Justin Thames
Chief External Affairs Officer, Florida Institute of CPAs
Justin Thames joined the FICPA in June 2011 as the Governmental Affairs Manager, promoted to Director of Governmental Affairs in July 2015 and was recently promoted to Chief External Affairs Officers. In this newly created role, Thames will over-see the strategic leader-ship of all aspects of the FICPA's public policy, advocacy, governmental affairs and regulatory efforts. He will also oversee all advocacy-related external communications and public-awareness campaigns aimed at increasing the understanding of and appreciation for the value of the CPA license. Justin also administers the activities and issues of the Florida CPA Political Action Committee, Inc. program, and is responsible for PAC fundraising, interviewing candidates running for the state legislature, and making recommendations to PAC Trustees on which candidates to support.
He is a graduate of Leadership Florida Connect Program, Florida TaxWatch Citizenship Institute, a member of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyist and has received his Designated Professional Lobbyist (DPL) designation. Prior to joining the FICPA, Justin was employed by the League of Southeastern Credit Unions as the Grassroots and Political Action Coordinator. After briefly attending the University of Mississippi, He returned to Florida where he graduated from Florida State University in 2006.