Managing Principal, Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C.
She’s a Role Model, Tone Setter … and Great Listener
Julie Quink says it’s easy for accountants to get involved in community.
Indeed, she said, there’s no shortage of small nonprofits who need CPAs on their boards to help handle the books, and over the years, she’s done some of that, as almost everyone in the profession has.
And she encourages all members of the team at Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C., the firm she serves as managing principal, to get involved as well — and, when possible, to go much further than crunching numbers for nonprofits and regional institutions, although that’s important, too. And here, she sets the tone.
She’s affiliated with several professional groups, such as the Massachusetts Society of CPAs and the Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners; sits on some boards — those at Baystate Health, Greater Springfield Senior Services, Monson Savings Bank, and Square One, among others — and serves as treasurer for the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce, I Found Light Against All Odds, and the Estate Planning Council of Hampden County.
“One of the things that Square One does is allow us, when the coats come in, to help the kids choose their coat, and some of our team members take part. It’s a completely amazing event for us, and over the years, it has helped the team share my commitment to that organization because we can see that the little work we do for this fundraising really has an impact on these kids.”
But she does, indeed, go further, such as with Square One’s Operation Warm, a program that provides winter coats for kids; she has made the firm the sponsor of that initiative and inspired team members and clients alike to support those efforts.
“One of the things that Square One does is allow us, when the coats come in, to help the kids choose their coat, and some of our team members take part,” she noted. “It’s a completely amazing event for us, and over the years, it has helped the team share my commitment to that organization because we can see that the little work we do for this fundraising really has an impact on these kids.”
Julie Quink with Burkhart Pizzanelli co-owner Deborah Penzias.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging
With that, she tells the story of a now-retired staff member at Burkhart Pizzanelli who had a sign outside his office that read ‘Grumpy Old Man.’
“He was self-proclaimed,” Quink said. “He went one year when the team met with the kids to hand out coats, and he was on his knees with these little people, and he had the biggest smile on his face. And I just thought, ‘if there was nothing else worth it in this whole entire thing, just seeing the look on his face and the joy that doing what he was doing brought … that’s what it’s really about for me.’”
Quink’s success with creating such moments is one of many reasons why she will be among those honored as Difference Makers in 2026. Others include the way she serves as a mentor and role model to those on her staff, creating an atmosphere that is more like a family than a business.
“Julie believes that we live and work in a community, and everyone has a very important role to play,” said Rebecca Connolly, director of the Auditing Department, who nominated Quink for this award. “She takes her role as a business owner and as a role model — not only for her staff, but her family and clients — seriously.
“At work, we joke that we don’t think Julie sleeps because she is so busy with helping small business owners with their businesses, helping them to grow their businesses, navigating tough financial times, while coming out on the other side feeling more supported and in better financial position,” Connolly added, noting that she does all this while serving on several boards, supporting the initiatives of several nonprofits, and serving as adjunct faculty in the MBA accounting program at Elms College.
Quink says she enjoys all aspects of this balancing act and finds the time for all of it, even during tax season — which isn’t really a season anymore, she noted, saying, “it never ends.”
“I can tell you personally that I take away much more than I give when it comes to organizations I belong to and work with, as a board member or even as a volunteer,” she told BusinessWest. “It makes everything worthwhile when you see the impact that you have on someone else’s life.”
Julie Quink spends a moment with a Square One student as winter coats are distributed as part of Operation Warm.
Overall, Quink excels at listening, responding, and being there for people — in all aspects of her life and every corner of the community.
It All Adds Up
Quink told BusinessWest that, while in high school, she developed an affinity for numbers and accounting.
“My accounting professor recognized that I had a talent in that area — I wasn’t even focused on it, really — and urged me to explore it,” she recalled. “It was interesting to me, and I understood it; I’m not a scientist, and I could never be a medical professional — I don’t have the stomach for that sort of thing — so accounting was it.”
She considered UMass Amherst and Elms College, and chose the much smaller, much more intimate setting, and never regretted that decision, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college.
“I’m a firm believer that you end up where you’re supposed to be,” she said, adding that she enjoyed the small class sizes there. “In hindsight, had I gone to a large institution, I probably would have gotten lost in the system. It was a benefit to me, and that’s one of the reasons I teach at Elms.”
She started in the field as senior accountant at what was then KPMG Peat Marwick in Springfield and later worked for 17 years at J.M. O’Brien & Co., P.C. in Springfield as director of Audits and Business Issues.
She came to West Springfield-based Burkhart Pizzanelli, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, in 2011 as part of a succession plan, serving first as senior manager of Audit/Consulting before becoming a principal in 2013 and then managing principal in 2015. She’s now spent 35 years in the profession and has seen a good amount of change, especially when it comes to culture.
