Checkpoint Learning Subject Matter Experts

With over 300 years of combined experience, the subject matter experts (SMEs) at Checkpoint Learning feature a variety of diverse educations, unique perspectives, and accomplishments to resonate with any CPA or EA, at any level of the profession.

To learn more about our experts and find the ideal CPE course for you, check out the biographies below.

Abe Carnow, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2012
Focus Areas: Supreme court cases involving taxes, ethics, amended returns

Abe Carnow courses


Bio:

After a successful 16 year career with the IRS as Revenue Agent, Appeals Officer, and Tax Auditor, Abe Carnow became a tax manager at a Beverly Hills CPA firm in 1990. A sole practitioner in Southern California since 1991, Abe has also been a frequent presenter for Gear Up tax seminars since 1990 and Thomson Reuters webinars for the past several years.

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Abe works in both compliance, keeping his clients out of trouble- and controversy, getting clients who come to him who are in trouble, out of trouble. Abe works with a variety of professionals, including graphic artists, performers, and other service professionals. Abe received his education at UCLA and is licensed in the state of California.

Amaris Vicari, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2019
Focus Areas: Mindfulness and personal development

Amaris Vicari courses


Bio:

Amaris Vicari, Esq. is CEO of The Beneficial Element, a mindfulness and emotional intelligence consulting company. Amaris has been practicing mindfulness for over 25 years and has experience creating and facilitating global programs for a variety of audiences...

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...including F500 companies, tax and accounting firms, law firms, elementary schools, teachers, and other groups. She is honored to be the creator and facilitator for Reuters Mindfulness Program, which provides programming for front-line journalists who cover war zones, protests, and natural disasters.

Andrew Ky Haynes, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2016
Focus Areas: Employee benefits law

Andrew Ky Haynes courses


Bio:

Andy is an attorney and Director of Haynes Benefits PC, an employee benefits and human resources law firm in Kansas City, Missouri.

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Andy is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and has served as Chairman of the Missouri Bar Employee Benefits Committee and the Missouri Department of Insurance Liaison Committee. He received his J.D. degree from Emory University School of Law, where he was Research Editor of the Emory Law Journal. He is a contributing author of EBIA’s HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security and Group Health Plans: Federal Mandates manuals.

Bill Gole, MBA, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2006
Focus Areas: Mergers & Acquisitions, business sustainability, business management, and finance

Bill Gole courses


Bio:

Bill Gole, MBA, CPA, is a resident of Lake Placid, NY. For the last decade he has consulted on M&A engagements and authored books on M&A topics, including: Corporate Divestitures: An M&A Best Practice Guide and Due Diligence: An M&A Value Creation Approach.

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Bill was a senior executive at the Thomson Corporation (now Thomson Reuters) for almost 20 years where he served as SVP Business Planning & Development for Thomson Healthcare and Senior Vice President for Worldwide Sales and Services for Thomson Scientific. He entered the accounting profession as an auditor with Coopers & Lybrand.

Brian Eisenmenger, CPA, MST

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2011
Focus Areas: Retirement planning, taxes, business valuations, estates and trusts

Brian Eisenmenger courses


Bio:

Brian Eisenmenger is a CPA located in Wheaton, Illinois. His practice concentrates in serving corporate executives and successful small business owners with their tax planning needs.

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Brian earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from Eastern Illinois University and his Masters of Science in Taxation from Northern Illinois University.

Bryon Boyer, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2018
Focus Areas: Tax & estate planning, cryptocurrency, blockchain, controversy, and entity structure, formation and operation

Bryon Boyer courses


Bio:

Bryon carries a JD, Cum Laude, from the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, graduating in top 12% of his class and scoring in the top 5% of the bar exam for the State of Texas in 2011.

