New Jersey Society of CPAs Celebrates 40 Ovation Award Winners for Stellar Performance

—  Edward Guttenplan of WilkinGuttenplan Awarded Lifetime Leader — 

ROSELAND, N.J. – The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) acknowledges 40 individuals as 2025 Ovation Award winners. The winners were selected in six categories: Lifetime Leader, Exceptional Educator, Emerging Leader, Impact, Innovation and Woman to Watch.

Edward I. Guttenplan, CPA, MBA, CGMA, managing shareholder emeritus of WilkinGuttenplan, based in East Brunswick, received the Lifetime Leader Award for his extraordinary contributions to the accounting profession over the course of his career. For more than four decades, he has given unwavering service, mentored leaders and students, strengthened governance at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and other nonprofits and championed university pipeline partnerships. Guttenplan is a cofounder of WilkinGuttenplan, a past NJCPA president, an AICPA Council/Foundation trustee, a Community Associations Institute (CAI) Hall of Fame member and a vice chair at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Foundation.

Other Ovation Award winners achieved exemplary performance on their jobs, in leading the charge at their organizations, crafting their expertise in niche areas, sharpening their business prowess, enhancing community outreach and moving the accounting profession forward. They are as much the unsung heroes in their field as they are the lauded professionals who work tirelessly to keep the accounting profession open and accessible to deserving students and young professionals.   

“It’s an honor to recognize and praise our members as well as other accounting professionals who regularly help businesses thrive,” said Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA. “These awards are a way to thank those individuals who perform everyday wonders in the business world.” 

The list of winners includes the following individuals:   

Emerging Leaders

• Matthew G. Charne, CPA — Audit Director, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, Livingston
• Patrick Cleaver, CPA — Audit Senior Associate, Crowe LLP, Livingston
• Andrew Coombs, CPA, MBA, MST — Partner, Coombs CPA, PC, Newark
• Jay Maslow, CPA — Tax Associate, Alvarez & Marsal, New York, NY
• Guy A. Schaeffler, CPA, MAccy — Manager, Assurance Services at Ernst & Young LLP, Iselin
• Bridget D. Uribe, CPA, MS —Tax Manager, WilkinGuttenplan, East Brunswick
• Brandon M. Ventura, CPA — Financial Reporting Manager, AdvanSix Inc., Parsippany
• Kaitlin N. Vinch, CPA, MST — Senior Tax Analyst, Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick
• Joseph W. Zapf, CPA — Manager, Clifton Larson Allen LLP, Livingston

Exceptional Educators

• Natalia Jouan, CMA — Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Rutgers Business School, Piscataway
• Dr. Scott McGregor, CPA, CMA, CFA — Associate Professor of Accounting and Department Chair, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison
• Yigal M. Rechtman, CPA, CFE, CITP, CISM — Adjunct Professor and Founder of CPA Publisher, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison 

Impact

• Daniel Barbera, CPA, MBA, CGMA — Chief Financial Officer, Lydia Security Monitoring, Inc., Cape May
• Robert J. Dethlefsen, CPA, CGMA, MBA — Executive Director, Robert Dethlefsen, CPA, Warren
• Paula G. Ferreira, CPA — NY Metro Area – Assistant Managing Partner/NJ Market Leader, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin
• Lauren M. Holman, CPA, PSA, MA — Partner, Holman Frenia Allison, P.C., Lakewood
• Joseph F. Hunt, CPA, PSA — Assurance Manager, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, Livingston 
• Donald E. Jump, CPA — Partner, Jump, Perry and Company, LLP, Toms River
• James L. Massarelli, CPA, MST — The Koenig Group, LLC, Clark
• Lisa Osofsky, CPA, MST — Partner, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin
• Cam Pardo, CPA, MBA, CFP — Principal, Pardo & Associates, CPA, Secaucus
• Sherise D. Ritter, CPA, CGFM, CGMA, PSA — Principal, Mercadien Group, Hamilton
• David N. Roth, CPA — Managing Member and CEO, RRBB Advisors, LLC, Somerset 
• Debra M. Simon, CPA, MST — Principal, DMSimon CPA, LLC, Ramsey 
• Caitlin M. Smith, CPA — Partner, SKC & Co. CPAs, LLC, Boonton Township
• Brian J. Waldron, CPA, PSA — Partner and Director of Quality Control, Holman Frenia Allison, P.C., Lakewood

Innovation

• Elizabeth E. Bechtel, CPA, MBA — Owner, Bechtel CPA, LLC, Mount Laurel
• Michael J. Tagariello, CPA — Senior Manager, Giordano, Cohen, Fastiggi, Luciano, Sweeney & Co., P.A., Florham Park 
• Eric Yuan, CPA — Audit Senior Manager, Ernst & Young, LLP, Iselin

Women to Watch

• Meggan L. Ciaccia, CPA — President, Ciaccia CPA, Sewell
• Amanda Domingues — COO and Partner, Florham Park, Wiss 
• Rachel Faith Efthemes, CPA, MST — Partner, Private Client Services, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin
• Angela Garofalo, CFP — Partner, Citrin Cooperman, Livingston
• Megan T. Kelly, CPA, CFE, CVA — Director, FAZ Forensics, Saratoga Springs, NY
• Patricia M. Linsley, CPA — Audit Manager, Holman Frenia Allison, P.C., Lakewood
• Lori A. Roth, CPA/ABV, CFF — Global Managing Partner, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, Hackensack
• Debra Simon, CPA — Tax Manager, Estate & Trust, Stephano Slack LLC, Moorestown
• Rachel Suntag, CPA — Associate Director, Financial Controls and Compliance, Novartis Corporation, East Hanover
• Katherine E. Zech, CPA —Partner, PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP, Cranford

The winners were announced during the NJCPA’s IssuesWatch Live program on Oct. 9 and will also be featured in the winter issue of New Jersey CPA magazine. To learn more about the award recipients, visit njcpa.org/ovation.

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The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) represents the interests of more than 17,000 Garden State CPAs, as well as thousands of accounting and finance professionals and students. The NJCPA plays a leadership role in supporting the profession by providing members with educational resources, access to shared knowledge and a continuing effort to create and expand professional opportunities. Visit njcpa.org.