Meet Our Team
Conrad Seales, CPA
Email: Conrad@pacific.tax
I am delighted to share Santa Cruz Pacific with you. I approach each project with the head of a scientist, the power of a diesel locomotive, and the heart of Santa Cruz. I love my job.
My background gives me the depth and breadth to understand you and your ventures. I approach your project with the scientific mind I developed in earning a degree in Earth Science from UCSC in 1991. I have respect for you and compassion for your struggles that I earned working in and starting a business in the restaurant industry. I can relate to the hard work you do because of how I got here. I began a career in public accounting at the front desk of the firm that grew into Meisser Seales Riccabona LLP. I worked my way through the accounting curriculum at Golden Gate University and earned my CPA license in 2003. After ten years as a partner, I established Santa Cruz Pacific to be YOUR accounting and tax engine.
The best part of my job is to get beyond the compliance requirement of tax returns to help you with decision support. Another of my favorite activities is helping exempt organizations, doing both paid and pro-bono work for various local, statewide, and international groups. Santa Cruz Pacific is part of our community.
Melissa Ray, EA
Email: Melissa@pacific.tax
My journey to Santa Cruz Pacific has been a long-haul of hard work filled with interesting stops and connections along the way!
I became licensed as an Enrolled Agent in February of 2016, the highest credential the IRS awards. Obtaining this elite status has granted me the privilege of representing taxpayers like you before the federal and state taxing authorities. I got my start in the accounting profession in 2002 working for Independent Bookkeepers, LLC in San Jose, CA. My public accounting career took off with Meisser Seales Riccabona, LLP in 2006 when I was hired to run the front office as the tax season temp. My knack for problem solving and desire to learn more earned a permanent position with the company. Twelve years later, I joined Conrad Seales, CPA in establishing our firm, Santa Cruz Pacific.
In addition to preparing individual and business tax returns, I am a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor. This certification gives me access to exclusive accountant-based tools and knowledge, advancing the guidance and support I am able to provide you. When it comes to accounting and tax matters, I take pride in helping you get on track and stay on track!
Kimberly Grischy, CPA
(Currently out of the office tending to baby)
I began my career in public accounting in 2015 as a tax preparer with a local CPA firm, Meisser Seales & Riccabona. It was there that I was lucky enough to work with Conrad and Melissa. When they decided to start Santa Cruz Pacific Accounting and Tax I was excited for the new adventure they were embarking on and thrilled to be invited to join them. I have been a part of the Santa Cruz Pacific Accounting and Tax team since the doors opened in January 2018.
In January of 2019 I received my license as a Certified Public Accountant and have found that SCPAT has been a wonderful environment to grow and evolve my career. I enjoy the seasonal changes in workflow that comes with tax preparation and accounting work. It is great to be able to get to know our clients and understand where my experience can assist in providing clarity to their situation. I understand that accounting and taxes can feel daunting and I am always happy when I feel like I can help!
Outside of the office, I enjoy taking day trips and finding new trails to explore or spending time in my garden. I am thankful to be in Santa Cruz working with an amazing group of people, both colleagues and clients.
Kimberly Butts,
Staff Accountant
Email: Kim.b@pacific.tax
I have lived in many places and had various roles in my career thus far. I love living in Santa Cruz and am very excited to be here to be at Santa Cruz Pacific!
Previous to living in Santa Cruz, I gained experience in management, human resources, marketing, inventory control, profit and loss, scheduling, training, event planning, and invoicing. I began my journey in the accounting field when I joined Messier Seales Riccabona LLP in 2016 as an Administrative Assistant. From there, I moved on to Verve Coffee Roasters to head up their Accounts Payable and Receivable departments for two years. Joining Santa Cruz Pacific Tax and Accounting gives me the opportunity to further my accounting and bookkeeping expertise while adding more diversity of experience and knowledge to their bench. I am currently a certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor and am working on additional certifications to further assist our clients.
My time outside of work is filled with bike rides, painting, various adventures with friends, and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
La’Sundra McGowan,
Office Manager
Email: Lasundra@pacific.tax
I am excited to share my passion for providing exceptional customer service to all of our valued clients!
My love of the outdoors and the relaxed beach lifestyle is what originally brought me to Santa Cruz from Long Beach, CA. I feel extremely fortunate to have found a work space that will allow me the ability to utilize the years of corporate sales and customer service experience that I developed working in the hospitality industry in southern California. In addition; I am excited to be a part of a company that is truly a part of the Santa Cruz vibe that I have fallen in love with.
In my spare time I enjoy watching Minnesota Vikings football, adventurous hikes like the Camino de Santiago or Kerry Way and traveling the world to see Dave Matthews Band. Playing Auntie Lala to the many children in my life is also something that brings me great joy!
Amanda Masterton,
Bookkeeping Assistant
I remember growing up in Joshua Tree, when I first decided to invest my time and education into a career that would satisfy my desire to work in mathematics and money. I followed my gut and pursued business administration and accounting classes at College of the Desert in Palm Desert, CA. I learned the fundamentals of running a company. I gained knowledge of business operations, production, legalities, and the endless possibilities of unique business ideas!
After I had enough of the desert, I relocated north to the most beautiful place in California, Santa Cruz County! I continued my studies at Cabrillo College, where I learned accounting, bookkeeping and computer science skills. In 2015, I acquired my Associate’s degree in Business Administration.
Over the course of the years I have held professional roles in office management, data entry, bookkeeping, accounts and production management.
With great excitement, I joined the Santa Cruz Pacific Accounting and Tax team in early February of 2018. I strive to do my best work and I value providing genuine customer service. I am honored to work with such talented and radiant intellectuals!
Jonathan Erdman, Staff Accountant
My general ledger journey began in high school with the successful completion of an accounting class. As I was making the decision to pick a course of study in college, I remember taking to heart the old adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin that "the only thing certain in life is death and taxes," which seemed to me a good omen for job security. Hence I pursued a double major in accounting and business administration. Upon graduation, on the eve of the turn of the millennium, I took a job at a CPA firm in South Bend, Indiana, jumping right in for the 2000 tax season. I've been working in business and accounting ever since.
My primary area of expertise is small business accounting and business management. My primary professional experience is in public accounting but I also spent five years in the general management of a Lodge in remote Alaska.
I am originally from the Midwest but I have a chronic case of wanderlust that's taken me all over the United States and beyond. I am particularly attached to Alaska and spend my summers living in a log cabin in the bush community of McCarthy. I am also a writer, and so I can't help but appreciate the fact that numbers tell a story. Accounting, for me, is more than just crunching these numbers, it's a process of mapping a client's journey to determine where they've been and to help them take control of where they are going.
Santa Cruz Pacific Accounting & Tax Alumni
Former Employees and where are they now?
I am currently the Executive Director of The Wrangell Mountains Center in McCarthy, Alaska where our mission is to connect people with wildlands through art, science and education. We run programs that connect people with the vastness and beauty of the wild, opening the space for personal creativity, learning and transformation.