Department of Accounting Hall of Fame

Distinguished Department of Accounting Alumni

Bob Hottman

Bob Hottman is the chief executive officer of EKS&H. In this position he has seen the organization grow from 50 people to over 700 today. The result of the growth has made EKS&H the largest firm based in the Rocky Mountains and the largest firm in Colorado. Currently, EKS&H ranks as the 40th largest firm in the United States.

Bob has been providing accounting and advisory services for individuals, closely held businesses and public companies in the manufacturing, distribution, real estate, hospitality, club, and service industries since 1977. He has vast experience in helping clients develop strategic plans, improve operations, and plan for change and growth.

Bob’s real passion is building an organization with a strong culture and status as an employer of choice. During his tenure at EKS&H, the firm has been recognized locally and nationally as a great place to work by the Denver Business Journal, Fortune, and the Great Place to Work Institute.

Hottman is a graduate of Colorado State University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He is a past chair of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, as well as other community organizations.

John Hughes

John Hughes graduated from CSU with a BSBA in Accounting in 1969. After serving two years in the Army, as a Finance and Accounting Specialist, he went to work for a local CPA firm in Fort Collins, at which he had interned while attending CSU. He continued to work in public accounting, earned his CPA certificate and in 1976, with two other partners, formed Levine, Hughes & Mithuen, Inc., CPA’s. John served as president and CEO of the firm, which grew to approximately 35 people, when it merged in 2006, into Clifton Gunderson, LLP, which subsequently became CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP. During his career, he earned his Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) and Accredited Business Valuation (ABV). John retired as a partner with CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP at the end of 2012.

John served on numerous committees, the Board of Directors and as an officer with the Colorado Society of CPA’s. He also served on committees for the AICPA. Within the community he served for over 20 years on the boards of water and sanitation districts, the advisory boards of two banks, the advisory board for the CSU Accounting Department and board chair of a business incubator for clean tech companies.  Additionally he served on the Board of Directors, Treasurer and Chair of the South Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.  He served on the Boards of several for profit and non-profits corporations including nine years on the board of The Colorado Health Foundation, which has approximately $2.4 billion in assets. He is current chair of the Board of Trustees of HCA/HealthONE Hospitals. John is also a member of the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast, where he served as president of both the club and its foundation.

Diana Sanderson-Mori

Diana Sanderson-Mori graduated in the Spring of 1962, one of four women in her class of Accounting, when the School of Business was still a department in the School of Science and Arts. She was the only one of the women in my class to become a CPA. It is important to understand that in the early 60’s, women were not welcome in any of the professional fields. Women could be teachers, nurses, home management individuals and sectaries. Diana did not think that was right. Women, in her mind, were just as intelligent as men.

Diana interviewed with the two or three large firms that would even talk to her, she was told that they couldn’t hire her because she would just get married and start a family. Diana asked the interviewers what they were going to do with the guys that got drafted. Did they have a guarantee that those guys would come back. Eventually Diana was hired by Peat, Marwick, Mitchell in the Denver office, the first female accountant in their office. For the few years, except for the firm she worked for in Ft. Collins, Diana had to deal with the same or similar questions. Diana was licensed in Arizona in 1968 and moved from there to California where she has lived ever since.

Diana took some time off to have my children, 2 boys and a girl, then purchased a small firm in Walnut Creek, California in 1977 where she practiced for 43 years. Diana became involved in the California Society of CPAs. Since then, she has served on many communities in the society and in the Walnut Creek Community.  She was elected the second woman president of the local CPA chapter in 1987 and in 1998 was elected president of the California Society of CPAs, which is the largest CPA society in the USA. Diana was also elected the first woman president of the California Education Foundation, $15 million operation providing continuing professional education to CPAs in California and across the nation. She also served on the Board of Directors for CAMICO for 13 years. CAMICO is now the largest professional liability company for CPAs in the USA.

Distinguished Friend of the Department of Accounting

Dr. Michael Vaughan

Dr. Vaughan received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University in 1969 and immediately joined the faculty of the C.S.U. Department of Accounting. At that time, the College of Business was young – in its third year of existence, and was under the helm of Dr. Don Dobler, first Dean of the College.

Under the direction and guidance of Dr. Fred Norwood (Chair of the Accounting Department), Dr. Vaughan was assigned the task of developing a Masters of Taxation program.  At the time, there were only fourteen Business colleges across the nation offering a similar program. Dr. Vaughan served as Director of Graduate Tax Studies for many years.

