Instructor
Rebekah Olson
Instructor
Rebekah (Brown) Olson, CPA, is the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and an influential figure in the accounting profession, recognized as one of Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting for 2022.
Joining the MACPA in 2012, Rebekah assumed the position of Manager of Membership Development and Engagement in 2014. In 2018, she was appointed Director of Development, where she served on the leadership team steering the association through the complex challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the departure of longstanding CEO Tom Hood.
Passionate about the future of the accounting profession, Rebekah is a sought-after speaker who frequently shares her insights on professional trends and opportunities. As a certified facilitator, she has guided numerous organizations, both in the United States and Canada, in the strategic planning process.
Rebekah's contributions have garnered recognition from various prestigious entities. CPA Practice Advisor recognized her as a top thought leader under 40 in the CPA profession in 2017, 2019, and 2020. In 2019, she was honored with the President's Award by the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Baltimore Chapter for her community service. Additionally, Rebekah was named a Maryland Daily Record Leading Women Honoree in 2020.
Rebekah holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, dual specializing in Accounting and Sports Management, from The Max M. Fisher School of Business at The Ohio State University, which she earned in 2009. She obtained her CPA designation in 2011. After gaining invaluable experience at a Top 100 firm, Rebekah decided to leave public accounting and leverage her talents and experiences to work on behalf of the profession at the Maryland Association of CPAs.
Is unconscious bias hindering you, your team or your organization? Unconscious bias is bias that happens automatically. It is triggered by our brain making quick judgments and assessments of people and situations based on our background, cultural environment and personal experiences.
Have you ever arrived home from work and don’t remember the drive at all? Or perhaps you moved, but drove to the old house on your way home. Once neural pathways are formed, like your daily commute, they become almost automatic. We don’t spend time thinking about each turn on the way home, our body just does it. While this can be helpful for remembering your route home, it can be detrimental in other areas of our lives.
In this session we will explore these biases, how they might be hurting, us, our team and our organization and what we can do to create new neural pathways and combat unconscious bias.
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