Meet the Officers
President
Gail Ryan, CPP
President
To contact Gail Ryan, click on her name above.
Gail Ryan has over 25 years of experience in Accounting and Payroll and as Associate Director of Payroll for SS&C Globeop in Hartford, CT she manages for their US and International payrolls. Gail is a Certified Payroll Professional and has been an active member of the American Payroll Association since 1995.
She has served on the Board of Directors of the Hartford Chapter since 2003 and currently serves as President. Gail facilitates the Annual CPP Study Group for the Greater Hartford region.
Gail resides in South Windsor, CT.
Vice President
Donna Brainard
Vice President
To contact Donna Brainard, click on her name above.
Donna Brainard has been in the payroll profession for over 25 years and is currently employed at TRC Companies in Windsor, CT, as a Payroll Specialist. Donna works with a payroll team to support over 4,100 employees.
Her previous payroll experience has been in the manufacturing industry. She has experience in HRIS, Time & Attendance systems, and payroll conversions. Her background also includes Human Resources and Benefits Administration, Accounts Receivables and Collections.
Donna has been a Certified Payroll Professional since the fall of 2006 after completing the APA Payroll Administration courses at Tunxis Community College in 2005/2006. She has been an active member of the National APA and Hartford Chapter since 2006. She has a son Ryan and currently resides in Bristol, CT, with her husband James and their rescue cat Mr. B.
Secretary
Maura Kenny, CPP
Secretary
To contact Maura Kenny, click on her name above.
Maura Kenny was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, and has six siblings. Her first payroll job was at the Marina City Club in Marina Del Rey, California, in 1982, and she hasn’t wanted to do anything else since. Her fascination came from being that ‘Miss Thursday’ (i.e., payday) with whom everyone loves, until they open their envelope and see that the amount hadn’t gotten any bigger. Maura was employed by TRUMPF Inc. from November 2000, to October of 2014, and had attributed her employment there from meeting Laurie Burbank at an APA Hartford Chapter quarterly meeting. Maura has also worked as a property manager for three apartment buildings, where even there she processed payroll and loved it. In 2004 Maura decided to take the CPP exam, passing with flying colors, and has just recertified in 2014.
Treasurer
Laurie Burbank, CPP
Treasurer
To contact Laurie Burbank, click on her name above.
Laurie Burbank has been in the payroll profession for over 25 years and is currently employed at Scapa North America in Windsor, CT, as a Senior Payroll Specialist. Laurie is responsible for all payroll functions, as well as some HR and benefit functions, for Scapa divisions in CA, CT, NY and TN.
Her previous payroll experience has been in the manufacturing industry for Kaman Corporation and TRUMPF Inc. She has also worked in the public sector for Avon Board of Education, and for a public accounting firm, Blum, Shapiro & Company. Her extensive experience includes tax and regulatory compliance, payroll conversions, multi-state and Canadian payroll processing, time and attendance systems, Human Resources, benefits and pension administration, Workers’ Compensation audits, financial reporting, budget preparation, and staff training.
Laurie has been a Certified Payroll Professional since 1999. She has been a member of the National APA and the Hartford Chapter since 1992. Since 2007, Laurie has been actively involved in the Hartford Chapter holding positions of Secretary, Vice President, and currently as Treasurer. She studied Business at Tunxis Community College where she was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. She is originally from Caribou, Maine. She has two children, Jenessa and Travis, and currently resides in Unionville, CT, with her husband, Brian, and two Shelties, Mia and Bryce.
Government Liaison Officer
Robert LaRose, CPP
Government Liaison Officer
To contact Robert LaRose, click on his name above.
