Jason Sweatt (88C) puts Berry’s motto of “Not to be ministered unto, but to minister” to work in so many ways we’d need his considerable number-crunching skills just to keep track.
The Berry accounting grad is a CPA and managing director for Ernst and Young, responsible for the quality of the tax technology supporting tax service operations worldwide. He also invests significant time volunteering with professional organizations and community tax committees, all while playing trombone in his church orchestra and serving his beloved alma mater, most recently as the newly installed president of the Alumni Council.
A 12-year veteran of the alumni leadership body, Jason begins this two-year commitment after previous work as parliamentarian, vice president for culture and heritage, and alumni awards committee member. Calling his council experience the “honor of a lifetime,” he added, “Berry literally changed my life, giving me the confidence, technical knowledge and life skills to go from being the first person in my family to graduate from college to a global executive for a Big 4 accounting firm.”
He will balance his duties as alumni president (including concurrent service on the Board of Trustees) with work as Ernst and Young’s managing director and global tax technology quality leader, planning strategy and overseeing more than 200 employees responsible for tax technology governance. Also continuing is Jason’s decade of service on Berry’s Planned Giving Council, an appointed network tasked with advising the college and its supporters on estate giving and other forms of deferred or structured philanthropy.
In his new role, he is excited to represent alumni from across the decades, including wife Melinda Mitchell Sweatt (90C) and daughter Rebekah Sweatt Perry (17C).
“I have lifelong Berry friends from multiple generations because of my time with the Alumni Council,” he reflected. “Anyone who has the chance to serve should take it. Based on my experience, you will get much more out than you put in.”
