Calvin Harris, Jr., CPA
National President

Calvin Harris, Jr., CPA, is National President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA).

Calvin is a Lifetime Member who has held leadership positions at the student, chapter, regional and national levels. He is a past President of the Baltimore Chapter, a former Secretary of the Eastern Region, a past recipient of the Eastern Region Chapter President of the Year award and former President of the Morehouse College Student Chapter.

Calvin is the Chief Financial Officer for the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation, a non-profit “product development partnership” headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, with a satellite office in Cape Town, South Africa. His diverse career, which began at Arthur Andersen, has focused on extensively on non-profit organizations, and includes prior senior management roles at the United Nations Foundation, NeighborWorks America, Council for Excellence in Government and Morgan State University. Calvin is a member of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Society of Association Executives. He also serves as a member of the recently created Undergraduate Resource Board at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.

Calvin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in business administration/ accounting from Morehouse College and is the former National Treasurer of the Morehouse College Alumni Association.

Veda S. Stanley
Executive Vice President

Veda is an accounting and finance professional with 20+ years experience in the financial services industry. Veda is an Accounting Manager with AXIS Capital and also President of VSS Tax and Consulting Services. She recently earned her Six Sigma Green Belt Certification with the goal of leaving processes she touches error free, with improved quality and production. Her past roles include Bank of America - Assistant Vice President/Senior Financial Analyst, Praetorian Insurance Group - Program Accounting Manager, Empire BlueCross BlueShield - Financial Analyst, Deloitte & Touche – Audit/Dispute Consulting Senior, American International Group (AIG) - Manager of Corporate Receivables and, Everest Re (formerly Prudential Reinsurance).

Years of NABA Membership: 20 Years (Lifetime 2005)
Chapter Affliation: New York Lifetime Member/Charlotte

Sheila Taylor-Clark, CPA
National Treasurer and CFO

Currently, a NABA National Director, I chair the Organizational Effectiveness & Personnel and Membership Committees.  Though having only served in this role since 7/1/11, I have led the OEP committee through the transition of an Executive Director, stabilization of the National Office, placement of strategic personnel, and development of the plan to identify and place the next Executive Director, who will successfully lead NABA into the next 40+ years  and beyond.  Additionally, I was tasked to assist with the strategic restructuring of NABA into the global finance and accounting association that our stakeholders have envisioned for the past several years.  I have also worked with the leaders of NABA and the National Office’s membership team to identify and resolve issues relating to membership and membership data.  I also serve on the National Finance and Audit Committees (4+ years for both).

A graduate of Blueprint for Leadership (a board readiness program), I serve as Vice-President & Treasurer of The Bridge Breast Network (BBN), overseeing a budget of $2 million.  I was appointed to the BBN Board of Directors in 2006. I am also a member of The Junior League of Dallas, AICPA, the Genuine Gems of Denton County, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (Past President and Treasurer of the chapter’s foundation).  I was honored by NABA as Chapter President of The Year both years, as DFW Chapter President, and by the Dallas Business Journal in 2010 as one of the “Top 25 Women to Watch” in Business.  I am also the past Western Region President, serving for 4 years with a 20% growth in membership 3 out of 4 years, and presiding over two student conferences which increased in size and revenue all four years.

Years of NABA Membership:  12 (Lifetime Member)
Chapter Affliation: Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter

Tina O. McIntyre, CPA
National Secretary

Tina is a Partner at Orr-McIntyre & Associates, LLC, a Maryland-based CPA and Business Advisory firm that provides a range of tax, accounting, and consulting services to individuals and small-to-medium sized profit and not-for-profit businesses across various industries. Tina began her professional career at Arthur Andersen, LLP and has over 15 years of experience in the public and private accounting, consulting, and tax sectors. Orr-McIntyre & Associates, LLC is also a proud member of NABA’s Division of Firms.

A magna cum laude graduate of Norfolk State University where she earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting. She also has a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Strayer University, where she graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA.

Tina has served in numerous leadership positions since joining NABA as a professional member in 1997, including Eastern Region President, Eastern Region Vice President, Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter President, Baltimore Metropolitan Chapter Treasurer, and Eastern Region Student Conference Registration Committee Chair. Tina has also been very active on several National Committees including the Audit Committee, Finance Committee, Ethics Committee, Chapter Development & Effectiveness Committee, and the Program Oversight & Development Committee. Tina was recognized nationally as the Eastern Region Chapter President of the Year in 2008.

