Amber Pinskey was named by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) as one of the organization’s 2024 Young Leader Award Winners. This award recognizes PICPA members under the age of 40 who demonstrate a commitment to the accounting profession through active PICPA or community volunteer activities.
Megan Troxell, a partner in GYF’s A&A Services Group, has been Amber’s coach and mentor since she started at GYF in 2013. She nominated Amber for the award, noting:
“Amber is a well-rounded, genuine and sincere individual in the way she conducts herself in our professional environment and the community at large. She is truly a leader with strong potential to have significant future impact on the clients she serves and the co-workers she mentors.”
Amber serves some of the firm’s largest clients by providing high quality audit and consultative services. She is a dedicated “go-to” professional who is able to address complex accounting and financial matters in an effective and efficient manner. Her work style allows her to see the big picture as well as focus and execute on the important details. Amber’s technical skill set, combined with her excellent soft skills of diplomacy and communication, are appreciated by both her clients and her colleagues.
Throughout the decade that Amber has worked at GYF, she has been dedicated to continually expanding her expertise and responsibilities. Amber was named as a manager in 2019 and promoted to her current position of Senior Manager in 2023. She is always willing to share her knowledge, welcoming opportunities to train and coach others.
Austin Everett, who has worked closely with Amber for five years, notes, “Amber has been an encouraging voice and empowering presence throughout my time at the firm. I appreciate her devotion to excellence in her craft and how it inspires others to strive to achieve the same.”
As Amber has matured in her role as a leader and coach to younger professionals, she has been able to identify different learning patterns in those she supervises and tailor her approach to ensure that the whole team excels. Amber has coached Hannah Zimmerman since she joined GYF in 2021, and has made a significant impact on her personal and professional development.
Hannah notes, “It has been truly incredible to learn from Amber. She understands her clients and their businesses as if they were her own, and I can tell how passionate and knowledgeable she is about her work from the meetings and trainings I have watched her lead. While balancing family and work, she consistently dedicates quality time to helping me grow as a young professional and always makes herself available when I need assistance. She challenges me every day and has given me opportunities to grow. I have become significantly more self-confident in the time I have worked with Amber, and I attribute that progress to her guidance to help me believe in myself and know that I am supported and appreciated as I learn.”
Not only does Amber encourage others to learn and grow, but she also continues to seek opportunities to improve her own continued professional development. She is a member of the firm’s CPE committee, organizing and planning internal continuing education sessions and staying up-to-date on professional standards and hour requirements. She has also presented technical accounting topics at our firm’s annual CPE Day to 300+ accountants and CPAs. Additionally, Amber shares her enthusiasm for the profession with future accountants as she serves as an adjunct professor teaching Financial Accounting I at her alma mater, Saint Vincent College. Amber’s connection with the school also benefits GYF’s recruiting efforts for future CPAs in the pipeline and bolsters the firm’s reputation.
Amber is a member of the AICPA and the PICPA and a graduate of the Leadership Development Initiative, a Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc. program for high-potential professionals. She contributes her technical expertise and energy with several organizations that are important to her. She serves as a Treasurer for Apraxia Kids, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that strengthens the support systems in the lives of children with apraxia of speech, and for the Blackburn Center, an organization that provides services to victims of domestic and sexual violence and other types of violence and crime in Westmoreland County. Amber also attends services at St. Bartholomew Church and Cornerstone Ministries and is a dedicated wife, mother, daughter and sister, actively supporting the many activities and interests of her large local family.
Amber sincerely demonstrates commitment to her career, her family and her community. She successfully balances her many personal and professional responsibilities and navigates their accompanying challenges and complications, with grace and optimism. Amber is a leader who deserves recognition for her accomplishments to date and her potential for future achievement, and we congratulate her on this professional honor.
About the PICPA
The PICPA is a premiere statewide association of more than 20,000 members working in public accounting, industry, government, and education. Founded in 1897, the PICPA is the second-oldest state CPA organization in the United States. To learn more, visit www.picpa.org
