Ruben Davila | Chair

Ruben Davila, CPA, CFF, Esq. is a professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business and Leventhal School of Accounting. Davila currently serves as Chair of CalCPA’s Education Foundation Board of Trustees and Chair of the NASBA Examination Review Board. He served on multiple regulatory and professional committees, including the California State Board of Accountancy, AICPA/NASBA Board of Examiners, AICPA/ NASBA International Qualifications Appraisal Board, NASBA’s Nominating, Global Strategies and Education Committees. He served in university and corporate governance, including executive positions with the PAC12 Academic Leadership Coalition and USC’s Academic Senate.

Davila is active in DE&I, having developed multiple events for young professionals and students in partnership with colleges, high schools, and professional organizations. He consulted and served as an expert witness on complex business litigation. Davila co-starred in the 2021 Oscar-nominated short film, “Please Hold,” written by his daughter, Kristen.   Education: BS from LMU, MBA from USC, and JD from Loyola Law.

Scott Donnelly | First Vice Chair

Scott Donnelly, CPA specializes in the real estate industry, estate planning, complex tax compliance and consultation. He formed PDM CPAs in 1997 with two other partners. PDM CPAs is a highly recognized firm in the Los Angeles South Bay with seven partners and approximately 40 employees.

Scott graduated from California State University, Long Beach, with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Taxation from the University of Southern California. Past CalCPA positions include the Los Angeles Chapter President, First Vice President and Treasurer.  Scott has also been a council member for many years

Scott’s community service includes dedication to homeless transitional housing, food banks, assisting the underserved elderly community, and the arts. He has been involved with Harbor Interfaith Services, H.E.L.P., Grand Vision Foundation and Angel Gate Cultural Center.

Taryn Hoffmann-Torres | Treasurer

Taryn is a licensed CPA and a manager in her firm’s Audit & Assurance Services Department. Her practice focus includes financial statement reporting, audit and review services, evaluation of internal controls, business consulting services for privately held companies, and employee benefit plan audits. She works with a wide variety of clients in the manufacturing and distribution, mortgage banking, transportation and maritime, construction, professional service, and nonprofit sectors.  Taryn previously served as a Young Emerging Professionals Chair for the Orange County/Long Beach Chapter. She also serves as a member of the finance and audit committees.

Charlotte Wall | Vice Chair

Charlotte Wall, CPA, is a shareholder of the firm Spott, Lucey & Wall, Inc. The firm works with foreign corporations investing in or owning U.S. businesses, U.S. businesses investing in or owning foreign businesses, foreign citizens working in the U.S., as well as U.S. citizens and residents working abroad. Currently, over 85 percent of the firm’s clients have international issues. She is in charge of all of the firm’s real estate clients (landlords, developers, brokers, etc). In addition, Wall handles all of the firm’s multi-state consulting and technology companies. Her foreign clients are from about 25 different countries – predominately Germany, England, Australia, Sweden, and Canada.

Wall serves as vice president of the board of the San Francisco chapter of CalCPA, on the board of the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce, and on the scholarship committee of the Financial Women’s Association (FWA). She graduated from California State University, Hayward (1990) with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an option in accounting. She completed her master’s degree in taxation (2000) and certificate in international taxation (2003) from Golden Gate University.

Andrea Cope | Past Chair (Immediate)

Cope has been a partner of counsel—Family Home Office for BPM LLP since 2019. Prior to that, she served as deputy executive officer for CalCPA (2018-19), partner at BPM (1998-2017); and business manager at Kaufman and Company (1992-96).

An active member of CalCPA, Cope has served in various leadership positions with the organization, including San Francisco Chapter board member and president, CalCPA board member, CalCPA chair and member of various conference planning committees.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration–accounting from California State University–Sacramento and a culinary arts degree from California Culinary Academy.

Denise LeDuc Froemming | CEO

Denise LeDuc Froemming, CPA, CAE, MBA, is CalCPA’s President & CEO. She is an innovative, inspirational executive with a demonstrated record that includes exceeding profitability goals, turning around underachieving business units and driving increased revenues and market share. At the center of her leadership, is establishing cultures and environments that foster authenticity, celebrate differences and stimulate honesty among people from different backgrounds and diverse experiences to encourage excellence and inspire everyone to be the best they can be. 