She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Maryland.

Years of NABA Membership: 15 Years
Chapter Affliation: Baltimore Metropolitan (Lifetime Member) 

Walter J. Smith
Immediate Past President

Walter is the immediate (23RD) Past National President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA). He recently became Chief Financial Officer of the Association for Energy Affordability, Inc., a Department of Energy Technical Training and Weatherization company located in New York City and California. Walter is a former Vice President at Prudential, Inc., and his diverse career includes tours of duty in audit (Deloitte, Marriott), finance (N.Y. Daily News), and financial services (AXA, Transamerica).

Walter has been a NABA member for over 20 years spanning from college to professional chapters in New York, Los Angeles, and New Jersey. He is a Lifetime Member of the New York Chapter and has served NABA in multiple leadership roles nationally, regionally, and locally. He was honored in Ebony Magazine as a “Most Influential Organization Leader” in 2009, received the NABA National Award for Achievement in Industry in 2008, and was also named a “Top 20 Diversity Champion” by Diversity Edge Magazine in 2007. He is an alumnus of the Medgar W. Evers College in New York. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the YMCA of New York-Harlem Branch, and is a member of Financial Executives International (FEI) and ALPFA.

Years of NABA Membership: 20+ Years
Chapter Affliation: New York (Lifetime Member) 

Ronald Walker
Chairman, Division of Firms

Ronald P. Walker, CPA, is Chairman of the Division of Firms of the National Association of Black Accountants and Managing Partner of Walker & Co., LLP, a CPA firm serving public and private sector clientele including publicly and privately owned corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and governmental and not-for-profit organizations. He founded the firm in 1985 after serving as Partner in Charge of the Washington, DC office of Mitchell and Titus and was a Financial Advisor on staff at the Ford Foundation. He began his career as a senior accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co.

In addition to overseeing the management of various mortgage insurance support operations for the Federal Housing Administration of HUD, Mr. Walker is an expert in the financial analysis of proposed business structures, service operations, financing alternatives and returns on investment. He is a member of the Board of Independence Federal Savings Bank and is Chairman of the Advisory Board of the D.C. Small Business Development Center at Howard University. He holds an M.B.A. degree from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.S. degree in accounting from the Stern School at New York University. Mr. Walker is a CPA licensed in the District of Columbia and New York.

Hershel Frierson
Central Region President

As a thirteen year NABA member, I look forward to the opportunity of leading the Central Region.   As a dedicated NABA member, I have stepped up over the years in providing leadership at the local level  by serving as president of the Indianapolis Chapter.  As Chapter president, the local chapter provided numerous CPE opportunities, volunteerism through VITA, Circle City Pageant, Indianapolis Black Expo, Center for Leadership Development and Academy of Finance .  The Indianapolis chapter of NABA has earned a great reputation in the community while maintaining a healthy financial cash flow for a chapter of its size.   As a dedicated NABA member, I was able to provide leadership for over 10 years at various committee levels for the Central Region Student Conference including Publication, Student Registration and Interviewing.  For the 2011 Student Conference, I was apart of the leadership team that implanted a new Student Conference Registration software system.  Dedication for the regional did not stop at the student conference as I served as the Central Region Secretary and also served at the National level as the Chair for the Ethics Committee. 

Dedication is not only volunteerism but also being a champion for NABA as I developed a national relationship between Crowe Horwath LLP and NABA. It is important to be a champion for NABA throughout the community. 

In closing, I look forward to bringing my leadership and dedication to the Central Region.

Daniel Worrell
Eastern Region President

W. Delores Lewis, CPA, CIA
Southern Region President

W. Delores Lewis, CPA, CIA, is the Southern Region President of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA). Delores is a NABA Lifetime Member of the Atlanta Chapter. She has served in leadership positions on the local, regional and national level over the past 10 years, including Chair of the National Ethics Committee, Vice President of the Southern Region, and President of the Charlotte Chapter. Delores was a National Award Recipient as the 2004 Southern Region Chapter President of the Year.

In addition to NABA, Delores is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Delores is a Global Internal Audit Manager for Newell Rubbermaid. Prior employers include Coca-Cola Enterprises, Bank of America and Wachovia.

