Time well spent: new CalCPA chair brings penchant for public service.

• Author: B.M., Damien

The many sides or Rich Simitian are reflected in his workspaces. The pristine and professional environs of his Grant Thornton offices contrast sharply with the more humble surroundings of the Weingart Center, located just a handful of blocks from his office and where he has been volunteering to help the homeless for more than seven years.

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"The world changes just a few blocks down." says Simitian, as he drives me from downtown Los Angeles to a rougher part of town, dubbed "Skid Row" so we can ii wet with Weingart's executive director and prepare for the board meeting taking place later that day.

He's right about the changes. The surroundings quickly go from bustling, downtown streets shaded by tall buildings and packed with business men and women going about their day--to a worn neighborhood where streets are packed with homeless men and women.

Homelessness was something that was all around Simitian when he was living in New York. "I just always felt homelessness was a much bigger issue here," he says. "Then I moved to L.A. and I realized that we're really dealing with the homeless capital of the world here. I did some research and found what was even more astounding: nobody talked about it. The more I was exposed to the issue, the more I realized it needed my attention."

And whatever garners Simitian's attention definitely benefits.

East to West: Origins and Education

Simitian grew up in New York with his two older sisters. His grandma also lived with the family, and his cousins and other extended family lived in the tri-state area and would vacation together when the opportunity arose.

Both his parents immigrated to the United States mom from Argentina and dad from Armenia. "Both in parents are actually Armenian, but my mother's family moved to South America in the early 1900s," Simitian explains.

His penchant for public service took him to his parents' birthplace in Armenia in 1990, where he volunteered to teach applied economies in a Junior Achievement type of project. He returned to Armenia in 2008 to help expand the program. "It was interesting because we were teaching students applied economies and capitalism--concepts they didn't understand under Communism." he says. "It eventually became part of the curriculum there in the fourth-and fifth-grade classes."

Simitian attended Pace University, located not too far from Wall Street. "I thought I warned to work on Wall Street, or do something related to the stock exchange," he says. A big stock market crash in 1987 put an end to those ideas and "a career in accounting seemed pretty attractive after that."

It was around this time he landed a part-time job with Grant Thornton while still in school. He figured accounting would be a good, fundamental skill to be able to work anywhere in the business world.

"Pace University was interesting because we had so many people working...