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Bryon has served as in-house counsel in the Tax Law department of ExxonMobil, and as commercial in-house counsel for Hewlett-Packard. After leaving in-house, Bryon was an associate attorney in the Tax Section of Kelly, Hart & Hallman, LLP, serving family offices and private equity and hedge funds in all matters of tax planning, controversy, and entity structure, formation and operation. Bryon’s practice now focuses on small business and startup operations with a special focus on tax and estate planning matters. Bryon also advises CPAs and tax preparers in compliance, planning and controversy matters. Bryon is currently advising the General Services Administration regarding blockchain initiatives in the federal government.

Christopher (Chris) K. Martin, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2008
Focus Areas: Auditing, accounting, ethics, indepedence, and personal development

Christopher (Chris) K. Martin courses


Bio:

Chris has worked with Thomson Reuters since 2003. Prior to that, his public accounting career included such positions as Senior Manager at Andersen, where he also served as a regular faculty member at its Worldwide Centre for Professional Education, and as CFO for an SEC-registered communications company based in Atlanta.

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In addition to his tenure with Thomson Reuters, he works as a financial, management and accounting entrepreneur serving clients in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, California, North Carolina and Bermuda. He received his finance and accounting education at The Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Christy Tinnes, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2016
Focus Areas: Employee benefits law

Christy Tinnes courses


Bio:

Christy Tinnes is a Principal with the Groom Law Group in Washington, D.C. She has over 20 years of experience advising employer group health plans, health insurers, and service providers on ERISA, HIPAA, and ACA issues.

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Christy received her law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1998, where she wrote for the South Carolina Law Review. Christy is a contributing author of EBIA’s Health Care Reform for Employers and Advisors manual.

Howard D. Bye-Torre, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2016
Focus Areas: Employee benefits law

Howard D. Bye-Torre courses


Bio:

Howard Bye-Torre is an attorney with Stoel Rives LLP in Seattle. Howard has practiced employee benefits law for more than 25 years. He served on the editorial board of the ABA’s The Health Lawyer for more than a decade and was a Commissioner on the ABA’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

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He graduated with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law and Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. Howard is a former editor and contributing author of, and current contributor to, EBIA’s HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security manual, and is currently a contributing author of EBIA’s Group Health Plans: Federal Mandates, COBRA, and Employee Benefits for Domestic Partners manuals and a contributor to EBIA’s Self-Insured Health Plans manual. He is a former editor and contributing author of EBIA’s HIPAA Portability, Privacy & Security manual.

Robert (Chris) Province, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2009
Focus Areas: S-Corporations, LLC's, and tax planning for businesses

Robert (Chris) Province courses


Bio:

Robert “Chris” Province, CPA, has over 20 years of experience in delivering, instructing and designing training courses. In addition to his speaking, Chris is currently a self-employed CPA specializing in taxation of high net worth individuals and closely held businesses with clients located in many states throughout the United States.

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Chris has also served as a tax partner and senior tax member for several local, regional, and national CPA firms. He was a member of the national AICPA S-Corporation Technical Resource Panel and the Qualifications Committee for the California Board of Accountancy. Chris is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California, Texas, and North Carolina. Chris earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from the California State University, Northridge. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Dave Krebs, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2006
Focus Areas: Firm management and pricing strategies, personal development, marketing and sales

Dave Krebs courses


Bio:

Dave Krebs, CPA, is a graduate of Miami University in Ohio. He started his professional career with Coopers & Lybrand. In 1985, Dave created and served as the Chief Visionary Officer of The CPA Advisory Group, which is now a $5 million+, 35-member tax, accounting, consulting, and investment advisory firm.

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Dave has coached 50 youth baseball, softball, and bowling teams and is currently a high school bowling coach. He has run for over 50 years, and as a meticulous accountant, he has calculated that he has run the circumference of Earth over that time.

Dave’s love for running led to the theme of his practice management and development book titled Outrun the Pack in Tax. Dave recently completed his 1,000th Gear Up seminar and has presented to over 100,000 accountants and small business owners across the United States for 30 years.

