Our People

Each person on our team brings unique talents and experience to the mix. Our culture encourages us to freely share ideas and opinions, allowing us to innovate and develop better ways to serve you.

Ask any team member and they’ll tell you that our mission statement is to become your most trusted advisor. We believe in what we do and we stand behind it all the way.

Jan Vanderbilt, CPA, MSF

The Queen Bee

Jan is a woman of vision. She has been a trusted advisor on the Monterey Peninsula for over 30 years. Her public accounting experience includes tax planning and consultation for individuals, businesses and trusts, and the preparation of individual, business, nonprofit, and pension/profit sharing tax returns.

Jan earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in finance with an emphasis in financial planning from Golden Gate University.

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Carmine Lepiane, CPA, MST

Shark Bait

Carmine is a long time VCPA team member and has been working in the field of tax and accounting for the last 10 years. In that time, he has obtained valuable experience in the preparation of individual, trust, and business tax returns along with becoming proficient with accounting and general ledger skills. He graduated Cum Laude with distinction from California State University, Monterey Bay and has since earned a master’s degree from Golden Gate University in the field of taxation. Carmine has served on the Ambassador Committee for the Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and is currently the Treasurer for the Carmel Public Library Foundation.

Piper Magallanes

The Balancer

Piper has the honor of being employee # 1 at Vanderbilt CPAs and was an integral part of opening the doors and building our dynamic team. She completed her A.A. at Monterey Peninsula Jr. College and went on to earn her B.A. in Economics with emphasis in Accounting from UC Santa Cruz. Piper has worked in the accounting field for more than two decades and is a full charge bookkeeper with focus on financial analysis, budget and audit preparation, and bill pay. She also serves as Board Secretary for the Doris Day & Terry Melcher Foundation.

Tom Atherton, CPA

Mr. Fix It

Tom has been involved in public accounting for over 40 years. He has worked with a variety of large and small clients, providing tax planning as well as preparation of individual, business, and trust returns. He holds a wealth of knowledge about tax matters, and has published tax articles in local publications.

He earned a B.S. degree in business with an emphasis in accounting from San Jose State University.

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Daniel Trujillo

The Calm Crusader

Daniel joined the VCPA team as a part-time intern while finishing his Accounting Degree at CSU Monterey Bay and just before the 2022 tax season began. He comes to us with not only a background in bookkeeping but with FOUR associate degrees! Now, as a full-time team member taking on the role of Staff Accountant, a graduate of CSUMB and after surviving his first tax season, he is setting his sights on becoming a CPA!

Angie Negrete

Office Sensei

We did a little dance when we found out that Angie would be coming to work with us. It doesn’t take long to realize that she is quick-witted and loves to laugh. She has 20 years of administrative experience and is well versed in the world of tax and accounting. Angie hasn’t missed a beat since joining our team. Her fun personality has already brought lots of smiles not only to us, but our clients as well.

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Marissa Ley

Executive Enforcer

Marissa comes to us from the beautiful Big Island of Hawaii but isn’t a stranger to the bay. She grew up in Santa Cruz and after 21 years away is excited to call the Monterey Bay area home once again! Most of her life she has served in nonprofit organizations from the “all hands on deck” startup to administrative and development roles and is now looking forward to learning the ins-and-outs of the tax world!

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In Memory of Stiggy

Mr. Stiggs, Stiggy-pants, the Stig-meister

Stiggy has been with us since 2017 and has since grown into a multi-functional member of this team. From shredding papers to greeting clients and keeping stress levels down during the busy season Stiggy has proven that even the smallest, furriest team members can make a great impact on the team. Stiggy has been featured in Carmel Magazine’s Working Dogs section and continues to work on his modeling career in his free time.

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