SFSU VITA Recognition Ceremony — Apr 21

San Francisco State University is marking the close of tax season Tuesday with a recognition ceremony for its Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and a keynote on ethical leadership. (cob.sfsu.edu) The event runs from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on April 21 in Paul Leonard Library, Room 121, and is co-hosted by the SFSU VITA program and the Center for Ethical and Sustainable Business during the university’s 2026 Business Ethics Week. (cob.sfsu.edu 1) (cob.sfsu.edu 2) The program includes keynote remarks from Okorie Ramsey, a 1992 San Francisco State alumnus who is vice president of Sarbanes/Oxley at Kaiser Permanente and served as the 110th chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 2023–24. (cob.sfsu.edu) Organizers also scheduled a panel with Lam Family College of Business leaders, a tax-season reflection led by Lena Yang, Peter Nguyen and Anh Hua, a student leaders panel, and an Internal Revenue Service VITA certificate presentation. (cob.sfsu.edu) VITA is the Internal Revenue Service’s long-running free tax-preparation program for qualifying taxpayers, including low- to moderate-income filers, people with disabilities and taxpayers with limited English proficiency. The IRS says the program has operated for more than 50 years. (irs.gov 1) (irs.gov 2) At San Francisco State, the VITA site is sponsored through the Lam Family College of Business and the accounting department, with partners including the IRS, University Corporation and United Way Bay Area. The university says the program has served the local community for nearly 20 years. (cob.sfsu.edu) The school says the program gives accounting students hands-on work in tax preparation while providing free in-person help to eligible clients on campus and at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A faculty testimonial on the VITA page says the service generates about $1 million in tax refunds for people who need them. (cob.sfsu.edu) Business Ethics Week, now in its 21st year, runs from April 20 through April 24 and is organized by the Center for Ethical and Sustainable Business. The center says it was launched in 2011 to connect business ethics, social responsibility and environmental sustainability with student and community programming. (cob.sfsu.edu) (cob.sfsu.edu) (cob.sfsu.edu) Professor Tom Thomas, who teaches business ethics and sustainability in the management department, is listed in campus materials as part of the week’s hosting and introduction. The ceremony’s framing ties that ethics agenda to a student service program built around tax filing, training and public assistance. (cob.sfsu.edu) (cob.sfsu.edu) The event closes with a group photo after the student panels, certificate presentation and a tax-practice Kahoot session. For SFSU, the ceremony turns a routine filing season into a public accounting of service, training and campus-community work. (cob.sfsu.edu)