‘The One Where She Makes Taxes Fun’

Now that I have your attention……..

I am a Certified Public Accountant located in Tillamook, Oregon where I live in the country with my husband, two kids, dog and various farm animals. As a virtual organization, I serve clients throughout the state of Oregon, focusing on individual and business income tax preparation. 

I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management Administration from Western Oregon University with a  minor in Entrepreneurship. I got married to my high school sweetheart after our junior year of college. We’ve been married for 19 years. (I see you crunching those numbers.)  

After college we moved to Lincoln City, Oregon to run the office of my family’s furniture store. Three years later we wanted to move home to start a family. I took a position in the corporate office managing customer service for the three (which grew to five, and now six) furniture stores on the Oregon Coast. I can sum up the position as ‘doing the jobs that nobody else wanted to do’ like collections, vendor chargebacks, customer complaints, employee training, point-of-sale implementation, maximizing operational efficiencies. It suited me well! I love solving problems and thinking outside of the box. If you’re a small business owner, you know that job descriptions are fluid and no two days are the same. 

I spent ten years managing in a small (growing) business surrounded by family, mentors, and friends. When we welcomed our first (and second) children, they came to work with me. They slept in in cribs surrounded by ringing phones. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.  

As the kids grew older I decided to take on a new challenge! I went back to school to complete the additional requirements to sit for the CPA exam. (Which requires five years of college credit.) After years of schooling, studying, four GRUELING exams (notorious for a 48% pass rate) and completing 2,000 hours working under the supervision of a CPA with 30+ years of experience,  I am a fully accredited Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Oregon. I’ve been preparing taxes for the last eight years, working long hours during tax season and not so much during the summer! (See, family. I’m not crazy. Busy season is dark and rainy. Summer is bright and shiny.) 

I’m also employed as the Deputy Director for a local not-for-profit organization where I enjoy managing the company’s finances, administration, technology, and grant programs. My favorite part of the position is working with businesses and nonprofits in the tourism industry! 

In my free time I volunteer as a church board and YMCA treasurer along with being the Master Minivan Chauffeur carting kids between Boy Scouts, 4H, robotics, soccer, and cross-country. When we’re not at various kid activities, we enjoy growing our own food, camping in our small travel trailer, backpacking, kayaking, and exploring the wonderful place we live on the Tillamook Coast and places beyond.