Garrett Wasny, MA, CMC, CITP

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2010
Focus Areas: Global trade, blockchain, cyber security, RPA, and smart contracts

Garrett Wasny courses


Bio:

Garrett Wasny, MA, CMC, CITP, is an award-winning Internet speaker, author, columnist and professional development advisor (and former management consultant for Price Waterhouse) in Vancouver, Canada.

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Garrett is the author of two books, World Business Resources.com (published by McGraw-Hill in New York) and How to Conquer the World (published by Government Institutes in Washington, D.C.). He is co-author of Using the Web to Compete in a Global Marketplace (published by John Wiley and Sons). Since 1995, he has delivered thousands of Internet presentations and webinars to CPAs worldwide and hundreds of leading corporations, accounting associations, economic development agencies, government organizations and trade shows.

Jacqueline Songer, CPA, MS

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2008
Focus Areas: Auditing, talent management, personal development, D&I, and leadership

Jacqueline Songer courses


Bio:

Jacquie Songer has worked in the public accounting and corporate finance/accounting industries for over 20 years.

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Jacquie focuses her teaching in the areas of leadership, communication and professional development. Through the practice of self-mastery and coaching for competency, Jacquie’s goal is to inspire and motivate professionals to function at peak performance.

Jacquie started her professional career at EY and worked in various executive positions in corporate finance including Assistant VP in a publicly traded health care company and CFO in private industry.

Jacquie lives in the greater Boston area with her husband and three children. When she is not teaching, she is growing her coaching business and loving the great outdoors with family.

Jason P. Lacey, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2016
Focus Areas: Employee benefits law

Jason P. Lacey courses


Bio:

Jason is Associate General Counsel with IMA Financial Group, Inc. and a Principal with Lacey, P.A. in Wichita, Kansas.

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He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the area of Employee Benefits Law and is a fellow in the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Jason received his law degree from the University of Kansas and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University.

Jason is a contributing author of EBIA’s Self-Insured Health Plans and Health Care Reform manuals and EBIA’s Form 1094/1095 Workbook for Employers and Advisors.

Jennifer M. Kowal, JD

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2013
Focus Areas: Tax research, installment sales, backdating, and tax issues with debt

Jennifer M. Kowal courses


Bio:

Jennifer Kowal, JD, has been a tax professor and the director of the graduate tax program at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles since 2003. Loyola’s graduate tax program offers an LLM in Taxation for attorneys and a Master in Tax Law for non-lawyers. Professor Kowal teaches courses in advanced income taxation, income tax timing issues, corporate taxation, and tax research, among others.

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Prior to teaching at Loyola, Professor Kowal taught in the International Tax Program at Harvard Law School. She also practiced law with the firms of Irell & Manella in Los Angeles and Ropes & Gray in Boston, advising clients on the taxation of various business transactions, including cross-border, partnership and corporate structures. Professor Kowal holds a BS in Accounting with distinction from the University of Kansas, and a JD from UCLA School of Law where she was a member of the Order of the Coif.

Jody L. Dietel, ACFCI, CAS, HSAe

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2016
Focus Areas: Employee benefit plans, HSA, FSA

Jody L. Dietel courses


Bio:

Jody L. Dietel is a seasoned benefits consultant with decades of experience and has held leadership positions on several industry boards, including the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), the HSA Council of the American Bankers Association (ABA), the American Benefits Council, and the Special Interest Group for IIAS Standards (SIGIS).

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Jody has a B.A. in psychology from Bethel University (MN) and holds several industry certifications recognizing her proven expertise in consumer-directed benefits and COBRA, including the ACFCI and CAS through the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation’s Flexible Compensation Institute and ABA’s HSAe.

Joseph B. Darby III, Esq.

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2012
Focus Areas: Tax planning, international tax, liquidation and termination of entities, and S-Corps

Joseph B. Darby III courses


Bio:

Joseph (Jay) B. Darby III, Esq., has more than 30 years of experience in a wide range of income tax, estate planning, and related business matters.

