Denise LeDuc Froemming , CPA , CAE , MBA President & CEO CalCPA and CalCPA Education Foundation

If you ’ ve listened to our Rise & Stride podcasts , you ’ ll know that leadership comes up in each conversation . And you ’ ve likely noticed that each guest defines leadership a little bit differently . Yet , there are a couple of characteristics that repeatedly pop up in those definitions : Being a role model , mentor or coach , and lifting others and the organization . As author Simon Sinek said in his book , “ Leaders Eat Last ,” “ Leadership is not about being the best , it is about making everyone else better .”

There ’ s a third commonality , too , that I ’ ll get to later .

At CalCPA , I ’ m proud that our member leaders take those characteristics to heart and as we begin our fiscal year this month , I want to recognize and thank some of the members who are stepping into officer roles for 2023-24 .

Board of Directors officers :

• Chair : Meredith A . Johnson ( San Francisco Chapter )

• First Vice Chair : Matthew Martin ( Los Angeles Chapter )

• Secretary / Treasurer : Jillian Phan ( Los Angeles Chapter )

• Immediate Past Chair : Tayiika Dennis ( Los Angeles Chapter )

Board of Trustees officers :

• Chair : Andrea Cope ( San Francisco Chapter )

• First Vice Chair : Ruben Davila ( Los Angeles Chapter )

• Treasurer : Scott Donnelly ( Los Angeles Chapter )

• Immediate Past Chair : Adam Blitz ( Fresno Chapter )

This is by no means an exhaustive list of our dedicated member leaders . You can find the full slate at calcpa . org / leadership / be-a-leader-in-calcpa , and then add to that our chapter presidents and officers ; chapter and state committee members ; our member instructors ; our student influencers on college and university campuses across the state ; our Board , Council and Trustee members … and the list goes on and the names of everyone could fill pages and pages of this magazine . They are all an amazing cadre of leaders making a difference every day .

This year , too , we have a distinct leadership spotlight as Okorie Ramsey will be AICPA Chair for 2023-24 . Okorie has had many roles within CalCPA , including chair of the Education Foundation in 2017-18 , and on a national level with AICPA , NABA and other organizations . He has been a champion of elevating and expanding the profession ; creating a sense of community and belonging ; and fostering an environment of mutual respect and understanding .

All the people that fill the roles I ’ ve mentioned above point to the third commonality when it comes to defining leadership that I teased at the start of this column : You can ’ t do it alone . Together we ’ re better .

Each of our leaders and members brings their passion , unique perspectives and gifts , and combining those diverse qualities helps propel CalCPA , the profession and us , as individuals , further along than we can go on our own . www . calcpa . org MAY 2023 CALIFORNIA CPA 3