Marshall (Chip) Turner, Jr., CPA

Managing Partner/Tax Partner

Chip has extensive tax experience and concentrates his consulting and compliance work to tax matters affecting partnerships, trusts and estates, and high net worth individuals. He has served as trustee and executor on numerous estates and has been extensively involved with trust administration.

Chip received his Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Notre Dame. In addition, He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Locally, Chip is past chair of the Santa Barbara Zoo where he served on the Board of Directors for 13 years. He is a former board member of Cottage Hospital where he served for 10 years. He has also served on the boards of SB Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, SB Botanic Gardens, Work Inc and Valley Club of Montecito. Nationally, he served on the Executive Committee of Allinial Global which is an association of regional firms in North America.

Chip’s hobbies include surfing, golf, remodeling/building homes, and spending time with his wife, Betsy. They have two grown children and two grandchildren. Being one of ten children, he finds himself traveling to weddings of his many nephews and nieces.

James O. Koopmans, CPA

Tax Partner

James Koopmans, CPA, is a tax partner with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset, where he brings over 30 years of experience within the field of consulting. His area of expertise lies in assisting closely-held and family-owned businesses in proper entity structure selection, cash flow analysis, financial reporting, strategic business and tax planning, business acquisition analysis, and sales transactions. In addition, Jim has significant industry experience with real estate development and syndications, mid-sized manufacturing and distribution companies, medial practices, and law firms. He has worked with these companies in compensation and benefits planning, tax and financial planning for employee ESPP, ISO and non-qualified stock options.

Jim received his bachelors of arts in Economics and Business (with honors) from Westmont College. He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Jim is actively involved in benefiting the Santa Barbara community by teaching courses on tax and accounting at Westmont College and serving on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

In his free time, Jim enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and staying active though golf, cycling and basketball.

Monico R. Casillas, CPA

Tax Partner

Monico Casillas, CPA, started his accounting career with Robert W. Hanrahan Accountancy, Inc. in February 1998. Later that year, Hanrahan was merged with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset. Prior to joining the firm, Monico spent two years as a staff accountant for a local construction corporation. Currently, Monico concentrates his consulting and compliance work to tax matters affecting partnerships, C and S corporations, and high net worth individuals.

Monico received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics with an emphasis in accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara and his masters degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University . He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, IT Section member.

Monico currently serves as the Treasurer of the Santa Barbara County Flower & Nursery Growers Association. His outside interests include golf, softball, hiking, and spending time with his family.

Christopher D. Harris, CPA

Audit Partner

Chris is a partner with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset who joined our firm in 2012 after more than 12 years of experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. He has experience in public accounting during which he has provided a variety of assurance services including audits, reviews, agreed upon procedures, and internal control assessments. His client experience encompasses a broad range of industries and entity types including consumer products, entertainment, food & beverage, agriculture, not-for-profit, higher education, labor unions, health care, and employee benefit plans.

Chris received a Bachelor of the Arts in Economics and Accounting (magna cum laude) from Claremont McKenna College. He is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center. He has both developed and instructed technical professional development programs for both staff and clients on various financial reporting and internal control related topics. In addition he has been a contributor to the Wiley not-for-profit accounting guide.

Chris has been an active participant in a number of community service endeavors including the United Way, Meals on Wheels, and Fast Pitch Santa Barbara.  He serves as a board member and treasurer of the Santa Barbara Symphony and as a board member and president of C.A.R.E.4Paws.  Chris is also an advisory board member for Claremont McKenna College’s Financial Economics Institute and the Athletics Department.

In his free time Chris is a passionate sports fan and enjoys competing in endurance sports as a cyclist.

Catherine H. Macaulay, CPA

Tax/Accounting Partner

Catherine H. Macaulay, CPA, is a tax and accounting partner with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset.  She joined the firm in 1999 after working with a sole proprietor CPA firm in Santa Barbara for several years.  Cathy works with family groups including individuals and their corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and trusts for both their accounting and tax needs.  She has final responsibility for all Non-Profit Organization filings for both public charities and private foundations, and works closely with numerous boards and executive staff by educating them on reporting requirements. Cathy is responsible for all probate accountings (trusts, estates and conservatorships) and has forensic accounting experience with her work used in settlement mediation hearings and court proceedings. In addition, she actively provides knowledge and support to her clients through participating in numerous educational opportunities.

Cathy received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics with an Accounting emphasis, from University of California, Santa Barbara.  She is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and ProVisors network of business professionals and advisors.

Cathy has been active in many local, non-profit organizations and volunteers at numerous fundraisers for various organizations. Most notably, Cathy is a member of the Volunteer Leadership Team during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where she is responsible for volunteer management of  the Metro 4 Theatres film venue. She also serves as a member of the Finance Committee for the Dream Foundation and the Board of Directors for the Volentine Family Foundation.

Her free time is filled with road trips to the National Parks, hiking the Santa Barbara front country, reading, watching movies and enjoying life with her family.