Before joining CalCPA, Denise served as CEO of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) leading the transformation of the organization’s headquarters operations by nurturing a culture of curiosity, transparency, inclusivity and a customer-first approach leading to novel opportunities for growth. During Denise’s tenure as the COO & CFO/EVP of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), she drove change through market expansion, developing key coalitions and elevating operational bench strength and capabilities. 

Denise holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives. She’s also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), holds a B.S. degree in business from Marquette University, and an M.B.A. from Northern Illinois University.

Trustees & Appointed Members

Alexander Barillas | Trustee

Alex Barillas is an experienced audit and risk management manager, primarily focused on strategic risk management program design, execution, and compliance, helping multinational organizations identify, prioritize, and manage their significant risks. A native of Mexico, Alex pursued his education at Cal State Fullerton with a concentration in Finance while pursuing CPA licensure in the State of California. His passion for helping the next generation of accountants drove him to actively participate in CalCPA and, through his employer’s initiatives, to drive, attract, and keep talented individuals in the profession. His key hobbies include golf, coin collection, and travel

Jannies Burlingame | Trustee

Jannies is the CFO of Lexica, the world’s first semantic AI technology for businesses. As a senior executive for this fast-growing startup, she plays a vital role in the company’s key initiatives, charting the roadmap for Lexica to become a world-class public company. Working as a strategic partner to the CEO, Jannies leveraged her 20+ years of experience to spearhead fundraising, investment/financial growth strategies, corporate governance, and risk management.

Awarded “CFO of the Year” by the San Diego Business Journal, Jannies has steered over a dozen initial public offerings (IPOs) for domestic and international Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries. Prior to Lexica, she served as CFO for Aptera Motors, quadrupling its valuation, building a strong finance team, and raising $120M+ USD. Jannies began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and eventually worked as a senior executive for companies in the technology, banking and telecommunications industries. 

As a doctoral candidate for Durham University (UK) and Lyon Business School (Paris), Jannies’ dissertation topic is “The Legitimacy of Empathy in Negotiations.” This topic combines two of her favorite subject areas: behavioral science (emotional intelligence) and negotiations (Game Theory). She plans to publish a book on negotiation strategies.

Erin Daiber | Trustee

Erin Daiber, CPA, PCC, is a current member of the Board of Trustees, a member of the State MAP Committee and an instructor for the Education Foundation. Erin previously served as the VP of the San Diego Chapter. 

Erin’s career began in the San Diego office of EY, followed by industry experience as a financial analyst. Her love of CPAs keeps her active in the profession. Erin founded Well Balanced Accountants, LLC, where she works with CPA firms across the US, developing the next generation of CPAs and future leaders. She is a thought leader and a change agent who is passionate about supporting our profession as we grow, evolve and transform.  

Erin is a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio.

Kathryn Johnson | Trustee

Kathy Johnson, CPA, CFF, CGMA, MBA, is a forensic accountant and expert witness with over 25 years of accounting experience. She specializes in family law, business valuations and cash flow analysis, civil and criminal litigation support, estate and trust accounting analysis, fraud investigations, and economic damages. She serves as an expert witness in both civil and criminal cases and provides litigation support for partnership dispute resolutions and other accounting & economic issues.

Kathy is also an adjunct university professor who teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in forensic and financial accounting, auditing, and ethics. She also teaches certified professional education (CPE) courses to other CPAs on topics such as family law, business valuations, and asset tracing.

Industry organization participation includes Current Council Member and Past Chair for CalCPA, Current Board Trustee for CalCPA Education Foundation, Council Member of AICPA, member of the executive forensic and valuation service committee, member of the subcommittee for Relations with the Judiciary and member of NAFER (National Association of Federal Equity Receivers).

Kathy’s work with community organizations includes serving as CEO of the Inland Empire Community Foundation, Vice President of the Alliance of Black Women Accountants, Treasurer of the Redlands Police Community Foundation, and Board Member of the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County.

Matthew Martin | Trustee

Matthew Martin is a director with Citrin Cooperman and has over 15 years of professional tax and accounting experience in various specialties, including tax planning and compliance, financial management, and technology. Over the past seven years, Matt has been focused on consulting with clients in the cannabis industry, from seed to sale, assisting them with navigating the maze of regulations and taxes.

Matt has helped closely held, inventory-based businesses and high-net-worth individuals in various industries throughout his career. He has established accounting functions, systems and best practices, cost-reduction, automation, and tax strategies and has built lasting relationships with clients, resulting in optimal financial performance.

