December 30, 2022 – At the close of 2022, REDW Advisors & CPAs promoted 28 professionals across multiple practice areas and core business service groups in its Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Oklahoma City offices. Recognized as a Top Workplace for two years running, REDW leads the way in recognizing, rewarding, and celebrating the professional accomplishments of its team members.
REDW’s Managing Principal, Steve Cogan, commented, “We have an amazing team and are pleased to reward their dedication to our profession and clients with well-deserved promotions. Hats off to this talented group of REDW professionals who prove every day that we are Better Together.” These high-performing individuals are listed below, by practice/service area and position.
Audit & Assurance
Jeremy Johnson, CPA to Audit Senior Manager. Jeremy joined REDW’s Oklahoma office in 2021, bringing significant audit and accounting experience, primarily in the governmental field. He has since become a key member of audit teams serving tribal governments and enterprises. He holds both a Master of Science in Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in Accounting from Oklahoma City University.
Alec Guadalupe Carbine, CPA to Senior Audit Associate II. Since joining REDW in 2019, Alec has assisted with many single and financial statement audits for clients across a wide range of industries. He holds a Master of Accounting from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management.
Ethan Loya, CPA to Senior Audit Associate II. Ethan joined REDW in May 2019 after earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Certificate of Completion in Personal Financial Planning from Eastern New Mexico University. Since that time, he has served primarily on financial statement and single audit engagement teams for tribal governments and employee benefit plans.
Mukhtar Almukhtar, CPA to Senior Audit Associate II. Since joining REDW in early 2019, Mukhtar has worked on financial statement and single audits for numerous governmental and tribal casino clients. He holds a Master of Accountancy (MACC) from Arizona State University’s W.P. Carey School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from University of Tripoli in Tripoli, Libya.
Laura Lozano to Senior Audit Associate I. Laura joined REDW in early 2021 after serving as an Audit intern the prior year and has continued her steady rise through the ranks in Audit & Assurance ever since. Laura is fluent in English and Spanish and holds a BBA in Accounting from UNM’s Anderson School of Management.
Alejandra Zacarias to Audit Associate II. Since joining REDW in 2021, Alejandra has served primarily on financial statement, single audit and agreed-upon-procedure engagements for tribal government and gaming entities. Prior to this, she worked four years as a Revenue Auditor and Senior Revenue Auditor for a tribal casino and resort. Alejandra holds a BBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship from the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management.
Alexis Weaver to Audit Associate II. Alexis joined REDW’s Audit & Assurance team in March 2022 after working three years with the FDIC conducting examinations of small community banks to assess the safety and soundness of their operations. Alexis holds Bachelor of Science degrees in both Accounting and Business Administration from Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
Adrian Gutierrez to Audit Associate II. Adrian has split his time at REDW between serving on Audit & Assurance and Client Advisory & Accounting Services (CAAS) teams, and now brings that wide-ranging experience to bear on his current work with audit clients. Adrian holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the New Mexico State College of Business.
Carter Lace to Audit Associate II. Carter rejoined REDW full-time in June 2022 after serving as an Audit Intern the previous year. He continues to work on audit engagements in a variety of industries, which includes performing test work, sampling, document roll-forwards, and more. Carter holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Northern Arizona University.
Client Advisory and Accounting Services (CAAS)
Colaine Curtis, MBA to CAAS Senior Manager. Colaine joined REDW in May 2015 with several years of accounting experience serving both private industry and tribal governments. She has since specialized in performing financial and single audit engagements for the tribal clients and providing accounting services to tribal healthcare corporations. Colaine is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.
Deeann Rivera to CAAS Manager. Deeann joined REDW’s Client Advisory & Accounting Services team in April 2019, bringing more than 30 years of accounting experience working with manufacturing/construction, nonprofit and retail organizations.
Josephine Martinez to CAAS Supervisor. Josephine joined REDW in October 2021, bringing 15 years of accounting experience working with non-profits, ranging from finance to purchasing to HR/Payroll, and is skilled with MIP Fund Accounting software. She holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Phoenix.
Armand Gjoni to Accounting Specialist II. Armand joined REDW in May 2021, bringing both experience and a degree in accounting, as well as customer service experience in the hospitality industry, to his work as an Accounting Specialist on the firm’s CAAS team. Armand holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from Gjirokaster, Albania.
Tyler Dau to Accounting Specialist II. Tyler rejoined REDW in June 2022 after previously serving as an intern with the firm, bringing two years of experience in accounting and data management. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Business Management and is currently completing his Master of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of the West of England.
Finance
Rosella Garton to Controller. Rosella draws upon more than 30 years of accounting and managerial experience to serve both REDW’s internal team and clients with skill, dedication, patience, and good humor. Prior to joining REDW in 2010, she worked for one of the largest cardiology practices in the Southwest and remains committed to delivering nothing short of exceptional service.
