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Frank R. Acuña is a California State Bar certified specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law. His practice includes estate planning, business and real estate succession planning, special needs trusts, inheritance litigation, and general business and real estate advice. He is also a nationally recognized expert in real estate wealth transfers and in succession planning for farms, ranches, and vineyards. With more than 27 years of front-line legal experience in the business, insurance, and banking worlds, professionals and businesses rely on Mr. Acuña as their outside general counsel. He listens with the ear of a business owner, diagnoses business, and legal issues that arise, and creates teams of professionals to guide and protect his business clients. When otherwise unavoidable, Frank is a well-qualified trial attorney. Where other attorneys push paper through years of litigation, Frank is focused on trial tactics and formulates a strategy to produce the best outcome at settlement or trial. It is the difference between an experienced trial attorney and an ordinary “litigator.” As a professional advisor, Frank has taught tax seminars for the National Tax Practice Institute, the California Society of Enrolled Agents, the California Society of Tax Professionals, and a number of national, state and local chapters of the National Association of Enrolled Agents and the American Institute of Certified Public Accounts. He is a featured speaker for the Professional Fiduciary Association of California and the California Association of Public Administrators, Public Conservators, and Public Guardians. He advises tax, fiduciary, and real estate professionals throughout California and was honored by the California Society of Enrolled Agents as its 2010 Booster of the Year.
Karen Brosi, EA, CFP® has been practicing in Palo Alto, California for over twenty-five years. She is a Certified Financial Planner professional and Enrolled to Practice before the Internal Revenue Service. A native Californian, Karen completed her undergraduate education at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a major in Mathematics. In the community, Karen is active in her local church. She is a past-president of Golden Gate Chapter and past officer of the California Society of Enrolled Agents. Karen advises clients in individual tax and family wealth planning, specializing in complex tax strategies, securities and real estate transactions. A frequent lecturer, Karen speaks for various state and local tax professional organizations and nationally for AICPA, NAEA and Western CPE. She was named Outstanding Conference Instructor for 2011-12 and Outstanding Webcast Instructor for 2012-13 by California CPA Education Foundation. Karen has written articles on a variety of tax and financial planning topics, and has been widely quoted in the print media. She and her teaching partner, Sharon Kreider, CPA, present a renowned two-day comprehensive federal and California tax update.
As a former senior manager, with a “big six” public accounting firm, Darryl has a vast array of experience in federal taxation of individuals, small businesses including partnerships, S corporations, closely held C corporations as well as large public companies. As a former college professor, he has an extensive background in teaching, researching, and writing about issues pertaining to the same areas of federal tax law including financial reporting and accounting for income taxes, and financial accounting, intermediate accounting, advanced accounting, financial statement analysis, and advanced corporate finance. In addition to his thirty years of tax practitioner experience and twenty years of tax and accounting teaching experience, Darryl is an Enrolled Agent (EA) and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Darryl’s academic pedigree includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy and a Master of Science in Taxation from Bentley College (now Bentley University); he holds a Master of Science in Accounting and a Ph.D. in Accounting and Taxation with a minor in Finance, from The University of Arizona. His vast background in both the practitioner and academic worlds permits him to deliver optimal solutions for his clients with a view toward maximizing after-tax cash flows. Darryl is an active member of the following professional organizations: NAEA, ISCPA, MSCPA, AICPA, ABA-Tax Section.
Marc J. Dombrowski, EA, specializes in IRS/state tax collections cases, settlements with the IRS, tax lien releases, and corporate officer assessments. He has lectured since 1994 on advanced collection topics. As an enrolled agent, he is licensed to practice before the IRS in all 50 states. He received the 2020 NAEA President’s Award for his contributions to the practitioner community. He is a former contributor to CNBC, the NAEA’s EA Journal and the Wall Street Journal online. He is a Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Graduate Level instructor with the National Tax Practice Institute™ (NTPI®). He has had speaking engagements at many of NAEA’s state affiliates, at enrolled agent the National Association of Tax Professionals, and at the Ohio Society of Enrolled Agents’ Annual Conventions. He has collaborated with Tax Practice Pro to provide several tax collections-related webinars and podcasts that qualify for continuing education on IRS and state collection topics. Mr. Dombrowski is also a FINRA arbitrator.
Derek Ganter is currently the Director of the Stakeholder Liaison organization within in the Internal Revenue Service. In this capacity, Derek oversees non-case related engagement with the local, state and regional payroll, tax practitioner and non-tax/industry stakeholders. The scope of his purview includes outreach and education of IRS policies, practices and procedures to ensure compliance with the tax laws, both by voluntary means and through enforcement programs. Prior to his current assignment Derek held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility and scope primarily in the IRS Compliance Business Units. Recent assignments include serving as Bank Secrecy Act/Title 31 Specialist in the designated High Intensity Financial Crimes Area of Miami, Florida; holding various management and non-management compliance positions in the IRS’s Examination function in the Small Business/Self-Employed and Large & Mid-Size Business Divisions; assignments to the IRS Communications, Problem Resolution and Disaster Assistance programs; as well as leading several task forces, special projects and teams. Derek has been recognized and received commendations by former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti, the American Institute of CPA’s, members of the U.S. Congress and other noteworthy institutions for his tax law knowledge, communication skills and ability to find resolution to difficult and sensitive matters. A native Californian, Derek attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he was recruited by and began his IRS career in 1989. In his private life he serves on the leadership team of several non-profit organizations and enjoys mentoring student athletes, fishing and playing board games.