Nora R. O’Garro
Western Region President

Nora O’Garro formerly Ramzy, currently serves as the Western Region President of NABA. She is an Accounting Professional with over 30 years of accounting experience in the areas of retail and governmental accounting. She is the sole proprietor of UnameIt Event Planning, which specializes in personal events for all occasions.

She is the past National Chair for the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP). Nora was the founder of the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter's Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP) and served as the Director from 2001 through 2010. She served as the National Chair of SCREP for over 15 years and served on several national committees which included Finance, Professional Development and Student Member Services.

She has received numerous awards which includes the Ernst & Young Non-Profit Inclusiveness Award – Individual in 2009 and National Community Service Award in 2008 from NABA.

She is the proud mother of 4 adult children and 8 grandchildren. Seven grandsons and 1 granddaughter whom she fondly calls “The Fab Seven and The Diva”. She is very active with her church where she serves as one of the Ladies Bible Class teachers which includes a class called “The Financial Makeover” which focuses on women. She enjoys sports, reading and sewing in her spare time if you can believe she has any.

Monica Y. Brame
Eastern Region Representative

Monica Y. Brame is the Eastern Region Representative of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA). Monica is a Lifetime Member of the Metropolitan Washington, DC (Metro DC) Chapter. She is also serving as the Eastern Region (ER) Student Conference Chair. Monica previously served as Metro DC Chapter President, Vice President, Director of Corporate Membership and on other local chapter committees since 1998 when she joined as a professional member. Monica was recognized as the ER Chapter President of the Year in 2009 and Metro DC Outstanding Member 2000. In addition, Monica is active on the finance committee of her church and a number of other non-profit organizations.

Professionally, Monica oversees McFarland & Associate, Inc.’s financial administration, payroll operations, cost management, internal audits and business controls. She serves as the liaison to United States Government contracting officers regarding fiscal matters for contracted products, deliverables and services. Monica manages the Company’s business operations, human resources management, employee training and office management. She also serves as business advisor to the President/Chief Executive Officer for development and execution of strategic plans and initiatives. Monica earned a Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, in accounting from Morgan State University and is a Lifetime Member of the Morgan State University Alumni Association. She also earned Master’s of Science in Management and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College.

Arica Harris
Central Region Representative

Justin Butler
Southern Region Representative

Justin Butler is the Southern Region Representative of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA).  Justin is a member of the Charlotte Chapter and has served as the Southern Region Vice President, Charlotte Chapter President, Co-Chair of the Southern Region Student Conference and as a member of the National Finance Committee.

Through Justin’s service to NABA he has been granted several honors including: Southern Region Chapter President of the Year, Southern Region Innovation Awardee and nominated for Bank of America’s Enterprise Diversity Achievement Award.

Justin is currently employed with General Electric’s Retail Capital Bank where he serves as Senior Manager-Compliance Risk Assessment & Planning.  In this role Justin is responsible for assessing and managing the enterprise level risk to the bank and establishing the annual strategic plan.

In addition to serving on the Board of Directors for NABA, Justin also serves on the Board of Directors for Project One Scholarship Fund and Quality Home Care Services.

Years of NABA Membership: 7 Years
Chapter Affliation: Charlotte 

Katherine M. Jenkins
Western Region Representative

Katherine oversaw two successful SW Western Regional Student Conferences, during a time of economic hardship; I was successful in bringing in 17 Corporate Sponsors, over 250 students and awarding $11,000 in scholarships.  As Western Region Compliance Officer, the region achieved 85% adherence to performance measures from FY 2007 through FY 2009.

She has been recognized in NABA for my achievements.  On a Regional level, I received the Western Region President Award in 2011, 2010 and 2008.  Locally, I received the 2007 Dallas/Ft. Worth Outstanding Member Award, and in 2006 I received the Community Service Award.

As leader in a connected world, and as I continue to serve and promote NABA, I pledged to stay dedicated and committed to the success of the organization.

Years of NABA Membership: 14 Years
Chapter Affliation: Dallas/Ft. Worth Chapter

Steven L. Harris, CPA
National Director

Professional RoleSteven started with RubinBrown as an Inroads intern in 1999, and is now a Partner in Firm’s Assurance Services Group.  RubinBrown is one of the Midwest’s largest accounting and business consulting firms, with more than 375 team members working from offices in St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver.   He concentrates on client account management, client relations and provides auditing, tax, and consulting services.

