Exempt Organizations Conference

Ethan has 20 years of experience delivering audit, accounting and consulting services to a range of clients, particularly in the not-for-profit sector. He provides clear and sound advice to finance, senior management and Boards of Directors. Ethan is an expert in helping clients overcome strategic planning challenges, as well as performing internal audits, yellow book audits, ensuring compliance, assisting with mergers and acquisitions, reviewing internal control structures and preparing audit packages for the annual audit. He has a successful track record of helping clients achieve their goals. Prior to joining WeiserMazars, Ethan led his own accounting and advisory practice. He has also worked at large regional firms servicing the not-for-profit industry. Ethan received his B.S. in Accounting from Touro College. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. Ethan has Chaired the Tax Exempt Organizations Committee for the New York State Society of CPAs for three consecutive terms, chaired the NYSCCPA Tax Exempt Organizations conference for five consecutive years and testified before the New York State Senate – assisting them in crafting the NYS Nonprofit corporate laws.

As a Managing principal of Denham Wolf, Paul provides strategic guidance and technical expertise for a range of arts, cultural, community development, healthcare, social service, and educational organizations. He regularly advises nonprofits on major development projects, represents tenants in acquiring and divesting property, advises organizations on team assembly for major capital projects, helps nonprofits secure project financing through traditional and less conventional routes, and provides strategic planning guidance to help ensure that a nonprofit’s real estate is in service to its mission. Working collaboratively with nonprofits to articulate their real estate needs and organizational goals, Paul positively shapes each client’s strategic real estate decisions and grows their capacity to keep mission first. Paul has an Executive M.B.A., Columbia University Graduate School of Business, New York, NY and a B.A. in English, Columbia University, New York, NY

James G. Sheehan, is the Chief of the New York State Attorney General’s Charities Bureau. In that role, he directs the bureau’s compliance and outreach efforts, as well as its investigations and litigation efforts whenever there are alleged improper activities by charities and other not-for-profit entities. A nationally recognized speaker on the use of data, analytics, and auditor work-product in compliance and regulatory oversight, he has more than 30 years of high-level experience as an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice and with New York State and New York City governmental agencies.

Magdalena is a tax managing director in Citrin Cooperman with over 20 years of not-for-profit industry experience. She provides tax services to a wide array of not-for-profits, including charitable organizations, schools, social welfare organizations, affordable housing organizations, professional associations and private foundations.

In addition to providing tax compliance services, Magdalena also provides tax planning and advisory services. She specializes in matters related to unrelated business taxable income, where she focuses on navigating the new reporting rules while managing and minimizing organizations' tax exposure. She helps clients that have lobbying activities with the various filing requirements and understating the complex rules. Magdalena works with organizations as it relates to compensation of executives including various retirement and incentive plans. She works with private foundations to help them navigate the complex rules of self-dealing and excise taxes. She has written many equivalency determinations for private foundations to help them with foreign giving. She also represents her clients as an authorized representative before the Internal Revenue Service and various state agencies. Furthermore, Magdalena’s experience includes serving clients with matters related to employee compensation and benefit plans, healthcare organizations and hospitals, affordable housing entities and foreign tax filings.

Previously, Magdalena was a partner at a business advisory firm before joining Citrin Cooperman, and a partner at top 10 accounting firms, where she focused on tax consulting and compliance for many of the highest profile not-for-profit clients.

Preston Quesenberry is a Senior Managing Director with KPMG's Washington National Tax office and has more than 15 years of experience advising tax-exempt organizations. Prior to joining KPMG, Preston served as a special counsel in the Tax Exempt and Government Entities division of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, where he helped draft numerous Treasury regulations and other published guidance items affecting tax- exempt organization issues. He currently provides tax advice to hospitals, universities, and other tax-exempt organizations on a wide variety of issues including unrelated business income tax, requirements for tax-exemption, charitable contributions, domestic and international grant-making, joint ventures, and executive compensation.

Nicole Sokolowski is a Senior Manager at Ernst & Young overseeing tax compliance and advisory services within the Exempt Organizations Tax Services group. She has extensive experience in providing Form 990 preparation and review services as well as analyzing and advising on emerging exemption erosion issues such as scrutiny over charitable activities, the community benefit standard for tax-exempt hospitals and the categorization and reporting of unrelated business income. These services cover a range of clients across the health care spectrum—from integrated healthcare delivery systems, health care providers and payers, to academic medical centers and physician groups. Nicole is a licensed CPA in New York and is also a member of the AICPA. Nicole holds a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from St. Thomas Aquinas College.

Laura Mayo is a Manager in EY’s Exempt Organization Tax Services Group and has been with the firm for seven years. A certified public accountant in New York, Laura has over ten years of experience in providing tax compliance and advisory services to a variety of tax-exempt organizations. Laura is focused on consultation and tax return preparation for health care organizations and hospitals, pension benefit trusts, professional associations, charitable organizations and many other 501(c) organizations. Laura holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from Florida International University, and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Hunter College.

Jonathan A. Wexler is a Shareholder in Vedder Price's Labor and Employment practice area in the New York office. He represents private-sector, not-for-profit and public-sector clients in litigation matters in federal and state courts and before such administrative agencies as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the New York State Division of Human Rights, the National Labor Relations Board and the New York Department of Labor. Mr. Wexler has arbitrated statutory claims as well as grievances under collective bargaining agreements and has negotiated labor contracts on behalf of employers. He counsels clients concerning labor and employment law matters, including EEO laws, restrictive covenants, trade secrets, wage-and-hour matters, and employee benefits issues, and he has prepared personnel policies, employment agreements and separation agreements for numerous clients. Mr. Wexler has lectured and conducted training for clients in the areas of effective supervision, sexual harassment and compliance with employment laws. Mr. Wexler has been selected by his peers for inclusion in New York Super Lawyers.

Zachary Segal, CPA, is a senior manager in CohnReznick’s Long Island office as a member of the National Exempt Organization Tax Services (EOTS) practice and has over fifteen years of experience serving a variety of clients, including higher education institutions, public charities, healthcare organizations, affordable housing organizations, CDFIs, associations, and private foundations. His experience extends to tax-exempt clients with complex investment portfolios, managing compliance with IRS UBIT requirements, foreign filing requirements, and forms governed by the FinCEN. Zachary is a member of our Association and CDFI Sector Workgroups working better serve those industries. Zachary also has gained extensive knowledge assisting his clients in the area of tax compliance, including federal and state audits/notices ranging from exemption revocation, employment taxes, unrelated business income tax issues, and issues related to maintenance of tax-exempt status. Zachary also reviews tax returns, such as Form 5500, associated with retirement plans. Additionally, Zachary has served his clients in the areas of taxable organizations, including corporations (C-Corp/S-Corp) and partnerships, providing assistance with both compliance and consulting on complex matters.