Adelphi taught me so many things: how to be a professional, how to interview, how to network, and how to reach my fullest potential!
Member of Adelphi University’s 10 Under 10
Human Resources Manager, Grassi
Arianna Savoca, CPA, SHRM-CP, attributes the success she found in her career largely to the connections and relationships she started building as a first-year student at Adelphi University. Her education and experience in accounting has helped her in crafting a career that fuels her passion for equity, inclusion and community.
Savoca started becoming part of the Adelphi community long before she attended as a student. Her mother, Anna (Fracassa) Georgiadis ‘84, shared many great memories of her time as a nursing student with her daughter. As a young girl, Savoca also performed in several dance recitals at the PAC, an experience which she also credits to her feeling of being “at home” when she decided to attend Adelphi.
Following her father’s advice on the importance of building a network, Savoca soon found a mentor in Professor Arthur Leibowitz, who started her on the path towards becoming a CPA. To this day, she holds her New York State CPA license as her greatest professional accomplishment.
Savoca is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She is also a nationally certified SHRM professional (SHRM-CP) and a New York State Notary. Additionally, she holds positions on the Adelphi Alumni Advisory Board and the Adelphi Accounting Advisory Board.
After receiving her license, Savoca worked in taxation at both EY and Mazars USA LLP before moving into her current position as a manager in the human resources consulting practice at Grassi. Her previous role as an accountant assisted her in making strategic decisions about Grassi’s professional development programs, employee engagement, staff scheduling and other policies and procedures.
At Grassi, Savoca specializes in outsourced HR, workforce planning, performance management, employee relations, employee training and other services that help business owners realize maximum value from their HR function. She is also a core member of Grassi’s internal HR department, where she oversees the firm’s professional development; campus recruitment; and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Since joining Grassi in 2019, she has relaunched the Grassi Women’s Council and formalized the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council to promote the equality and advancement of the firm’s diverse workforce.
Savoca’s passion for equity, inclusion and community extends beyond the office as well. She is one of the Long Island committee co-chairs for the Financial Women’s Association and a Moxxie Mentor for the Moxxie Mentoring Foundation, a nonprofit created to support and foster the career advancement and leadership development of young women through generational mentoring. She also volunteers frequently with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a cause and organization that is near and dear to her.
Savoca’s advice to fellow Panthers is to “make it a priority to build your personal brand, and always focus on expanding your network and making new connections!”