Our Team

Anthony Di JohnCPA – Partner

Email: anthony@jacobsnewmark.com

Anthony, a native of Chicago, earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the School of Business at the University of Iowa and his Master of Accountancy from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois, member of the Illinois CPA Society, and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Anthony is also licensed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and holds the Series 27 and 99 licenses.

Anthony brings over ten years of experience, where he worked at both a small and regional firm in the Chicagoland area, where he provided a wide range of accounting, assurance, tax, and consulting services to clients in a broad array of industries across the U.S. These services consisted primarily of financial statement audits, reviews, compilations. Throughout his tenure he also managed and advised senior management and boards of directors on a variety of financial, operational and accounting matters, including executive and interim management, due diligence on mergers and acquisitions, design and implementation of financial system reporting and controls, revenue recognition, and Long-Term Healthcare reimbursement systems. He offers specialized expertise in securities industry (primarily broker dealers), healthcare, private equity, professional service firms, and employee benefit plans.

From there, Anthony served as the CFO and FINOP for a leading financial services and investment banking firm that provides a full-service suite of investment banking, capital raising, and financial advisory services. He assisted in creating the accounting/back office infrastructure and his responsibilities included managing the day-to-day operations of the firm and the finance/accounting department, preparation of financial statements, budget development and analysis, development and monitoring of internal controls and procedures, compliance matters for the firm, and regulatory report filings.

Anthony has lived in the Chicagoland area his entire life and currently resides with his wife and two kids in Wheaton.

Michael FeuersteinCPA – Partner

Email: mike@jacobsnewmark.com

Michael brings more than ten years of experience. He began his career at a small accounting firm in the Chicago land area, where he specialized in tax preparation and tax consultation for a wide range of clients. Michael continued his career with a mid-size accounting firm working in their Accounting and Audit department. These services consisted primarily of financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations to clients in a broad array of industries. From there, Michael was hired on as Controller at a home remodeling company, where he was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the finance/accounting department, preparation of financial statements, and provided financial analysis to its owners. Michael’s experience provides a unique and all-encompassing view when providing services to our client. He not only focuses on the tax ramifications at the individual level, but how specific transactions effect the client at the corporate, retirement, and estate level.

Michael is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois and is also a member Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the Tippie College of Business at the University of Iowa and his Master of Science in Accounting from the Walter E. Heller College of Business at Roosevelt University.

When he is not busy providing excellent financial and taxation consulting services to our clients, Michael enjoys travelling, socializing and playing sports.

John WhistonCPA

Email: john@jacobsnewmark.com

John brings more than thirteen years of well-rounded assurance, tax and business consulting experience. The majority of his career was spent at global and national accounting firms in the Chicago land area. During his time at these firms, John specialized in assurance and consulting services to clients including SEC registrants in various industries including construction, manufacturing and distribution, technology, insurance and private equity backed portfolio companies. In addition to assurance services, John has experience in tax preparation and tax consulting for small to medium size businesses. Through timely and proactive communications, his clients have sought his guidance on a variety of high-level consultations, such as serving as interim CFO, assisting with lender loan covenant negotiations, buyside and sell side due diligence, IRS audit examinations, business acquisitions, succession planning and exit strategies.

John is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Illinois and is also a member Illinois CPA Society, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA).

He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Brennan School of Business at Dominican University.

When he is not busy assisting our clients achieve their goals, John enjoys travelling to Napa, spending time with his wife and three-year-old daughter and relaxing at local cigar lounges.

Wayne I. JacobsCPA

Email: wayne@jacobsnewmark.com

Wayne attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO. Upon graduating in 1978, Wayne quickly passed the CPA exam on his first sitting and began his accounting career. In 1981, Wayne began working as an accountant with his father, Irvin Jacobs, CPA, and in 1988 Edward Newmark joined the firm to create Jacobs & Newmark, P.C.

