Biographies for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC) Members
Shaun Barry - Mr. Barry is the Principal Solutions Architect in the Fraud & Security Intelligence practice at SAS Institute from Rockville Centre, New York. In his professional role, he is responsible for developing and implementing technology solutions that give government leaders the power to identify and manage tax compliance, fraud, and improper payments issues. Mr. Barry has 19 years of experience in working with government clients throughout the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia to foster innovative and efficient operations through technology. He specializes in tax/revenue, healthcare, motor vehicle, and fraud/improper payments domains. Previously, Mr. Barry worked for the Ohio Department of Taxation, where he served as the Assistant to Tax Commissioner Roger W. Tracy. Mr. Barry earned a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University.
Timothy Blevins - Mr. Blevins is an executive consultant with CGI’s Tax, Revenue, and Collections Center of Excellence (CoE) and is from Mayetta, Kan. He is responsible for providing expertise to clients to enhance their tax operations and collections management systems. Mr. Blevins serves as a business and technical solutions architect for the design of integrated tax solutions. He also helps in the development of State Medicaid Management System solutions. Mr. Blevins has over 30 years of experience in the implementation, management, and modernization efforts of government information technology solutions with the Kansas Departments of Transportation, Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS), and Revenue which includes the Divisions of Taxation, Property Valuation, Motor Vehicles, and Alcohol and Beverage Control. He was CIO for Kansas SRS for five years and the Kansas Department of Revenue for 11 years. Further, Mr. Blevins has a strong background in information system management security aspects of tax administration and tax software. He earned a B.A. in Management Information Systems from Washburn University and is a former Co-Chair of the Federation of Tax Administrators-Internal Revenue Service Tactical Advisory Group (FTA-IRS TAG).
Sean J. Brennan - Mr. Brennan, CPA, MBA, is the president of Brennan and Associates and Brennan and Company, CPA, PC from West Chester, Pa. Mr. Brennan founded his Company, in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1996, and provides Tax, Accounting, Payroll and Attest services to clients. He has taught Federal Taxation and Accounting at Philadelphia area colleges for the past 14 years. Mr. Brennan earned a B.S. in Accounting from St. Joseph's University and an MBA in Economics and Finance from West Chester University. He serves on the Pennsylvania IRS/Practitioner Liaison Committee and is a member of the American Institute for Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Pennsylvania Institute for Certified Public Accountants and National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP).
Alice Burnett - Ms. Burnett is the ETAAC Chairperson and the owner of Burnett and Associates, LLC from Lawrenceville, Ga. Her company offers support to both public and private sector clients, primarily covering programs that contain a financial component. Prior to starting her own practice, Alice held a senior manager level position within a major financial institution for over 20 years, and she was a manager for the implementation and operation of the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). Certifications include Project Management Professional (PMP), BAI Certified Risk Professional in Operations, Certified Supplier Manager, and Six Sigma Green Belt. Alice is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), American Management Association (AMA), and American Society for Quality (ASQ).
Mark Castro - Mr. Castro, CPA, is the Government/Industry Liaison for Petz Enterprises, Inc. from Woodinville WA. He is responsible for working with the State tax agencies and IRS to help improve electronic filing and gather the most up-to-date state and federal tax information for the company. Mr. Castro while working in the tax software industry has been involved in all areas of electronic filing including development, testing and customer support. Mr. Castro earned a BS in Business Administration (Accounting) from California State University, Northridge. He also serves on the board of the Council of Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement (CERCA) and as the Electronic Filing Committee Chairperson of the National Association of Computerized Tax Processors (NACTP).
Cyrus Daftary - Mr. Daftary, JD, LL.M., is a partner with Burt, Staples & Maner, LLP from Newton, Mass. He is responsible for consulting with multi-national corporations and financial institutions on their compliance in the IRS tax withholding and information return reporting rules. Mr. Daftary assists clients in obtaining a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) from the IRS for the electronic W-8 software application. His experience includes developing and implementing tax software solutions for withholding and information return reporting, representing clients before the IRS under Form 1042 audits and Form 1042 voluntary disclosures, and designing an online course “Cyberlaw: Legal Research, Issues and Practice in Cyberspace.” Mr. Daftary earned a B.A. in Economics from Indiana University. a Juris Doctorate from University of Dayton School of Law and an LL.M. from Temple University in Tax.
