Pacific Tax Institute 2024

Andrea Michaels, Edward Jones

Andrea Michaels, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, has a passion for making a positive impact on her community and helping clients achieve their financial goals. Inspired by her parents’ work at Edward Jones, she began her career in 2015 in Bellevue, WA.

A graduate of Washington State University, she holds an AAMS™ designation, awarded to individuals who complete a rigorous professional education program and pass a final examination.

Additionally, she has earned the CRPC™ designation, specializing in the pre- and post-retirement needs of individuals.

Beyond her professional endeavors, she is actively involved in the Bellevue community, volunteering with organizations such as Jubilee Reach and Liberty Road Foundation. She also serves as a board member for the Watumull Family Children’s Fund, dedicated to education for children in countries like Kenya and India.

She and her husband, Peter, have been married for 10 years and enjoy traveling together. As a mother of three young boys, her home is filled with joy and laughter. Her favorite destinations include Egypt, France, Italy, and Turkey.

Avery Frank, Manager, CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (Bellevue)

Avery is a tax manager at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen). Avery’s client base includes business owners, dynasty trusts, and individuals navigating the complex balance between income tax and the Washington and Federal Estate and Gift Tax. He works with families to develop, implement, and continuously improve generational and multi-generational wealth transfer plans. His practice emphasizes the need to bring together a client’s complete advisory team to ensure a holistic approach to client service.

Avery assists clients across the country and routinely works with CLA’s National Tax Office to develop internal and external Gift Estate and Trust curriculum. Avery is a proud graduate of Washington State University and holds a Graduate Certificate in Estate Planning from the Charles L Widger School of Law, at Villanova University.

CLA exists to create opportunities for our clients, our people, and our communities through our industry-focused wealth advisory, digital, audit, tax, consulting, and outsourcing services. CLAconnect.com Investment advisory services are offered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor.

Charles Rettig, Chamberlain Hrdlicka

Chuck Rettig, a Shareholder at Chamberlain Hrdlicka in the Firm’s Tax Controversy & Litigation, Other Tax and Trust & Estate practices, served as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (2018 – 2022). As Commissioner, he presided over the nation’s tax system, managing an agency of more than 87,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $14.1 billion generating annual gross revenue of approximately $4.9 trillion (representing more than 95% of the gross revenue of the United States). He is a Certified Specialist in both Taxation Law and in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law (The State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization) admitted to practice law in California, Hawai’i and Arizona (inactive). In recognition of his IRS leadership, Commissioner Rettig received the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor for individuals selected by the Treasury Secretary.

At Chamberlain Hrdlicka, Chuck Rettig’s nationwide practice focuses on tax, federal and state tax controversies and investigations, including sensitive issue examinations, administrative appeals, and tax litigation, and representation in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions. Before joining the IRS, Chuck Rettig was listed by Chambers USA as the only Eminent Practitioner in the Chambers Category “Tax: Fraud – Nationwide.” As then stated in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, “According to peers, Charles Rettig … is ‘phenomenal, just phenomenal.’ Further, he “is regarded by market sources as a ‘brilliant and gifted lawyer … a real star and a national leader’” who “enjoys a superb reputation and benefits from ‘great presence.’” Chambers USA has further stated “Fantastic controversy tax lawyer” Charles Rettig is “knowledgeable and very intelligent … a force to be reckoned with … a driving force in policy making at the national level with great client skills when it comes to sensitive matters.” During his career, he has held leadership roles in a number of professional associations and has received many professional honors, including several lifetime achievement awards.

Mr. Rettig is currently serving as a Board Member/ Senior Advisor on behalf of various next-generation technology organizations as well as firms providing advanced blockchain investigation and recovery tools and insights for law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, and threat intelligence platforms. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to a non-profit organization fighting the trafficking of women and children in the U.S.

Chuck Rettig is a co-founder of the UCLA Extension VETS COUNT Scholarship Fund designed to provide scholarships for active duty and retired military personnel who are working to realize their career goals in tax, accounting, and wealth management.

