Deep java/kotlin experience is far more important. Note that as a developer you might start working with tax accounting, but then shift to risk management or investor relations, etc. as business needs shift, so specific knowledge in one area isn't that important.
Tax and accounting experience is nice, but any development work done in those domains would be done at the direction of our existing tax and accounting teams. It's beneficial to have the domain experience (ie what is a trial balance) but not required.
She has forwarded requests that people may occasionally send directly to me in the past and I generally try to respond. I prefer all communication be done through proper channels to avoid any "issues" that might arise.
I have a son who is a CS major in college now. I completely understand how challenging (and borked) the hiring/interviewing process is now as I speak with him about the frustrations he experiences. Which is why I try to be approachable when people have queries.
Denise is great, but I wouldn't say she's the best source to answer harmless but very important questions prospective Java programmers might have that you can answer, for example :)
Here's an example question for you: do you want candidates to also have tax and accounting experience, or is deep Java/Kotlin enough?
Something to consider.