by Integrated Tax Services | Jul 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
We acknowledge and celebrate team members and their children who have had milestone accomplishments this year. Learn how they’ve prepared for this day, and what plans they have ahead of them. Juli Potts, Ripple Companies An interview with Brenden Potts. Brenden...by Integrated Tax Services | Jul 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
Building Connections is one of our core values. To help us stay better connected with one another, each quarter we feature a team member from each of the Ripple Companies Vivian Le Cousins, Ripple Companies What is your role in the Ripple Companies? I’m a senior...by Integrated Tax Services | Jul 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
Megan Dixon, ITS and Ripple Impact NW Growing things is in my blood. From the generations of Maschmann farmers in Nebraska to my Papa Adams’ backyard vegetable garden, my entire body demands I put things in the ground each spring in anticipation of a fall harvest. I...by Integrated Tax Services | Apr 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
The quality of physical activity matters more than the actual number of steps that appear on our app. As you’re getting in movement, why not include it with your vacation plans or your home remodel in your fitness routine. See how your teammates are...by Integrated Tax Services | Apr 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
You’ve probably heard … we have a year chock-full o’ special events, fashion shows, and fundraisers at Ripple Companies in 2023. Between sponsorships chosen by our Community Engagement Committee (Megan and team), and events we host for purposes of business,...by Integrated Tax Services | Apr 5, 2023 | Uncategorized
Becky Albeke, The Difference Becky Albeke Becky’s Art What is your role in the Ripple Companies? I am a part-time sales associate in Lake Oswego. I usually work Thursday – Saturday. I come in for special projects, or if the team needs me to help cover when...
Heidi is the founder of Integrated Tax Services as well as the owner of Johnson Bixby, a financial planning firm in Vancouver. She is devoted to the Downtown Vancouver community and is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our clients through financial wellness. Heidi believes if we can raise the tide for one, we can raise it for all. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis in financial planning from Marylhurst University in Portland. Heidi began her career in financial planning in 1991, and achieved her Certified Financial Planner™ certification in 1997.
An active member of the community, Heidi has chaired or served on the boards of many nonprofits over the last 20 years. She currently serves as board Past Chair for Columbia Springs, and also as board Treasurer of Global Sojourns Giving Circle and H-RoC.
As world traveler and avid photographer, Heidi loves to document her adventures with her camera. Photography is the perfect creative outlet for her. As she says, “It’s a way to capture the spirit of the people we meet, the land and the culture and bring it back to be shared.” Her favorite travel destinations include Zimbabwe, Thailand, Peru, Belize, South Africa, and Scotland.
Estate & Trust Manager
Randy has been preparing income tax returns since 1985 and moved to Washington from California in 1996. Some of the perks that Randy enjoys is the occasional public speaking and tax presentations. Randy spent many years working in the National and State Parks and Forests as a firefighter, interpreter, and law enforcement officer.
Randy’s favorite pastimes include traveling, reading, hockey, and the martial arts.
CPA
John Caton is a graduate of the University of Portland and has been in public accounting since 1970. He started with one of the national firms and began his own practice in 1974. In 2011, he sold his ownership interest in Caton, Day & Co. CPAs, Inc and became Partner Emeritus in the successor firm of Day, Bacon, Smith & Co. PLLC where he worked on special projects. Not being interested in just retiring, John has been associated with the team since 2013 which allows him to pursue his interests in working with estates and dealing with other elder issues. He will also be assisting the firm during tax season.
John is very active in the community by serving on the Vancouver Planning Commission for 12 years and as Chairman for four years; Vancouver Charter Review Committee for all nine reviews since 1979 and Chair of two of them; Clark County Three Creeks Council; and currently serving his final term after nine years on the Vancouver Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission. He has been active in assisting non-profit organizations, such as the Jane Weber Evergreen Arboretum, and currently on the Board of Directors for Innovative Services Northwest and the Friends of the Elder Justice Center.
John has lived in Clark County for over 50 years and having traveled to most parts of the country, finds no better place to be. He has two sons that have gone into banking and public accounting. His personal interests include travel, reading science fiction, mysteries, and history, and spoiling his only granddaughter.
Staff Accountant & Tax Preparer
After spending the last three years traveling the world and teaching in China, Jonathan recently returned to the Pacific Northwest to work in accounting and bookkeeping.
