Partners

Tamara has over 25 years of public accounting experience providing tax solutions through planning, consulting and compliance across a diverse industry client base that includes professional services, startup companies, charitable organizations, real estate, construction and manufacturing/distribution. She is known for being attentive and responsive to her clients and is highly valued for her proactive year-round efforts to make them aware of accounting issues that require attention. Tamara is a member of the California Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs. She earned a M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a B.S. in Business Administration with Accounting emphasis from St. Mary's College.

Charles serves as Hood & Strong's lead partner responsible for Business Advisory Services. He has more than 25 years of experience including 12 years working for an international distribution company, first as an internal audit manager and then as Corporate Controller. His expertise includes SOX and internal audit services, acquisition due diligence, SEC reporting, fraud and forensic services and complex GAAP consultation. Charles is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He earned a B.A. from Golden Gate University.

Jennifer is an assurance and advisory partner based in Hood & Strong's San Jose office, overseeing audit, accounting and tax services to clients in the technology, start-up, construction, real estate, and employee benefit market sectors. With more than 20 years of public accounting experience, she has earned a reputation for offering a practical approach to her clients' audit and accounting needs in today's regulated environment. She is a member of the Hood & Strong Quality Control Committee, Commercial Industry Group, and Employee Benefit Plan Practice Group. Jennifer is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs, as well as the Construction Financial Management Association. She is an active member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Women Business Owners' Silicon Valley Chapter and California board, serving as President-Elect and Treasurer, respectively. She earned an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco and a B.S. from Notre Dame de Namur University.

Bob's 35 years in public accounting includes extensive experience working with not-for-profit entities to meet all of their tax related needs including UBIT issues, research and resolution, exemption issues, planned giving, and the establishment of for-profit subsidiaries in not-for-profit organizations. He has worked with corporate clients in areas such as structuring U.S. and overseas operations, succession planning and the integration of family and business tax affairs. Bob is involved in a host of tax-related issues and initiatives at the national level, from authoring legislation and provided testimony to Congress on simplifying tax reporting for private foundations to writing annual updates to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to developing tax return preparation guides for exempt organizations. He even chairs the committee responsible for creating the tax portion of the CPA exam. Bob is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, the University of San Francisco Accounting Alumni Board of Directors, the Business Advisor Group and Planned Giving Advisory Panel for the University of San Francisco and the Parish Council and Finance Committee at St. Bonaventure's Parish. He graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from the University of San Francisco and has an M.S. in Taxation from Golden Gate University.

Maria is an assurance and advisory partner in the San Francisco office of Hood & Strong. She has been with the firm since 1994 and is responsible for overseeing the execution of audits, compilations, reviews, analysis of internal controls and operations, forecasts, and projections. Maria has experience working with a variety of closely held and venture backed companies including manufacturing, distribution, professional service, and real estate entities, as well as governmental projects, pensions, and profit sharing plans, assisting clients with exit strategy planning, year-end tax planning, financing negotiations, and mergers and acquisitions. Maria is a member of the California Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and the AICPA's Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. She also participates in the National Association of Women Business Owners, Women in Real Estate, the Financial Women's Association, the Association for Corporate Growth, and ProVisors, a network of more than 1,700 top business professionals. She is a member of the Board of Directors of A Home Away From Homelessness, a Bay Area NGO that supports homeless and formerly homeless children and families. Maria received a B.S. from the University of San Francisco.

During her more than 24 years in public accounting, Kathy's experience has been concentrated in the not-for-profit sector, providing a range of services including internal control and operations reviews, analysis of accounting systems and preparation of financial statements in audit engagements. Kathy is also the leader of Hood & Strong's Not-For-Profit Industry Group and Chair of the firm's Board of Directors. She is a frequent speaker on not-for-profit related topics. Kathy is a member of the California Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs, the Archbishop Riordan High School and Mercy High School Boards of Trustees, the Bread and Roses Board of Directors, the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Club Association and the National Business Officers Association. She is an Alumni Member of Leadership San Francisco. Kathy earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco where she currently is a candidate for a Master in Nonprofit Administration.

Darlene is a tax and advisory partner in the San Jose office of Hood & Strong LLP. With more then 20 years of experience in public accounting, Darlene works with clients in a broad range of entity types and industries to provide tax solutions through planning, consulting and compliance. Darlene has provided consulting and compliance services to start- ups, corporations, pass-through entities and individuals and has experience working with clients in a range of industries including technology and software, professional services and real estate.

Raul supervises financial audits, accounting and business advisory services for companies of all sizes, with particular expertise in technology, biotech and life sciences companies, as well as employee benefit plans. With more than 25 years of public accounting experience, Raul helps companies identify and implement the proper accounting policies to complex transactions such as purchases and acquisitions. Raul is licensed in California, Nevada, New York, and New Jersey and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. He has a B.A. from San Francisco State University.

