Partner Promotions
Rachel Deaton
We are thrilled to announce that Rachel has been promoted to Partner!
For the past decade, Rachel has been an essential part of our tax team. Her impact goes far beyond her technical skills—she brings a well-rounded perspective that spans tax, accounting, payroll, sales tax, and even audit. Rachel truly understands the whole client and how all the pieces fit together.
She consistently upholds the highest standards of professionalism and is an amazing team player. Beyond her client work, Rachel has shown incredible dedication to developing our people, particularly through her role as a leadership in the training space for the tax team and her role as a Direct Report Advisor.
This promotion is a reflection not only of Rachel’s expertise but also of her leadership, commitment, and care for both our clients and our team. We are excited to see the next chapter of her journey with the firm and can’t wait to see what the next 10 years bring.
Please join us in congratulating Rachel on this well-deserved achievement!
Spencer Pruss
We are excited to announce the promotion of Spencer Pruss to Partner, in recognition of his outstanding leadership, technical expertise as a CPA, PMP, and CFE, and dedication to Bland.
Spencer began his career with Bland as an intern in 2012 and has grown into a trusted leader in our Gov Con Department and across the Firm, serving as our Compliance Officer, protecting our proprietary information and raising concerns about contract language when warranted. Always ready to embrace new challenges, he has successfully led projects ranging from directing Bland’s new Data Analysis niche at CMS to overseeing a complex Department of Education contract evaluating Change in Control transactions—consistently ensuring project success while fostering professional growth for those around him.
Beyond his project work and Compliance Officer role, Spencer is also a leader in Toastmasters as the current President, where he develops future speakers, strengthens client presentation skills, and steps in seamlessly when others are unable to fill roles. His claim to fame: making it all look effortless—rarely has anyone ever heard a complaint from Spencer.
Spencer is an invaluable leader at Bland, and we’re thrilled to celebrate this well-deserved promotion. Please join us in congratulating him!
Justin Iske
We are excited to announce the promotion of Justin Iske to Partner, in recognition of his versatility and leadership, technical expertise as a CFE and CISA, and dedication to Bland.
With eight years of experience at Bland, Justin has developed deep expertise in compliance oversight and monitoring for CMS and CMMI, while serving as overall program director for several high-profile initiatives, including the AHEAD Model, Transforming Maternal Health (TMaH) Model, and the Medicare Advantage Plan Benefit Packages (PBP) contracts. His ability to manage complex compliance monitoring and oversight projects while delivering exceptional results has earned him strong recognition from CMS and prime contractors alike.
But Justin’s impact extends far beyond compliance monitoring. As Bland’s Privacy and Security Officer, he plays a critical role in maintaining the Firm’s overall security posture. He also contributes to Firm committees, leads wellness initiatives, mentors interns, supports IT solutions/AI initiatives, and recently served as Toastmasters President. Truly — what can’t Justin do? is a question many of us ask. His ability to take on many challenges makes him an invaluable leader at Bland.
Please join us in congratulating Justin Iske on this well-deserved promotion!