With a degree in Psychology from Portland State University, he started his career in customer service, which led to roles in accounting. He loves that accounting tells a story. In his opinion, the more complex the numbers, the better the narrative.
Jonathan has visited all six habitable continents (yep, Antarctica is still on the list). And, despite being great with math, he can’t count all his cousins thanks to 14 aunts and uncles.
Director of Community Investments & Relationships
Megan has built her career around helping nonprofits raise the critical funds and resources necessary to do their good work. She thrives on working together in a team environment, helping ensure processes and procedures are efficient and effective to everyone. Her enthusiasm to grow and develop a team and community —making them better tomorrow than they are today—is one of the reasons she is perfect as our Director of Community Investments & Relationships.
Megan believes growing and developing are essential for all aspects of life, not just the office. Whether it be cultivating the growth mindset of her two children or tending the vegetables and flowers around her yard – growth is everywhere. When not in the garden, you may find her writing a poem, an art form near and dear to her heart. Not a big surprise considering she met her husband in a poetry class back in college.
Technical Services, Client Services Team
Ashley loves numbers and people. We’re not sure what she loves more, making her the perfect fit on our client services team, focusing on work with our commercial department. Ashley graduated with a finance degree from Portland State University. Ever since she has been old enough to work, Ashley’s been drawn to customer service roles – first in the restaurant industry and most recently at a commercial insurance firm.
Ashley was born and raised in Hillsboro, Oregon, recently buying her first home there with her husband. You can find them relaxing with their rescue fur baby dog, Sammy, or cooking a delicious meal after a day exploring outside. Ashley says she loves being outside, which is why she can usually be found taking her lunch break on our outdoor deck.
Director of Culture and Employee Experience
Paula Lee is a people person—not a numbers person. Bringing out the best in her coworkers is what she does best. With her background in human resources, Paula thinks outside the box. It helps her inspire, direct and support those around her. Calm by nature, Paula handles just about any situation with precision, grace and humor.
Paula is the team’s go-to person for everything from recruiting and onboarding new employees to organizing activities that enhance making ITS a great place to work.
When Paula isn’t juggling multiple projects, you’ll find her in her garden. Paula also enjoys traveling to sunny, warm locales and spending time with friends. She lives in Washougal, Washington, with her husband.
Ask Cyndi what she loves about her job and the answer is simple: people and purpose. Her energy and enthusiasm for helping both team members and businesses grow and succeed is evident in her work over the last 25 years.
Before joining our team in 2020 as our CFO and COO, she held multiple finance and client relationship roles in a variety of industries – from recruiting to medicine to real estate. Don’t be surprised if you see her name pop up when researching items related to financial planning, investing, parenting or travel as she’s published articles in dozens of magazines through the years.
Chief Marketing Officer / Brand Strategist
Kristi believes in the power of story to connect us, move us, and transform lives. As our Chief Marketing Officer, she is a writer, brand and messaging strategist, and workshop facilitator with a knack for finding stories and creating pathways to help great ideas become remarkable experiences.
For 25 years, Kristi has worked in marketing for companies including Moda Health, Kaiser Permanente, Microsoft, Apple, Nike and others. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial services industry, working with clients from Registered Investment Advisor firms to larger brands such as Charles Schwab, Morgan Stanley and Prudential.
Marketing & Communications Director
Rachel is an optimistic realist helping promote the ITS brand in all the ways that matter—whether that be to existing clients, future clients, employees or community partners. A natural people person who gets an extrovert classification on every test she’s taken, she tackles each communication challenge that comes across her plate with grace and enthusiasm.
A lifelong communicator who had childhood dreams of becoming a news broadcaster, she spent her early career years in public relation and marketing roles. After more than a decade in corporate communications, she moved to a local creative agency in account services where she realized she had a passion for promoting brands for smaller businesses.
Away from the office, Rachel enjoys entertaining friends and family over a homecooked meal—especially ones that contain vegetables from her garden.
Senior Director of Human Resources
Juli brings her enthusiasm for people and her vast experience in human resources to Integrated Tax Services, and our sister company, Johnson Bixby. She helps us recruit new talent, designs and implements key people strategy programs, all while making sure we stay a safe and compliant workplace.
A Pacific Northwest native, Juli is a mom of two, who went to school while raising her kids. She graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in Personnel Psychology and Human Resources Management. She also holds a minor in Psychology and has several human resource professional designations including Professional in Human Resources (PHR), SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and Certified Compensation Professional (CCP).
