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Robert Bjelke
Senior Manager
Gettry Marcus
Bjelke works in the accounting and audit group in the Woodbury office of Gettry Marcus. His 20-plus years in the industry include a mix of public accounting and private industry experience. He specializes in performing audit and consulting services for privately held companies in diverse industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, distribution, construction and professional services, and auditing employee benefit plans. A certified public accountant, he authors articles on trends in audit practice, including the case study “Re-auditing a Complex Union Employee Benefit Plan under DOL Investigation.”
Joshua Dubrow
Senior Manager
Nussbaum Yates Berg Klein & Wolpow
Since joining the Melville accounting firm in 2008, Dubrow has focused on helping entrepreneurial businesses grow and succeed. He currently leads the firm’s newly established Emerging Entrepreneur Program. His responsibilities include performing audit, assurance, tax and consulting services for individuals, startups and established businesses. Many of his clients are in the technology, new media, manufacturing, distribution and professional services industries. Dubrow chairs the small business outreach committee and the emerging tech entrepreneurial committee for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Janice Friedman
CEO
Variety Child Learning Center
Friedman joined the Syosset organization, which provides special education and supportive services for children and families, as a kindergarten teacher in 1975. She moved up the ranks and served as COO for five years before her 2009 appointment as chief executive. In her current role, she works with the organization’s board and staff to position VCLC as a state-of-the-art facility, create goals and plans, match agency resources to program priorities and develop and maintain professional and collaborative relationships. She is a regular presenter at National Association for the Education of Young Children conferences.
Liz Giordano
CEO
Head Injury Association
Giordano has led the Hauppauge-based organization, which provides services for traumatic brain injury survivors, since 2005. As chief executive, she has direct responsibility for overall operations of the agency. Prior to this role, she was CEO of MercyFirst in Syosset, where she planned and led the merger of two child welfare agencies and directed operations in serving more than 3,000 children. Previously, she spent 11 years at St. Mary’s Children and Family Services in Syosset, where as CEO she led the organization in servicing more than 1,500 children.
Thomas Hopkins
CEO
EPIC Long Island
Since taking the helm in 2008, Hopkins has led rebranding efforts of the former Epilepsy Foundation of Long Island and initiated a business plan to raise the agency’s profile and strengthen its financial base. The Garden City-based agency was rechristened to represent a broadening of its services beyond families of children with epilepsy to include those with a wide range of developmental disabilities and mental health challenges. A human services professional with more than 30 years of experience, Hopkins served as COO of the Center for Family Support in Manhattan before his current post.
Leonard Nakrin
Partner
DDK & Co.
Nakrin heads the assurance and quality control departments for the accounting firm he joined in 1998. Named a partner in the firm’s Jericho office earlier this year, he services clients in diverse industries, including nonprofits, commercial real estate firms, wholesale distributors, retailers and professional service organizations. Prior to joining DDK & Co., he spent 15 years at Farkouh, Furman & Faccio, where he was a manager providing audit, tax and consulting services. A certified public accountant, he holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Queens College.