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women & business
Sustained
excellence
Meet two former Women
of Excellence flourishing in
their careers
Marilyn Pendergast
CPA
Excellence in the Professions,
1997
THEN: Shareholder, Urbach,
Kahn & Werlin PC, Certified
Public Accountants, Albany
NOW: Managing director,
UHY Advisors NY, Inc., Albany
During the 11 years since receiving a Woman of
Excellence Award, Pendergast has continued her
work in the accounting profession.
In 2000, Urbach, Kahn & Werlin merged with five
other accounting firms across the country and is now
part of UHY Advisors, the 12th largest provider of
accounting services in the United States. Its international
association, UHY International has also grown
and is active in 66 countries throughout the world.
Pendergast continues to provide audit services to
clients in a variety of industries, in particular the higher
education and government sector. She also works
with public companies to assist them in developing
internal controls to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Act
requirements.
In 2006, she received the Sempier Award for the
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in
recognition of contributions to the international
accounting profession. She was chair of the Ethics
Committee of IFAC for six years and oversaw the
development of a strong code of ethics and independence
requirements that are now being implemented
worldwide.
“Receiving the Woman of Excellence award was a
very significant event for me, both personally and
professionally. As an ‘early-entry’ woman in the
accounting profession in the late 1960s, I was fortunate
to work with Eli Werlin, Howard Kahn and
Sidney Urbach, all of whom were ahead of their
times in providing opportunities for women in the
profession and, for me, the award was also a tribute
to them.
“My parents (now 92 and 90) and my daughter
also were able to be there when I accepted the
award, and without their support, none of the things
I have accomplished so far would have been possible.
“I think the awards are important to the women
today in our community who manage to perform a
constant balancing act between professional and
personal commitments, not only as recognition but
also as incentive to young women who are just
beginning their careers.”
Judy Genshaft
Excellence in Management
(Public), 1999
THEN: Provost and Vice
President for Academic
Affairs, University at Albany
NOW: President/Chief
Executive Officer, University
of South Florida
Since July 200, Genshaft has been president and
chief executive officer of the University of South
Florida. In this role, she is responsible for the management
of all units of USF, which has a $1.8 billion
operating budget that includes more than $310 million
in sponsored research funding.
The USF system serves a metropolitan region of
more than 3.9 million people and is one of the
nation’s largest and most comprehensive research
universities. USF has more than 45,000 students on
four campuses, including a major academic medical
center.
The university offers 219 degree programs at
the undergraduate, graduate, specialist and doctoral
levels, including the doctor of medicine. In addition,
the university has an annual economic impact
of more than $3.2 billion on the Tampa Bay region.
During her tenure at USF, Genshaft led a success-
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