I just got home from a morning of inspiration. I knew it would be amazing, but this lady never fails to push me from comfortable (maybe even complacent) to completely jazzed.  

You probably know Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA and you may have even taken a selfie with her (she loves to do that and must have a more than a thousand!). She’s a past chair of the MACPA and the AICPA and current chair of the Association of International Professional Accountants. She’s also been called “the most inspiring spokesperson the profession has ever seen.”

But if you ask her sisters from Sigma Gamma Rho and the 200 people who showed up for breakfast on March 2 in Annapolis, they would call her a mentor, friend, leader, sister, coach, cheerleader, and yes, an inspiration. We call her “our KET,” and we are proud, #KETproud #CPAproud #MarylandProud.

Her sorority hosted the breakfast in support of a scholarship the MACPA is giving in Kimberly’s honor. The program was loaded with accolades from organizations all over the country that have benefitted from her passion and gifts. Kimberly made a point of recognizing that “village” and the “great shoulders” she stands on. She pays it forward like none other and challenged us to do the same, because her biblical life verse is, “To whom much is given, much is required.”

Indeed.  

UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski said it best in the film the MACPA created for Kimberly’s inauguration to AICPA chair in October 2016. “She represents, for me, dreams fulfilled. Every educator wants to know that children who haven’t had everything, can be the best … and she shows they can.”

Thank you, Kimberly, and everyone I met today or who have otherwise supported the scholarship. You inspire me to pay it forward. There are dreams at stake.

See pictures on our MACPA Facebook page and donate to the scholarship online or by check to MACPA Educational Foundation (901 Dulaney Valley Road, Suite 800, Towson, MD 21204) with Kimberly’s name in the memo line.