August 2010 – Spotlight on Diana Sickels

Diana is an accountant with the firm Guest, Schutte, Cosper & Ledbetter CPAs and has been with them since November 2005.  She joined the firm shortly after moving to Flagstaff from California in July of that year.   She has her California CPA license and Enrolled Agents License.  Altogether, Diana has worked for public CPA firms for over 20 years including Elliott, Lewis, Lieber & Stumpf, Duncan & Duncan, CPAs, Mike Congdon, CPA and Vern Onstine, CPA, all of which were located in California.  She has a wide range of tax and accounting expertise and prepares individual, business and non-profit tax returns as well as compiled, reviewed & audited financial statements.  Diana joined ASWA on 12/1/06 after attending a meeting as a guest of Angie Ledbetter. 

Diana has been married for almost 28 years to Phil, who currently works for the Arizona Department of Health Services.  They have three children:  Jason is 34 years old; Nathan is 20 years old – graduated from Sinagua HS in June 2009; Briana is 10 years old – attends Knoles Elementary School.

They have one dog – a 2 year old Jack Russell Terrier named Tessa and two black & white cats, a brother & sister from the same litter, named Sonny & Honey.  They have one bird – a lovebird that they call Bird.  Diana said that for a lovebird – she is very mean and bites – but she sings real pretty. 

Before deciding to become an accountant, Diana had an upbringing that brought her to many parts of the country and she was in a profession that was quite different from today.  Diana was born in Chicago and grew up in Illinois, Wisconsin & New Mexico.   Her elementary schools were all in Illinois, her middle schools were in Illinois & Wisconsin, and her high schools were in Wisconsin & New Mexico.  She attended a total of 15 schools by the time she graduated high school.  After high school she joined the Air Force.  She attended tech school in Denver where she met her husband who was also in the Air Force.  She was stationed at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire where she was an avionics technician and fixed the radar systems of the FB-111A.  She then served 2 years in the Air National Guard – stationed at Kirkland AFB in Albuquerque, NM. 

 

July 2010 – Spotlight on Angela Uyeno        

Angela is currently the Internal Controls Analyst at Northern Arizona University.  She has lived in Flagstaff and has held this position with NAU for the last three years and performs audits of, and consults with, departments to ensure compliance with policies, procedures, external regulations, and to promote good business practices.  Previously, Angela spent 6 years as a Goods and Services Sales Tax Auditor at Revenue Canada; then moved to North Carolina where she spent 2 years as the accountant for the Dental Foundation of North Carolina and the UNC Dental Alumni Association; then 1 year as the Accounting Manager at the Orange County Partnership for Young Children before moving to Flagstaff.       

 Angela grew up in Calgary Canada and graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Accounting.  She became a member of our Flagstaff chapter of ASWA after attending a 2008 conference with fellow member Wendy Swartz.  She has been married to her husband Ted for over 11 years and their family includes their 9-month-old son Gabe, an 18-year old leopard gecko, and a 2-year old puppy.       

Angela calls herself an “unabashed coupon clipper” and lists her favorite hobbies as traveling and assisting with her husband’s diverse and ever-changing hobbies. Most recently he’s taken up jewelry making, so they’ve mined various precious and semi-precious metals, stones, and gems, and attended gem shows around Arizona.       

        

 May 2010 - Spotlight on Jessica Fitchett        

Jessica has been the Fiscal Operation Manager for the College of Health & Human Services at NAU for the last two years and provides financial oversight for the college and units within, prepares accounting and payroll transactions, and provides budgetary support for various fund types.  She has been with NAU for over 17 years and prior to working in the Health & Human Services department she was in the University Budget Office as well as the Physics and Astronomy department.   She graduated NAU in 2005 and is currently in the Master of Public Administration program and hopes to finish by 2013.        

 Jessica and her husband Larry have been married for 16 years and they have a 14 year-old son, Jack, and a 12 year-old daughter, Nina….the lights of her life.  She believes that being a parent to her children is a privilege and the single greatest challenge she will ever be faced with, but says that “the rewards are SO worth it!”  They have two pound puppies named Curly and Lucky and they also have a Floridian soft-shelled turtle named Turdie.        

Jessica’s hobbies include watching her kids play soccer and traveling with her family.  She is a huge fan of national parks, with her favorite being the Acadia In Maine.  Her long-term goal is to visit every single national park and her short-term goal is to hike the AZ Trail with her kids before they head off to college.        

Jessica has been a member of ASWA since 2007 and said “I have very much enjoyed being a part of the Flagstaff Chapter of ASWA.  The best part for me is being able consult with this wonderful group of ladies while building individual connections.  I’ve learned a ton and had fun at the same time. ”        

April 2010 – Spotlight on Sherra Lyon        

  

  Sherra Lyon is a Commercial Banker and Vice President of the Flagstaff Branch of National Bank of Arizona.  She has spent the last six yeras with National Bank of Arizona serving the commercial banking clientele of Northern Arizona and she was recently promoted to Team Lead of their commercial banking team.  Sherra graduated from NAU and served as an intern/public accountant for RSM McGladrey & Pullen CPA Firm.         

Sherra’s family was Air Force, so she has lived in several parts of the country and world including Texas, Illinois, and the Philippines.  She has lived in Northern Arizona now for eleven years.  Her wonderful family includes a 13 year-old daughter, two big dogs, a cat and two guinea pigs.  Her favorite hobbies surround enjoying the outdoors including hiking, boating, snowmobiling, taking the quads out in the forest, bike rides, walking the dogs, “attempting” to garden, and she just enjoys hanging out with her daugher, family & friends.        

Kay Pitt encouraged Sherra to become an ASWA member when she was still working out of her home eight years ago.  She is glad she did and says that Kay was right, “These ladies are a lot of fun and provide a wonderful service to Northern Arizona through this organization.”            

 

February 2010 – Spotlight on Addie Devine         

 Addie Devine is an accountant at the firm Guest, Schutte, Cosper, & Ledbetter CPAs.  She completed a year-long internship with this firm and joined the professional staff after graduating from NAU in May of 2009.  Addie hails from Incline Village near Lake Tahoe and has lived in Flagstaff for the last five years.  She is an avid runner, snow boarder and dog lover.  She ran cross country and track for NAU all while studying to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.  She has three dogs….Calvin, Tony & Aki.       

 

Addie became a member of ASWA in January of 2008.