June 17, 2025
GRF CPAs & Advisors is proud to announce that Jacqueline Cardello, CPA, President and Managing Partner, has been selected by The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business for the Suzanne D. Hillman Recognition and Achievement Award for Service to the Community for 2025. The Smith School established this award in 2024 to honor Suzanne Hillman’s legacy of community service. In recognition of Suzanne Hillman’s legacy of service to the community, the Smith School established this award in 2024 to recognize outstanding members of the accounting profession who remain dedicated to strengthening their communities through service and charitable initiatives.
The Smith School first presented the award to Suzanne Hillman, CEO of Southern Management Companies, whose deep involvement with philanthropy set the tone for what the award seeks to recognize: leaders who go beyond their professional roles to serve others with leadership and service.
Jackie Cardello exemplifies this spirit through a longstanding dedication to advocacy, volunteerism, and community-focused leadership. Ms. Cardello has spent her career as an auditor with a focus on nonprofit organizations including 501(c)(3) charitable entities, associations, private volunteer organizations, cultural institutions, advocacy groups, community development organizations, and other charitable institutions. As part of her professional work, she has advised organizations on improving employee benefit plans to better support their workforce. Within GRF, she has led firm-wide efforts to integrate community service into the company’s culture, and has prioritized the development of future leaders within the accounting industry.
Jackie volunteers her time with several local causes, and is a vocal supporter of programs that promote children’s health and protection and animal welfare. Within GRF, she has led firm-wide efforts to integrate community service into the company’s culture, encouraging staff at all levels to give back in meaningful ways. She is active on boards and committees that promote and support the accounting profession and a mentor to future leaders in our profession.
A graduate of the Smith School, Ms. Cardello has also remained an engaged alumna, serving on the Advisory Council of the Accounting and Information Assurance program. Along with spearheading GRF’s own investments in technology, including AI, Ms. Cardello leads GRF’s strategic partnership with the Smith School of Business’ Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative for Capital Market Research. GRF’s seed funding for this initiative supports cutting edge research that will advance the accounting profession.
As a recognized leader in the industry, Ms. Cardello was named Accounting Today’s 2020 Managing Partner (MP) Elite and received the Greater Washington Society of CPAs (GWSCPA) Emerging Leader Women to Watch Award in 2013. In 2023, she also received GWSCPA’s Champion of Women Award at their annual women’s leadership conference.
“Receiving the Hillman Award is a tremendous honor, especially from the Smith School, where my journey in accounting began,” said Jackie Cardello, CPA, President and Managing Partner of GRF. “Throughout my career, I’ve been committed to helping organizations—particularly nonprofits—strengthen their financial foundations. I’m equally proud of the work we do at GRF to foster a culture of service, where professional excellence and community impact go hand in hand.”
GRF congratulates Jackie on this well-deserved recognition and celebrates her example as a leader who brings purpose and compassion to the forefront of her work.
About GRF CPAs & Advisors
Headquartered in the Washington, DC metropolitan region, GRF CPAs & Advisors (GRF) is a full-service professional services firm providing clients with audit and assurance, tax services, outsourced accounting, and advisory solutions. For more than 40 years, GRF has leveraged a deep bench of industry expertise to assist nonprofit organizations, government contractors, privately held businesses, trusts, and individuals with their most challenging financial and operational issues. GRF’s team of CPAs and advisors excel at helping our clients grow and reach their best financial position, which is why clients trust our firm to consult with them on all types of financial matters. Learn more about who we can help.
The firm is a member of CPAmerica, Inc., one of the largest associations of CPA firms in the United States. GRF’s membership guarantees clients access to the expertise and resources of more than 4,000 accounting and advisory professionals at 78 member firms throughout the country. CPAmerica is a member of Crowe Global, providing clients with access to the eighth largest accounting network in the world with over 200 independent firms in more than 130 countries.
Inside Public Accounting consistently recognizes GRF among its Top 200 Accounting Firms and Accounting Today’s list of Best Accounting Firms to Work For. Accounting Today named GRF as a 2025 Regional Leader and Firm to Watch.
About the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.