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His expertise in Opportunity Zones includes the following accomplishments: Recognition as a “Top 25 Attorney” in the OZ field (named by Opportunity Zone Magazine in 2019 and 2020). A featured speaker at more than 25 national conferences on structuring Qualified Opportunity Funds and Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses. An adjunct professor at Boston University Law School, teaching the only graduate-level course on Opportunity Zones in the US. Tax advisor for more than 50 successful QOFs, ranging from small private transactions to $300–500 million funds.

Laurie A. Stillwell, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2008
Focus Areas: Federal tax changes/updates, business and individual tax planning, and ERC

Laurie A. Stillwell courses


Bio:

Laurie A. Stillwell is a CPA licensed in both New York and Florida. Her firm, Laurie A. Stillwell, CPA, P.C., specializes in working with small businesses, professional practices, and their owners. In addition to her practice, Laurie teaches webinars and live continuing professional education seminars nationally on business and individual income tax issues for Thomson Tax & Accounting.

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She is the author and editor of several continuing professional education texts, as well as published articles on budgeting, financial literacy, cash-flow management, and the tax and accounting issues faced by professionals and small business owners. Prior to forming her firm in 2001, Laurie spent more than a decade with local and regional accounting firms and specialized in providing tax and accounting services to closely-held businesses. She began her public accounting career with the international firm of Price Waterhouse, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lee Ann Watters, CPA, CGFM, CFE

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2021
Focus Areas: Auditing and accounting for governmental entities

Lee Ann Watters courses


Bio:

Lee Ann Watters, CPA, CGFM, CFE is a Principal with the accounting firm of MCM CPAs & Advisors, LLP. Ms. Watters has 30 years of experience performing governmental financial, compliance, and internal control audits.

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Previously, she served in the Cabinet for Human Resources, the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts, and the office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Ms. Watters has significant experience with the Single Audit Act and other laws and regulations governing federal grants. Additionally, she has worked extensively with local government in the implementation of new accounting standards, performing audits in accordance with Government Auditing Standards, and has additionally performed in a consulting capacity. She is a former Regional Vice President for the Southeastern Region of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), a past President of the Central Kentucky Chapter of the AGA, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Rick E. Oelerich, LPA, EA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2003
Focus Areas: Payroll, IRA's, health care, firm management, retirement planning, and farm tax

Rick E. Oelerich courses


Bio:

Rick E. Oelerich, LPA, EA, is the principal of a firm serving over 2,300 individual and business clients. As a specialist in IRS disputes, he has testified before the IRS Oversight Board and House Ways and Means Committee

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Rick also served three years each on (IRSAC) IRS Advisory Committee, (ETAAC) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee and served as a subject matter expert for (ACAT) Accreditation Council for Accounting and Taxation.

2023 will be his 20th year as a presenter for Gear Up seminars and 12th year as a webinar presenter for Thomson Reuters. Rick has been a licensed LPA in Iowa since 1983 and has been an Enrolled Agent since 1975.

Sunish Mehta, CPA, CGMA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2010
Focus Areas: Auditing, finance, Excel, information technology, and mindfulness

Sunish Mehta courses


Bio:

Sunish is the Founder of Mindful-CPA Mindful-PRO and has over 25 years of experience in Advisory and Assurance services. His professional experience includes working with EY, PwC & IBM Global Business Services.

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He has also instructed courses in Financial Auditing and Accounting on an adjunct basis for the UCLA Certification of Accounting Program. He graduated with a Business Degree from California State University, Northridge and has an Inner MBA from New York University. Sunish has been leading programs with Checkpoint Learning since 2010 and this includes Auditwatch, Gear Up and Checkpoint Learning Webinars.

