May Virtual Roundtable
May 27 4:00pm ET
No CE
Join NAEA on the last Thursday of every month for a member’s only roundtable. Join your fellow members for an open discussion on key issues and challenges you’re facing during this tax season and in your practice.
Ed Ryan began his career at the property and casualty insurance company of Investors Insurance Group in 1979. He achieved the position of vice president/controller responsible for managing all of the company’s accounting operations. During that time he was an integral part of several private placements, the purchase and sale of related business entities, as well as the eventual sale of IIG.
After the sale of IIG, Ed established his own tax and accounting practice. In 1992, it evolved into Ryan Financial providing Family Wealth Management (Through Avantax Wealth Management) and Tax Services to over 700 individuals and over 100 small businesses. There are three convenient office locations in Rutherford and Union, NJ and Middletown, NY.
Ed has been an HD Vest Chapter Director since 2001. In 2004, he became a field trainer for the HD Vest Financial Planning Institute (FPI). In 2005, HD Vest appointed Ed a mentor to train advisors who are new to financial planning. Since 2010, Ed has been recognized as a top 75 advisor at HD Vest. He is a registered investment advisor, and holds series 6, 7, 52, 62, 63 and 65 licenses as well as life, health, property and casualty and variable insurance licenses.
Ed became an enrolled agent in 1996 and has been active in the NJSEA since 2012. He has served as a guest speaker and panelist on multiple occasions since 2013. Ed has held the following positions at the NJSEA:
• Education Committee July 2013 - June 2017
• Bylaws Committee chair July 2014 - June 2015
• Director July 2012 - June 2015
• Treasurer July 2015 - June 2018
• President July 2018 – June 2020
Ed resides in Rutherford, NJ along with his wife, Lisa. They are the proud parents of four grown children. Ed is very active in his community currently serving as trustee of the William Carlos William Center, a nonprofit corporation of the Arts. He is also a member of the St. Mary Parish Finance Committee and St. Mary High School Alumni Board. Ed has also been a trustee and treasurer of the Rutherford Public Library from 1996 to 2008
Mary Sunderland is an Enrolled Agent, the highest credential awarded by the Internal Revenue Service. She is licensed to prepare individual, business and trust tax returns and represents clients before all IRS administrative levels for audits, collections, and appeals. Mary is also admitted to practice at the United States Tax Court. She is President of New Jersey Society of Enrolled Agents and amember of the NAEA Tax Preparation Education Sub-Committee. In 2014, she became a Fellow of NAEA’s National Tax Practice Institute, having completed a rigorous three-year curriculum in advanced IRS representation. In April 2015, she became a US Tax Court Practitioner having passed the non-attorney US Tax Court Exam. Mary also volunteers at the US Tax Court calendar call, and provides pro bono tax representation through Taxpayers Assistance Corporation, the public service division of Agostino & Associates and pro bono tax preparation through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.She became a Certified Financial Planner® in December 2012. She earned her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1990 and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Mary spent 20 years on Wall Street as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for small and large companies. From 1999 to 2004 she was with Principal Investment Management managing over $2.0 billion in large cap growth portfolios. She joined Principal after a 10-year career with Skandia Asset Management. At Skandia, she directed their $3.0 billion U.S. equity large cap growth portfolios and U.S. technology portfolios. She had more than a decade of prior experience with Value Line. Mary received an MBA in finance from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a BA in economics from Northwestern University.
Kenneth Portera EA, ATP, has been preparing taxes for over 30 years and is the founder and owner/operator of Kenneth Portera & Associates LLC, a year round tax preparation and accounting practice which he started in 2009. His firm provides tax controversy representation, tax preparation for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, nonprofits, and gift tax filings. Prior to going off on his own, he held positions of chief executive officer, chief financial officer, treasurer, and controller for a number of financial service companies. He holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from Pace University and completed some specialized graduate courses from the New School. Ken taught as an adjunct for 13 years in the City University system as part of the accounting and finance department. Ken currently serves on the Executive Board of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Tax Professionals and is a past director of the New Jersey Society of Enrolled Agents.
President-Elect
Kathy Brown, EA is an enrolled agent with over twenty-five
years of experience. She is the founder
of The Kat Company LLC, a year-round tax and accounting practice specializing
in tax resolution and accounting messes.
A Kentucky native, Kathy received her Bachelor of Science in
Accounting from Northern Kentucky University.
Kathy currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National
Association of Enrolled Agents and many of the association’s committees. She is a trustee of the National Association
of Enrolled Agents Education Foundation.
In her spare time, Kathy coaches a team of middle and high
school students ranging from ages eleven to eighteen. She has received several volunteer
recognition awards from both her local community and school district.
Kathy resides in the small town of Sanders, Kentucky along
with her husband, Lawrence and a little girl of whom you will often hear Kathy
boast about. She is the proud parent of
two grown children and grandmother of three grandchildren. And let’s not forget favorite human to her
two furry friends, Franny and Vivo.