For immediate release:
Contact: Sorena Fabre Shaw
Media & Government Relations Associate Director
E: Sfabre@nysscpa.org | T: 212.719.8392

New York State Society of CPAs Elects 2026–2027 Board of Directors

NEW YORK – The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYCPA) is pleased to announce their new Board of Directors—a 39-member governing body—which includes the positions of president, president-elect, vice presidents, secretary/treasurer, directors-at-large and directors as chapter representatives, who all began their terms of office on June 1, 2026.

The Society’s elected officers are the following:

Michael R. Durant, President - Durant is the founder of Aequitas Tax and a senior tax manager at Prager Metis CPAs in New York, N.Y. Durant earned his B.B.A. in accountancy and his M.S. in taxation from CUNY’s Bernard M. Baruch College and his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law. Durant has previously served on the Society’s NextGen Committee, which brings together the youngest members of the Society and the accounting profession. He joined the Society in 2011.

Orumé A. Hays, President-elect - Hays is the founder and CEO of Hays CPA LLC and serves as an executive leader, educator, and trusted business advisor. She is a Forbes Top 200 CPA, Forbes Best-in-State honoree, and a 25 Most Powerful Women in Accounting honoree. Hays serves as an at-large Council Member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), a member of the CPA.com Advisory Board, an adjunct professor at the College of Staten Island (CUNY), and a graduate career advisor at Hunter College. She currently chairs the Society's Emerging Technologies Committee and has held numerous leadership positions within the New York State Society of CPAs, including Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx Chapter president, chair of the Audit Committee, chair of the Relations with the IRS Committee, and chair of the Small Firms Practice Management Committee. Hays has been a member of the Society since 2007.

Barbara A. Marino, Secretary/Treasurer- Member of the Society since 1992; member of the Manhattan/Bronx Chapter. STATEWIDE: Current Trustee of the Foundation for Accounting Education Board of Trustees. Current Trustee of the Moynihan Scholarship Fund Board of Trustees. Past Vice President on the Board of Directors. Past Director-at-Large on the Board of Directors. Past Director as Chapter Representative on the Board of Directors. Past member of the Executive Committee. Past President of the Foundation of Accounting Education Board of Trustees. Current member of the Accounting Careers and Education Committee. Past Chair of the FAE Performance and Promoting CPA Careers committees. Past member of the AICPA Council. Past member of the CPA Careers, FAE Curriculum, FAE Scholarship and Practice Management Oversight communities. Past member of the Audit, Finance and Nominating committees. Past member of the Selections Subcommittee. Past member of the Incoming Board Designees Task Force.

Vice Presidents, to hold office for one year:

Paul E. Becht, Vice President, Nassau/Suffolk Chapter, Baker Tilly US, LLP

Ramona Cedeno, Vice President-Membership, Manhattan/Bronx Chapter, FiBrick

Barbara S. Dwyer, Vice President, Adirondack Chapter, Barbara S. Dwyer, CPA

Tracey J. Niemotko, Vice President, Mid Hudson Chapter, Marist College

Renee Rampulla, Vice President, Rockland Chapter, Rampulla Advisory Services LLC

Directors-at-Large, to hold office for one to four years:

William C. Huether, Director-at-Large, Nassau/Suffolk Chapter, Sheehan & Company, CPAs, P.C.

Mathieu Aimlon, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx Chapter, Aimlon CPA

David G. Young, Director-at-Large, Rochester, Young & Company CPAs LLP 

Robert J. Huether, Director-at-Large, Nassau/Suffolk, Estee Lauder Companies

Anthony S. Chan, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx, CA Global Consulting Inc.

Philip J. London, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx, Wiss & Company LLP

Andrew M. Mintzer, Director-at-Large, Out-of-State, Hemming Morse LLP

John M. Iacobellis, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx, BDO USA, LLP

Marc T. Mallare, Director-at-Large, Buffalo, Frazier & Deeter

Zhoudi Tang, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx, L&T Tax Services, LLC

Steven K. Baierlein, Director-at-Large, Manhattan/Bronx, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Patricia A. Johnson, Director-at-Large, Buffalo, Patricia A. Johnson, CPA

Edward N. Lee, Director-at-Large, Nassau/Suffolk, KPMG LLP

Directors as Chapter Representatives, to hold office for one, three, or four years:   

Elisha M. Brestovansky, Mid Hudson Chapter Representative, PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP

Kurt J. Button, Rochester Chapter Representative, MMB & Co.

Elysa K. Dauerman, Manhattan/Bronx Chapter Representative, Emblem Health

Nicholas P. Eells, Adirondack Chapter Representative, Hoffman Eells Group

Lillian Lent, Queens/Brooklyn Chapter Representative, Retired

Kelly M. Mandell-Klumpp, Buffalo Chapter Representative, SAX LLP  

Andrew A. Matthews, Northeast Chapter Representative, 2030 MMB & Co.

Michael R. Mattick, Southern Tier Chapter Representative, Mattick CPA, P.C.

Andrea M. Pagano, Syracuse Chapter Representative, SUNY Oswego

Lenore C. Sanchez, Rockland Chapter Representative, PKF O'Connor Davies, LLP

Bernadette Schopfer, Westchester Chapter Representative, Citrin Cooperman,

Nick Tsoukaris, Staten Island Chapter Representative, Frendel, Brown & Weissman LLP

 Natalie Verbanac, Nassau/Suffolk Chapter Representative, CBIZ / Marcum LLP

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About the NYCPA

Founded in 1897, the New York State Society of CPAs (nysscpa.org) is the premier professional accounting association for approximately 20,000 licensed members residing and practicing in New York state, encompassing all areas of public practice, including government, education, technology, nonprofit, real estate, healthcare and industry. It is the oldest—and the third largest—such state society in the United States.