Chelsea Sowers: From Bitcoin Barbie to AFWA President-Elect | MOVE Like This

A roller derby skater, crypto auditor, and accounting leader shares why belief, sponsorship, and community shape the future of the profession.

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MOVE Like This
With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk
For CPA Trendlines Research

In this episode of MOVE Like This, Chelsea Sowers, incoming President of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA), audit manager specializing in cryptocurrency assurance with The Network Firm, and “Bitcoin Barbie” on the Atlanta Roller Derby team, joins Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk to discuss leadership, retention, mentorship, and the realities shaping women’s careers in accounting today.

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At the center of the conversation is a recurring challenge within the profession: attracting women into accounting is only part of the equation. Retaining and advancing them into leadership remains a persistent issue. Sowers argues that women often receive access to the profession without receiving a roadmap for advancement. Flexibility, mentorship, sponsorship, and community increasingly matter to younger professionals, particularly those entering the workforce after major disruptions like COVID. Firms may focus heavily on recruitment while overlooking what keeps talented people engaged years later.

Posted on June 24, 2026

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

About the Author

Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk (pronounced like rustic without the “t”) is the founder of BBR Companies LLC, where she provides CMO-level services for professional services firms, co-owner of Rally Rounds, where she facilitates mastermind groups for accounting growth professionals, and owner of the Accounting MOVE Project, where she provides the most comprehensive data and guidance on finding, retaining, developing and advancing women and people of color in the accounting profession.

She holds a Diversity & Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University and is taking additional coursework to expand her knowledge. This is in addition to the MBA with a marketing concentration she earned at Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, public relations, and French from Troy State University in Alabama.

She contributed a chapter to Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Connection Between Current and Emerging Leaders and is a regular contributor and quote source for industry-related publications and websites. She has been recognized as one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People three times, Volunteer of the Year by the Association for Accounting Marketing, and one of CPA Practice Advisor’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting.

Before starting BBR Companies in 2009, she wore many hats, including serving as a public relations director for Sportbrain, a health and fitness startup and precursor of FitBit in Silicon Valley, which allowed her to see the dotcom boom and bust firsthand; international marketing manager for Turner Broadcasting, where she helped launch TNT and Cartoon Network in Asia; and creative managerial roles with software and financial services firms, which started her on the path and laid the foundation for her passion and expertise for professional services marketing.

Never one to put aside her passion for marketing, small businesses and women’s issues when she closes the door at the end of the day, Bonnie also uses her acumen to help others simply because it matters. She is a founding member of the Atlanta Independent Women’s Network (AIWN), a former board member of the Association for Accounting Marketing, and a member of the CPA Consultants’ Alliance.

Click here for more by Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

This is a preview. The complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members | Go PRO here

Sponsored by True Advisor by Hitendra Patil | See Today’s Special Offer

Subscribe to CPA Trendlines Research podcasts anywhere: Apple, Google/YouTube, Spotify, iHeart, Deezer, Amazon Music, Audible, Player FM, Audacy, RSS.

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