“When I came on, you were expected to work long hours, you were expected to travel … it was just something you knew was part of the job; it was expected of you, and you did it,” she explained. “Now, it’s a lot different in terms of culture; we’re really focused on our team members here, their wellness, their well-being, their career trajectory. It’s really come a long way.
“Quality of life is really important to the younger generations, understandably, and the meaningfulness of what they do is important,” she went on. “We’ve had to adapt to all that.”
Elaborating, she said Burkhart Pizzanelli was at what she called the “front end of that curve,” which is one of the things that attracted her to the firm. And as managing principal, she is determined to stay ahead of that curve.
“What’s really important for us is balance,” she told BusinessWest, noting that there is now a staff of 25. “I think we, as a leadership group here, are really in tune with what’s impacting our team, and we can make changes and adapt workloads quickly if we see that someone’s overwhelmed.”
Beyond balance, she and others on the leadership team are focused on mentoring and being positive role models for younger staff members.
“All the leaders here have a strong desire to make sure our team is happy, growing in their positions, exposed to new opportunities … so we all take mentoring very seriously,” she said. “If I were to look at where I spend my time during the day, I’d say maybe an hour or two a day is spent in conversation about ‘how can we do this better? Where are we at? And how can I be a resource for you?’ We want to be hearing what’s going on, and we want to be adapting where we need to make change, and that takes a lot of listening. So I like to think I spend a lot of time listening.
From left: Julie Quink with team members Sarah Lapolice, Rebecca Connolly, and Deborah Penzias.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging
“If I want people to come to me as a leader with a problem, an issue, something I can solve, my advice … I must be authentic, and they need to feel like they’re being heard,” she went on. “I’m really focused on what’s important to them because, if it’s important for them, then it becomes important for me.”
Warm Thoughts
This ability to listen and act on what she’s hearing is one of the many reasons why Connolly considers Quink, the tone-setter for the company, a Difference Maker.
“She really believes in family — she remembers everything about you,” she said. “No matter if it’s April 15 and a client needs her or something has happened to a staff member health-wise, her first response is, ‘do what you need to do; we’ll cover you.’ That’s what we do — we’re a team, and we support one another.”
Indeed, Connolly said, if there is one word that perhaps best sums up Quink and all aspects of her life, it would be ‘supportive.’ That’s true when it comes to the team at work, clients, her students at Elms, and the community.
“I can tell you personally that I take away much more than I give when it comes to organizations I belong to and work with, as a board member or even as a volunteer. It makes everything worthwhile when you see the impact that you have on someone else’s life.”
With that last realm, she stressed that she gets involved with agencies and causes that she’s passionate about, and she encourages others at the firm to take that same approach. “I tell them, ‘don’t just volunteer and not feel like you’re getting meaning out of your volunteering.’”
This sentiment explains why she became involved with healthcare organizations such as Baystate Health — which is going through a challenging time, as all hospitals and healthcare systems are — as well as Greater Springfield Senior Services and Square One.
“I’m on the board of Greater Springfield Senior Services because of the really great work they do with seniors in the catchment area and folks that really need the services we can provide and connect them to,” she said, explaining that she has chaired this board for several years now. “Especially as our population ages, we want people to be able to age at home if they like.”
Julie Quink, left, and other Burkhart Pizzanelli team members take part in a program run by the Parish Cupboard, which provides meals and groceries to individuals and families in need.
She was also drawn to I Found Light Against All Odds, an organization that helps secure housing for homeless young women — efforts that made it a Difference Maker in 2022.
“The need exists, probably more than we recognize or are aware of,” Quink said. “Homelessness is a real issue among young women, and that’s what drew me to that organization; we’re actively working toward increasing programming and creating more supports for women in that age group and in those insecure situations. Our goal is to get them off the streets or out of the situation that is harmful for them.”
With Square One, she was approached by now-retired president and CEO Joan Kagan to join the board, and almost immediately started looking for ways to get involved on a deeper level.
She recalled a conversation with Kris Allard, the agency’s vice president of Development and Communication, about the coats program.
“They had someone who worked with them prior who was backing out of the coat campaign, and she approached us about sponsoring that effort,” Quink noted. “We sat across this conference room table, and both had tears in our eyes as we talked about the conditions these kids are dealing with.
“I said, ‘sure, we’ll do what we can — we’ll be a sponsor,’” she went on, adding that it soon became a firm-wide initiative, with fundraising and then and distributing the coats.
The fundraising goal this year was $5,000, she said, noting that more than $10,000 was raised, enough to buy more than 400 coats.
“Over the years, the campaign has evolved to where our clients have gotten involved, and they remind us to send them information on the coat campaign because they want to donate,” she continued. “It’s really become important to us, but also our clients.”
And it’s just one example of how Quink and members of the firm get involved beyond handling the books for nonprofits. And another example of why this role model is also a Difference Maker.
We are excited to announce that BusinessWest, in partnership with Living Local, has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.
