The Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA) has named Karen Lake, CPA, CFST, as the 98th chair of the organization, effective July 1, 2025. Jennifer Keller, CPA was named the 2025-26 chair of the FICPA’s Scholarship Foundation.
“It is an honor to Chair an organization that has had a profound influence on my professional development,” Lake said. “The work of the FICPA is critical in shaping fiscal policy, educating taxpayers, advocating for our profession and protecting our role as stewards of the public trust.”
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).
Based in Tampa, Keller 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 the specialized audit, tax, advisory and consulting services they require.
2025-26 Board of Directors: Amy Kistka (Deloitte & Touche) (Chair-Elect), Ed Duarte (Foreign Parts Distributors) (Immediate Past Chair), Carshena Allison (WatsonRice), Kathryn Horton (Kathryn K. Horton CPA), Jennifer Keller (Crowe), Robbie Maya (Kaufman Rossin), Chris Oatis (Grant Thornton), Mindy Rankin (Warren Averett), Brion Sharpe (PwC), Alex Sueiro (PAAST), and Maximilian Halasz (Kaufman Rossin) (Young CPA Committee Chair; non-voting).
2025-26 Council members: Key O’Keefe (O’Keefe, Somerville & Associates) (Past Chair), Daniel Amat (KPMG),Danny Castro (BDO), Yvonne Clayborne (Carr, Riggs & Ingram),Adam Daniels (Sorren),Ashley Fagan (BDO),Carlos Grosmann (Kaufman, Rossin & Co.), Genevieve Hancock (Germfree Laboratories), Isaac Juarez (KPMG), Evaristo Palmer (Skar Audio), Michael Riskin (CPS Investment Advisors), Heber Rojas (TRCPA), Ian Shapiro (Socorro Partners), Christopher Stemley (Disney Financial Services), Guy Strum (Gladstone, Strum & Company), Cheri Swain (Carr, Riggs & Ingram), Alex Welsh (A-LIGN) and Dana Zukierski (EY).
In 2025-26, the FICPA Scholarship Foundation will award more than $200,000 in Academic Scholarships to active fourth-year, fifth-year and graduate-level students; Exam Prep Scholarships for those studying to pass the CPA Exam; and Bridge to CPA Scholarships, which will give eligible candidates the opportunity to fulfill their fifth-year requirements for licensure with zero tuition costs.
In 2024-25, the Foundation was also proud to launch its Fund Our Future Challenge, with Jesus Socorro (Socorro Partners), Tony Argiz (BDO USA) and Steve Morrison (CohnReznick) each making $100,000 charitable commitments. To learn more about the Fund Our Future Challenge and to join our Foundation Impact Circle, contact Jennifer Allen at jennifer@ficpa.org.
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Tags: ficpa, scholarship
