NJCPA Board of Trustees
2022/23 Officers
Kathleen F. Powers, CPA, chief financial officer at The Matheny Medical and Educational Center, a licensed special hospital and school serving developmentally disabled individuals, has been a member of the NJCPA since 1998. She recently completed a three-year term as a Trustee of the NJCPA and has served as leader of the Nonprofit Interest Group. She participates in several NJCPA committees and interest groups, including the Business & Industry Professionals Interest Group, Women’s Leadership Forum, Nonprofit Interest Group and Governmental Accounting & Auditing Interest Group. Prior to Matheny, Kathy worked in public accounting for 17 years, most recently as a senior manager for ParenteBeard LLC, specializing in the healthcare and nonprofit industries. Kathy is an appointed member of the Governor’s Independent Developmental Disability Fee-for-Service Transition Oversight Board and the Governor’s Independent Mental Health & Addiction Fee-for-Service Transition Oversight Board. She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Thomas Edison State College.
Edward G. O’Connell, CPA, CGMA, CFF, CFE, partner at WithumSmith+Brown, East Brunswick, joined the NJCPA in 1997. He is a trustee of the NJCPA Scholarship Fund and NJ-CPA-PAC, and served on several NJCPA committees, including the Finance, Retirement Savings and Nominating Committees. He has over 25 years of accounting and auditing experience, including expertise in internal control over financial reporting, complex accounting and in consulting services to SEC registrants. He has assisted both public and private companies, with a concentration in technology and life sciences industries. He also has extensive experience with multinational organizations and is a member of HLB International’s Assurance Committee. Ed received certificates in International Financial Reporting Standards from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as well as the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). He is a past “Forty under 40” NJBIZ award winner and is also a board member of the Global Lyme Alliance. Ed earned his Bachelor of Science from Rider University.
John Szczomak, CPA, member of the firm at Smolin, Lupin & Co., P.A., has been a member of the NJCPA since 1990. He has served in a variety of capacities at the NJCPA, including chairperson of the Professional Conduct and Finance committees, an NJ-CPA-PAC trustee and a member of the Cooperation with Bankers Interest Group. A practicing public accountant for more than 35 years, John services clients in the healthcare, distribution, real estate, retail and wholesale industries. He focuses on individual and business tax planning, retirement and professional services support. John is a graduate of William Paterson University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
June M. Toth, CPA, CFF, CITP, CGMA, principal at zbt Certified Public Accounting & Consulting, LLC, has been a member of the NJCPA since 1995. She has served in a variety of capacities at the NJCPA, including the Peer Review Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Volunteer Relations Committee, and was chair of the NJ-CPA-PAC Board of Trustees, chair of the Committee Operations Committee and vice leader of the Business Valuation, Forensic & Litigation Services Interest Group. She is also an active participant in the Accounting & Auditing Standards and Nonprofit interest groups. June earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Rutgers University, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
Harry P. Wills III, CPA, CGMA, partner at Bowman & Company LLP, has been a member of the NJCPA since 1987. He is a past president of the Southwest Jersey Chapter and has participated in several NJCPA committees and interest groups, including the NJCPA Scholarship Fund, Retirement Savings Plan Committee and Strategic Planning Committee. He was also a member of both the Federal Taxation and the State Taxation interest groups. Harry is very involved in his community, including serving as a board member and finance chair of Symphony in C; a South Jersey advisory board member of Columbia Bank; a member of the New Jersey Business Council for Jefferson Health; and an adjunct professor at Drexel University. He has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from St. Joseph University.
Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and executive director, NJCPA, joined the NJCPA in 1999. He was appointed to AICPA’s National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion and the AICPA Foundation Board. Ralph is a former national and chapter president of the National Association of Black Accountants, was chair of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s State Society Relations Committee and is a member of the accounting advisory boards of Lehigh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Montclair State, Felician and Thomas Edison universities and Middlesex County College. Ralph was selected for the last seven years by Accounting Today as one ofthe “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.” He earned a B.S. in business and economics as well as an M.B.A. from Lehigh University.
2022/23 Trustees