Aziza Farooki

• Director, Policy
• Council On State Taxation

Aziza Farooki is the Director, Policy at the Council On State Taxation where she engages in various aspects of COST’s policy and advocacy efforts. Prior to joining COST in 2007, Aziza managed research funds in various departments at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, and later served as the Program Administrator for the John Glenn College of Public Affairs’ Washington Academic Internship Program in Washington, DC. 

Aziza obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with minors in History of Art and Economics, and her Master of Public Administration degree with concentration in program evaluation from The Ohio State University.

Priya Nair

• Legislative Tax Counsel
• Council On State Taxation

Priya Nair is Staff Attorney for the Council On State Taxation (COST). Priya’s responsibilities at COST include identifying, analyzing, communicating, and tracking legislation and regulations of concern to COST members. Prior to joining COST, Priya was a Manager in the National Tax Office-SALT of Grant Thornton LLP in Washington DC. Prior to working at Grant Thornton, Priya was a State Tax Law Editor at Bloomberg Tax & Accounting (formerly The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.)  Priya earned her Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center and her Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Fred Nicely

• Senior Tax Counsel
• Council On State Taxation

Fred Nicely is a Senior Tax Counsel at the Council On State Taxation (COST). His role as Senior Tax Counsel extends to all aspects of the COST mission statement which is to preserve and promote equitable and nondiscriminatory state and local taxation of multijurisdictional business entities. Before joining COST, Fred served in the Ohio Department of Taxation for four years as Deputy Tax Commissioner over Legal and for the prior seven years as the Department’s Chief Counsel. Fred’s responsibilities at the Department included testifying before legislative committees, participating as an alternative delegate for Ohio at Streamlined Sales Tax Project meetings, and reviewing legal documents issued by the Department. Fred also has extensive experience in public utility tax law, having served as an administrator of the Department’s public utility tax division. Fred’s undergraduate degree in psychology (with a concentration in accounting) is from the Ohio State University. He obtained his MBA and JD from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Patrick Reynolds

• Senior Tax Counsel
• Council On State Taxation

Patrick J. Reynolds is part of the COST advocacy team, where he is staff liaison to the Unclaimed Property Committee and the Sales Tax Committee, and he contributes to tax policy development, drafting, and legislative advocacy. Previously, he was Senior Managing Counsel with J. C. Penney and for 14 years provided legal support for audits, litigation, and appeals for income, franchise, sales/use, property and transfer taxes, as well as unclaimed property. Pat started his career with Price Waterhouse in Omaha, Nebraska, and subsequently served for six years as an attorney in the Nebraska Department of Revenue's Legal Division. He received his JD from Creighton University School of Law and his BSBA – Accounting from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is a member of the Nebraska and Texas state bars and is a licensed CPA.

Moderator: Sarah Adkisson

• State Tax Law Analyst
• Bloomberg Tax

Sarah Adkisson currently works as a state tax analyst focusing on direct taxes. She previously worked in Bloomberg Software as an analyst supporting estate, gift, income, and asset depreciation products. She was previously a senior tax attorney for the comptroller of Maryland for two years.

Sarah attended Guilford College for her undergraduate degree. She received her J.D. from the University of Maryland Carey School of Law in 2015. In 2018 she completed her LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.