About us

Northeast Wisconsin APA

Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with our Board Members. If you have any questions for any of our board members, please use the Contact Us (upper right envelope icon) feature and we will get back to you.

Melissa DeSwarte, CPP
President

Melissa DeSwarte, CPP is the Compensation Analyst for Americollect, Inc. Through various roles, she has been involved in both the Payroll and Benefits professions for over 10 years. In her current role, she specializes in the daily administration of payroll, compliance, and the development of the company’s compensation philosophies and strategies. After attending her first Statewide Conference in 2016, she became a member of the Chapter in 2017. Melissa earned her Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification in 2021 after participating in the study group offered by the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter. Melissa has system experience with Paylocity and Kronos Workforce Ready. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys reading, singing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.

Melissa DeSwarte, CPP

Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP
Vice President

Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP is the Payroll Manager for Amcor Flexibles North America, Inc. (AFNA) based out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Kelly began her career in January of 2000 and spent over 8 years working in public accounting where she attained her CPA and MBA designations. Her duties included working directly with individual and corporate clients on tax planning and managing the tax compliance process for large multi-state companies. She specialized in benefit plans, sales and use tax, high income individual tax returns, federal income tax and multi-state income tax compliance.

She started her career at Amcor in 2008 and then was promoted to Tax Supervisor in the Corporate Income Tax Department. She was instrumental in transitioning the state income tax function from Minneapolis to Wisconsin and establishing the state income and sales/use tax compliance processes. Kelly also managed the international and state income tax compliance process.

In 2017, Kelly was promoted to Payroll Manager for North America and attained her FPC and CPP designations. She manages the preparation and execution of the hourly and salaried payrolls for North America, which includes 9 legal entities and approximately 9,500 employees within the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Her responsibilities include leading all Payroll and Payroll HRIS team members, ensuring AFNA locations are compliant with company policies and government regulations, managing vendor relationships and working with various departments within Amcor on special projects.

Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP

MariBeth Theusch, CPP
Secretary

MariBeth Theusch, CPP is A Full Time Professional employee with Robert Half who works on a long-term and project basis where continuity is essential for their clients. Although her roles with previous companies have been primarily accounting focused, payroll has also been her responsibility in many of those roles over the course of her career and she has acted as an HRIS systems analyst to ensure payroll/HR team members were able to do their jobs effectively and accurately. MariBeth earned her CPP in 2020 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter's study group and has been a member of the chapter since 2018. In her free time, MariBeth enjoys reading, cooking, baking bread, dining out with friends and traveling to food destinations.

MariBeth Theusch, CPP

Cassie Tennant, CPP
Treasurer

Cassie Tennant, CPP is the Payroll Manager at Prevea Health. Her previous role prior to joining Prevea was at Savage Services as the Payroll Tax & Compliance Specialist. She started working on and off in Payroll in 2005 and made payroll her career focus in 2014. She enjoys everything to do with payroll and staying current on all the different state rules and taxes.

Cassie Tennant, CPP

Tonia Starzer, CPP
Director of Membership

Tonia Starzer, CPP is a Payroll Manager with Baker Tilly US, LLP and has been with the firm since 2009. She provides payroll, payroll tax, and consulting services to clients. She started working in payroll in 2004 and received her CPP certification in 2010 and joined the NEW APA that same year. In previous roles Tonia has provided QuickBooks and Peachtree consulting services. As well as preparation of tax returns for individuals and small businesses. In her spare time, she loves running, reading, and spending time with her husband and 3 sons.

Tonia Starzer, CPP

Elissa Lukes
Chapter Coordinator

Elissa Lukes, PHR, SHRM-CP, CPP is the Payroll & Benefits Administrator for Immel Construction in Green Bay, WI. Through various roles, she has been involved in the HR and Payroll profession for 18 years, with the majority of her career in the food manufacturing industry. Elissa earned her CPP in 2014 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter's study group. Since then, she has participated in the Chapter as a past website coordinator, study group facilitator, and statewide committee member. In addition to her CPP designation, Elissa holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM-CP credentials. Elissa has extensive HRIS experience with UKG as a user, administrator, and as an implementation consultant. She has recently started using Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate

Elissa Lukes

Tracy Olson, CPP
Website Coordinator

Tracy Olson, CPP is a Senior Human Resources Systems Analyst with TreeHouse Foods. In her current role as a member of the HRIS team, she supports day to day HR, benefits and payroll operations at her organization of 11,000 employees by maintaining and optimizing their HR systems.

She received her Associates degree in Accounting in 1995 and began working in the Payroll profession in 2000, earning her CPP in 2010. Her payroll skills and aptitude for technology turned her job into a career and a career into a passion. With her years of experience in accounting, payroll and technology, she’s made it her mission to serve her employer and their employees with efficiency and accuracy.

Emily Tietyen, CPP
Past President

Emily Tietyen, CPP, SHRM-CP, PHR, MBA is the Human Resources Manager for NEW Water in Green Bay, WI. Through various roles she has been involved in the HR and Payroll profession for over 15 years. Her experience has granted her opportunities in many industries including retail, manufacturing, bio-technology, hospitality and the public sector. Emily earned her CPP in 2014 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapters study group. Since then, she past participated in the Chapter as a past board member, study group facilitator and state wide committee member. Emily also serves on the National American Payroll Associations Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force. In addition to her CPP designation, Emily holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential, the SHRM-CP credential and her MBA from Concordia University. She has a passion for continuing education in the payroll and HR professions and is thrilled to re-join the Board of Directors. In her spare time Emily enjoys reading, listening to pod casts, all things Disney, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Emily Tietyen, CPP

