Throughout her 16 years at Suffolk, Tracey Riley has been Professor of Accounting extraordinaire. One recent January evening, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends gathered to celebrate her dedication in a very special way—with an announcement that five alumni and friends had made generous contributions in Riley’s honor.

Thinking she was attending a fundraising event for the Winternship program, Riley could not have been more surprised when the carefully planned event went “off-script” with President Marisa Kelly and some of the donors joining and sharing heartfelt reflections about the impact of Riley’s work with students as well as her impact on them personally.

Among the first donors was Dat Le, BSBA ’12, MSA ’13, who established the Accounting Department Winternship Travel Seminar Fund in honor of Riley, Dr. Lewis Shaw, and the Le Family. The fund will offset student costs associated with this invaluable experience. In moving remarks, he described how Riley and Shaw mentored him when his finance career aspirations did not work out, helping him land on his feet in accounting. And land on his feet, he did. Today, Le is the highly successful founder of Motta Financial with offices in Boston and Las Vegas.

Le was joined in supporting Riley’s Winternship program by fellow Suffolk alumni, Craig King, BSBA ’81; Stephen MacDonald, MBA ’02; and Paul Nasser, MBA ’98, who also gave generous contributions in Tracey’s honor to the new Winternship Seminar Fund. Unable to attend the event, King sent remarks, sharing, “We first met virtually when I served on the Advisory Board for the Accounting Department. Your energy and passion to help our students succeed was contagious. Not only did you not shy away from encouraging our students to the Big Four, but you were instrumental in establishing the Winternship program to provide our students with those opportunities. Tracey, I have always believed you aim high and never settle for less. I have had the opportunity to meet some of the students that PWC has hired over the years during my visits to Boston. I must say, it brings a smile to my face to see these folks succeeding in large part because of your mentoring, dedication, counsel, and just caring!”

Le, King, Nasser, and MacDonald were joined in acknowledging Riley’s impact by former Suffolk employee Matt Borrello who established the endowed Tracey Riley Legacy Fund which will support faculty professional development in the Sawyer Business School. The gift, Borrello explained, stemmed from a conversation he had had with Riley about the importance of having funds available for faculty to engage in ongoing professional development. Having worked with Riley for some seven years prior to leaving Suffolk, Borrello, too, felt inspired by Riley and her passion for teaching.

Business School Dean Amy Zeng shared remarks from Trustee Stacy Mills, BSBA ’87, who was unable to attend the event, “[Tracey’s] dedication to our students is above and beyond. She is a professor, friend, mentor, parent, and guide. It is really hard to find the words to describe the unique individual Tracey is. When I think of her during the Winternship visits to New York City, I generally picture her at the end of one of our very long days together, overseeing the students with pride on her face, reflecting on what the students have accomplished during the day but also watching to make sure everyone is ok, eating and being included. Always dedicated, always there for the students.”

If you'd like to contribute to the Accounting Winternships Program, please visit the Suffolk Giving page.