Honors and awards:

• Meritorious Teaching (1994 and 1995):  Delta Sigma Pi, College of Business
• Outstanding Accounting Professor (1990): Beta Alpha Psi, Accounting Department
• Outstanding College of Business Professor (1985):  Business College Council

Dr. Vaughan co-authored two textbooks, published tax articles in professional journals, presented a paper at the proceedings of the Northwest Tax Institute in Hawaii and co-authored a White Paper for the American Tax Policy Institute, Washington, D.C. He served for several years as Professional Tax Staff Training Advisor, Associated Accounting Firms International.

Dr. Vaughan’s fondest memories, stretching back over his 33-year career at C.S.U., are of his accounting students – those who worked diligently in their studies and strived to achieve their highest goals. And, he has observed with deep pride the many personal and professional accomplishments of the department’s graduates – many of whom have remained in touch over the years.

Early Career Professional Department of Accounting Alumni Award

Victor Amaya

Victor has been working in the public accounting industry for over a decade and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) by the State of Colorado. Victor earned a Bachelor’s and Master of Accountancy from Colorado State University.

He founded ClearPath Advisors 9 years ago with a vision to help small business owners find success in their businesses thru coaching and understanding important metrics that drive their business. Victor’s passions outside of work are in serving the accounting profession, entrepreneurship and working with children-based non-profits.

Victor was selected to the American Institute of CPA’s (AICPA) Leadership Academy in 2013. Victor was also awarded Top 10 Public Accounting Professional Rising Star award from the National Academy of Public Accounting Professionals in 2015 and has been nominated to the Denver Business Journal’s ’40 under 40′ list in both 2014 and 2015. Currently he serves as chairman of the board for the Colorado Society of CPAs, member of the AICPA’s PCPS executive committee, as a representative of Colorado in the AICPA’s council and on Vega Collegiate Academy board as treasurer.

Victor was born in Honduras and raised in New Jersey. He is fluent in Spanish. In his spare time, Victor enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, and spending time with his wife Kim and two young children Ellie and Julian.

Distinguished Department of Accounting Alumni

Kermit Allard

Born into the fifth generation of a seventh generation Colorado family and the third generation of four generations of graduates from Colorado State University and former organization, Kermit graduated from CSU in 1971 after a tour in Europe and Vietnam with the U.S. Army. Upon graduation, he was employed with a small firm in Cheyenne, WY that merged into a large regional firm. While in Wyoming he became Partner. He was a member of various community and professional organizations. In 1985, he decided to open his own practice with his wife Judy in Fort Collins. Again, he was involved in various community, charitable and professional organizations. After 20 years of practice with his firm, he joined EKS&H as a Partner on October 1, 2005. He retired after 41 years of practice as a CPA in 2015.

Mark Soukup

A graduate of Fort Collins High School, Mark graduated from CSU in 1974. Mark received his Master of Taxation from CSU in 1976. He worked from 1974 to 1979 with Arthur Andersen & Co. He then formed a two-man CPA firm in Fort Collins which evolved into Soukup, Bush & Associates, a 45-person full-service accounting firm serving Northern Colorado. While at CSU three life altering events happened: he met the love of his life, Jenny, in a business class; his mentor Dr. Mike Vaughan gave him a passion for taxation and serving clients; and he witnessed firsthand how “passing it on” was a life-long endeavor. Another life enhancing event occurred in 2013, when his son, Dan, was admitted as a partner in the five-partner firm. Besides his work in the CPA firm, Mark was known regionally for his CPA continuing education classes which were attended by over 15,000 tax professionals spanning over a 25-year period. Mark engaged in a number of community activities; President of the Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, three-term director of the Northern Colorado Community Foundation, Co-chair on two CSU fund raising campaigns to name a few. Mark coached competitive boys’ baseball for 20 years. In addition, he taught grade school bible study and religious education for over 35 years. Mark and Jenny’s family consists of son Reed and wife Catharine; daughter Julie and husband Burak; and Dan and his wife, Laure. Mark and Jenny are blessed with four grandchildren. They will welcome Burak’s and Julie’s twin daughters this summer.

Distinguished Friend of the Department of Accounting

Melanie Middlemist

In January of 1986, Dr. Melanie Middlemist joined the faculty of the College of Business as an Associate Professor of Accounting. She was an important member of the Accounting Department until she retired in June of 2002. During the years prior to retirement, her instructional responsibilities primarily included: Government and Nonprofit Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I and II, and Principles of Accounting. In 2005, Dr. Middlemist collaborated with Dr. William Mister in the development of an online Fundamentals of Accounting course that was part of the CSU Business Certificate program for several years. Dr. Middlemist’s interactions with the students was not limited to the classroom. She served as faculty advisor to the Accounting Club from its inception in 1987 until her retirement. In addition, in 1991 she assumed the role of faculty advisor to Beta Alpha Psi and continued in that capacity until 2004, two years after her retirement from the faculty. In 2005 she returned to a part-time teaching role and continued to teach until June 2009.