Darek Jarski

Mr. Jarski represents clients in a wide range of tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Jarski also assists clients with international tax and information return compliance matters. His cases include, but are not limited to, complex IRS audits, challenging Trust Fund Recovery Penalty assessments, and offshore and domestic voluntary disclosures, non-filers, IRS collection cases, penalty abatements, employment tax matters, refund claims, ESRP/Sec. 4980H matters, criminal tax matters, domestic and international information return matters. Mr. Jarski joined a boutique tax controversy law firm in 2003 after having completed the Masters of Law in Taxation program at New York University. While at NYU, he focused on business taxation, with an emphasis on corporate reorganizations and partnership taxation. Prior to attending NYU, he graduated magna cum laude from Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington. While at Gonzaga, he interned with United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. Mr. Jarski speaks Polish and studied German and Russian. In his free time, he enjoys snow skiing, cycling, and spending time with his wife and two children.

George Koutelieris, Johnson & Shute PS

4.93 stars out of 5

Gregory White, President, WGN PS

4.96 stars out of 5
“These 2 rock. [They are] prepared and knowledgeable.”
“George & Greg always do a great job! They are always super helpful.” - past attendees

Hale Sheppard

Hale E. Sheppard (B.S., M.A., J.D., LL.M. and LL.M.T.) is a Shareholder in the Tax Controversy Section of Chamberlain Hrdlicka in Atlanta. Hale defends individuals and businesses during tax audits, appeals, and litigation. He has participated in over 250 cases with the Tax Court and obtained dozens of positive Private Letter Rulings for clients. Hale holds five college degrees. At the University of Kansas, he earned a B.S., with distinction, M.A., with honors, and J.D. He later received an LL.M. degree in international law, with highest distinction, from the University of Chile. Finally, he obtained an LL.M. degree in tax from the University of Florida, where he was a graduate tax scholar. During his studies, Hale served as a graduate editor of the Florida Tax Review and member of the Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy. Hale has been recognized as a leader in tax litigation for many years by Chambers USA, Legal 500, and other respected organizations, and was inducted into the American College of Tax Counsel. Hale ranks among the most active tax writers in the country, publishing more than 260 articles in top tax journals and law reviews, both in the United States and abroad. He has held leadership positions in many professional organizations, including as editor of national publications and President of the Tax Section of the Georgia Bar.

John Colvin, Colvin & Hallett PS

John draws from his almost three decades of practice and experience in tax law to develop legal theories and strategies in defense of his clients. John keeps a close eye on developments in the tax law, which enables him to provide his clients an unparalleled awareness of current developments and their implications.

John is a very active and respected member of the American Bar Association Tax Section, having served as Chair of the Committee covering tax controversy matters, and currently overseeing Tax Section comments on government regulatory efforts in the procedural areas as part of the Committee on Government Submissions. He is often sought out to speak at a national level on various tax law issues, and has been intimately involved in drafting comments to proposed regulations on a variety of topics on behalf of the ABA Tax Section. He also teaches Tax Crimes: Investigations, Prosecutions, and Penalties at the University of Washington School of Law.

John is a wine and food connoisseur and is always on the lookout for Seattle’s next great restaurant. He enjoys swimming and, in addition to tax news, is an avid reader of non-tax materials.

Mary Foster, President, 1031 Services, Inc

Mary B. Foster, President of 1031 Services, Inc., has been involved in numerous exchanges as attorney and intermediary. She frequently lectures before professional groups, State Bar Associations and investors on the topic of tax-deferred exchanges. Ms. Foster is co-author of “Tax Free Exchanges under §1031”, published by Thomson Reuters, and supplemented annually, and a contributing author to Merten ’s Law of Federal Income Taxation, The Real Estate Tax Digest, Tax Management Memorandum, The Journal of Taxation of Passthrough Entities, The Journal of Accountancy, the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation, and Business Law Today. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her J.D. from Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. She is a member of the ABA Section on Taxation and Past Chairperson of the Committee on Sales, Exchanges and Basis, and a member of the Real Estate Taxation Committee, and she frequently lectures at ABA Tax Section meetings. She is also a member of the Washington State Bar Tax Section, the American College of Tax Counsel, and the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation. She is Past President and Board Member of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators. She is the co-chairman of the Jeremiah M. Long Memorial National Conference on 1031 Exchanges, a three day, advanced seminar on tax deferred exchanges that has been held yearly since 1996.

