2024 PINNACLE Society Honoree James D. Brown, BS'79

James is the founder, CEO, and Managing Partner of James D. Brown, CPA accounting firm, which prides itself on personalized, professional service. Among the firm’s clients are attorneys, physicians, entertainers, professional athletes, corporate executives, and many small and medium sized business owners. The firm has clients in 13 states and services individuals and all forms of business.

In practice for over thirty years, Brown has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. (NABA) for eleven years, serving as National Parliamentarian as well as President of NABA’s New York Chapter and Eastern Region. In addition to being a Lifetime Member of NABA, he is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the New Jersey Society of CPAs, the National Association of Tax Professionals, the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Teaneck NJ, Chamber of Commerce. James also holds the Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor (CMFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) designations. 
 
James served for six years on FDU’s Alumni Board of Governors, and is a 2010 graduate of Bergen LEADS, an exciting 10-month learning and leadership adventure for aspiring and acknowledged leaders in Bergen County, NJ, and a 2012 graduate of Leadership Teaneck. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Bergen County, where he chairs the Finance Committee and previously served as Vice Chair, the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, the Advisory Board of the New York State Society of CPAs Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) Program, a Trustee of Teaneck Comes Together (TCT) and as a member of the Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreation Advisory Board for the Township of Teaneck. James has previously served as  the President of Teaneck Southern Baseball League, Treasurer of FDU’s Black Alumni Chapter, and Community Advisory Board of the FDU Educational Opportunity Fund, and as a member of the Teaneck, NJ Board of Education Textbook Review Committee.
 
He has been a featured speaker for the Teaneck Rotary Club, the Teaneck Chamber of Commerce, and at several local high schools and middle schools, and has been published in Ebony, Meadowlands USA,  and Black Enterprise magazines.
  
James and his wife Theresa reside in Teaneck, New Jersey with their two sons, Jordan and Joshua. He obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting at FDU and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New Jersey.