Meet the Faculty
John Akard, Jr., Esq.,
CPA, is
the Immediate Past President of the AAA-CPA and previously served as President
of the Texas and South Texas Chapters of AAA-CPA from 1998-2006. He is both a Certified Public Accountant who
obtained his Texas license in March 1991 and an Attorney licensed in Texas
since November 1994. John maintains a
solo practice through John Akard Jr., P.C. and is “of Counsel” to the
full-service civil practice firm of Mason, Coplen & Banks, P.C. from
January 1, 1999 - present focusing in the areas of bankruptcy, estate planning,
probate, and corporate matters. He has
handled matters before bankruptcy courts in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and
Delaware. Additionally, John serves on
the Commonwealth International Series Trust from 2002 - present as an
Independent Trustee, Chair and Financial Expert of the Audit Committee. The Business Trust is comprised of the
publicly traded Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Global, Japan and Real Estate
Securities Funds. In addition to his
professional endeavors he has served in various volunteer positions including
serving as the Treasurer of the Norchester Dolphin Swim Team, Treasurer for St.
Mary’s Episcopal Church, Cypress Texas, and President and Treasurer of the
Aggie Sigma Chi House Corporation.
Stephen M. Cordi, Esq., CPA was appointed as deputy chief financial officer for the District of
Columbia's Office of Tax and Revenue in January 2008. Prior to joining the Office
of the Chief Financial Officer, he was of Counsel to the Baltimore law firm of
Ober, Kaler Grimes and Shriver where he represented clients on multistate tax
issues and before the Maryland General Assembly. In 2005, Cordi retired from
the state of Maryland following 31 years of service with the Maryland
Comptrollers’s Office, including 13 years as director of the Sales and Use Tax
Division and 11 years as deputy comptroller, where he was responsible for all
of the agency’s tax administration functions. Cordi served as president of the
Federation of Tax Administrators, the North East States Tax Officials
Association and the Maryland Government Finance Officers Association. In
January 2009, he became Chairman of the Multistate Tax Commission. Cordi earned
his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, a master’s of liberal
arts from the Johns Hopkins University, and a bachelor’s degree from Haverford
College. He is a certified public accountant and member of the Maryland Bar.
David De Jong, Esq., CPA, Principal, Stein Sperling
Bennett De Jong Driscoll PC, practices law in tax planning
and controversy, and estate planning. He has been a tax and business professor
for 25 years at four universities and coauthored J. K. Lasser’s annual tax
planning book for 16 years. De Jong has litigated cases in each federal tax
forum and in the Maryland Tax Court, and has testified as an expert witness in
court, arbitrations, and disciplinary proceedings. A past president of the
AAA-CPA, De Jong was listed in the Top 100 Attorneys in the USA by Worth magazine,
and Top 50 IRS Representation Practitioners in the USA and Top 40 Tax Advisors
in the USA by CPA Magazine. He has won accolades from Washingtonian; Washington
Smart CEO; Washington, DC, Super Lawyers (Top 100); and Maryland Super Lawyers
(Top 50).
Wallace Eddleman, CPA, JD, MS was appointed Deputy Director of the Revenue
Administration Division of the Comptroller of Maryland in January 2011. In this
capacity he is responsible advising and directing the management of the various
sections within the Revenue Administration Division. Prior to his current
position, Eddleman served as an Assistant Director in the Revenue
Administration Division and as the manager of the Hearings and Appeals Section
of the Compliance Division. He joined the Maryland Comptroller´s Office as a
hearing officer in October 1998. Before employment with the Comptroller´s
Office, Eddleman worked in both public accounting and private industry.
Eddleman received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from the University
of Baltimore. He received a Master of Science Degree in Taxation from the
University of Baltimore Graduate School. He received a Juris Doctor Degree from
the University of Maryland School of Law and was admitted to the Maryland Bar
and District of Columbia Bar in 1990 and 1991, respectively, and is a member of
the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar Associations. Eddleman is also a
Certified Public Accountant in Maryland since 1983 and a member of the Maryland
Association of Certified Public Accountants.
Douglas F. Gansler
was elected to a second term as the Attorney General of Maryland on November
2nd, 2010. In that election, he was the only statewide candidate in the nation
to run unopposed in both the primary and general elections. He credits that
enviable position, and the 1.3 million votes he received, to the fine work of
the entire staff at the Maryland Office of the
Attorney General Gansler is
President-elect of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and
served as Chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) until
accepting his post at the national organization. He also serves as national
Co-Chair of NAAG’s Environment and Energy Committee, NAAG’s Youth Access to
Alcohol Committee, and NAAG's Legislative Committee.
Since taking office in 2006, Gansler has recovered more than 80 million dollars
for Marylanders fighting the fraud that destroyed the mortgage industry, has
contributed to the ever-rising cost of healthcare, and is undermining the
financial security and well-being of Marylanders. This work includes securing
millions in foreclosure relief from one of the nation’s largest providers of
sub-prime home loans, as well as the largest recovery in a healthcare fraud
investigation in United States history against a major pharmaceutical company
that illegally marketed drugs at the expense of consumer safety. This work also
includes an agreement with all the major car rental companies to end usurious
refueling rates, and a settlement with all four major wireless carriers
requiring disclosure of the terms of cell phone insurance - potentially saving
Marylanders over $40 million and Americans over $2.4 billion.