Melissa DeSwarte, CPP President Melissa DeSwarte, CPP is the Compensation Analyst for Americollect, Inc. Through various roles, she has been involved in both the Payroll and Benefits professions for over 10 years. In her current role, she specializes in the daily administration of payroll, compliance, and the development of the company’s compensation philosophies and strategies. After attending her first Statewide Conference in 2016, she became a member of the Chapter in 2017. Melissa earned her Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) certification in 2021 after participating in the study group offered by the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter. Melissa has system experience with Paylocity and Kronos Workforce Ready. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys reading, singing, traveling, and spending time with friends and family.	Melissa DeSwarte, CPP

Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP Vice President Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP is the Payroll Manager for Amcor Flexibles North America, Inc. (AFNA) based out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Kelly began her career in January of 2000 and spent over 8 years working in public accounting where she attained her CPA and MBA designations. Her duties included working directly with individual and corporate clients on tax planning and managing the tax compliance process for large multi-state companies. She specialized in benefit plans, sales and use tax, high income individual tax returns, federal income tax and multi-state income tax compliance. She started her career at Amcor in 2008 and then was promoted to Tax Supervisor in the Corporate Income Tax Department. She was instrumental in transitioning the state income tax function from Minneapolis to Wisconsin and establishing the state income and sales/use tax compliance processes. Kelly also managed the international and state income tax compliance process. In 2017, Kelly was promoted to Payroll Manager for North America and attained her FPC and CPP designations. She manages the preparation and execution of the hourly and salaried payrolls for North America, which includes 9 legal entities and approximately 9,500 employees within the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Her responsibilities include leading all Payroll and Payroll HRIS team members, ensuring AFNA locations are compliant with company policies and government regulations, managing vendor relationships and working with various departments within Amcor on special projects.	Kelly Seiltz, CPA, MBA, CPP

MariBeth Theusch, CPP Secretary MariBeth Theusch, CPP is A Full Time Professional employee with Robert Half who works on a long-term and project basis where continuity is essential for their clients. Although her roles with previous companies have been primarily accounting focused, payroll has also been her responsibility in many of those roles over the course of her career and she has acted as an HRIS systems analyst to ensure payroll/HR team members were able to do their jobs effectively and accurately. MariBeth earned her CPP in 2020 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter's study group and has been a member of the chapter since 2018. In her free time, MariBeth enjoys reading, cooking, baking bread, dining out with friends and traveling to food destinations.	MariBeth Theusch, CPP

Cassie Tennant, CPP Treasurer Cassie Tennant, CPP is the Payroll Manager at Prevea Health. Her previous role prior to joining Prevea was at Savage Services as the Payroll Tax & Compliance Specialist. She started working on and off in Payroll in 2005 and made payroll her career focus in 2014. She enjoys everything to do with payroll and staying current on all the different state rules and taxes.	Cassie Tennant, CPP

Tonia Starzer, CPP Director of Membership Tonia Starzer, CPP is a Payroll Manager with Baker Tilly US, LLP and has been with the firm since 2009. She provides payroll, payroll tax, and consulting services to clients. She started working in payroll in 2004 and received her CPP certification in 2010 and joined the NEW APA that same year. In previous roles Tonia has provided QuickBooks and Peachtree consulting services. As well as preparation of tax returns for individuals and small businesses. In her spare time, she loves running, reading, and spending time with her husband and 3 sons.	Tonia Starzer, CPP

Elissa Lukes Chapter Coordinator Elissa Lukes, PHR, SHRM-CP, CPP is the Payroll & Benefits Administrator for Immel Construction in Green Bay, WI. Through various roles, she has been involved in the HR and Payroll profession for 18 years, with the majority of her career in the food manufacturing industry. Elissa earned her CPP in 2014 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter's study group. Since then, she has participated in the Chapter as a past website coordinator, study group facilitator, and statewide committee member. In addition to her CPP designation, Elissa holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and SHRM-CP credentials. Elissa has extensive HRIS experience with UKG as a user, administrator, and as an implementation consultant. She has recently started using Sage 300 Construction & Real Estate	Elissa Lukes

Tracy Olson, CPP Website Coordinator Tracy Olson, CPP is a Senior Human Resources Systems Analyst with TreeHouse Foods. In her current role as a member of the HRIS team, she supports day to day HR, benefits and payroll operations at her organization of 11,000 employees by maintaining and optimizing their HR systems. She received her Associates degree in Accounting in 1995 and began working in the Payroll profession in 2000, earning her CPP in 2010. Her payroll skills and aptitude for technology turned her job into a career and a career into a passion. With her years of experience in accounting, payroll and technology, she’s made it her mission to serve her employer and their employees with efficiency and accuracy.

Emily Tietyen, CPP Past President Emily Tietyen, CPP, SHRM-CP, PHR, MBA is the Human Resources Manager for NEW Water in Green Bay, WI. Through various roles she has been involved in the HR and Payroll profession for over 15 years. Her experience has granted her opportunities in many industries including retail, manufacturing, bio-technology, hospitality and the public sector. Emily earned her CPP in 2014 after participating in the Northeast Wisconsin Chapters study group. Since then, she past participated in the Chapter as a past board member, study group facilitator and state wide committee member. Emily also serves on the National American Payroll Associations Strategic Payroll Leadership Task Force. In addition to her CPP designation, Emily holds the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) credential, the SHRM-CP credential and her MBA from Concordia University. She has a passion for continuing education in the payroll and HR professions and is thrilled to re-join the Board of Directors. In her spare time Emily enjoys reading, listening to pod casts, all things Disney, traveling and spending time with friends and family.	Emily Tietyen, CPP