Dr. Middlemist’s education includes a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado, and MS and PhD degrees in Accounting from Oklahoma State University. She is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Among many teaching and service awards she has been named as Accounting Department Professor of the Year, College of Business Professor of the Year, and was awarded the Jack E. Cermak Advisor Award and Outstanding Beta Alpha Psi Faculty Advisor.

Early Career Professional Alumni Award

Jackie Steinle

Jackie Steinle earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in accounting through the College of Business. After completing her MAcc in 2015, she joined Eide Bailly in Denver as a tax associate.

Her nomination for the early career award highlighted her service and involvement as her key achievements. Steinle volunteers far and wide, but she gives the majority of her time to the American Lung Association and serving as a Big Sister through iMentor.

"I mentor a high school student and we work on post high school skills and potential college and career placements," Steinle explained. "I started working with her when she was a freshman, and she graduates this May. She just decided on a college and I could not be more proud!"

Steinle has also been a member of Junior League for the last five years, volunteers with Stronghold Cambodia and serves as a youth group mentor. On top of all that, she is the Chair of Eide Bailly’s Colorado philanthropy committee.

Given her involvement, it is no surprise that she earned Eide Bailly’s Rising Star award in 2018, which recognizes exemplary employees who live the Eide Bailly culture through their everyday actions and rise above in their work and leadership roles.

"I am most proud of the fact that I was able to bring my passion of philanthropy into my career and get others excited about causes in our community," Steinle said.

Her advice for new graduates? "It’s important to find a job that respects your values and encourages you to succeed. Find mentors and coworkers that recognize how wonderful you are and can foster your skills."

Distinguished Alumni

Sean Daly

Sean Daly received his BSBA in accounting in 1975 and his MS in Accounting in 1976. He completed the CPA exam at age 20 and tied for the second highest score in the nation that year.

"Sean was probably the smartest guy of my era at CSU," David Blair, who nominated Daly for this award, said.

Daly was only getting started.

He began his career with Arthur Andersen in Denver after completing his master’s and transferred to the New Orleans office about a decade later. Shortly thereafter, he became Audit Partner, advancing to Managing Partner of the New Orleans office in January 2001.

When Andersen closed its doors in 2002, Daly joined the Ernst & Young LLP (EY) New Orleans office as a Direct Admit Partner. Through that transition, he explained, "I am most proud of my work to arrange for everyone at the Andersen office to have a job at EY, regardless of position and experience, when Andersen collapsed."

He transferred back to Denver with EY in 2003 and retired in 2016. Daly spent his career focused on and specializing in extractive industries such as oil, gas and mining.

His advice for accounting students? "Maintain the relationships you have in the College of Business after graduation, as well as the relationships you develop in the early years of joining a firm. These people will eventually end up across the business world and grow in their careers as you do. They are a built-in network from day one that you should nurture. They will be valuable in your career, whatever you end up doing."

Paul Gillis

Paul Gillis completed his MS in Accounting in 1976 and built his career specializing in Chinese accounting issues. He joined PwC directly from the College of Business and worked there for 28 years, starting in the Denver office then working in Singapore, San Francisco and Beijing.

"I am proudest of the fine people I recruited and developed there," Gillis shared. "Significantly one of my best hires was a young woman from CSU, Diane Baylor, who has become one of PwC’s most senior partners."

Gillis advanced to partner in 1988 and retired in 2004 as the Asia Pacific managing tax partner. After retirement, he went back to school to earn his doctorate. His thesis focused on the transnational regulation of accounting and led him to a seat on the Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) alongside fellow CSU grad Lynn Turner.

In addition to continuing his education, Gillis began teaching at Peking University in Beijing in 2007. He publishes news and opinions on his China Accounting Blog and has been quoted an innumerable amount in publications including the Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The New York Times and Bloomberg. 

He has also made extensive TV and radio appearances, mostly for Chinese state media, and he testified before Congress. Maybe his most exciting appearance was a cameo in the Netflix documentary "The China Hustle."

His best advice for young accountants: "Focus on your writing skills and maintain your network of contacts."

