Ron Skillens, CPA, CHC, CHPC
Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer
UC San Diego Health
Ron Skillens is the chief compliance and privacy officer for UC San Diego Health. He is responsible for the mitigation of compliance and regulatory risks, pursuing leading practices and ensuring that all health compliance and privacy activities are coordinated with the appropriate leaders.
In addition, Mr. Skillens, provides health care research compliance support for UC San Diego Health Sciences and is responsible for administering the health system’s policy and procedure process.
He has more than 29 years of compliance, audit and risk management experience working with diverse senior leadership, physicians and boards, bringing to this position a demonstrated commitment to compliance and collaboration. Most recently, he served as the senior vice president for Enterprise Risk Management and chief compliance officer at JPS Health Network in Ft. Worth, Texas. Previously, he served as the vice president for Compliance and Internal Audit at Children’s Health System of Texas. He has advised executives and boards on compliance and risk matters in several executive and management consulting roles at global organizations.
Mr. Skillens earned a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of North Texas. He is a licensed CPA and is certified in healthcare compliance (CHC) and healthcare privacy compliance (CHPC), and has served on two nonprofit advisory boards.
Nicole DeRosa CPA, MAcc
Director of Tax, SKC
Brand Ambassador, UWorld Accounting
Working as the Director of Tax at SKC & Co CPAs, Nicole M. DeRosa is a New Jersey-based CPA with more than 15 years of public accounting experience, specializing in taxation for closely held businesses and individuals. Because of Nicole’s extensive tax knowledge, she is a valuable resource for “all things tax” and regularly speaks nationally covering various tax and non-tax topics. In addition to her enthusiasm for tax compliance, Ms. DeRosa is a Brand Ambassador for UWorld Accounting and helps spread awareness of the CPA designation to aspiring accountants, including the incredible dynamic opportunities that exist within the profession.
Ms. DeRosa is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants; she is active on various committees and groups within the Society and is extremely passionate about giving back to the profession that she has gained so much from over the years.
On a local and national level, Ms. DeRosa has been recognized for her various efforts in the profession. Ms. DeRosa has been repetitively named to the NJ BIZ Power 50 List and also named to the Forty Under 40 program which recognizes professionals’ notable successes and strong leadership across the state. Nationally, Ms. DeRosa has also been recognized as a Forbes Top 200 CPA in America as well as an Outstanding Young CPA Award recipient by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
In Ms. DeRosa’s spare time she enjoys staying active at the gym which includes teaching Zumba at LifeTime Fitness, volunteering at the local animal shelter, and is active in various charitable organizations, such as St. Jude.
Ms. DeRosa is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University, with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accountancy.
Alicja Arnold, CISA, CFE
Manager of Data Analytics within Internal Audit at Protective Life Corporation
Alicja Arnold, CISA, CFE, is the Manager of Data Analytics within Internal Audit at Protective Life Corporation. She has been with the company since January 2015. At Protective, Alicja led the creation of data analytics, visualization, and storytelling efforts within Internal Audit, becoming the department's data specialist. She currently manages the data analytics efforts.
Alicja also teaches data visualization and storytelling at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She recently co-authored Wiley’s Accounting Information Systems: Connecting Careers, Systems, and Analytics.
Alicja has received several awards, including the "Outstanding Chapter Leadership Award" from the Institute of Internal Auditors - Birmingham Chapter, the UAB Rising Star Award, recognition as a Birmingham Business Journal NextGEN in Accounting Honoree, and the title of Alumna of the Decade (2010-2020) from the UAB Collat School of Business. She is a Beta Alpha Psi alum.
As an immigrant from Poland, Alicja enjoys celebrating her Polish heritage. She is also passionate about raising awareness and advocating for individuals with Down syndrome.
