NYCPA Meet The IRS Webcast

Mary Beth Murphy is the Deputy Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division. In this position, she provides executive leadership and direction in the design, development and delivery of a comprehensive tax administration program to meet the needs of small business owners and self-employed taxpayers. Since 2010, Mary Beth served as Director, Employee Support Services, Agency Wide Shared Services. In this role, she was responsible for administrative functions regarding Payroll, Travel Services, Credit Card Services, senior commissioner representatives, Continuity Operations and the Employee Resource Center.

Darol Tucker is the Local Taxpayer Advocate in Brooklyn, New York. He assumed this position with the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) in February 2015. He previously served as a Supervisory Revenue Officer in Albany, NY from 2012 until the beginning of 2015. He started his career with the IRS in October 2005, in Syracuse, NY as a Revenue Officer. From there, he served as a Recruiting Agent with the IRS Recruitment Office from November 2010 until August 2012, where he was responsible for all of the IRS recruiting efforts for both North and South Carolina. Prior to joining the IRS, Darol served and retired from the US Army after 26 years of service from February 1978 to February 2004, where he served in various leadership positions. Darol graduated from Columbia College (Missouri) where he majored in Business Administration.

Ms. Brenda Stuart-Luke is an IRS veteran with 39 years of experience. During her tenure with the IRS she has worked in various Business Units such as, Human Resources, Criminal Investigation, Collection Enforcement, Taxpayer Assistance Manager, and New York Acting Area Manager for Stakeholder Liaison. Brenda currently works as Senior Stakeholder Liaison in the IRS Communication Liaison- Stakeholder Field Business Operating Unit. As a Stakeholder Liaison she participates, coordinates and share IRS key messages through outreach with Government Agencies, Trade and Industrial Organizations, Chambers of Commerce, Tax Professional organizations and other business organization. As a Stakeholder her role is to collaborate with tax professional organizations, small business groups and industry associations. Brenda is the New York Lead for the IRS Limited English program. Brenda has received several awards and recognition for her dedication and Community Service from Congressional Offices, Chambers of Commerce, Senators, Civic groups, Community based organization, Multi-Lingual organizations and various Professional Woman organizations.

David is an Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). David has experience as a criminal investigator for the TIGTA and previously the Secret Service.

Christopher Meislahn is the Taxpayer Rights Advocate for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. In his position, he oversees the Office of Taxpayer Rights Advocate, continuing a mission that began as a formal departmental function in 2009 to help New York State taxpayers by balancing taxpayer assistance with enforcement of NYS tax laws. The office helps promote taxpayer rights and responsibilities and identifies recurring issues that provide opportunities to enhance Department policies and procedures and improve compliance. Mr. Meislahn has been with the Department for 16 years, starting his career in the Audit Division as a tax auditor gaining experience in excise, sales, and many of the miscellaneous taxes. He was promoted in 2012 to work in Audit Management and in May 2018 he was promoted to the Director of the Office of Taxpayers Rights where he supervised the staff and day to day operations. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Sage College of Albany school.

Irene Wachsler, CPA, MBA is the current owner of Wachsler CPA LLC, a niche public accounting firm focusing on the Entertainment Industry, Digital/Crypto Currency Compliance, and Tax Controversy. She is also a current Board Member and Virtual Chapter President of the National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP). Prior to COVID, she also ran the Massachusetts Society of CPA’s South Shore Breakfast Networking Forum for over 15 years. Irene holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with a concentration in Computer Science from the University of Lowell, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Babson College.