Distinguished Alumni

Lisa Hackard

Lisa is an audit partner based in Denver and serving as part of KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice. She is the partner in charge of KPMG’s U.S. system of quality control, which provides the foundation for audit and attestation quality, and she is the U.S representative on the global working group developing methodology and guidance for the implementation of forthcoming quality control standards. With more than 23 years of experience, Lisa provides audit and business advisory services primarily in the telecommunications, media and technology industries, as well as manufacturing, real estate, construction, mining and oil & gas industries. 
Lisa is the national chair for KPMG’s Abilities in Motion network, serves as part of the firm’s Accelerate 2025 task force, focused on DE&I and leads the U.S. Firm’s Resiliency pillar as part of the Culture network. Lisa promotes awareness of disabilities and mental health matters through local and national events, internal and external publications and workshops on topics including stress management, self-care, resiliency, and happiness. She also serves as a mentor and resource for partners and employees throughout the firm and envisions a culture where the importance of mental and physical health is equally prominent and supported. 

Roger Sample

Roger graduated from Colorado State University in 1975 and joined Peat, Marwick, Mitchell as a staff accountant. At age 26, he cofounded Sample & Bailey PC serving as a tax shareholder for 35 years. In 2014, the firm was acquired by Eide Bailly where he worked as a partner until his retirement in 2016.

During his career, he enjoyed serving on a variety of boards and committees. These included: Fort Collins Economic Development Corporation, Fort Collins Sertoma Club, Poudre Valley Hospital Foundation, PKF NA (an association of accounting firms in North America), Wells Fargo Community Board, Home State Bank Board and Chairman of Home State Bancorp, Fort Collins Country Club, Fort Collins Chamber of Commerce, and the Colorado Society of CPAs. He currently serves on the boards of Surgery Center of Fort Collins, a multispecialty ambulatory surgery center and Beyond, an international missions organization. He serves as an Elder at Connections Church and STL at Bible Study Fellowship.    

He and his wife, Susie, met at Fort Collins High School and were married just before his senior year at CSU. This year they will celebrate their 48th anniversary. Susie and Roger have two children, Brandi Raehal (Devon) and Lance Sample (Melissa). They also have 7 grandsons, each of whom they are very proud. They have been season ticket holders to CSU football and basketball for over 35 years. They love playing golf and vacationing in Maui. Roger gets his exercise by riding his bike about 2,000 miles each year. They treasure the many friendships that have developed in their lives.

Early Career Award

Alexandria Romero

Alexandria Romero earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Colorado State University – Fort Collins in 2006 and her Master’s in Professional Accounting from Colorado State University Global. Alex is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Colorado and a 2019 American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Leadership Academy Graduate. Alex worked in public accounting as a Senior Auditor and Tax Accountant for a local Pueblo CPA firm prior to joining the Pueblo City-County Library District in late 2019, where she is now the Chief Financial Officer. 

She has served in various leadership roles including the COCPA’s Young Professional Council Chair and the 2021-2022 Vice Chair, 2022-2023 Chair of the Young Member Leadership Committee for the AICPA. At a local level, Alex has volunteered as the Southern Colorado Runners Club Treasurer from 2018-2020, the Junior League of Pueblo Board Treasurer from 2019-2021, and as the 2021-2022 Junior League of Pueblo President. Alex has been recognized as a CPA Practice Advisor 40 Under 40 Accounting Professional, a Colorado Society of CPAs (COCPA) 2021 Women to Watch Emerging Leader, a 2021 Outstanding Women’s Award recipient by the Pueblo Library Foundation, a 2019 40 Under 40 Emerging Leader by the Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce, a 2019 CPAs Make a Difference Heroine by the COCPA, and the 2018 Most Valuable Club Member by the Southern Colorado Runners Club. 

Alex is married to her high school sweetheart with whom she shares a son with. As a family, they love to travel and explore new places. Alex also is an avid runner, bicycle rider, and cake decorator.

Distinguished Friend

Margarita Lenk

After 31 years of exceptional service to CSU, Margarita Lenk, PhD retired from a long and stories teaching career. Margarita has made numerous significant contributions to her Department, College, University, and profession. She has published over 40 articles, monographs, and book chapters in a variety of areas including governance, ethics, and social media risk management. Her commitment to teaching has been unwavering. In 2007, she was the recipient of the College’s Excellence in Teaching Award, and in 2009, she received the Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching award from CSU’s Board of Governors. As a testament to her dedication to teaching and her far-reaching impact on students, Margarita was the recipient of the Cook/Deloitte Foundation/AAA Excellence in Undergraduate Education award in 2019, an extremely prestigious honor from her discipline’s professional association. Margarita’s dedication to the betterment of our profession and University through service is remarkable. Most notably, she received a Hall of Fame award from The PhD Project underscoring her dedication to DEI values and access/excellence in education. Furthermore, she received the University’s Pennock Distinguished Service Award showing her dedication to CSU. Highlights to her extensive service to the University include a two-year stint on the University’s Executive Committee and serving on the CSU System Board of Governors as the faculty representative.