Thomas A. Gorczynski, EA, USTCP is a nationally recognized speaker and educator on federal tax law matters. He is editor-in-chief of EA Journal, author of the Tom Talks Taxes online newsletter, the co-author of the PassKey Learning Systems EA Review Series, and co-owner of Compass Tax Educators. He is an Enrolled Agent, a Certified Tax Planner, a National Tax Practice InstituteTM Fellow, a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, and admitted to the bar of the United States Tax Court as a non-attorney. Tom earned a Master of Science in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a Certificate in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He received the 2019 Excellence in Education Award from the National Association of Enrolled Agents and the 2018 Member of the Year Award from the American Institute of Certified Tax Planners. Tom’s tax practice in Phoenix, Arizona focuses on implementing advanced tax reduction strategies and representing taxpayers with complex tax problems before the IRS and in the United States Tax Court.
Amber Gray-Fenner, EA, NTPI Fellow, USTCP is the owner of Tax Therapy, LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Amber’s practice focuses on tax returns and tax planning for individuals and small professional businesses with a bit of representation thrown in to keep things spicy. In addition to her tax practice, Amber is a contributing writer for Forbes.com and ThinkOutsideTheTaxBox.com.
Claudia Hill, EA, is a nationally recognized tax professional and frequent lecturer on taxation of individuals and representation before the IRS. She is the editor-in-chief of the Wolters Kluwer, (formerly CCH) Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure, co-author of CCH Expert Treatise Tax Practice & Procedure, and a frequent presenter for both audio and in-person CPE seminars nationwide. Claudia coordinates a “dream team of tax controversy advisors” for the IRS Watch blog on Forbes.com. Claudia was named as a Top Ten Nominee by Tax Analysts as 2011 Person of the Year. She is a National Tax Practice Institute™ (NTPI®) instructor, NTPI Fellow®, and former Dean of the National Tax Practice Institute. She is owner and principal of Tax Mam, Inc. and TMI Tax Services Group, Inc. in Cupertino, California.
Matt Metras, EA, is the founder of MDM Financial Services in Irondequoit, NY and specializes in boutique accounting services, with an intense focus on taxation for cryptocurrency clients. Matt’s a frequent guest on the Bitcoin Taxes podcast, and has been a featured speaker at several national and state conferences, including the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the National Association of Tax Professionals, The American Institute of Certified Tax Planners, and many other organizations. Additionally, he is a contributing writer for thinkoutsidethetaxbox.com.Matt is a founding member of the Blockchain Accountants Association, an administrator of the "Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency Tax Info" Facebook group, and a moderator of the r/cryptotaxation subreddit. A passionate community advocate, Matt serves as the President of his local Board of Education. When not knee-deep in taxes, he and his family enjoy adventuring around the world and playing board games.
Jane Ryder, EA, CPA has been providing tax preparation, accounting services, and tax collection resolution services since 1980. She runs her San Diego CPA firm, Brass Tax Ryder Professional Group, Inc., and writes and speaks on many income tax, business compliance and accounting topics. She received a BS in Business Administration (Accounting) from SDSU and is currently licensed with the California State Board of Accountancy and with the Internal Revenue Service as an Enrolled Agent.
Laura Strombom, EA, MBA, NTPI Fellow, USTCP, has been preparing taxes since 1995. After completing her MBA degree she began teaching Business and Accounting courses at the collegiate level, undergrad and grad. As her practice grew, she had to give up teaching. She continued to present tax topics to local groups. In 2014 she began teaching CPE nationally. This enabled her to accomplish a life goal: to see all 50 States! Laura loves learning, thinking and strategizing through complex situations. She is the President/CEO of Adding Sense to Your Dollars, Inc. dba All About Numbers with two locations: Stockton and Valley Springs. When not working, Laura's favorite pastime is riding her horses.
Mike is a former senior tax analyst with Intuit. He began as a seasonal Quality Analyst with Tax Development which transitioned to full-time position 16 years ago. Prior to Intuit he worked for H&R Block as an office manager, tax preparer and tax instructor. He has written articles and has conducted Webinars in Intuit’s Pro-Connect tax center. He has conducted multiple tax education seminars within Intuit. These seminars include helping new employees become familiar with taxes and the product and also assists employees with the complexities of taxes by offering seminars to explain tax topics such as Employee Stock Sales. Mike has over 40 years of experience in the tax preparation industry with his own tax firm, where he focuses on Individual and Small Partnership tax returns. Mike is an Enrolled Agent and has been in the tax preparation business for nearly 40 years. He is the owner of Tullio Financial Services, LLC located on Mission Gorge Road in San Diego California. Mike up until recently was a Senior Tax Content Analyst at Intuit, makers of Turbo Tax, ProSeries and Lacerte. He is an Enrolled Agent. He is a member of the National Society of Tax Preparers (NSTP), a member of the California Society Tax Consultants (CSTC) and a member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA). Mike is married and lives in the Clairemont Area of San Diego. He and his wife Janet have two grown sons both attending college at this time. He and his wife like to travel in their RV and he also serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Imperial Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
David M. Woods, EA, USTCP has been in the field of taxation and financial planning for over twenty-five years and is the owner of Woods Financial Services in San Diego, California. He specializes in individual, partnership, corporate, and fiduciary taxation, as well as tax controversy. Additional specialties include foreign reporting for US taxpayers, as well as determining income and sales tax nexus for individual and business taxpayers. David received his master’s degree in taxation from Northeastern University, Boston, MA and is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as an Enrolled Agent (EA), he’s named a Fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute (NTPI) by the National Association of Enrolled Agents, and designated a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist by the American Society of Tax Problem Solvers. Among his accomplishments, David has also been awarded the financial planning designations of Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) a by The American College for demonstrating knowledge and ability in several different disciplines of financial planning. Some of the work he’s done in the past include serving on the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts EA Society and San Diego Mensa Society. In his spare time, David enjoys competing in track and field