Twenty-four new members have been selected to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, a federal advisory committee charged with providing taxpayer suggestions to improve IRS customer service.
The new TAP members, recommended by the IRS and approved by the Department of the Treasury, will join 47 returning members to round out the panel of 71 volunteer members for 2017.
The new TAP members are:
- Richard Herman, of Fresno, Calif.;
- Kristen Petersen, of Colorado Springs, Colo.;
- Dan Smolnik, of Brookfield, Conn.;
- Alice Azzaro, of Wellington, Fla.;
- James Sowell, of Panama City, Fla.;
- Angela Hower, of Norwalk, Iowa;
- Michelle Brookens, of Taylorville, Ill.;
- Kimberly Mason, of Chicago;
- Tasheka Dorsey, of Darrow, La.;
- William McGauley, of Brockton, Mass.;
- Michele Walker, of Brownstown Township, Mich.;
- Millicent Kasal, of St. Paul, Minn.;
- Joseph Martin, of Jefferson City, Mo.;
- David Buchanan, of Canton, Miss.;
- Allen Straub, of Omaha, Neb.;
- Mariely Downey, of Amherst, N.Y.;
- Heidi Hirschfield, of New York;
- Jimit Shah, of Bethpage, N.Y.;
- Alyssa Burrows, of Scranton, Pa.;
- Deborah Oakes, of Swarthmore, Pa.;
- Victor Quillen, of Kingsport, Tenn.;
- Kimberly Pierre, of Spring, Texas;
- Shirley Atkinson-Samms, of Salt Lake City; and,
- Joseph Holley, of Barboursville, W.Va.
The new members were selected from a pool of more than 900 interested individuals who applied during an open recruitment period last spring, as well as alternate members who applied in prior years.
Members are U.S. citizens who volunteer to serve a three-year appointment and are expected to devote 200 to 300 hours per year to panel activities.
Individuals interested in volunteering to serve on the TAP for 2018 may submit an application at www.improveirs.org during the current recruiting period, open now through April 24.