Bob has over 30 years’ experience in payroll, mostly in management positions. He has worked with a variety of payroll systems and automated labor collection systems. He has processed payroll in all 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and Guam. Presently, Bob is the US Payroll Manager for Quest Global Services where he manages all US payroll operations. Bob received his Certified Payroll Professional designation in 1997. He is presently Government Liaison Officer and a past President for the Hartford Chapter of the American Payroll Association (APA). Bob wrote the “Government Gab” column in the chapter’s newsletter, “Pay Dirt” and was a member of APA’s Government Affairs Task Force on child support. The APA has recognized Bob for “Outstanding Government Service” from 1997 – 2009, has been published in “Keeping Up to Date in Payroll” and “PayState Update” and was the resident “Payroll Expert” at allexperts.com from 1999 – 2001, where he was rated “Best of the Best”. Bob is presently a member of the IRS\CT DRS advisory committee.
Bob Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Morse School of Business, where he majored in Accounting. At Morse, Bob was the Vice President of the schools chapter of Phi Beta Lambda (Future Business Leaders of America) National Honor Society and participated in the IRS VITA program. He went on to successfully complete the Management Information Systems curriculum at Central Connecticut State University. Bob has been an instructor in the chapter’s annual CPP review class and an adjunct professor at Tunxis Community College. Bob is a regular speaker for the local APA chapter and the New England Payroll Conference.
Bob works as a volunteer for “We Are The Children” including organizing toy drives and being a costume character at the annual “We are the Children” Christmas party. Bob started the Movies for the Military DVD drive in collaboration with the USO, and has previously collected over 12,000 DVDs for our troops.
Webmaster
Rosemarie Quealy
Webmaster
To contact Rosemarie Quealy, click on her name above.
Rosemarie has played many roles in the Payroll, Human Resources, Benefits Administration, Application Development and IT Systems arenas throughout her career. She currently works as a Senior Consultant for Sierra-Cedar, Inc., where she utilizes her strong Business Systems Analyst, Quality Assurance, Project Management and Training background when proposing upgrades, installs and process improvements for clients from various industries.
Rosemarie has been involved in various complex implementations and upgrades throughout a project life cycle and has held varied roles; from Auditor, to Trainer, to Team Lead, to Systems Analyst, to Project Manager, to Vice President of HR Operations, and is now a Senior Business Analyst traveling all over to help clients in various industries remain competitive while applying best practice. She had been involved in moving data from PeopleSoft’s 2-Tier desktop HRMS module (version 7.5) to its 1st web version, extensively involved in installs and upgrades thereafter, and currently working with its current version, 9.2. She had also managed Time and Attendance projects that supported as many as 150,000 employees in North America all across the US, Puerto Rico and in Canada, where differing locations and lines of business follow various complex policies.
Rosemarie has a Bachelor of Science/Business Management degree, graduating in 2003 with honors from the University of Phoenix, majoring in eBusiness. Rosemarie has held two positions for the Hartford Chapter of the APA from 2005-2010, Vice President and Webmaster. Rosemarie has stepped down as Vice President in 2010; however, she was re-elected and will retain the position of Webmaster ongoing.
Rosemarie grew up in Brooklyn, NY, relocating to New England in 1998 when asked to relocate when NYLCare Health Plans Inc., a downtown Manhattan NY Life corporation she was working for as a Payroll Manager that was acquired by Aetna Inc., an insurance company based in Hartford, CT.
Rosemarie had volunteered much of her time in the past to 4th grade Religious instruction while raising her only son in Brooklyn prior to her move to Connecticut where she lives with her husband John. She has one son, Christopher, who has since given her two beautiful grandchildren; Elijah and Savannah.
Welcome Committee Chair
Gwendolyn D. Carty, CPP
Welcome Chair
To contact Gwendolyn D. Carty, click on her name above.
Gwen is the newest member of the Board of Directors, serving as the Welcome Committee Chair. Gwen started her payroll career in 2000, processing timesheets for a local broadband manufacturer in Bloomfield, CT. After discovering an interest for the field, she began building her payroll knowledge by taking classes, attending seminars, and researching various tax websites. Her background includes payroll, human resources, customer service, and accounting. She has worked with collective bargaining agreements and as liaison for judicial matters. Gwen attended her first APA Hartford Chapter meeting in 2008 and continues to participate to this day. She is a CPP and has worked for a global rental car company for the past 11+ years.