Bob Davies, CPA

Bob Davies has over 30 years of experience in the taxation field. He began his career with Ernst & Young, then moved to industry tax with two high tech public companies. Since 2000, Bob has been with local CPA firms, where his clients include high net worth individuals and their family businesses. Bob has a B.S. in Accountancy from California State University, Fresno, and a M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University. He has a keen interest in estate and retirement planning, and enjoys writing, and advising clients, on Social Security issues.

Mike Giangrande, J.D., LL.M.

Mike Giangrande is a California licensed attorney and has been a tax practitioner for over 25 years. He is licensed to practice before the United States Tax Court, has a B.S. in Accounting and an LL.M. (Tax) from Chapman University, and has a J.D. from Whittier Law School with a certificate of concentration in business law. Mike has spent time as an adjunct professor of law and he served as a member of the Orange County Assessment Appeals Board.

Tim Hilger, CPA

Tim is a speaker at Spidell’s Federal and California Tax Update Seminar. He was a part of Spidell’s editorial department for more than 15 years, and he continues to write and edit the federal chapters of Spidell’s Federal and California Tax Update seminar manual. Tim has a BS in business administration (accounting) from California State University Long Beach and a MS in taxation from Golden Gate University.

Claudia Hill, EA, MBA

Claudia Hill is an Enrolled Agent, nationally recognized tax professional and frequent lecturer on taxation of individuals, tax planning, and representation before the IRS. She is editor-in-chief of the CCH, Inc. Journal of Tax Practice & Procedure and a frequent presenter for Enrolled Agents, CPAs, and other tax-related organizations including the IRS. She also presents Spidell webinars and has spoken at Spidell’s Summer Tax Seminar. Claudia coordinates a “dream team of tax controversy advisors” for the IRS Watch blog on Forbes.com. She has served many years as a special advisor to NAEA Government Relations Committee, is a NTPI Fellow, and was named by Tax Analysts as a 2011 Person of the Year. As an industry and taxpayer advocate, Claudia has testified before the Senate Finance Committee, House Ways & Means Committee, Treasury Department, and President’s Tax Reform Panel. She continues to maintain an active tax practice in Cupertino, California.

Sunish Mehta, CPA, CGMA

Sunish is the Founder of Mindful-CPA Mindful-PRO and has over 25 years of experience in Advisory and Assurance services. His professional experience includes working with EY, PwC & IBM Global Business Services.

He has instructed courses in Financial Auditing and Accounting on an adjunct basis for the UCLA Certification of Accounting Program. He graduated with a Business Degree from California State University, Northridge and has an Inner MBA from New York University.

Sunish is a CPA and CGMA from California..

Rick E. Oelerich, LPA, EA

Rick is a Senior Tax Manager at a firm serving over 5000 individual and business clients. As a specialist in IRS disputes, he has testified before the IRS Oversight Board and House Ways and Means Committee.

Rick also served three years each on (IRSAC) IRS Advisory Committee, (ETAAC) Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee and served as a subject matter expert for (ACAT) Accreditation Council for Accounting and Taxation.

2022 will be his 19th year as a presenter for Gear Up seminars and 9th year as a webinar presenter for Thomson Reuters. Rick has been a licensed LPA in Iowa since 1983 and has been an Enrolled Agent since 1975.

Alan Pinck, EA

Alan L. Pinck, EA, is an Enrolled Agent with more than 30 years of tax preparation and audit representation experience. He specializes in individual and small business tax preparation. A large part of his practice is audit representation, where he handles over 100 audits each year. Alan is also the moderator of the popular Tax Talk Today, which brings IRS representation and tax experts together to discuss federal tax issues. Operating in the Silicon Valley has given Alan a unique experience in a variety of industries including high tech, construction, and hospitality. Volunteering as a speaker for Silicon Valley SCORE since 1990, Alan has been working with some of these companies from an early stage in their business. Alan is a seminar and webinar speaker for Spidell Publishing, LLC as well as other tax professional organizations.

Stan Pollock, CPA

Stan has experience working for large international accounting firms and today runs a boutique tax and accounting practice in the San Francisco Bay Area that focuses on high-net-worth individuals and small businesses. He has taught continuing education courses to practitioners throughout the country for close to 20 years.

Throughout the years, Stan has also been a guest on several Northern California radio talk shows discussing taxes and he has previously taught accounting courses in junior colleges in southern California. Stan earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge in 1980.

Renée Rodda, J.D.

Renée is Senior Vice President of Tax and Accounting for CeriFi, LLC. She is the editor of Spidell’s California Taxletter^® and Spidell’s Analysis & Explanation of California Taxes^®. She has been educating tax professionals for more than 20 years. Renée is also a member of the advisory board for the Franchise Tax Board, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, and the Board of Equalization. She is a graduate of Chapman University School of Law with a Tax Law Emphasis.

Jacob Stein, Esq.

Jacob Stein, Esq., is the managing partner at Aliant, LLP. He specializes in structuring international business transactions, complex U.S. and international tax planning, and asset protection planning. Jacob received his law degree from the University of Southern California and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University. He has been accredited by the State Bar of California as a Certified Tax Law Specialist. Jacob is AV-rated (the highest possible rating) by Martindale-Hubbell, and has been named “A Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine and one of “America’s Most Honored Professionals 2016” by the American Registry.

Jacob is a frequent lecturer to various attorneys, CPAs, and other professional groups, and teaches over 50 seminars per year. For the past 10 years, Jacob has been an adjunct professor with the graduate tax program at California State University, Northridge.

Timothy J. Sundstrom, CPA, CFP

Tim is a CPA and financial planner located in Broomall, PA (suburban Philadelphia) where he helps
entrepreneurs and business executives with tax and financial decisions. His firm services a diverse
clientele with a specialty in the construction and entertainment industries. Prior to starting his own
business, he was a manager with a national accounting firm.

Tim is the former president of the Pennsylvania Society of Public Accountants. He has been a lecturer
with Thomson Reuters’ Gear Up Seminars for the last 18 years and has authored several publications
concerning tax and financial planning.

Sandy Weiner, J.D.

Sandy Weiner, J.D., brings over two decades of experience as a California tax analyst with an expertise in business tax issues. She assists practitioners with complex tax issues such as apportionment, combined reporting, and state credits and incentives. She is also an expert on conformity issues. She is a graduate of Colorado College with her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law.

Kathryn Zdan, EA

Kathryn Zdan, EA, is Spidell Publishing’s Editorial Director. She writes and assists in research and editing articles for Spidell’s California Taxletter^® and Spidell’s Federal Taxletter^®, and she presents the weekly Spidell’s California Minute^® and Spidell’s Federal Tax Minute™ podcasts. She also updates many of Spidell’s tax guides. She has a master’s degree from California State University, Fullerton, and completed her undergraduate work at the University of Michigan.