Human Resources Consulting
Taryn Reynolds, THRP to Human Resources Consultant. Taryn joined REDW’s HRC team in 2022, bringing experience in employee recruitment and relations with a tribal government in Oklahoma. For the firm’s outsourced HR clients, she is responsible for investigating and responding to a wide range of client issues, as well as employee relations coaching. For compensation clients, she performs interviews and assists with writing job descriptions. Taryn is a certified Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma Wesleyan University with an emphasis in Management and Human Resources.
Marketing
Allison Thompson to Marketing Coordinator. Prior to joining REDW as an Operations Support Administrator in August 2020, Allison worked for eight years providing businesses with skilled office management, bookkeeping, and marketing services. Assigned primarily to provide support to REDW’s Marketing Department, Allison soon became indispensable and has now become a permanent member of the team.
Operations Support
Diane Bonitatibus to Assistant Director of Operations Support. Since joining REDW in late 2020 with nearly 20 years of experience in the field, Diane has been instrumental in helping to grow and restructure the firm’s Administrative Services department, now known as Operations Support. She embraces the challenges and rewards that come with meeting the needs of the firm’s internal clients and ensuring smooth and efficient daily office operations.
Katherine Smith to Document Specialist II. Katherine has devoted more than a decade at REDW to ensuring that the firm’s financial statements, audit reports, and more, meet or exceed client expectations.
Katy Lennick to Operations Support Specialist. Katy joined REDW’s Operations Support team in late 2021, bringing more than 11 years of experience in Human Resources and administrative support. Assigned to the Human Resources Consulting (HRC) team as their dedicated Operations Support liaison, Katy has been vital to helping the HRC practice grow and achieve operational excellence.
Megan Roybal to Operations Support Specialist. Megan joined REDW in March 2020 as a dedicated administrative aide to the Tax team in Albuquerque. In addition to five years of experience as an Office Manager, she also worked as a Marketing/Administrative Assistant for seven years. With a unique blend of office management and organizational leadership skills, she constantly strives to improve processes and performance to ensure the firm meets or exceeds its goals.
Catrina Elder to Operations Support Administrator II. Catrina joined REDW in January 2022 to provide dedicated support to the Audit & Assurance team. With a primary focus on scheduling audit work and ensuring ongoing CPA certification requirements are met, Catrina is committed to strengthening her team and helping them achieve their goals. In addition to her many years of administrative and office coordination experience, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of New Mexico.
Natasha Shaffer to Operations Support Administrator II. Tasha joined REDW in early 2022, bringing 15 years of tax administrative experience working at other prominent public accounting firms. She is highly skilled at assembling complex tax returns with cool efficiency and always strives to exceed the firm and client expectations.
People Operations
Lucy Rodriguez to Recruiter. Lucy originally joined REDW’s Human Resources Consulting team in May 2021 as an HR Generalist, bringing more than six years of HR experience in the retail, food and hospitality industries. Her special expertise in recruitment of multi-level positions and in new employee onboarding processes has made her transition to the firm’s internal People Operations team a win-win proposition. Lucy is also bilingual in English and Spanish and holds a Bachelor of Arts in HR Management from the University of Phoenix.
Tax
Alison Furfie to Tax Manager. Alison joined REDW in early 2017, bringing experience in non-profit accounting, accounts payable and individual tax preparation, and has since gained significant experience in business tax preparation. She holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Accountancy from Grand Canyon University and is currently pursuing her CPA license.
Desylina Christensen, CPA to Tax Supervisor. Desylina joined REDW in early 2021 as part of the firm’s acquisition of CPA Global Tax & Accounting PLLC, where she served as a senior tax professional with 20 years of international tax experience. She holds a Master of Accounting from Hawaii Pacific University and a Bachelor of Accounting from Trisakti University in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Hyejin Yun to Tax Senior Accountant. Hyejin is skilled at preparing tax returns for corporate, partnership, and individual clients, compiling all relevant data, communicating with clients, and ensuring appropriate deadlines are met. She earned a Certificate in CPA Preparation with Highest Honors from Central New Mexico Community College and holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree with an emphasis in urban planning and civil engineering from Dong-a University in South Korea.
Technology Solutions
Jacob Montoya to Technology Solutions Manager. Jacob originally joined REDW as a Tax Intern and then as an Audit Associate in 2015, which gave him valuable insights when he chose to transfer to the Business Software team later that year. Since that time, he has successfully implemented, supported, and consulted with clients on a variety of business software installations, including Sage Intacct, MIP Fund Accounting and Microix software.