At CalCPA, Matt has held various roles and served on numerous committees. He is a past President of the Los Angeles Chapter and past Chair of the Communications Advisory Committee. He is also a graduate of the Leadership Institute. Matt strongly believes in giving back to his professional community and hopes to leave the industry better than he found it.

John Ryan | Trustee

An actively licensed CPA, John serves on the Board of Trustees for the CalCPA Education Foundation.   John also serves on the board of the Sunset-Spaulding Square HPOZ with the City of Los Angeles.

John began his career in public accounting at BDO Seidman in San Francisco before moving into the private sector and then focusing 20+ years in non-profit financial leadership roles.  He then founded a company and pioneered a niche business in film-production tax credits for advertisers, growing the company into a nationally recognized industry leader.  Since selling his business to a PE firm, John has enjoyed focusing his time on his volunteer and consulting work.

“Maintaining an active CPA license can be challenging for those in the private sector.  The tools and resources of CalCPA helped me hone and grow my skills.  That’s why I decided to join the Education Foundation board and offer continued value for those on a similar career path.”

Jason Shreve | Trustee

Jason Shreve brings 27 years of experience in the L&D, Talent Development, Change Management, and Coaching disciplines across a myriad of industries and professions.

As the Head of Talent Enablement at Frank, Rimerman + Co, LLP, he leads teams focused on Performance Mgmt and L&D for 700+ employees. He is currently focusing on elevating their leadership development programs for all levels of leadership, including Partners, as well as expanding their coaching program and services. Jason's formal training is through his military service with the U.S. Army Reserves, a BS degree from the Univ of Louisville in CIS and International Business, and a dual master's degree in HR Management and Leadership Development from Webster University. Jason's primary areas of expertise include: Competency and Performance Mgmt development, Learning and Behavioral Development, Emotional Intelligence, Coaching in the Workplace, and Change Mgmt.

Within CalCPA, Jason currently serves on the Education Foundation Board of Trustees and as secretary for the CalCPA Commission on Belonging. He is also a member of SHRM and ATD and is completing his High Flow Coaching certification through the Flow Research Collective.

Megan Thompson | Trustee

Megan Thompson is a CPA, Certified Valuation Analyst and is certified in Financial Forensics by the AICPA. She is a current member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She was awarded Young Emerging Professional of the Year by CalCPA in 2012, Forty Under Forty by the NACVA in 2014 and Standing Ovation Award by the Fair Value Section of the AICPA in 2017. She is Past Chair of the CalCPA Forensic Services Business Valuation Section and co-chair of the CalCPA Forensic Services Committee for the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chapter. She is the Past President of the CalCPA San Jose/Silicon Valley Chapter 2017-2018 is a member of the CalCPA Forensic Services Steering Committee and CalCPA Education Foundation Board of Trustees.

Heather Esposito | Appointed Member

Heather Esposito is a Director of Learning, Development, and Colleague Engagement at BPM, working remotely. She has twenty-five years of experience in the industry and leads the Learning and Development program for BPM. Heather has worked as a coach with a variety of leaders, seeking to provide transformative change and accelerating their leadership effectiveness. Her approach centers around deep self- exploration to gain insights and self-awareness for leaders, moving them forward in their growth and development.

For the last six years, Heather has focused much of her work around the neuroscience of quality conversations, growth mindset, psychological safety, and building a culture of coaching. She backs this up with over 2500 hours of coaching experience with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Heather holds several degrees, including a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, a Masters in Special Education, and a Masters in Human Resource and Leadership Development.

Carisa Wisniewski | Appointed Member

Carisa is a Partner at Moss Adams, where she served as Partner-in-Charge of the San Diego office for 10 years, served two terms on the Firm’s Executive Committee, and was the past chair of the Firm’s Technology & Life Sciences practice. Carisa provides external audit services to a variety of companies in the Life Sciences, Technology and Manufacturing industries.

Prior to working at Moss Adams, she spent 16 years with one of the largest international firms. Carisa believes in using her skills and experiences to give back to the community. She has served on numerous boards throughout her career, including the Red Cross and the San Diego Foundation. She is currently the Audit Committee Chair for Girl Scouts of San Diego, where she has served for 10 years, as well as serving as a board member at Tech San Diego. She is passionate about creating a work environment of true inclusion and belonging and considers it an honor to be a newly appointed member of the CalCPA Commission on Belonging.