New Jersey Society of CPAs Honors 40 Ovation Award Winners for Exemplary Performance

Robert Fodera Receives Lifetime Leader Award

The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) is pleased to announce that 40 individuals are the recipients of its 2024 Ovation Awards in seven categories: Lifetime Leader; Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; Exceptional Educators; Emerging Leaders; Impact; Innovation; and Women to Watch.

Robert A. Fodera, CPA, retired partner from Baker Tilly US LP, received the Lifetime Leader Award, which recognizes an outstanding NJCPA member who is credited with extraordinary contributions to the accounting profession over the course of their career.

For more than 40 years, Fodera’s name has been synonymous with establishing audit methodologies and assurance practices at Baker Tilly US, LP and previously at Mazars (now Forvis Mazars). He was appointed to the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy by Governor Murphy, was a member of the NJCPA Board of Trustees, a treasurer of its Scholarship Fund, a past chair of its Audit Committee, a past president of its Middlesex/Somerset Chapter, and was on the National Arthritis Foundation’s audit committee.

Ovation Award winners in the other categories advanced leading-edge ideas on their jobs, with the use of technology or in assisting clients/customers; made an impact in their communities; enhanced the well-being of their employees or staff; mentored the next generation of CPAs and accounting professionals; made their mark in classrooms; or promoted an open and diverse accounting profession.

“We could not be prouder of those individuals who have won these awards, raised the awareness of the accounting profession and helped their communities,” said Aiysha (AJ) Johnson, MA, IOM, CEO and executive director at the NJCPA. “We are thrilled to recognize their outstanding accomplishments.”

The list of winners includes the following individuals:

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

• Nicholaus M. Vaccaro, CPA — Manager, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin

Emerging Leaders

• Michael Caro, Jr., CPA, CFE, PSA — Partner, Bederson LLP, Fairfield
• Mathew E. Centeno, CPA, MBA — Director, Smolin, Lupin & Co., LLC, Fairfield
• Richard M. Douglas, CPA, CVA, MST — Manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Florham Park
• Rory T. Gannon, CPA, MST, CVA — Managing Director, Forensic, Litigation and Valuation Services, Smolin, Lupin & Co., LLC, Fairfield
• Derek L. Leone, CPA — Audit Senior Manager, Deloitte, Morristown
• Eric Mannino, CPA — Audit Senior, WilkinGuttenplan, East Brunswick
• Jenna M. McDonough, CPA — Tax Supervisor, WilkinGuttenplan, East Brunswick
• Matthew J. Mojica, CPA, PSA —Financial Reporting Specialist, Prudential, Newark
• Matthew P. Stenger, CPA — Audit Manager, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin
• Lexi Wilson, CPA, RMA, PSA — Senior Manager, Bowman & Company LLP, Voorhees

Exceptional Educators

• Danielle DiMeglio, CPA, MBA — Instructor of Accounting and Taxation and Director of Graduate Accounting Programs, Seton Hall University, South Orange
• Tony Lin, Ph.D. — Assistant Professor, Rowan University, Glassboro
• George H. Malgeri, CPA, MST, CFF — Adjunct Professor at Kean University and past owner at George H. Malgeri, CPA LLC, Westfield
• Ann Medinets, Ph.D., MBA — Associate Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School, New Brunswick

Impact

• Frank R. Boutillette, CPA, CGMA — Partner Emeritus, Withum, East Brunswick
• Theodore A. Carnevale, CPA, CGMA — Partner at Grassi, Park Ridge
• E. Martin Davidoff, CPA, Esq. — Partner-in-Charge, National Tax Controversy, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, Cranbury
• Brigid D’Souza, CPA, MBA — Founder, Brigid D’Souza CPA LLC, Jersey City
• Kerry M. Duda Wilson, CPA — Audit Manager, WilkinGuttenplan, East Brunswick
• Timothy F. Gearty, CPA — Partner, Gearty & McIntyre, Florham Park
• Carol Donatiello Iocca, CPA — Retired Principal, WilkinGuttenplan, East Brunswick
• Jay L. Levine, CPA — Partner, Prager Metis CPAs, LLC, Hackensack
• Vincent P. Reilly, CPA — Manager, Withum, Whippany
• Vijay A. Sammy, CPA — President, Vijay Sammy, CPA LLC, Mendham
• David A. Smith, MSFS — Lobbyist, Princeton Public Affairs Group, Inc., Trenton
• Dr. Sean Stein Smith, CPA, CFE, CGMA, CMA, DBA — Assistant Professor, Lehman College, Bronx
• Darren W. M. Thomas, J.D., CPA, EA — Tax Director, Traphagen CPAs & Wealth Advisors, Oradell
  

Innovation

• Kevin P. McElgunn, CPA — Partner, Withum, Philadelphia
• Sarah M. Snell, CPA, PSA, PAFM — Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Holman, Frenia Allison, P.C., Lakewood
• Philip C. Sookram, CPA, MAcc — Associate Professor of Accounting, Saint Peter’s University, Jersey City

Women to Watch

• Karen L. Albanese, CPA, CGMA — Controller, Konrad Beer Distributor, Inc., Deptford
• Anne M. D’Amico, CPA, PFS — Associate Partner, Alloy Silverstein, Cherry Hill
• Lisa Ferrer-Tvedt, CPA — Software Revenue Advisor, Zebra Technologies, Wharton
• Kelly M. Killea, CPA — Senior Manager, Forvis Mazars US, Iselin
• Alyssa P. Leach, CPA — Senior Manager, PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP, Woodcliff Lake
• Shannon Mosier, CPA — Manager, Smolin, Lupin & Co., LLC, Red Bank
• Amy Perrone, CPA, RMA, PSA — Senior Manager, Bowman & Co., LLP, Voorhees
• Danielle C. Weiss, CPA, MBA — Senior Manager, Smolin, Lupin & Co., LLC, Red Bank

The winners were announced during the NJCPA’s IssuesWatch program 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.