Introduction to State and Local Taxation 2026 – Day 2 (Presented by NYU School of Professional Studies)

Lynn A. Gandhi is a partner in the Taxation Practice and Private Wealth Practice at Foley & Lardner LLP, based in Detroit, Michigan. She advises high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, fiduciaries, and tax-exempt organizations on sophisticated domestic and international tax matters. Lynn’s practice focuses on estate planning, wealth transfer planning, business succession, charitable planning, trust and estate administration, and tax-efficient strategies for closely held businesses and multinational families. She also counsels clients on international estate planning, cross-border wealth transfers, and the tax implications of global investments and ownership structures.

Michael J. Hilkin is a partner in the State & Local Tax Practice at McDermott Will & Schulte. His practice focuses on complex state and local tax (SALT) matters, including tax controversy, planning, and transactional issues involving state and local income, franchise, sales and use, gross receipts, and other business taxes. Michael represents clients before administrative agencies and state and federal courts, including state supreme courts, helping multinational corporations and other businesses navigate sophisticated tax disputes and compliance challenges.

Elizabeth S. Cha is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland in New York. She advises clients on a broad spectrum of state and local tax matters, including tax planning, structuring, and integration, with experience spanning income, franchise, sales and use, and other state and local taxes. Elizabeth also represents clients throughout all phases of state and local tax controversies and has particular experience advising companies in highly regulated industries, including telecommunications, insurance, and financial services.

Chelsea Marmor is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. Her practice focuses on advising businesses on complex state and local tax matters, including tax controversy, planning, compliance, and transactional issues. Chelsea counsels clients on state income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, and other multistate tax issues. She also represents taxpayers in administrative proceedings, audits, and litigation, helping clients navigate evolving state tax laws and minimize tax exposure across multiple jurisdictions.

Dominic Zambrano is Senior Director of Tax at Comcast Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He specializes in state and local taxation (SALT), with extensive experience advising on tax policy, strategic tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, tax controversy, audits, tax technology, compliance, and tax process improvement. With more than 20 years of experience in state and local tax, Dominic provides strategic guidance on complex tax issues affecting large multinational organizations and plays a key role in supporting Comcast’s corporate tax function.

Timothy Gustafson is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. He advises businesses on a broad range of state and local tax matters, with a practice focused on tax controversy, multistate tax planning, and transactional tax issues. Timothy represents clients before state taxing authorities and courts in disputes involving income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, and unclaimed property. He also counsels clients on the state tax implications of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and other business transactions, helping companies navigate complex multistate tax issues while minimizing tax risk.

David Yanchik is a Managing Director at KPMG in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he advises clients on the state income tax consequences of complex corporate transactions. His practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, multistate tax planning, and state tax controversy matters. David works with businesses to evaluate the tax implications of strategic transactions and provides practical guidance on navigating multistate tax rules, helping clients address sophisticated tax issues associated with corporate restructurings and business operations.

Melanie L. Lee is a partner in the Tax, Benefits, and Private Client Practice Group at Blank Rome LLP. She focuses her practice on sophisticated estate planning, estate and trust administration, and wealth preservation strategies for high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and fiduciaries. Melanie advises clients on designing customized estate plans, implementing tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies, administering complex estates and trusts, and addressing fiduciary matters. She also counsels clients on charitable planning and business succession strategies, helping families preserve and transfer wealth across generations.

Cyavash Ahmadi is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. His practice focuses on state and local tax controversy, planning, and transactional matters, advising businesses on complex issues involving income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, and unclaimed property. Cyavash represents clients before state taxing authorities and courts throughout all stages of audits, administrative appeals, and litigation, while also counseling businesses on the state tax implications of corporate restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, and multistate operations.

Mark W. Yopp is a senior tax attorney whose practice focuses on state and local tax (SALT) matters, including tax controversy, multistate tax planning, and legislative analysis. As a member of the Tax Practice Group at Baker McKenzie, he advises clients on complex state tax issues involving corporate and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, withholding taxes, and unclaimed property. Mark also counsels businesses on the state tax implications of emerging technologies, including digital goods and services, cloud computing, and electronic commerce, helping clients navigate evolving tax laws in rapidly changing industries.

Daniel Hopper is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. His practice focuses on state and local tax controversy, planning, and policy matters, with extensive experience representing businesses in disputes involving income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, and unclaimed property. Daniel advises clients on multistate tax planning, the state tax implications of complex business transactions, and constitutional issues affecting state taxation. He regularly represents taxpayers before administrative agencies and state courts, helping businesses navigate evolving state tax laws and resolve sophisticated tax disputes.

Periklis Fokaidis is a partner in the Tax Practice at Eversheds Sutherland, based in London. He advises multinational corporations, private equity firms, investment funds, and financial institutions on complex international tax matters, with a particular focus on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, financing transactions, and investment structures. Periklis regularly counsels clients on the tax aspects of domestic and international transactions, helping businesses develop tax-efficient strategies while navigating evolving global tax regulations.

Aruna Chittiappa is a partner in the Tax practice at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. She advises multinational corporations, private equity sponsors, and investment funds on complex U.S. and international tax matters arising from domestic and cross-border transactions. Her practice focuses on the tax aspects of mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, financings, joint ventures, and capital markets transactions. Aruna also counsels clients on international tax planning, helping businesses structure transactions in a tax-efficient manner while navigating evolving global tax rules.

