More than 350 accounting professionals attended the annual Illinois CPA Society’s Women’s Leadership Forum on Friday, May 10, in Chicago. Kim Simios, office managing partner at EY Chicago, served as the event’s keynote speaker.

In her presentation, Simios reiterated the event’s theme of “Power Up,” emphasizing how everyday occurrences in the workplace can either strengthen or weaken a woman’s power. Simios offered advice on how to power up one’s professional life, such as owning one’s careers, expanding networking opportunities and defining a professional purpose to reach the next level of one’s career.

Four professionals were also honored as 2019 Women to Watch Award recipients. Presented by the ICPAS Women’s Committee and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants’ Women’s Initiatives Committee, recipients were honored in both experienced and emerging leader categories.

The Experienced Leader Award recognizes professional mentorship, community service, contributions to the profession, demonstrated leadership in the workplace and authorship of professional articles or speaking engagements. This year’s recipients are:

• Rebekuh Eley (Senior manager, RSM US)
• Kristen Fitzpatrick (Managing principal, Miller Cooper Co.)

The Emerging Leader Award is awarded to professionals who show leadership, make significant contributions to the profession, make commitments to community service and stay involved with their alma mater. This year’s recipients are:

• Julia Haried (Audit and assurance in-charge, Deloitte, and co-founder, MakerGirl)
• Charlene Rhinehart (Managing director, CEO Unlimited, and founder and editor-in-chief, Wealthy Women Daily)

For more on the Women to Watch Awards, head to ICPAS’ site here.

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