Attorney General Gansler also has continued his long-standing commitment to
civil rights. He created the first-ever Director of Civil Rights position in
the Office of the Attorney General. He set up a Working Group on Lending
Practices to reform sub-prime and predatory lending practices and a Voting
Irregularities Task Force to address voter suppression issues in Maryland. He
also published a groundbreaking report providing guidance on taser training
protocols that will be used nationally by law enforcement, and a report that assists
Maryland’s institutions of higher education in legally developing and
maintaining diversity. He continues to work for judicial election reform that
will ensure diversity of the bench. For this work, as well as his successful
efforts to increase diversity both in the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s
Office and the Office of the Attorney General, Gansler was awarded the Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream Keeper’s Award. For a legal opinion that
clarifies the full faith and credit provided to valid out of state same-sex
marriages, and for being the first statewide elected official in Maryland to
support marriage equality, Gansler received the Ally for Equality Award.
Prior to becoming Maryland’s Attorney General, Gansler served for eight years
as the chief prosecutor in the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s office and
an Assistant United States Attorney. In
addition to his prosecutorial experience, Gansler has practiced civil
litigation as of counsel in the law firm of Coburn & Schertler, and as an
associate at Howrey & Simon. Gansler was selected as one of 24 elected
leaders from throughout the country to serve as a Rodel Fellow with the Aspen
Institute.
Douglas Gansler attended the University of Virginia School of Law and Yale
University, where he graduated cum laude and was an All-Ivy, All-New England
lacrosse player. He is married to Laura Leedy Gansler, a securities lawyer and
noted author. He coaches both his sons, Sam and Will, in a variety of sports.
David
Holmes, Esq., CPA, is
the Senior Tax Manager at Santos, Postal & Company, P.C., where he manages
and supervises the Tax Department of Santos Postal in its tax planning,
compliance and litigation requirements. He is both a CPA and an Attorney at
Law, with an emphasis in estate planning, transactional tax planning and
business succession planning. Before joining Santos Postal, David practiced law
for nearly 20 years in Wichita, Kansas, as a sole practitioner and for two law
firms. He also worked as the controller for one of the law firms. Previously a
CPA with Deloitte and Touche, David received his Juris Doctorate from Washburn
University of Topeka and his BS from Kansas State University, in Business
Administration (Finance). He is a frequent speaker on taxation and planning
topics for both lay and professional audiences, and he is passionate about wine
and soccer – serving as a nationally certified soccer referee.
Gary M. Hyman Esq.,is a principal with Ober Kaler. A
veteran business and tax attorney for over 30 years, Hyman has represented
hundreds of entrepreneurial and institutional business organizations and
individuals. He provides counsel to clients with regard to all aspects of state
and multistate tax (SALT), and federal tax planning; Internal Revenue Service
and state tax controversy and compliance; estates and trusts; and business
matters.
Gary’s SALT experience is unique
and extensive. He provides both personal and business tax counsel to many
entrepreneurs, including those just starting out as well as those with
established, successful ventures all over the world. He works closely with
clients to ensure they maximize their business and individual tax positions,
and advises them with regard to the business structures, available tax credits
and related programs, financing opportunities, and the advantages and
disadvantages of working in the various states.
As the Article Supervisor for the
revision of the Maryland tax general and tax property laws, Gary became
intimately familiar with the intricacies and opportunities presented by state
and local tax matters on both the legal and legislative fronts. His experience
as founder and chair of the Maryland State Bar Association State Tax Study
Group, as a member of the Taxation Committee of the Maryland Chamber of
Commerce, and as a frequent author and lecturer has enabled him to obtain
significant beneficial results for his clients.
Karen
Syrylo, CPA, currently serves as the State Taxation
Consultant to the Maryland Chamber of Commerce. She has been a state and local
tax consultant for over a two decades. The Howard County Technology Council recognized
her significant contributions to improving the regulatory business environment
for technology firms by her instrumental work on the repeal of the Tech Tax,
and other onerous legislative amendments imposed in the 2007 Special Session. Prior to becoming a consultant, Syrylo was with
KPMG as a Partner, State and Local Tax Consulting and a Senior Manager
at Ernst & Young.
Angela Vallario, Esq., CPA, is a professor at the University of
Baltimore School of Law. Prior to
teaching, Professor Vallario practiced as a sole proprietor and as an associate
with Fedder & Garten, P.A. in Baltimore, Maryland, where she specialized in
trusts and estates, estate planning and taxation. Professor Vallario also
served as an attorney-adviser to the United States Tax Court. She is a certified public accountant and
member of the Maryland Bar. She is an elected member of the Maryland State Bar
Association Section Council on Trusts and Estates and appointed member of the
EMIS Task Force. She is a member of the faculty of the Maryland Institute of
Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers (MICPEL) and the Maryland Reporter
to the American Bar Association on Significant Developments in Probate Trust
and Law. Professor Vallario has published articles on trusts and estates issues
in the Notre Dame Journal of Legislation and in the University of
Maryland Law Review. She is a co-author of the
supplement to Decedents' Estates in Maryland, a practitioner treatise on Maryland estate law. In March 2012, her latest book, The Fundamentals of Estate Planning will be available.