Ted Friedman is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. He focuses his practice on complex state and local tax planning, controversy, and litigation matters, representing clients across a broad range of industries. Ted advises businesses on state income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, unclaimed property, and transactional tax issues. He regularly represents taxpayers before state taxing authorities and courts and counsels clients on the state tax implications of mergers, acquisitions, restructurings, and other strategic business transactions.

Timothy Schally is a partner in the Tax Practice at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, where he advises businesses, private equity firms, investors, and individuals on a broad range of federal tax matters. His practice focuses on domestic and international tax planning, mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructurings, private equity and venture capital transactions, partnership taxation, and executive compensation. Timothy works closely with clients to structure complex transactions in a tax-efficient manner while helping them navigate evolving federal tax laws and achieve their business objectives.

Jeremy Gove is a partner in the State and Local Tax (SALT) practice at Eversheds Sutherland. He focuses his practice on complex state and local tax controversy, planning, and litigation matters, representing clients across a wide range of industries. Jeremy advises businesses on state income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, gross receipts taxes, and other multistate tax issues, helping clients navigate audits, administrative proceedings, and litigation while developing practical strategies to minimize state tax exposure and address evolving tax laws.

Diane Beleckas is Counsel at Eversheds Sutherland in New York, where she focuses her practice on state and local tax (SALT) matters. She advises clients across a broad range of industries, including financial institutions, investment funds, retailers, insurers, and other businesses, on complex multistate tax planning, compliance, and controversy matters. Diane counsels clients on issues involving income and franchise taxes, sales and use taxes, real property transfer taxes, and ad valorem taxes, helping businesses evaluate tax exposure, structure transactions efficiently, and pursue available state tax incentives and credits. She also represents clients in SALT disputes nationwide, handling matters from audit advocacy through state court appeals, and assists clients with filings, ruling requests, and voluntary disclosure submissions.

Madison Ball is an Associate at Eversheds Sutherland’s New York office, where she focuses her practice on state and local tax matters. She advises clients on a broad range of SALT issues, including income tax, franchise tax, sales and use tax, and property tax matters. Prior to joining Eversheds Sutherland, Madison worked at an Am Law 100 law firm, where she concentrated on state and local tax matters, including tax controversy. She also gained experience at a Big Four accounting firm, providing merger and acquisition due diligence services and advising companies on various state and local tax issues.

Stephanie N. Terinoni is an Associate at Eversheds Sutherland in Washington, DC, where she focuses her practice on state and local tax (SALT) matters. She advises clients on a variety of sophisticated SALT issues, including controversy and planning matters involving income, franchise, and sales and use taxes. Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Stephanie worked at an Am Law 100 law firm, where she focused on SALT controversy and planning matters, and previously worked in SALT controversy and audit matters at a Fortune 50 company. Stephanie is also a certified public accountant in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and combines her legal and accounting background to assist clients with complex state tax matters.

Amy Letourneau is a Senior Manager in the State and Local Tax (SALT) group of Washington National Tax at RSM US LLP. She has more than 15 years of experience advising clients on complex state and local corporate income tax matters across a variety of industries. Amy serves as a technical resource on accounting for state income taxes under ASC 740 and monitors developments in state tax law and accounting guidance to help RSM clients address evolving tax requirements. Her experience includes state tax research and planning, controversy matters, tax provision preparation and audits, corporate tax compliance, mergers and acquisitions, supply chain and debt structuring, and tax function outsourcing.

Drew VandenBrul, CPA, is a Managing Director at Grant Thornton LLP, where he specializes in state and local tax consulting, compliance, and transaction planning. With more than 30 years of experience, he advises middle-market companies, private equity funds, and publicly traded companies across a range of industries, including real estate, telecommunications, manufacturing, and healthcare. In addition to his professional practice, Drew serves as an adjunct professor in the Villanova Graduate Tax program and has been actively involved in community and nonprofit organizations, including serving on the board of trustees for Natural Lands.

Leonore Heavey, Esq., is Senior Tax Counsel at the Council On State Taxation (COST), where she serves as the lead advocate for the Northeastern states. She brings extensive experience in state and local taxation, with a background that includes government service at the Louisiana Department of Revenue, where she held multiple leadership roles involving tax policy, administration, and audit review. Leonore has significant experience addressing state tax issues and regulatory matters, combining her legal education with her background in tax administration and economic analysis.

Marilyn A. Wethekam, Esq., is Of Counsel at the Council On State Taxation (COST), where she focuses on state and local tax policy and advocacy. She is a nationally recognized state and local tax professional with extensive experience representing taxpayers on complex multistate tax matters. Prior to joining COST, Marilyn was a partner at HMB Legal Counsel, where she concentrated her practice on state and local taxation. She previously served as tax counsel for Montgomery Ward and Mobil Oil Corporation, gaining extensive in-house experience advising on state tax matters. Marilyn has also held leadership roles within COST, including serving as Chair of the organization’s Board of Directors, and has been actively involved in advancing the state and local tax profession through speaking, advisory, and educational roles.