Julie Hackett
Academic Director, MS in Finance and Master of Taxation
Elizabeth Almer
Professor of Accounting
Elizabeth Almer, Ph.D., and CPA joined the Accounting faculty of PSU in 2001. For over a decade, Elizabeth has conducted research on the changing relationship between public accounting firms and their professional employees. Throughout her career, she has built relationships with accounting firms regarding staffing needs and changing business models and as such, has deep and broad ties to the CPA firms that hire students.
John Caldwell
Adjunct Faculty
John Caldwell is Tax Counsel at the Assemi Group in California. Ivan formerly served at ConocoPhillips and Weatherford in Houston, Texas. He has also worked for two of the Big 4 accounting firms. He has earned a law degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, and an LLM in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C.
John Eckroth
Senior Instructor of Accounting
John Eckroth, DBA, and CPA has been teaching accounting at PSU since 2008. John has over 20 years of tax and accounting experience, working in the tax department of PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, as a Partner in a small CPA firm in Claremont, California and later as CFO of a U.S. based subsidiary of the Spanish banking firm BBVA.
Dan Eller
Adjunct Faculty
Dan Eller, attorney, is a shareholder in the Portland office of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, where he leads the firm’s Tax Practice Group. Dan focuses his practice in the areas of tax and business law, advising clients with both transactional and controversy matters.
Cass Hausserman
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Cass Hausserman, Ph.D. and CPA, joined the Accounting faculty at PSU in 2014. Before starting her Ph.D., Cass worked for KPMG’s Federal Tax Group in Chicago. Cass conducts research primarily in behavioral tax, exploring the effects of various practices and policies on taxpayers.
Joleen Kremin
Associate Professor of Accounting
Joleen Kremin, Ph.D. and CPA, joined the Accounting faculty at PSU in 2014. Before completing her Ph.D., Joleen worked as an auditor in public accounting. Joleen is passionate about her research which focuses mainly on informing public accounting firms about the factors that influence their ability to attract and retain the highest quality talent.
Olga Marszal
Adjunct Faculty
Olga V. Marszal, CPA, offers over 20 years of experience in tax compliance, consulting and administration. Currently serving as a Subject Matter Expert in the Corporate Income and Losses Practice Network in the Large Business & International division of the IRS, Olga provides advice and guidance in significant tax compliance issues, coordinates compliance initiative projects, and offers professional presentations. Prior to joining the IRS, she was a Tax Manager at Moss Adams LLP and worked as a CFO for a company in Russia. She has a Master’s degree in Taxation and graduate certificate in International Taxation from Golden Gate University as well as degrees in Accounting, Systems Engineering, and Management.
Kathleen Rupley
Associate Professor of Accounting
Kathy Rupley, Ph.D., and CPA joined the Accounting faculty at PSU in 2006. Prior to academe, Kathy practiced as an Audit Manager at KPMG, an accountant at Irvine & Co., a Project Manager at Two Degrees and a Medicare Auditor at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Oregon.
Valerie Sasaki
Adjunct Faculty
Valerie Sasaki is a partner in the law firm of Samuels, Yoelin, Kantor, LLP, where she chairs their Tax Practice Group. Valerie joined the Oregon State Bar in 2001. Before joining SYK, Valerie worked in big-4 accounting and at a large regional law firm. She focuses her practice and scholarship in the areas of State and Local Tax, Tax Controversy, and Pass-Through Entity Tax advising. Valerie previously chaired the Oregon State Bar’s Taxation Section and currently serves as chair of the Business Law section.
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