Tax Summit

Tynisa (Ty) Gaines, EA holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in Public Personnel Management from Troy University.

A dedicated member of the tax community, Ty has been part of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) since 2007, an NTPI Fellow since 2010, and a graduate of the Schuldiner Smollen Leadership Academy (SSLA), where she now serves as an instructor. She has an impressive professional track record, including being named EA of the Year by the Virginia Society of Enrolled Agents (VASEA) in 2015 and serving as a past VASEA President. She also held a director position with NAEA and has contributed to multiple committees. 

In recognition of her commitment to mentorship, Ty received NAEA’s Mentor of the Year award in 2022. She is an accomplished author of several tax articles and two e-books and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of NAEA’s EA Journal. In addition to her editorial work, she is an adjunct instructor at Molloy University, where she teaches EA exam prep online.

Specializing in military taxpayers and cryptocurrency, Ty is a Tax Project Manager for Token Tax LLC and operates her remote tax practice from Fort Worth, Texas.

Clarice Landreth, EA is an enrolled agent who works at Omni Tax Solutions in Broomfield, CO. She has over 22 years of experience representing taxpayers before the IRS. She is currently the chair of the NAEA Representation Planning Committee and a speaker at NAEA’s events and for the NTPI program. She is an expert in tax resolution including Offers in Compromise and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.

Beth Logan became an Enrolled Agent in 2013 and immediately joined NAEA and the Massachusetts Society (MaSEA). In addition to her tax practice, she volunteered for MaSEA including as Treasurer for a year, VP for three years, and President for two years. She was the chair of the NAEA Education Committee for three years and won the NAEA Excellence in Education Award. Logan teaches both tax professionals and lay persons about taxes. She is also a nationally published author on taxes and her latest book is Divorce and Taxes After Tax Reform. Logan graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor and Master of Electrical Engineering, the University of Maryland College Park with an MBA, and the NTPI program of NAEA.

Zachary Lyda is an Associate at Frost Law. Prior to Frost Law, Zachary was a student attorney with the University of Maryland Law School’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. He served as a supervisor to new clinic students in his second semester of clinic.

He has contributed to many different industries. He formerly was a judicial intern to the Office of Special Masters for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He also served as a correctional officer for the Charles County Sheriff’s Office. He additionally worked for four years as a pharmacy technician for CVS, including having the opportunity to provide COVID testing for the White House.

He graduated cum laude with his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Additionally, he graduated magna cum laude from The George Washington University with a B.A. in political science.

Michael R. Miranda CPA, QKA, NQPC, AEP is the owner of MIRANDA CPA & Consulting LLC located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He has over 48 years of professional experience including tax consulting, estate planning and employee benefits. His consulting practice includes niche areas and client representation before governmental agencies. He maintains an active speaking schedule on tax law, estate and employee benefit planning. He is a member of the Board of Directors for National Advisor Trust Companies of Kansas and South Dakota. His professional designations include CPA, QKA and NQPA (Employee Benefits) and AEP (Estate Planning). His professional affiliations include the AICPA, SDCPA Society, ASPPA, NAEA, NATP and NAEPC.

Prior to May 2017 Michael was a senior manager-shareholder with a regional CPA firm located in Northwestern Iowa for 27 years. Prior to this experience, he was a Tax Specialist with a Big 8 accounting firm in their South Bend and Minneapolis offices, providing tax and estate planning for individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. Michael resides in Sioux Falls, SD with his wife Jeanette.

Alan Pinck is an Enrolled Agent with over 35 years of tax preparation experience in the Silicon Valley. Alan has built a practice specializing in individual, small business tax preparation and audit representation. Alan, a nationally recognized presenter you have seen him as, the moderator of Tax Talk Today, NAEA events, The IRS National Tax Forums, Spidell as well as a variety of other presentations for tax groups and small business associations. Having represented thousands of tax returns in examination, Alan has obtained tremendous insight of the exam process as well as knowledge on a wide variety of tax issues. His real-world approach and stories bring his sessions to life!

Geoff Plourde is an enrolled agent, attorney, and certified public accountant who specializes in resolving complex tax issues. He is the current President and active member of the California Society of Enrolled Agents and a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents. He was named a Fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute in 2015 after completing a rigorous program of advanced study in tax problem resolution. He has an MST from Golden Gate University and an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Geoff is currently a Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Accounting at California Lutheran University’s School of Management and has his own law practice specializing in business, tax controversy, and estate planning, in California. Geoff was previously Director of Resolution for a national tax resolution company. Before that, he was part of one of the largest tax resolution firms in the United States, where he directly represented businesses and high net worth individuals during his tenure with the firm in tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities.

Heather Posey is an Enrolled Agent, attorney, and fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute. She is currently an associate at Frost Law, where she co-chairs the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. She has over a decade of experience in tax compliance and controversy on the federal and state levels for individuals and small businesses. She has represented clients in a wide variety of cases, including collection enforcement defense, examination defense, Trust Fund Recovery Penalties, penalty abatements, and innocent spouse relief requests before various IRS units and state revenue agencies.

Heather is a passionate volunteer with the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic, and earned the “Young Volunteer of the Year”; award in 2020. Most recently, she became chair of NAEA’s Ethics & Professional Conduct Committee.

David Ramirez, JD, EA, USTCP, CTRC, NTPI Fellow, is a former Internal Revenue Service agent and the only United States Tax Court Practitioner (USTCP) based in Hawaii. He is a federally licensed Enrolled Agent, holds a Juris Doctor with a specialization in taxation, a master’s in taxation, and is a Certified Tax Representation Consultant (CTRC) and NTPI Fellow.

David has been practicing in Honolulu, Hawaii, for over 23 years. His practice is dedicated to assisting individuals and businesses with IRS and State of Hawaii tax problems, as well as providing tax preparation services.

He is an author and national speaker on IRS representation issues and serves as a trainer with the Tax Rep Network.

Allan J “A.J.” Reynolds, EA has over thirty five years of experience encompassing various areas of taxation. Though his practice centers on Individual, Business, and Estate Tax preparation, A.J. focuses a portion of his practice to IRS Representations. As diverse as his specializations, A.J.’s clientele, too, ranges from average workers to Fortune 500 executives.

A.J. brings his everyday “in the trenches” experience to seminars and webinars for multiple organizations to assist attendees with real issues affecting tax professionals.

A.J. started his tax career with a national CPA firm in San Diego, CA after proudly serving for five years in the United States Navy onboard the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Callaghan.

Ruben D. Valdes, EA, USTCP and founder of National Tax Problem Solutions, specializes in representing clients before examinations, collections, and appeals before the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, Mr. Valdes is also admitted to practice before the United States Tax Court; a privilege earned by less than 250 non-attorneys in the United States.  

Mr. Valdes a practicing tax professional, author and national recognized Spanish tax instructor; understands the importance of high-level education in the profession. Mr. Valdes has instructed and written courses that cover the fundamentals of taxation but has also taken part in high-level complex topics, such as international taxation, tax controversy, and high-level tax planning. One of his missions is to teach taxpayers and other professionals the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights”; so, every taxpayer gets fair and just treatment, as the tax law intends. 

Mr. Valdes was the Author of Manejando Auditorias: Herramientas poderosas ante el IRS. Which is the first book in Spanish that guides tax professionals how to handle an IRS audit.

Mr. Valdes was the author of Tax Court Says: IRS Timely Responded, Your Offer is Not Deemed Accepted an article from the EA Journal that was released in December 2022. 

Mr. Valdes is a strong believer in high-level tax education, this will lead to high levels of voluntary compliance across our nation.