An Accounting career historically has been a very linear and strongly defined pathway from a BS in Business to Staff to Senior to Manager to (hopefully Partner) at an Accounting firm, CPA after a few years, maybe graduate school later.

I did not follow a linear path and took my first Accounting class at the age of 36 here at Saddleback College and taught my first Saddleback College Accounting class in Fall 2014.

Circuitous Route to Business Career in order

• BA Sociology/Philosophy, Morehead State University
• PhD Research Fellowship, Indiana University
• Acceptance to the Medical Sociology graduate program at Yale University
• Started, operated, sold a Business with 200+ employees and sub-contractors, Associated Property Services, Costa Mesa
• Masters in Tax (MST), Golden Gate University Links to an external site. (usually rated #1 MST program in the US)
• Sole Practitioner in Tax & Financial Planning Firm, Whitson Ltd., Long Beach
• Revenue Agent Links to an external site., Internal Revenue Service, Long Beach
• Tax Senior in Law Firm, Tax Consulting Group, LLP, Century City
• PFP designation, Personal Financial Planning program Links to an external site. University of CA, Irvine
• Portfolio Analyst, Financial Planning firm, Tarbox Equity, Links to an external site. Newport Beach
• Corporate Tax Analyst, Wolters Kluwer Links to an external site., Torrance
• MS Business, Capella University (a degree mill but is accredited)
• Litigant in long-running/large risk/high exposure employment law case that was successfully settled for a high six-figure payout
• Principal in Tax and Financial Planning Firm, Experius Financial LLC, West LA

Community College Experience

• Chair/Professor, Accounting Department, Coastline CC
• Teach Accounting, Finance, and Tax in retired status at Saddleback College
• Wrote, Developed, Taught 14 new online, onsite, or hybrid Business and Accounting courses
• Developed Tax Specialist Program at GWC
• Co-Developed Financial Planning Program at Coastline CC
• Developing EA Tax Program at Saddleback College
• Co-Chair of the CA Community College Business Education Statewide Advisory Committee (BESAC)
  
• Member of Academic Senate, Curriculum Committee, Student Success Committee, Online Tech Committee
• Awarded numerous grants, in 3 research grants paid students to assist in research presenting findings at statewide and nationwide conferences
• Wrote teaching strategies topic titled Investigating How Cultural Values Affect Accounting Reports in a Best Practices Guide to Cross-Cultural Teaching and Learning handbook published in 2005
• Designated DSN (Director) for Small Business Education in Orange County in $1.2 million grant proposal
• Have taught 20 different courses.  Primarily taught Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Individual Taxation, Issues in Taxation I/EA & CPA Exam Prep, Personal Financial Planning, Issues in Taxation II/EA & CPA Exam Prep, Computerized Accounting, Business Taxation, Investments, Retirement and Benefit Planning, & Computerized Tax Preparation.

Personal Information

• Wife is an English Professor
• 3 grown Children
• Lived in all parts of the US and in Brazil
  • Probably the most interesting places:
    • Born in the ranch country of West Texas--riding horses and shooting 22s at age 6 (hey, it was TX)
    • Lived in Watts and then in Malibu a few years later
    • Graduated HS in a small town deep in the Appalachian hills of Kentucky
    • Lived in a cabin at the base of the Flatiron Mts in Boulder, CO
    • Lived in SJC just across the creek from the mission when first attended Saddleback CC