With more than 30 years of experience in public accounting, John provides assurance, accounting and business advisory services to privately owned businesses. John's professional experience includes audits of private companies, assistance with mergers, acquisitions and venture capital financing. His broad industry experience covers high-tech, manufacturing, distribution, retail and mortgage banking, and his expertise includes analyzing existing business operations and related financial and accounting implications, and assisting clients in implementing the various long-term planning aspects of their businesses. John is licensed in California, Nevada and Oregon and is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. He is also a member of the Alameda County Leadership Council of the American Red Cross Bay Area and the Boards of Directors of Sequoyah Country Club and the Association for Corporate Growth-San Francisco Chapter, where he also serves as treasurer. He has a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

Maga is a tax and advisory partner for exempt organizations in Hood & Strong's San Francisco office. Maga has more than 12 years of public accounting experience. He spent nine years with national accounting firms, and managed exempt clients such as the Humane Society International, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the American Bankers Association, among others. Prior to moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010, Maga worked for McGladrey in their office in Washington, DC, where he was in charge of the regional exempt organization tax practice. Maga also has first-hand experience working directly for a nonprofit, serving as a field officer for the International Red Cross during the war in Chechnya. Maga holds a Master's Degree in Accounting from East Tennessee State University and a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Business Administration from King College. He is licensed in California and Virginia. He is a member of the board of a two charities and currently serves on the audit and legislative committees for the California Society of Association Executives.

Susan has been with Hood & Strong for more than 20 years and is an integral member of the firm's Not-For-Profit Service Group. She has worked with a broad array of clients across a spectrum of industries that includes higher education, arts and culture and philanthropy. In 2009, Susan was named one of the Bay Area's 150 Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times. Susan is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, and the National Association of College and University Business Officers. She serves on the Board of Directors and is vice chair of the Hamilton Family Center. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Hamilton Family Center and was president of the Board of the San Francisco Arts Education Project. She graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. in Accounting from Ohio State University.

For more than 30 years, George has focused his tax planning expertise on businesses, primarily construction companies and high net worth individuals who invest in, and manage real estate portfolios. George is also a Personal Financial Specialist and financial advisor to high net worth individuals. George is a member of the California Society of CPAs and is active on its State Tax Committee. He is also a member and past president of both the Belmont Rotary Club and the Belmont Chamber of Commerce. He received a B.S. degree in business administration from the University of Southern California and an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.

In addition to his role as Hood & Strong's Managing Partner, Bob founded the Firm's Not-For-Profit Service Group, and currently oversees audit and consulting engagements for social service agencies, arts organizations, private schools and education-related entities, membership groups, research institutes, and, corporate and family private foundations. Bob has more than three decades of public accounting experience and enjoys nothing more than thinking through complex problems with his team to find solutions on behalf of his clients. Bob is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. He serves as the Audit Committee Chairperson for Services for Brain Injury, a not-for-profit organization that helps brain injury victims regain their skills and independence. He also serves as Board Member, Finance Committee Chairperson and Treasurer for the Center for Excellence in Nonprofits (CEN). Additionally, he is also a Board Member and Audit Committee Chairperson for Joint Venture Silicon Valley. Previously, he served on the Audit Committee of the US National Figure Skating Association and assisted in establishing the Ursuline Academy Foundation's Scholarship Committee. Bob holds a B.S. from Santa Clara University and attended the Executive Leadership Academy at the Center for Character-Based Leadership.

Jorge brings more than 10 years of experience to his role as director of assurance and advisory business services at Hood & Strong. His experience has been concentrated in the not-for-profit industry, specifically overseeing audits for many of the Bay Area's largest and most well-known not-for-profit organizations, including international and national organizations with asset size ranging between $10M and in excess of $1B. He works with private and operating foundations, as well as community foundations and social service organizations. Jorge's ability to build and maintain strong client relationships, combined with his industry expertise, makes him a highly effective and sought-after member of the assurance team. Jorge is a Certified Public Accountant in California, a member of the American Institute of CPAs, the California Society of CPAs, and the Government Accounting Quality Center, a voluntary membership center that promotes the importance and quality of governmental audits to purchasers of governmental audit services. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Petaluma Community Foundation.

Jonathan has been overseeing audit engagements of varying sizes for more than a decade on behalf of clients in a diverse range of industries that includes health and welfare, social services, museums, membership associations and construction. He has earned accolades for his thoroughness and keen management advice, and his clients extol his ongoing communications that keep them updated on audit processes year-round. Jonathan has given numerous presentations to clients, peers and colleagues on topics such as OMB Circular A-133, UPMIFA and audit efficiencies. Jonathan is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the California Society of CPAs. An active participant in community service, Jonathan serves on the Audit Committee of the YMCA of the Central Bay Area and volunteers for the Boy Scouts of America. Jonathan holds a B.S. from California State University Hayward and attended Rainmaker's Leadership Academy.