PICPA 124th Annual Meeting and Town Hall Webcast

Frances A. Aitken, CPA
Chief Operating Officer
Berks County Community Foundation

Franki Aitken is chief operating officer for Berks County Community Foundation in Reading, overseeing the management of the foundation’s assets and the operations of the foundation’s building. Aitken also works with local estate and financial planners on complex estate planning functions and assists their clients with designing charitable legacies.

Franki received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Widener University. In 2014, Lehigh Valley Business gave Aitken the CFO of the Year Community Service Award and the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected her for the ATHENA Award, which honors professional excellence, community service, and active assistance to women in their attainment of professional excellence.

Franki is a past president of PICPA’s Reading Chapter and a current member of the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation and CPA-PAC boards. In addition to her volunteer leadership with the PICPA, Aitken is a trustee of the Law Foundation of Berks County.

Jill E. Gilbert, CPA
Partner
Trout Ebersole & Groff LLP

Jill joined Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP after  graduating from Elizabethtown College  with  a Bachelor of Science degree  in Business Administration with  concentrations in Accounting and Finance, and
a math  minor. As a partner,Jill is chair of the firm's Governmental Practice Group and serves on the Employee Benefits  Practice Group. She also serves on the firm's Business Development Committee, Audit  Efficiency Committee, and Quality  Control Committee.

As a professional, Jill is often called upon to speak at various conferences and workshops on both the state and local levels.

Jill is also an active member of the community. She is a member  of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club and the vice-chairman of the Elizabethtown Fire Company  Endowment  Fund.

Jill enjoys activities with  her family, golf, reading, and the beach. She lives in Elizabethtown with  her husband  and two children.

Michael D. Colgan, CAE
CEO & Executive Director
PICPA

Mike is CEO and executive director of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a professional association of more than 22,000 CPAs in Pennsylvania. He also is CEO of the PICPA Foundation for Education & Research, which provides continuing professional education to more than 20,000 CPAs annually.

Mike’s key goal is to enhance the PICPA’s already stellar reputation as the premiere CPA association in Pennsylvania. He accomplishes this by fostering communications and personal relationships with PICPA members and leaders in the accounting profession, government, legislative and regulatory agencies, and other related organization. He works closely with PICPA leadership to propose new and challenging programs to the state and chapter officers, and takes a lead role in developing strategic plans and objectives with the senior management team.

Mike is on the board of directors of the Certified Public Accountants Society Executives Association (CPA-SEA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Future of Learning Task Force. He also serves on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) State Society Relation Committee and on the Advisory Board of PA Forward, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Library Association. He is a past president of the Delaware Valley Society of Association Executives and has served as a member of the finance and administration section council of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Mike is a graduate of Drexel University and received the certified association executive (CAE) designation from the ASAE in 1990. Mike is the varsity girls’ basketball coach at Marple Newtown High School in Newtown Square, Pa.

Mike joined the PICPA in 1979 as manager on the professional education team, assumed the role of COO in 1988, and was named CEO in 2012. You can follow his activity on the blog CPA Now at www.cpanow.picpa.org.

Frances A. Aitken, CPA
Chief Operating Officer
Berks County Community Foundation

Franki Aitken is chief operating officer for Berks County Community Foundation in Reading, overseeing the management of the foundation’s assets and the operations of the foundation’s building. Aitken also works with local estate and financial planners on complex estate planning functions and assists their clients with designing charitable legacies.

Franki received her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Widener University. In 2014, Lehigh Valley Business gave Aitken the CFO of the Year Community Service Award and the Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry selected her for the ATHENA Award, which honors professional excellence, community service, and active assistance to women in their attainment of professional excellence.

Franki is a past president of PICPA’s Reading Chapter and a current member of the Pennsylvania CPA Foundation and CPA-PAC boards. In addition to her volunteer leadership with the PICPA, Aitken is a trustee of the Law Foundation of Berks County.

Peter N. Calcara, CAE
Vice President, Government Relations
PICPA

Peter joined the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) in 1999. Prior to that he was the vice president of government and industry affairs for the Professional Insurance Agents Association of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. From 1986 to 1991, he was a legislative
assistant in the Pennsylvania Senate.

Peter is responsible for developing and implementing legislative strategy, lobbying state government, and overseeing PICPA’s political action committee and Key Person programs. Peter was instrumental in the passage of the 2011 Fair Share Act, landmark legislation that reforms how damages are recovered in civil lawsuits. More recently, Peter and his team spearheaded efforts to reform Pennsylvania’s archaic tax appeals process by reorganizing the Board of Finance and Revenue (Act 52 of 2013). Peter was also instrumental in repealing the Corporate Loans Tax (Act 71 of 2013) and in enacting a general experience requirement for CPA licensure in Pennsylvania (Act 15 of 2013).

In 2011, Peter earned his Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). The CAE program is designed to elevate professional standards, enhance individual performance, and designate association professionals who demonstrate the knowledge essential to the practice of association management. Peter is a 1986 graduate of York College of Pennsylvania. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Association for Government Relations (PAGR) and is a member of the ASAE. Peter lives in Mechanicsburg, Pa., with his wife, Nancy, and their three daughters.

Anne Beiler is a female entrepreneur, author and speaker who has achieved amazing success in the world of business. Anne’s journey to success began with a desire to help broken families. After she and her husband lost their 19-month-old daughter in a tragic accident, they entered one of the most difficult seasons of their marriage. It was through counseling that they found healing and restoration. Their experience created a desire to help other hurting families and led her husband, Jonas, to begin a community counseling center.

To help fund the counseling center, Anne started selling pretzels at the local farmer’s market. What began as a small pretzel stand quickly grew into the world’s largest hand-rolled pretzel franchise with over 1,700 locations worldwide. Anne’s humble beginnings have uniquely shaped her approach to business and management. “We have a purpose greater than ourselves,” she says. “Having a great product is important, but not as important as caring for your people.” Out of her pain came purpose and the desire to persevere toward personal and professional success. With the wisdom she has gained from her journey, Anne created a culture of positive influence and great opportunity.

Anne is among an elite group of American women who have founded and owned an international franchise company. Her commitment to excellence and humility has been recognized by national media, including Good Morning America, Oprah and Secret Millionaire. She was named one of America’s 500 women entrepreneurs and was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine. She holds honorary doctorates from Eastern College and Elizabethtown College.

One of Anne’s greatest passions is to engage with young women and help them succeed in the world of business, whether they are just starting out in the careers or they have been climbing the ladder of success for years. She authored the book Twist of Faith, which gives readers a revealing look inside her life while building an international corporation. Today, she is a high sought-after public speaker who inspires audiences around the world.

Anne now lives in Texas with her husband Jonas and she travels internationally, sharing her story with women and entrepreneurs at conferences and events.