DEI Committee Members

Meet Nayo Carter- Gray.

Making Accounting a Little Less Taxing ®  for small business owners is Nayo’s goal as owner and founder of 1st Step Accounting LLC. A self-proclaimed techie Nayo decided a virtual accounting practice was the best way to experience her love of travel and still help small business owners all across the US reduce the stress of managing their disorganized financial systems. Mrs. Carter-Gray is an Enrolled Agent, a QuickBooks Online Advanced Certified Pro-Advisor, was named one of Hubdoc’s Top 50 Cloud Accountants in North America (2017 & 2018), was handpicked to sit on the 2018-2019 Intuit Accountant Council, named one of Forbes Top 100 Tax Twitter accounts to follow and one of the Top 50 Women in Accounting by Practice Ignition 2 years in a row.

Meet Tynisa Ty Gaines.

She has been a proud member of NAEA since 2007, an NTPI fellow since 2010, and an SSLA graduate and current instructor. Her impressive resume includes receiving the “EA of the year” award from the Virginia Society of Enrolled Agents (VASEA) in 2015 and being a past VASEA President. Ty is also a former director for NAEA and former chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. In recognition of her exceptional mentorship skills, Ty received the “Mentor of the year” award from NAEA in 2022. She is currently a Tax Project Manager for Token Tax LLC, working remotely from Fort Worth, Texas.

Meet Virginia Noriko Justus.

She is passionate about supporting NAEA as a place where people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities feel included and represented. She would love to see NAEA’s education and leadership teams reflect America’s diverse population.  One of her inspirations is her grandmother, Koto Izumo, who started her own accounting business in Los Angeles after World War II in the face of prejudice against Japanese Americans.  

Virginia Noriko Justus is a self-employed Enrolled Agent in the Santa Cruz Mountains town of Boulder Creek, California, where she lives with her husband and young son. She serves as the Office Liaison and as a Director for Mission Society of Enrolled Agents, headquartered in Silicon Valley.

Meet Matt Metras.

Matt is an enrolled agent and is the owner of MDM Financial Services in Irondequoit, NY. He has been practicing since 2003 and specializes in bookkeeping and taxation for cryptocurrency clients. He is a frequent guest on the Bitcoin Taxes podcast. He has instructed on Cryptocurrency Taxation for the NAEA and many other organizations and is a contributing writer for thinkoutsidethetaxbox.com. He also serves on NAEA’s Governmental Relations Committee.  Matt is also a passionate community advocate and serves on his local Board of Education.

Meet Dannie Lynn Fountain.

Dannie Lynn is a Seasonal Tax Manager at Intuit TurboTax and a graduate of Albion College. She has been working as a tax professional for over 10 years and has extensive experience working with small businesses and side hustlers. She is a licensed Enrolled Agent and is a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA). Dannie Lynn is a passionate storyteller who helps companies focus on people. By day, she’s a program manager at Google developing the next generation of software engineers and by night she supports clients and brands with HR-focused diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. She’s also a multi-passionate human – beyond working in HR, Dannie Lynn is a five-time author and founder of the #sidehustlegal movement. She has been interviewed or quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, Bustle, Bloomberg, Business Insider, Cosmopolitan, Digiday, The Everygirl, Girlboss, and more. Dannie Lynn is also the author of Ending Checkbox Diversity, released on October 25, 2022.

Meet Lawrence K.Y. Pon.

Larry is a Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist, Certified Financial Planner, Enrolled Agent, United States Tax Court Practitioner, and Accredited Estate Planner in Redwood Shores, CA.  Mr. Pon has been in practice since 1986 and enjoys helping his clients reach their financial goals.  He frequently speaks on tax and financial planning topics to tax professionals, financial advisors, and the general public nationally and is a long-time member of NAEA and CSEA. He received his BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting and Finance from the University of California, Berkeley, and MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Meet Josh Youngblood. 

Josh began his business career over 25 years ago, starting his first company at age 15.  Business and technology have always been Josh’s passions, with taxation (especially related to small business) a particular area of interest. After providing bookkeeping and tax services to clients for several years, Josh decided to further his study. While tempted to go back to school and pursue a CPA path, Josh decided instead to focus on taxation and representing all taxpayers with US tax responsibilities, without the constraint of a state license–he decided to become an Enrolled Agent (EA). His grandmother was a long-time EA, and Josh saw her help many clients who felt burdened and overwhelmed by IRS obligations and audits.  After passing all three EA exams on his first attempt, Josh received his license to practice before the IRS. One of his happiest moments was being able to tell his grandmother about this achievement.  With his fully credentialed EA status, Josh created The Youngblood Group. Since its inception, Josh has had many wonderful opportunities to help small businesses navigate business challenges during a global pandemic.

When Josh isn’t helping clients and reading the tax code, he enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and all facets of technology.