Demystifying Civics & Financial Education
Brigid D’Souza, founder of Harborstead Advisory, is a sought‑after speaker and commentator on public finance, education, the CPA pipeline, and civic engagement. Her expertise has been featured on main stages, in higher‑education forums, and in media outlets across New Jersey.
Featured Speaker: “Demystifying the Board of Education in Jersey City”
Presenter: Presented an overview of the Board of Education for 100+ in community forum in Jersey City’s Heights Neighborhood. (November, 2024) Watch Video →
Webinar: “Understanding Montclair's Municipal Budget”
Live Webinar: Co-presented with Councilman‑At‑Large Peter Yacobellis to teach hundreds of Montclair residents about NJ’s User Friendly Budget. (January 26, 2022) Watch Video →
ITIN Workshop for Immigration Advocacy
Co‑Presenter – Basic tutorial about Form 1040 tax compliance with an ITIN (Feb 2019
Demystifying Budgets, Affordability, & Property Taxes
Exploring Affordability in Jersey City
Co‑Presenter – “Education and Affordable Housing Teach‑In” with Don Malone, Anna Brown, and Edgar Rivera‑Colon at Saint Peter’s University. (June 2019)
Diversity Issues in Higher Education Conference
Panelist – Sharing lesson learned from St. Aedan’s Migrant Center in Jersey City. (Nov 2018)
2023 and 2024 “Power Accounting” List Honoree
Recognized by NJ Biz for work around lowering structural barriers to accounting profession.
New Jersey Society of CPAs 2024 Convention & Expo (Atlantic City)
Main Stage speaker at New Jersey Society of CPAs's 2024 Convention & Expo in Atlantic City about Work for Credit programs in New Jersey that are addressing the accounting pipeline challenge.
"Shaping a Bright Future for New Jersey's CPAs," Presented at New Jersey Society of CPAs 2024 Convention and Expo about how to address structural barriers to entry for today's students who are interested in pursuing CPA licensure. Thursday, June 13, 2024.
NJ CPA Issues Watch Podcast
"IssuesWatch Live: Helping students reach the 150 credit hour requirement." Tuesday, May 2, 2023. Live webcast guest with Dan Geltrude, CPA. Hosted by Jeff Kaszerman of the New Jersey Society of CPAs.
"Building the CPA Pipeline: Talking with Accounting Educators," New Jersey Society of CPAs Issues Watch Podcast, August 16, 2022.
Accounting and higher education
Colleagues in Jesuit Business Education (CJBE) (San Diego)
"Creating a talent pipeline "data map" from high school to higher education to address both talent shortage and a lack of diversity in the accounting industry." Presented research at the 26th Annual Colleagues in Jesuit Business Education (CJBE) Conference, San Diego. July 13-16, 2023.
NJ Educators Workshop
Panelist: Pilot program with PwC and NJCPA to support CPA licensure pathways. (September 30, 2022)
Business and Applied Sciences Academy of North America (BAASANA)
Conference Presenter: Growing a larger and more diverse candidate pipeline, starting as early as middle school. (August 11‑12, 2022)
Advocating for Change
Working for change is an incremental process requiring substantial behind-the-scenes collaboration with key stakeholders…followed up with public-facing advocacy that can distill the complexity.
Civic Parent
Civic Parent is a fiscal literacy blog that has helped educate thousands across NJ since 2013 on issues related to property tax, property revaluation, school funding, and more. Learn more at CivicParent.org.
Promoting the CPA Profession
D'Souza, Brigid, "Using CPA Skills to Enhance Local Community Civics," NJ CPA Monthly, Fall 2023.
D'Souza, Brigid, "3 Ways to Evolve Accounting Education", NJ CPA Monthly, Fall 2022.
D’Souza, Brigid, "Deciphering the Decline of the New CPA Supply," August 4, 2022.
D’Souza, Brigid, “Top 5 Excel Skills for Entry-Level Staff.” NJ CPA Monthly, Summer 2021.
D’Souza, Brigid, “Making the Most of Post-Grad CPA Exam Summer Studies.” NJ CPA Monthly, Spring 2021 (14).
D’Souza, Brigid, Dr. Buza, Lori. “Complying with New Nonprofit Reporting Standards.” New Jersey CPA Magazine, September / October 2019.
D’Souza Brigid, Dr. Buza, Lori. “Can I Hold Client Records for Unpaid Fees?” New Jersey CPA Magazine, July /August 2019.
Promoting Fiscal Literacy
D’Souza, Brigid, “Is Jersey City Due for Another Reval Already? A Taxpayer’s Guide to the Issue.” The Jersey City Times, Feb 10, 2020.
Published Articles & Original Content
Advocating for School Funding
D'Souza, Brigid, Ashley, Rev. Dr Willard, and Wurm, Rev. Laurie. "Change the Paradigm and Invest in Jersey City's Children," The Jersey Journal April 22, 2022.
D’Souza, Brigid, “Jersey City’s School Funding Crisis: Where Are We Now.” The Jersey City Times, Oct 14, 2019.
D’Souza, Brigid, Dr. Josephson, Jyl, Rev. Dr. Perry, Alonzo. “No Way to Run a World Class School District.” The Jersey Journal, May 31, 2019.
D’Souza, Brigid, Simon Ellen. “Public Schools Long ‘Robbed’ By Jersey City’s Abatement Windfall,” The Jersey Journal May 16, 2017.
Sharing Classroom Perspectives
D’Souza, Brigid, “Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I see hope for my college students.”USA Today Network, May 18, 2020.