Matthew Hersch, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Matt Hersch is a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley and has been helping clients with their financial planning needs since 2003. Matthew joined the firm immediately after graduating from Western Washington University, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Finance. As a Certified Financial Planner®, Matt focuses on working with clients to develop financial strategies helping clients and their families realize their goals.

Matt received the 2015-2021 Five Star Wealth Manager Award and the 2019-2020 Forbes America’s Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors and Top Next-Gen Wealth Advisors Best-in-State Awards. He also received the 2021 Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors Award.

Matt and his wife, Alissa, are both natives of the Seattle area and now reside on Queen Anne, with their daughter, Blakely. In his free time, Matt enjoys photography, skiing, cycling, or cooking up a new meal.

Michael Roben, KOM Consulting PLLC

Mike Roben is the founder and Managing Director of KOM Consulting, PLLC. Mike has been providing state and local tax consulting services to clients for over 26 years and is a frequent speaker on state and local tax matters. His expertise is in the area of multi-state sales and use, gross receipts, franchise, and income taxes, with a strong emphasis in Washington State and local excise taxes. Mike represents clients in audit defense, refund claims, appeals, settlement negotiations, drafting ruling requests, corporate transactions and planning, and assisting clients in evaluating legislative and regulatory changes.

Osama Mansour, Stauffer & Associates PLLC

Sam Mansour, CPA, and partner at Stauffer & Associates PLLC. Sam is a very driven father, husband, business owner, TEDx speaker, entrepreneur, and Ironman who specializes in working with medium to large businesses. The biggest priority behind his work is focused on strengthening the net income and cash flow. Sam’s depth and knowledge combined with his passion for business transformation creates powerful opportunities for his clients. Sam is an active teacher, coach, advisor, and speaker. Sam’s mission in assisting businesses with implementation and execution of strategies is supported by his team of 65 accountants.

Ryan Herzog, Ph.D., Gonzaga University Office of Scholarship/Financial Aid

Professor Herzog is an Associate Professor of Economics at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He was born in Tacoma, Washington and grew up in Gig Harbor, Washington. He attended Pacific Lutheran University and graduated with a B.A. in Economics with minors in Mathematics and Business. After a brief stint at Russell/Mellon (Russell Investment) he went on to graduate school at the University of Oregon. He completed his doctorate in 2009 with a focus in International Capital Mobility, Econometrics, and International Finance. Professor Herzog’s academic interest include international capital flows, monetary policy, and regional business cycles. At Gonzaga he has served on a number of committees including faculty compensation (chair), retirement benefits, and university assessment (chair). He is a member of the Audit Committee at Numerica Credit Union.

Tom Richards, NINJIO, LLC

Tom is the Chief Marketing Officer at NINJIO Cybersecurity Awareness Training, where he is the leader of the marketing functions, member of the senior executive team, and spokesperson for the brand. He has long advocated for stronger cybersecurity practices across companies to keep people and their data safe. Previous to NINJIO, Tom was the Founder and President of Haverty Consulting, a group dedicated to helping companies exceed their communications and marketing goals. Clients included Occidental, The Ohio State University James Comprehensive Cancer Center and OSU’s Wexner Medical Center, Leica Camera, as well as many start-up companies.

Tom’s career has spanned over 25 years working with international brands such as Apple, Starbucks, and Expedia while in leadership roles at various global digital advertising agencies.