Meet the Carson Valley Team
With decades of combined experience in all aspects of accounting and finance, our team members are experts and innovators striving to achieve operational excellence by transforming business processes and practices.
Drew is the Owner of Carson Valley Accounting and has over 30 years in the CPA world. He loves to help individual and business clients!
Originally from Napa, Drew and wife Charleen moved here in 2004 to start Carson Valley Accounting. They have two children - Diane works for CVA at the Lake Tahoe office and Matt lives in Elk Grove with his wife, Jessica and their amazing daughters, Ava and Ivy. A devoted fan of the Golden State Warriors, Drew also coached high school basketball in California for 14 years.
Drew’s volunteer activities are numerous, as he has brought his expertise as a volunteer to the Boards of the Boys & Girls Club of Western Nevada, the Austin Kirby Foundation, the Carson Valley Medical Center Hospital Foundation, MEFIYI and the Douglas County Community Center Foundation. He’s a 2005 graduate of Leadership Douglas County, an active Rotarian and one of 8 Volunteer Chairs of the American Century Championship. Drew was recognized as the Carson Valley Citizen of the Year in 2013.
Linda Rush has been in business in the Carson Valley for over 25 years. Linda graduated from Cal Poly, SLO with a degree in Animal Science, and received a Master’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno. She started the firm of Patterson, Rush and Co. with her partner in 1988 and sold that firm to Drew Aguilar in 2004. She continues to provide her expertise in estates, farms, ranches, small businesses and real estate to Carson Valley Accounting clients. Linda is most definitely a horse person!
Bryan is originally from Orange County, CA and moved to Reno in 2012 before joining Carson Valley Accounting in May of 2016. He graduated from Sonoma State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting after four years playing in the San Diego Padres Minor League system. He obtained his Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Nevada, Reno in May of 2015 while working for an accounting firm in Reno and obtained his CPA credential in November of 2016.
Bryan and his wife Samantha moved to Carson Valley in August 2016 before having their first son, Bear Richard, in January 2017 and more recently a daughter, Sierra Brynn in June of 2018. Bryan is a past Commissioner of the Douglas County Planning Commission and a past board member of MEFIYI (Me-for Incredible Youth Inc.)
Along with Sam, Bear and Sierra, Bryan has been known to explore the backcountry on a variety of wheeled vehicles and snowmobiles.
Renae began preparing taxes professionally in 1997 following her retirement from the Federal Aviation Administration. She spent 26 years with the FAA rising to Senior Budget Analyst in the Regions Air Traffic Division. Renae has been preparing taxes for Carson Valley Accounting since 2004.
She is an active member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, National Association
of Enrolled Agents and Nevada Society of Enrolled Agents. She attends numerous tax conferences during the year to maintain her EA status with the IRS.
Renae is married, has 2 grown sons, 4 grown step-children, 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren. She loves golf, traveling, church and spending time with friends and family.
Jake graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 2020 and earned his Master’s of Accountancy degree in 2022. Jake developed 6 years of customer service experience prior to interning at Carson Valley Accounting in early 2020 and quickly moving on to become a full-time accountant. Jake lives in Reno and often enjoys the local events in addition to the benefits of living in Northern Nevada by enjoying hiking, skiing, and camping.
Laurie was born in California and raised all over the state as the daughter of a swimming pool contractor who followed the work and she attended Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA. She has been doing bookkeeping for more than 30 years and have worked in manufacturing, construction, (Laurie drove a truck for Granite Construction) and property management.
She’s been married to Jim for 33 years and between them they have two sons and two beautiful girls, with two granddaughters. They moved to Carson Valley in 2004 from North Monterey County.
Away from the office, Laurie spends time with family, gardening, walking with her Basset Hounds and long Harley rides on backroads with Jim.
Heather started her career in 1997 after graduating from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Strategic Management. After over 20 years as a Project Manager for various state and government agencies, higher educational institutions and private sector business she was asked to join the Carson Valley Accounting team as their Client Excellence Coordinator.
Heather was formerly a client of Carson Valley Accounting so had first-hand knowledge of the team of experts she would be working with and was honored to become part of the team. Heather lives in Minden with her husband Tom and their two rescue dogs, Toby and Minnie, and together enjoy all of the adventures Nevada life has to offer!
Diane graduated from The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance/Economics. After moving to the “left coast”, she received her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from The University of San Francisco. With her family, husband Tom and three young children Diane made the move to Carson Valley from the Bay Area in 2002.
They have embraced everything this beautiful Carson Valley has to offer. The family are all avid outdoorsmen and can be found in the Sierra at any given time skiing, hiking, kayaking, biking, boating, and camping. Diane brought her 34 years of accounting experience to the Carson Valley Accounting team in May 2018 as she found the perfect fit of professionalism and comradery.
Sam is a UNR graduate who has been providing bookkeeping services for more than five years. She’s a transplant from Lodi, CA. With husband Bryan, she enjoys snowboarding, snowmobiling, hiking, golfing and spending time with her family.
A native of Springfield, Massachusetts and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Bill has been in Nevada since 1984. In that time, he has worked extensively in the tourism industry and as a business advocate, serving as the VP of Marketing for the M.S. Dixie II and Zephyr Cove Resort, Executive Director of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, as the Business Development Manager for the City of Mesquite, NV and as the Executive Director of the Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce. He is a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies and his Penn Quakers and spends more time following European soccer than is healthy.
Patty is a Carson Valley native who joined the Carson Valley Accounting team in 2021. Patty is an integral part of the team and is always here to greet you with a smile. Patty is continuing her studies at Western Nevada College and hopes to one day become a teacher because she really enjoys working with children. She loves spending time with family and being outdoors with her fur baby Olive.