Maner Costerisan Welcomes More Than 40 New Team Members to Firm in Recent Weeks

LANSING, Mich. – Maner Costerisan, a top regional business consulting and public accounting firm based in Lansing, Mich., continues to invest in growing its team. The firm has welcomed more than 40 new team members since October 31, 2022, and recently announced the hiring of Rod Taylor to lead its new Municipality Consulting Services team. 

Rod brings more than 27 years of experience working in governmental entities to Maner’s government team. Most recently, he served as a division administrator at the State of Michigan, assisting local governments with maintaining strong fiscal and operational health. He leveraged statistical analysis to identify local units with fiscal or operational distresses and proactively worked with them to address their challenges.  

Before his time at the State, Rod worked for 11 years as the DeWitt Township manager.  

In his new role as a senior governmental consultant, Rod will support Maner’s government clients in strengthening their fiscal and operational structure.  

“We’re thrilled to welcome Rod to the firm,” said Bill Tucker, CPA, Principal, Director, and leader of Maner’s Government team. “Rod’s deep experience and tremendous passion for helping government entities succeed make him the best person to lead our new Municipality Consulting Services team. With his leadership, the firm looks forward to providing consulting support to more municipalities across the state.” 

Municipal Consulting Services is a focus area of Maner’s new Consulting Services division, which falls under the firm’s Accounting & Outsourced Solutions department.  

In addition to Rod’s hiring, Maner Costerisan has welcomed more than 40 new team members in various departments across the firm since October 31, 2022: 

Chris Aguilar, CPA, returned to the firm’s Accounting & Outsourced Solutions department as a senior manager in December 2022. Chris has more than 20 years of combined experience in public and private accounting, most recently serving as the controller at Varnum, a top-10 legal firm in Michigan. In his new senior manager role, Chris will focus on supporting clients with their strategy and planning needs, including data analytics and transactional services support. Chris is a graduate of Central Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration – Accounting. 

Kimberly Westfall, CPA, CGMA, is a senior manager in Maner’s Audit department. She brings more than 16 years of nonprofit auditing and accounting experience to Maner’s Nonprofit team. Before joining Maner, Kimberly served as finance manager for Berrien RESA in Berrien County, Michigan, and associate director of quality control for General Conference Auditing Service. Kimberly will provide audit services to Maner’s nonprofit clients in her new role at Maner. Kimberly graduated from Andrews University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting.  

Christopher Young, CPA, joined the Tax department as a senior manager in January 2023. Christopher has over 10 years of public accounting experience in tax and 20 years of work experience at Ernst & Young, Katz, Sapper & Miller, and Peachin, Schwartz & Weingardt. Christopher graduated with a master’s in accounting from Indiana University – Indianapolis. 

Kevin Todd, CPA, EA, USTCP, joined Maner’s Tax department as an experienced manager late last year. Kevin brings more than 20 years of professional experience to the firm, including 14 in accounting. He was recently named to the U.S. Tax Court as a non-attorney, joining approximately 300 accountants with this privilege. Kevin graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Accounting.  

Phil Chajkowski joined the firm’s Accounting & Outsourced Solutions department as an outsourced controller associate in October 2022. Before joining Maner Costerisan, he served as a Lead Accountant at a local county, acting as the primary reporting contact for $56 Million ARPA Grant and as the Director of Accounting for a state association. Phil holds a Bachelor of Arts, Major in Accounting degree from Spring Arbor University. 

Devan Alexander and Nate Johnson, CPA, joined the firm as experienced associates in Maner’s Tax department. A graduate of Calvin University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Accounting, Devan joins Maner from Abraham & Gaffney.  

Before joining Maner, Nate worked for the State of Michigan Public Service Commission as an auditor and for the Diocese of Lansing as an accounting specialist. He has a Master of Science in Accounting from Davenport University.  

Chandler Cavendish and Kathryn Hengesbach transitioned to full-time associates in Maner’s Accounting & Outsourced Solutions department in 2023. Jon Seymour and Katerine Olivera also transitioned into full-time roles in Maner’s Audit department earlier this year. Cavendish, Hengesbach, Olivera, and Seymour all served as interns at Maner in 2022.   

Danielle Badger (Davenport University), Anthony Herrick (Northwood University), Aiden North (Saginaw Valley State University), and Karl Stasiulis (Grand Valley State University) joined the Audit department as associates.  

Christian Brown (Everett High School) joined Maner as an operations/administrative co-op student in late 2022. 

In addition to the new hires noted above, Maner Costerisan welcomed the following new faces as part of its recent merger with Hall & Romkema, PLC:  

• Joe Romkema, CPA, Principal, Tax
• Rick Tanke, CPA, PFS, Principal, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions  
• Maureen Miller, CPA, Senior Manager, Tax  
• Tracee Langenfeld, CPA, Manager, Tax  
• Helen Thomas, CPA, Manager, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions 
• Julie Swix, Associate, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions 
• Tresea Jackson, Associate, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions 
• Stacy Roberts, Associate, Wealth Management 
• Grace Rambo, Associate, Tax  

• Rachelle Noecker, Bookkeeper/Accountant, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions 
• Jordyn Trebilcott, Associate, Operations/Administrative  

Lastly, 13 interns joined Maner for the upcoming tax season:  

•         Jayson Tunstall, Saginaw Valley State University, Audit
•         Zachary Camilleri, Central Michigan University, Audit
•         Joshua Dekam, Lansing Community College, Tax
•         Elly Delgado, Grand Valley State University, Audit
•         Charlotte Dunn, Davenport University, Audit
•         Jiao Kang, Michigan State University, Tax
•         Vivian Lievense, Northern Michigan University, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions
•         Karissa Lirio, Grand Valley State University, Tax
•         Kailey Mangold, Michigan State University, Tax Operations
•         Aaron Regner, Ferris State University/Lansing Community College, Audit
•         Sydney Sheaks, Hope College, Tax
•         Nicholas Spadafore, Michigan State University, Tax
•         Andre Wiegand, Michigan State University/Lansing Community College, Accounting & Outsourced Solutions

About Maner Costerisan 

Maner Costerisan is a full-service public accounting, technology, wealth management, and business consulting firm located in Lansing and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Based on annual revenue, it is currently the sixth-largest accounting firm headquartered in Michigan. Founded in 1906, Maner Costerisan employs more than 150 professionals and has experienced consistent growth for over 20 years. 

Accounting, audit, and assurance, consulting, tax, technology, and wealth management services are provided to clients in a variety of industries, including affordable housing, cannabis, construction, education, government, healthcare, high net worth individuals, manufacturing, nonprofit, small and mid-sized businesses, and telecommunications. Maner Costerisan was recognized as one of Crain’s Detroit’s 2022 Cool Places to Work. The prestigious annual list ranked Maner No. 13 among medium-sized businesses statewide and No. 40 overall. In addition, Maner has been ranked one of the Best Firms to Work For by Accounting Today for seven consecutive years. 

For information about Maner Costerisan, visit manercpa.com or call 517.323.7500.