Susan C. Longo, CPA, MBA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2004
Focus Areas: Auditing, accounting, employee benefit plans, governmental and nonprofit entities

Susan C. Longo courses


Bio:

Susan C. Longo, CPA, provides financial reporting services to industry and CPA practices throughout the United States and Canada. She has authored, edited, and instructed courses in accounting, auditing, nonprofits, and governmental entities for PPC and other leading providers in the continuing professional education field. She has also been recognized as an "Outstanding Instructor" by the AICPA and numerous state CPA societies.

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She served as director of development for the AICPA and as accounting department/MBA chair for two universities. She has practice expertise in compliance auditing for nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, employee benefit plans, HUD, financial institutions, broker-dealers, CIRAs, and contractors. After graduating from the University of Michigan, she joined a national accounting firm, where she received extensive auditing experience with governmental agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and in business consulting.

Timothy (Tim) O'Brien, CPA, CM&AA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2009
Focus Areas: IRS audits, goodwill, and retirement planning

Timothy (Tim) O'Brien courses


Bio:

Tim O’Brien has over 45 years of experience in public accounting. In addition to his speaking, Tim is currently a senior consultant with the Star Chapman Group in Virginia, specializing in taxation of high net worth individuals and closely held businesses with clients located in many states throughout the United States.

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Tim has also served as a tax partner and senior tax member for several CPA firms. He was an editorial adviser for the AICPA’s Journal of Accountancy and served on several committees with the Virginia Society of CPAs. Tim earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Alliance of Merger and Acquisition Advisors, and the American Bar Association.

Timothy J. Sundstrom, CPA, CFP

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2006
Focus Areas: Social Security and retirement planning

Timothy J. Sundstrom courses


Bio:

Tim is a CPA and financial planner located in Broomall, PA (Suburban Philadelphia). He is the former president of the Pennsylvania Society of Public Accountants and for the last 17 years has been a lecturer with Thomson Reuters’ Gear Up Seminars and has authored several publications concerning tax and financial planning.

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Tim currently lives in Havertown, PA with his wonderful wife, Carina, and their dog Dixie.

When Tim is not working, he enjoys his time by reading, gardening, traveling and of course walking the dog.

Tony Johnson, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2007
Focus Areas: Individual tax issues and planning, tax scams, and NOL's

Tony Johnson courses


Bio:

Tony is trying to retire but really, he can’t help but continue to be involved in the profession especially when something big happens such as The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and subsequent legislation.

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Born and raised in St. Lucia in the West Indies, Tony studied in the USA where he sat and passed the CPA exam. He started his career with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co in New Orleans. He also worked with Coopers and Lybrand before starting his own practice in California in 1978. He specialized in tax for most of his career and spent a considerable amount of his professional time reading, writing and providing continued education to other tax professionals.

Tony has been lecturing for Gear Up and Thomson Reuters for more than 35 years. He has also authored several tax manuals and other resource publications.

Troy Manning, CPA

Thomson Reuters Speaker Since: 2010
Focus Areas: Auditing and accounting for governmental and nonprofit entities

Troy Manning courses


Bio:

Troy Manning has over 20 years of diverse experience in the government and the not-for-profit sectors. As a former partner of one of the largest regional public accounting firms headquartered in the Southeast, she provided audit, accounting and consulting services to cities, counties, school districts, special purpose governments and various types of not-for-profit organizations. She also has extensive experience in compliance requirements related to the federal single audit.

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Recognized as a government and not-for-profit expert, Troy has been a featured speaker at seminars sponsored by the Florida Government Finance Officers Association (FGFOA) and the Florida School Finance Officers Association (FSFOA). She has authored articles related to the public sector that have been published in the Florida CPA Today magazine, a publication of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA), and the AICPA Journal of Accountancy. Troy received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Florida International University and her Master of Accounting from Nova University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the FICPA, where she served for eight years on the Accounting Principles and Auditing Standards Committee and the past chair of the Editorial Committee for the CPA Today.

 

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