Professional & Community Involvement
Steven is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants.  He currently serves as a National Director on the NABA National Board, where he chairs the Association’s Technology and Innovation Committee, co–chairs the Finance Committee, and serves as a member on the Organizational Effectiveness & Personal and Audit Committees.  In addition to his dedicated NABA service, Steven also serves as the Chair of the Regional Business Council’s Young Professional Network, a unique network that promotes the personal and professional development of over 1,000 ethnically diverse professionals under 40 working in the St. Louis area.   Steven also serves on the AICPA Financial Literacy Commission and State of Missouri’s Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth Commission.

Professional Accomplishments
Steven was awarded with the prestigious St. Louis Business Journal’s Diverse Business Award in 2010. Harris was recognized with the MSCPA Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Diversity Award and National Association of Black Accountants’ Rising Star Award in 2009. In 2007, he received the first Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.

Years of NABA Membership: 8 Years
Chapter Affliation: St. Louis

Celia M. Thompkins
National Director

I am servant leader who leads with humility and compassion striving to create a compelling purpose and clear perspective.  I embrace change.  You can sit back and allow change to happen or you can make it happen. I prefer to make it happen.

Over 20 years ago, I began my NABA journey by establishing the Austin, Texas Accounting Career Awareness Program.  Since then, I have held various leadership positions within NABA including Central Region President, Central Region Vice President, Chapter President, Chapter Vice President and a member of various National Committees. Additionally, I was a founding member of Northwest Arkansas Chapter of NABA.

There are three key areas facing NABA:  recruiting and retaining members, strengthening partnership with corporations, and establishing a global presence.

1. To retain and recruit members to NABA, a fundamental shift in the structure of our organization may be necessary. Change will be difficult to achieve. The gap between what members expects from NABA and the services offered must be overcome. 
2. Expand partnership between NABA and the business community is crucial to sustainable growth. Specifically, we need to develop programs that allow for more meaningful involvement from corporate partners. Such interaction may result in NABA developing programs that provide greater access for our members.
3. It's clear that the global marketplace will continue to deepen and expand.  We have to identify programs to expand our presence across the global. The first step is to conduct a benchmark with other membership organizations that have a global presence.

Years of NABA Membership: 20 Years
Chapter Affliation: Northwest Arkansas

Theresa Cardoza-Rasheed
National Director

Kenneth E. Cooke, CPA
National Director

Kenneth Cooke, National Director, is a Lifetime Member who has served on the National Board for over 15 years. He has served as National Treasurer & CFO for 4 years, Audit Committee Chair, Finance Committee Chair and has been an active member of several national committees. He has co-chaired the Richmond Chapter's Membership Committee and served as Treasurer for several years. His regional experience includes such roles as Chair of the Eastern Region Student Conference's Interview Committee, Regional Webmaster, and Regional Vice President.

Kenneth is a Vice President in Finance at Goldman Sachs. He serves as the global leader of the Derivative Disclosures Team, which is responsible for reporting OTC & Listed derivatives to the Federal Reserve, SEC and other regulatory inquiries.

Mr. Cooke’s obtained his Accounting degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University (“Virginia Tech”). After completing his undergraduate studies he joined PricewaterhouseCoopers and subsequently passed the CPA examination.

He says without the wisdom and guidance of his faith, family and other professionals—he would not be where he is today. He has benefited directly from the NABA motto, “Lifting As We Climb”.

Years of NABA Membership: 19 Years
Chapter Affliation: Richmond Metro

James Brown, CPA
National Parliamentarian

James D. Brown, CPA, National Parliamentarian of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA), is the Managing Partner of James D. Brown, CPA, a full service accounting firm providing accounting, tax, consulting, and business advisory services to individuals and all forms of business.

A Lifetime Member of NABA, James is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. James has served NABA as Eastern Region President (3 years), as well as New York Chapter President (3 Years), 1st Vice President, and Treasurer.

Additionally, he has served on a variety of local, regional, and national committees, including Chair of the Lifetime Membership Committee, and Vice-Chair of the host committee for NABA's 2002 National Convention in New York. James was selected as the New York Chapter's Outstanding Member for Fiscal Years 1996 and 1997, a President’s Award recipient in 2001, and as NABA’s National Outstanding Member in Fiscal Year 2002 .

In addition to NABA, James is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Society of CPAs, and the Financial Executives Networking Group. James is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New Jersey, and also holds the designations of Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC).