaders, and Karen’s commitment to both the FICPA and the profession is a model for all our current and future Board and Council members.”

As Chair, Lake will be supported by the FICPA Board of Directors and Council members listed below.

Ed 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.

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.

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. 

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.  

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.

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 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.