A native from a small southeastern Idaho farming community, Colene learned early to “roll up her sleeves and complete the work.” For the past 29 years, she worked at Howson andSimon LLP, a boutique financial and tax firm located in Walnut Creek, with colleagues who share the same work ethic. Focusing on a few high-net-worth individuals, she gained experience with individual, trust, charitable remainder trusts, and private foundation tax compliance and planning. Her long history of working with the same clients has allowed Colene to develop close relationships with her clients and their families so that she can completely understand their financial and personal goals.

Her early career included seven years with PwC’s Walnut Creek office providing tax compliance for closely held S Corporations and their executive owners and shareholders. She also worked inArthur Andersen’s Oakland tax department for one year. Despite the short time period, Arthur Andersen’s in-house tax training provided a good knowledge base of Ronald Reagan’s Tax Reform Act of ’86 that overhauled the tax code.

Colene enjoys working with her wonderful clients who appreciate her attention to detail and express their gratitude for her efforts.

On the weekends, Colene loves to work in her yard. Her husband says that if she loses her day job, she could become a landscape maintenance specialist. She also enjoys reading and has recently converted to listening to audiobooks.