Distinguished Alumni

Jeff Hansen

Jeff Hansen has spent nearly four decades working in finance for local governments across Colorado’s Front Range. He started his career with the city of Longmont and worked for the city of Lafayette and the town of Castle Rock before landing at the city of Golden, where he’s worked as finance director for more than 20 years.

Through government work, he feels like he’s able to make an impact.

“Whether it’s naïve or not, when you work for a local government, you feel like you’re making a difference in that community,” he said. “I’ve always been, I would like to think, a good steward of taxpayer dollars. I make sure we spend the money the right way within the proper policies and protocols and that we do things the right way for the benefit of the community.”

It’s also a career that’s offered him an enviable work-life balance. He’s had the time to do things he loves like coaching youth and high school basketball and serving as a high school basketball referee.

“The work itself can be very rewarding, and then the opportunities that it provides me to do things outside of work have also been very rewarding,” he said.

When Hansen was studying accounting at the College of Business, working in government finance wasn’t even on his radar. The more traditional path, he says, was to join a large CPA firm or a big corporation.

That’s a big part of why he returns to his alma mater to speak with accounting students about choosing a career path.

“When I go and talk to the students, part of it is to broaden their awareness of various career opportunities that are out there and available,” he said.

Hansen might not have initially planned to go into government work, but he’s been interested in accounting since high school. Shortly after Hansen learned he would be honored at the Accounting Awards and Recognition event, he reconnected with his high school accounting teacher.

“I was able to connect with him, share with him this award that I’m going to receive and thank him for his part in putting me on that career path,” he said.

Hansen says he felt honored and humbled to be inducted into the Department of Accounting’s Hall of Fame.

“You go through life and try to do the best and do what you think are the right things, and for me, giving back to CSU and talking to the students has just been one of those things that was the right thing for me to do,” he said. “To be recognized for my career and stuff like that, it is really cool.”

Butch Shoup

Butch Shoup describes his career of more than 40 years as “a long and winding road, as The Beatles would say.” He has spent most of his career working as a CPA for firms in Texas and Colorado, but he also had brief stints working in the petrochemical, real estate and oil and gas industries.

What’s made his career exciting is the wide variety of clients he’s worked with over the years.

“Everything I’ve done has been unique, that’s for sure,” Shoup said. “I think that that’s what makes it fun – I’m not doing the same thing every day, day in and day out. I am seeing new things and new clients, and what really is most fulfilling to me is to get to know my clients and figure out what their desires are and help them plan for their future.”

Shoup grew up in Rifle, on Colorado’s Western Slope, and was the first in his family to graduate from college. After taking several business classes in high school, he knew he wanted to be a CPA.

“I guess I was pretty driven as a youngster, as an 18-year-old just out of high school,” he said. “I knew where I wanted to go and I knew what I wanted to do, and nothing was going to stop me.”

He had always dreamed of working in oil and gas, so after graduating from the College of Business, he moved to Houston, Texas, to work for Shell Oil Company. After about two years, he went into public accounting.

“I’ve been in public accounting since ‘83, roughly, and all sorts of firms, big firms, small firms, medium-sized firms,” he said. While in Texas, he took a brief detour away from public accounting to work in petrochemicals. He also earned an MBA in taxation from the University of Houston.

Shoup and his family left Houston for Colorado’s San Luis Valley before settling in the Denver metro area. His longest tenure at an accounting firm was at CliftonLarsonAllen, where he spent about 15 years. He retired from CliftonLarsonAllen in 2015 and opened his own company, V.E. Shoup CPA LLC. In 2020, he partnered with another College of Business alum, Veronica Kepner, to form V2 CPAs LLC.

“I knew what a big firm looked like, and I just decided I wanted to slow down a bit,” he said.

Shoup said he was shocked – but thrilled – to learn he was going to be inducted into the Department of Accounting’s Hall of Fame.

“I really am appreciative of the award and what it stands for, because it does recognize my life’s work,” he said. “For me to be part of the Hall of Fame and seeing the other inductees – I mean, I am truly standing with some accounting giants, and it is really an honor.”