Tax Virtual Conference

Rebecca Forter

Rebecca Forter is deputy commissioner for Tax Policy and chief of the Rulings and Regulations Bureau at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR). She is responsible for ensuring the state’s revenue statutes are supported by clear regulatory and other guidance, and that the department communicates effectively with media outlets, legislators, taxpayers and tax practitioners about the state’s tax laws. Prior to joining the DOR, she practiced at law firms in New York and Boston, where she advised clients on the federal and international tax consequences of a variety of transactions, including private investment fund formations and investments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and restructurings.

Geoffrey Snyder

Geoffrey Snyder is the commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) where he is responsible for administering the tax, child support and municipal finance laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has several decades of senior level leadership experience in the financial industry and previously served as the deputy commissioner of administrative affairs and acting CFO at the DOR from 2016 to 2019. In his role as deputy commissioner, Snyder provided oversight of finance, human resources, facilities management, the Office of Ethics and Employee Responsibility, internal audit, labor relations and risk management functions.

Sharen Brown

Sharen Brown is the senior deputy commissioner of tax at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR). Brown oversees end-to-end management of the tax administration process, including the tax, operations and resolution division. In her 19-year career with the DOR, she has served in various roles in the tax division including most recently as chief of the Business Income Tax Bureau.

Elizabeth Frazier

Elizabeth Frazier focuses her practice on government relations, lobbying, business advocacy, and environmental and land use policy. Elizabeth divides her time between Pierce Atwood’s Portland and Augusta, Maine offices.

Elizabeth grew up in and around her family’s Maine-based small business, which has given her unique insights into the challenges and opportunities of running a business in Maine.

Prior to moving back to Maine, Elizabeth served as a staffer for Congresswoman Chellie Pingree in her Washington, DC office. Her experience both in Washington and back home in Maine has given Elizabeth an understanding as to what resonates with Maine policy makers and how to shape a legislative strategy in the best interest of her clients. Specifically, Elizabeth’s professional and political experience have given her a nuanced understanding of Maine politics, and her pragmatic approach to policymaking allow Elizabeth to elevate her clients’ interests above the political fray.

Elizabeth has direct experience working with business, professional associations, and advocacy organizations to navigate complex legal, regulatory, and political issues. In this time of increased state-level policymaking, Elizabeth is intimately familiar with the interplay between multi-state business interests and local policymaking. Additionally, Elizabeth has been involved in the work of climate action and preparedness – an area rife with both risk and opportunity for Maine businesses.

Jonathan Block

Jon Block has vast experience helping clients with Maine and New Hampshire tax problems. Jon litigates tax cases at the administrative level and through all levels of the court system, advises clients on transactional and multistate tax issues, obtains advance rulings for clients, and does a substantial amount of legislative and government relations work in the tax area. Jon’s substantive expertise in state and local tax encompasses corporate and individual income tax, business profits tax, sales and use tax, property tax, excise tax, transfer tax, and other state and local taxes. Jon also advises expanding and relocating companies on taking maximum advantage of available tax and economic development incentives. Jon’s client base includes large, medium and small businesses as well as individuals.

Kevin Kennedy

Kevin Kennedy, CPA, CFE, ABV, is a seasoned accounting professional with nearly three decades of experience, specializing in supporting small businesses and their owners. He has worked in both private and public sectors, applying his expertise as a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and in business valuation (ABV) to litigation and valuation engagements. Additionally, Kennedy is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New Hampshire Society of Certified Public Accountants (NHSCPA) and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). He currently serves on the NHSCPA Board of Trustees, co-chairs its Tax and Legislative Committee and is a former vice president of the NH Chapter of the ACFE. He also holds the role of Justice of the Peace.

Teresa Rosenberger

Teresa is one of the most highly respected and well-known government affairs advisors in New Hampshire, with extensive experience in business and non-profit leadership, regulatory matters, economic development and developing strategies for business success and growth. Teresa works regularly with clients in the energy, education, telecom, healthcare and regulated industry spaces, lobbying and providing strategic consulting, communications, grassroots and coalition building services to help clients navigate issues at the Legislature and before executive agencies and regulatory bodies.

Prior to joining Bernstein Shur, Teresa held policy and communications positions in the executive branch of the federal government and a national weekly magazine and advocated on behalf of a national healthcare association. Teresa’s 30-year career in lobbying, public policy and communications combined with her nimble business acumen uniquely enable her to advise clients on a wide range of issues, helping to ideally position them to achieve their long-term goals and strategic vision.

Mark DeFrancisco

Mark DeFrancisco, Esq., serves as chairman of the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board. He has nearly 40 years of experience in the area of state and local taxation, in both the public sector and in private practice as a state and local tax litigator. DeFrancisco is an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law’s Graduate Tax Program and has spoken frequently on matters relating to Massachusetts taxation, including numerous conferences sponsored by the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers, county assessors associations, the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), MassCPAs and the tax committees of the Massachusetts and Boston Bar Associations.

Thomas Stephens Jr

Tommy Stephens Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, is a shareholder at K2 Enterprises where he lectures internationally on subjects, such as internal controls for small businesses, technology strategies, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance and financial accounting standards and applications. Stephens background also includes his work as an auditor and technology consultant for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm, leading an internal audit staff and managing a cost accounting team for a Fortune 500 company and serving as CFO for an international engineering organization. In the last 25 years, he has also presented over 2,700 educational sessions to over 70,000 participants throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Doug Howgate

Doug Howgate is President at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Doug began as President in January of 2023, after two years as the Foundation’s Executive Vice President. This is Doug’s second stint at MTF, having served as Research Director between 2015 and 2018.

Prior to his time at the Foundation, Doug has held a number of prominent policy positions in Massachusetts. He served as Senior Policy Advisor to Senate President Karen Spilka between 2018 and 2020, and Budget Director at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means between 2010 and 2014. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Port Authority and as a Senior Researcher at the Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center.

Doug has a B.A. in Political Science from Holy Cross and holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy.

Thomas Stephens Jr

Tommy Stephens Jr., CPA, CGMA, CITP, is a shareholder at K2 Enterprises where he lectures internationally on subjects, such as internal controls for small businesses, technology strategies, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance and financial accounting standards and applications. Stephens background also includes his work as an auditor and technology consultant for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm, leading an internal audit staff and managing a cost accounting team for a Fortune 500 company and serving as CFO for an international engineering organization. In the last 25 years, he has also presented over 2,700 educational sessions to over 70,000 participants throughout the U.S. and Canada.