Ned Drinker - Mr. Drinker is the tax manager of Oberthur Technologies of America Corporation and is from Conshohocken, Pa. He is responsible for all US tax matters including preparation and e-filing of the federal income tax return as well as the preparation and filing of all state income/franchise tax returns. He manages federal and state audits, information reporting, tax depreciation and sales and use tax compliance. He has implemented sales tax software for diverse businesses. Mr. Drinker earned a B.A. in Economics from Hamilton College, an MBA in Econometrics from Temple University, and a Master of Taxation from Villanova University School of Law. He is a member of Tax Executives Institute and chairs the Philadelphia Chapter’s IRS Administrative Affairs Committee.
Steve Lewis - Mr. Lewis, EA, is the director of Online Tax Preparation and Interactive & Social Media for Jackson Hewitt Tax Services from Sarasota, Fla. He has over 15 years of experience in the tax industry and is responsible for the overall delivery of online tax solutions. Mr. Lewis oversees the development of the public website, mobile applications, and online tax software. He establishes processes and procedures for operational implementation of interactive and social media. Mr. Lewis earned his BS in Accounting and his MBA in Finance both from Northeastern University. He is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents and the National Association of Tax Professionals.
Mimi Nolan - Ms. Nolan is the director, Tax Forms Management with H&R Block from Parkville, Mo. She oversees the centralized process of procurement, distribution, and interpretation of all tax regulatory changes, as well as tests tax law changes for regulatory accuracy across products. She is responsible for a team that procures tax documents, monitors and analyzes changes to the federal and state income tax forms, publications, instructions, and tax notices. Ms. Nolan has directed system, product design and implementation of digital tax preparation solutions. Her experience also includes electronic filing and tax software development, tax forms management, quality assurance in systems development, and tax preparation. Ms. Nolan earned a B.S. in Computer Based Information Systems from Park University and an MBA from University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is a member representative to National Association of Computerized Tax Processors (NATCP), and serves as Chairperson of the Government Liaison Committee.
Douglas Simon - Mr. Simon is president and founder of HS&A Payroll Services, Inc. from Lincolnshire, Ill. He is responsible for a suite of tax compliance and payroll solutions. Mr. Simon works with a wide range of companies and oversees both tax filing and compliance operations. Mr. Simon earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from DePaul Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the American Payroll Association and the Independent Payroll Association Providers.
David Sullivan — Mr. Sullivan is a tax administrator for the Rhode Island Division of Taxation from East Greenwich, RI. where he oversees the operations of the tax division consisting of 200 employees. In 2007, he created the E-government Unit to assist in enhancing and improving their interaction with customers using new technologies. Prior to joining the State of Rhode Island, he worked for the State of Delaware Division of Revenue for 10 years. In Delaware, he served as a manager in the Business Tax Section and as Deputy Director of Revenue. Mr. Sullivan earned a BS in Accounting and Business Management from Lebanon Valley College and a MS in Taxation from Widener University. Prior memberships include Treasurer and President of the Northeastern State Tax Officials Association and Federation of Tax Administrators-Internal Revenue Service Tactical Advisory Group (FTA-IRS TAG).
Timur Taluy - Mr. Taluy is chief executive officer, and a founder of FileYourTaxes.com from Oxnard, Calif. He serves as the lead technical architect for the firm; responsible for the development of the user interface, the secure external interfaces, and high availability platform. He manages the development and enforcement of internal policies and controls regarding safeguarding, development, and testing of tax return and other data processing systems. Mr. Taluy oversees the process contributing to the reliability and accuracy of the final tax product. He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern California. Mr. Taluy is a member of CERCA and NACTP.
TJ Turner - Mr. Turner is a senior principal business system architect for Vertex Inc. from Cape Coral, Fla. He is responsible for leading software development of Vertex's enterprise corporate application tax product suite. Products include tax data warehouse, compliance, and tax accounting solutions across several tax domains. Mr. Turner earned a B.A. in Business Administration from Baldwin-Wallace College and is a graduate of the Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
Blair Whitworth - Mr. Whitworth is the president of PRO-TAX, the Tax University, and Tax Business Management from Charlottesville, VA. His companies provide tax preparation services in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast, online tax training, and management software for independent tax businesses. Along with his leadership roles Mr. Whitworth is responsible for business development and technology strategy. He earned a BA from the University of North Carolina, a MA from the University of Virginia, and a MBA from the College of William & Mary.
Harris Widmer - Mr. Widmer, CPA, is a partner with Widmer Roel PC from Fargo, ND. He has over forty years experience in accounting and taxation. His responsibilities include providing tax, consulting, audit, and financial planning services to a wide variety of businesses and individual clients. Mr. Widmer earned a B.A. from Jamestown College. He is a member of the North Dakota Society of Certified Public Accountants and AICPA.
