Continuing Education
CPE Program Level: Ethics
1 CPE Credit Recommended; NO prerequisites or advance preparation
CTEC Course #: 3022-CE-0063
ELMS Course #: 22895
CPE credits and certificates are not available for this program.
Program Content
The mission of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is to set, communicate, and enforce standards of competence, integrity and conduct among Circular 230 professionals. Watch the new director of the IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Karen L. Hawkins and our panel of experts discuss OPR's oversight of professionals practicing before the IRS and the approaches this important office is taking to carry out its mission.
Learning Objectives
The primary learning objective is to maintain or increase competency of tax practitioners through expert discussion, explanation and interactive questioning. The programs are designed for learners (tax professionals) to exercise a practical understanding of new and current tax policies, as well as the latest changes, in a complex and continually changing industry.
Program Caption Information
Moderator
Les Witmer, APR
Communications Consultant
Les Witmer is currently a Communications Consultant in Atlanta. He has served as the moderator for Tax Talk Today since March 2000. He retired after a distinguished career of 34 years with the Federal Government serving the last 23 years with the Internal Revenue Service. His last year with the IRS he worked on the design of the Wage and Investment Division and retired as the Acting Director of Communications for that Division. He was responsible for the communications programs that included employee communications, media relations, practitioner and external stakeholder relations, congressional affairs, public and government liaison and other public relations and information programs.
He previously held responsible IRS communications positions including first Director of Internal Communications for the IRS in Washington, D.C., Assistant to the Southeast Regional Commissioner for Public Affairs and district Public Affairs positions serving as the chief local spokesperson on Federal tax matters.
During his last five years with the IRS, Les was periodically assigned by U.S. Treasury Department to the Office of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to be a member of an international team that advised and conducted seminars on Public Relations and Customer Service programs to tax and ministry of finance officials from Russia and former Soviet Bloc Countries. Preceding IRS, he served with the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in Vietnam, public affairs officer at Ft. Meade, MD, instructor at Department of Defense Information School (DINFOS) and other active duty and reserve assignments.
He retired as a Colonel, U.S. Army Reserves. He's an accredited member and past committee chairman, board member and officer of the Atlanta Chapter of Public Relations Society of America. Les is active in the community and has served in various other capacities including board member for the Georgia Council on Economic Education and worked with the 1996 Olympic Organizational Committee. He holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi and M.S. in Public Administration from the American University.
Host
Becki J. Dobyns
Manager, Visual Communications Group
Small Business/Self-Employed
Internal Revenue Service
Becki Dobyns is currently using her 20-plus years of communication experience to manage the Visual Communications Group in the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed business unit. The group produces numerous video projects for taxpayers, tax practitioners, and IRS employees.
Prior to this role, she led the team communicating the IRS strategic plan, worked communications for the Wage and Investment Division, Human Capital Office, the Information Technology department, Agency-Wide Shared Services, and served as the lead communicator for the team responsible for IRS downsizing and layoffs. She has extensive experience both on- and off-camera, including training, briefings and live broadcasts.
Before joining the IRS in 2003, Ms. Dobyns worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Headquarters where she developed communication plans and strategies, served as media spokesperson, and conducted media training and pre-camera coaching. She regularly advised Army general officers and civilian leaders regarding strategic communication, issues management, and message development.
Ms. Dobyns graduated cum laude from the University of California at Davis in 1985 with a degree in English. Honors include a Superior Civilian Service Award, Commander's Award for Civilian Service, two IRS Directors Awards, and first place and three honorable mentions in Army's Keith L. Ware journalism competition.
Panelists
Lonnie Gary, EA
Director
RSM McGladrey Inc.
Lonnie Gary is an Enrolled Agent from Union City, California. As a director in the Silicon Valley office of RSM McGladrey Inc., he specializes in federal and state tax agency representation. Lonnie is a member of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council (IRSAC) where he serves as Sub-group Chair of the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Advisory Committee.
Lonnie graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a minor in Business. He has been preparing tax returns professionally for more than twenty years and passed the Special Enrollment Exam in 1992. In 1999, he became a fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute (NTPI) of the National Association of Enrolled Agents - Education Foundation (NAEA-EF).
Lonnie currently serves on the Board of Directors and the Government Relations Committee of NAEA. He is also past president (2004-2005) of the California Society of Enrolled Agents (CSEA), where he presently serves on the Legislative Affairs and Political Action Committees.
Karen L. Hawkins
Director
Office of Professional Responsibility
Internal Revenue Service
Karen L. Hawkins is currently the Director of the Office of Professional Responsibility for the IRS. Prior to taking this position in April, 2009, she was in private practice at the Oakland, California law firm of Taggart & Hawkins where she specialized in civil and criminal tax controversy cases for nearly 30 years.
Ms. Hawkins holds several degrees including: MBA in Taxation, J. D. and M.Ed. Among her many honors and awards are: V. Judson Kelin Award from the California Bar's Taxation Section and the National Pro Bono Award from the ABA's Taxation Section.
Ms. Hawkins was slated to become Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation this month before she accepted appointment to the OPR position.
Christopher S. Rizek
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered
Christopher S. Rizek is a member of the law firm of Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, in Washington, D.C. He formerly served as Associate Tax Legislative Counsel in the U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Tax Policy, where he helped write tax procedural guidance and legislation, including particularly the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2 (1996) and the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. He has also previously worked in other Washington law firms and as a Trial Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division.
Mr. Rizek has a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Dartmouth College and received his J.D. and his LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. He currently is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, was formerly Chairman of the Anne Arundel County (Maryland) Ethics Commission, and has chaired committees and served in other capacities in the D.C. Bar's Taxation Section and the American Bar Association, Section of Taxation.
Michael L. Salyards
Senior Counsel
General Legal Services
Internal Revenue Service
As Senior Counsel, General Legal Services, Michael L. Salyards serves as advisor and representative for officials of the Internal Revenue Service and Office of Chief Counsel on non-tax legal issues. Mr. Salyards is a trial attorney in Dallas, Texas, who has spent his entire career litigating a broad range of the most complex and sensitive matters facing his client agencies. These substantive areas include defense of labor, personnel, EEO, and constitutional tort claims, and prosecution of Office of Professional Responsibility complaints against practitioners charged with violations of Treasury Department Circular No. 230.
Mr. Salyards graduated from the University of Denver in 1985 with a degree in political science and received his J.D. degree from The University of Texas School of Law in 1992. Mr. Salyards began his career with the Office of Chief Counsel, General Legal Services, in 1987.