During his 30-plus years in public accounting, Wayne has done extensive work in many areas, including retail sales, the service industry, the construction industry, wholesale and manufacturing. A member of the Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Wayne is also a participant in the Wilmette Roundtable Group, which is a networking group of CPA partners in the Chicago area, and the Peer Review Program.

Wayne has lived in the Chicago area his entire life. He enjoys spending time with his three children and five grandchildren, and when it’s not tax season, being out on the lake in his boat.

Edward P. NewmarkCPA

Email: ed@jacobsnewmark.com

Edward earned a B.S. in accounting in 1977 from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Edward has spent his entire 41 year career in public accounting. After passing the CPA exam in 1979, Edward worked his way up the ranks from staff accountant to manager at a mid sized accounting firm in Chicago. In 1988, he joined with Wayne Jacobs to create the firm of Jacobs & Newmark, P.C.

Edward specializes in financial and tax accounting for small and medium sized, closely held businesses. He is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Edward is also a member of the Wilmette Roundtable MAP Group, which is a networking group of CPA partners in the Chicago area, and a registered Quickbooks Pro Advisor. His client base is quite varied, servicing manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and service businesses. He has developed in depth knowledge in all facets of the real estate industry over the years. For the past 25 years, Edward has become quite involved in the veterinary industry. His experience includes dozens of animal hospitals, along with emergency, consulting and specialty practices. His is a member of the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association, and regularly attends conferences of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association and Chicago Veterinary Manager’s Group. Edward has been involved in many sales and acquisitions of Veterinary practices and provides valuable insight in valuation and operational profitability of animal hospitals.

Edward and his wife, Barbara, recently moved to Northbrook after spending 35 years in Buffalo Grove. They have two children, Scott and Stefanie along with two (soon to be three) grandchildren and one grand dog. An avid golf and tennis player, he has achieved two holes in one. His other claim to fame is being a grand prize winner on Wheel of Fortune. Besides participating and watching sports, Edward has a passion for travel. But most of all, he enjoys spending time with family and friends.

David EllisonCPA

Email: david@jacobsnewmark.com

David earned a B.S. in accounting in 1984 from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and passed the CPA exam that year. David began his career at a local public accounting firm and worked his way up the ranks to senior manager. From 1994 to 1996, David worked as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of a company that developed, constructed and operated a licensed long term care facility, specializing in Alzheimer’s care. From 1996 to 2010, David was the Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of a biotech company working on diagnostic tests and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that went public in 2002. Since 2010, David founded a virtual biotech company that is working on treatments for Type 1 Diabetes and Cancer, and continued working his own management consulting practice, specializing in assisting startup companies and companies in transition. David has recently worked with a biotech startup, a unique retail startup and a multi-national, multi-billion dollar manufacturing company that was in the process of spinning out its North American operations as a public company. In addition, David has always maintained a small accounting and tax practice. David is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

David has expertise with the accounting, tax and business issues facing individuals, companies, startups and entity’s working in highly regulated fields, as well as experience with contract negotiations with academic institutions and Fortune 500 companies and has many years of SEC reporting experience.

David has lived in the Chicagoland area his entire life and currently resides with his wife Eileen in Grayslake. David and Eileen have five college age and older children, two grandchildren and two dogs. David is an avid, but not very good, runner and enjoys spending time with his extended family.

Michele ValentaOffice Manager/Paraprofessional

Email: michele@jacobsnewmark.com

Michele began her work career in the veterinary industry in 1996. After working in various office roles, she quickly moved into veterinary management. While working as a practice manager for an animal hospital, she realized that her favorite part of veterinary management were the accounting functions.

Michele joined Jacobs & Newmark in 2012. She plays a vital role working on client accounting and firm administration,. As an accounting paraprofessional, Michele handles bookkeeping, payroll and other accounting functions for many of our clients. As our firm administrator, Michele basically runs the office. She handles billing, purchasing , processing and electronic filing of all of our tax returns.

Michele and her husband live in Des Plaines. She is an accomplished photographer and enjoys travel, hiking, spending time with animals and being in nature.

The Team