Depending on the season, you’ll find Juli enjoying any number of activities – hiking, kayaking, outdoor concerts, yard work or wine tasting.
Senior Accountant
Vivian loves the art of untangling an accounting challenge. With a keen attention to detail and superior organization skills, she’s a natural fit to our team. Working in the accounting industry for more than a decade, Vivian previously worked as a financial consultant for a California based music start-up. In her role as Senior Accountant she supports Johnson Bixby and Integrated Tax Services with various finance related activities.
Director of Nonprofit Resources
Connecting people to information is something that runs deep in Jeanne’s blood. From her days in Iowa going from tiny town to cornfield stop on the bookmobile, to running the Nonprofit Network in southwest Washington as their executive director – Jeanne unlocks opportunities for all around her.
As the Director of Nonprofit Resources at Integrated Tax Services, she looks for new ways to educate, enhance and develop relationships for our clients and our community.
Jeanne’s true ‘happy place’ is at home with her husband, John and enjoying time with their three adult daughters – whose creativity and interests have expanded the family to include two sons, two granddaughters, four grand dogs and three grand cats. All but the cats are frequent visitors at their three-acre field in Brush Prairie.
Facilities Maintenance Tech
Need something painted or furniture assembled? Don’t worry! Jim is on the job. Calm and resourceful, Jim is instrumental in keeping our building running smoothly. And best of all? He’s a delight to be around.
Prior to joining our team, Jim held a facilities position at a Portland bicycle shop. To say biking is a passion for Jim is an understatement. Whether a mountain trail or commuting to work – Jim prefers to cycle whenever and wherever he can.
When not fixing something or biking, you may find Jim relaxing with his cat, Lulu, or jamming to Kool & the Gang and KC & the Sunshine band (both performed at his high school graduation!).
Information Technology Manager
Bob McMahan joined our team in 2022 and oversees all aspects of the use of information technology and information security for Integrated Tax Services and our sister company, Johnson Bixby.
With a positive attitude, strong work ethic, attention to detail and belief in always doing the right thing, Bob is a charismatic and natural fit to our organization. He has more than 25+ years of experience leading Fortune 500 and public sector organizations through digital transformation, educating and guiding business leaders in advancing digital dexterity, delivering quality services that support business objectives, and championing the importance of information risk and cybersecurity.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree from Linfield College.
Chief Operations Officer
Tax Staff Accountant
With a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Washington State University, Vancouver, Nina adds energy and enthusiasm to our office. She was drawn to taxes as she loves how the work pulls from the analytical and logical sides of her brain.
Nina was born and raised in Vancouver, Washington, but has strong roots to Ukraine where her older siblings were born. She’s visited the country twice and is fluent in both Russian and Ukrainian.
Nina's perfect day includes enjoying a good book, playing the piano, and listening to rain fall outside.
Staff Accountant & Tax Preparer
Brian is a staff accountant and tax preparer on our team and has worked in public accounting for the last decade. He loves the intricate world of tax accounting. He revels in the mental challenges the field offers, where problem-solving and research are paramount, and the distinction between right and wrong is crystal clear. Much like his love of Legos, accounting provides comforting order, precision, and clear structure.
Brian’s grateful to call the Pacific Northwest home, sharing adventures with his wife, Michelle, in Battle Ground. Music is a shared passion, along with completing Lego sets together, and enjoying live shows. Their household is complete with a dachshund named Toby.
Brian’s family background is a unique blend – his father is a mortician, and his mother an accountant. He humorously admits he chose the brighter career path.
Erika is a staff accountant, bringing a wealth of experience and passion to our team. Raised in an accounting family, her love for the profession stems from the belief that accounting and taxes, while essential, can often be the burdensome and stressful part of running a business. Erika happily shoulders these responsibilities, allowing business owners to do what they do best – growing their enterprises.
Beyond her professional life, Erika is an avid traveler, considering each journey an opportunity for education and an avenue to deepen her appreciation for the world. She's also a culinary enthusiast, finding solace and creativity in the kitchen after a day filled with numbers and regulations.
Born and raised in Hong Kong but having spent half of her life on the island of Guam, Erika now resides in Ridgefield with her husband, Andy, and their two teenage boys, Devan and Dylan, not to forget their mischievous feline companions, Beans and Wrex.