Matthew A. Morgan, CPA

Tax Partner

Matthew A. Morgan is a tax partner with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset and has been with the firm since 2007 when he began his career as a tax season intern.  Currently, Matthew’s area of expertise lies in tax matters affecting partnerships, C and S corporations, high net worth individuals and international tax compliance.

Matthew received his Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance from Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom), receiving the ‘Most Outstanding Accounting Graduate’ award.  Matthew has also obtained a masters degree in Taxation with high honors from Golden Gate University.   Matthew is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  In 2014, the Pacific Coast Business Times selected Matthew as one of their ’40 Under 40′ winners; an annual list of up-and-coming business leaders under the age of 40.

Matthew serves as the Treasurer of the Santa Barbara Soccer Club.  Matthew loves to spend his free time enjoying and exploring beautiful Santa Barbara, playing in soccer games during the weekend, and trips to the beach with his family.

Carol A. Snyder, CPA

Senior Tax Manager

Carol Snyder, CPA, is a senior tax manager with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset and has been with the firm since 1988. She began her career in public accounting when she worked with national and local CPA firms in Bakersfield, California.  Her main areas of focus are partnership and LLC taxation, deferred real estate exchanges, small business accounting, wine inventory costing, and employee training.

Carol received her Bachelor of Arts (summa cum laude) from Azusa Pacific University and a Master of Science in taxation from Golden Gate University.  She is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Carol and her husband live in Goleta, California, where they raised their son, are active in their local church, and enjoy the challenges of training their Tibetan spaniel. In her spare time, Carol enjoys color and home decor, playing bridge, reading, and all things French.

Professional Staff

Tax & Audit

• Nicholas McGilvray, CPA – Tax Supervisor
• Levi Hayden, CPA – Tax Senior
• Kevin Ingraham, CPA – Audit & Tax Senior
• Miriam Perez Revuelta – Audit & Tax Senior
• Kyle Guthrie – Audit & Tax Associate
• Alexander Joeh – Tax Associate
• Lauren Holstein – Tax Associate
• Samuel Regan – Tax Associate
• Karen Neal – Tax Associate
• Baily Brownell – Tax Associate
• Alex Pedroza – Tax Associate

Support Staff

Bookkeeping & Administration

• Vivian Goena – Director of Administration & Human Resources
• Robert Moore – Project Manager
• Marie Dunham – Paraprofessional
• Cristina Battisone – Paraprofessional
• Dale Ramirez – Administrative Assistant
• Jamie Vacca – Administrative Assistant

Thomas H. Brooks, CPA

Retired Tax Partner/Of Counsel

Tom is a founding partner of the firm. He was employed with Arthur Andersen from 1974-1982 at which time he, along with Earl Damitz and Rick Nightingale, formed the current firm.  Tom received a Bachelor of Science in accounting (magna cum laude) from Cal Poly State University, SLO. He is a member of the California Society of CPAs and the tax section of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He also currently serves on the Cal Poly Accounting Advisory Board which was directly involved with the creation of the Masters in Taxation graduate program currently offered at Cal Poly.

Tom has concentrated his career in the areas of income and estate tax consulting. He works with clients to create an overall estate and gift tax strategy to minimize the transfer tax cost of giving assets to their ultimate beneficiaries. In addition, he is significantly involved with testamentary trust administration. His client experience has been wide ranging but has focused on working with high net worth individuals.

Tom has been involved with a number of community boards including United Way and United Boys and Girls Club. Time away from work is spent enjoying golf, tennis and cycling. He grew up in northern California and is a zealous fan of San Francisco professional teams. Tom has a wife Judi and two sons, Kyle and Chad.

Richard A. Nightingale, CPA

Retired Tax Partner / Of Counsel

As a founding partner of DBNTM, Rick provided sophisticated tax and accounting services to individuals, businesses, trusts and estates and non-profit organizations.

Rick received his Bachelor of Science degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). He served on numerous boards and committees over his forty-two year career including the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Orfalea School of Business at Cal Poly. Rick was also active in the Santa Barbara community serving as President on the Boards of Directors of United Way of Santa Barbara County, United Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara and Goleta, Rotary Club of Santa Barbara and La Cumbre Country Club. He was also on the Board of Directors of Pacific Capital Bancorp, Santa Barbara Bank and Trust and the Santa Barbara Economic Community Project. Rick currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Volentine Family Foundation and the Page Family Foundation and on the Audit Committee and Investment Committee for United Way of Santa Barbara County.

Rick is enjoying retirement with his wife Diane, spending more time with his grandchildren, traveling and working on his golf game.

John W. Morrisset, CPA

Retired Tax Partner/Of Counsel

John W Morrisset, CPA, is one of the founders of Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset. He currently works as a tax partner, serving some 300 plus clients with an emphasis on high net worth individuals, trusts and estates, private foundations, and  small businesses. He began his career in public accounting with Touche Ross & Co. in San Francisco in 1978.

Prior to obtaining his masters degree in taxation, he received his bachelor of arts degree in Finance and Investments from the University of Southern California where he also played baseball and won two national championships. In addition, John was commissioned as a Navy Supply Corps Officer, has been a tax professor at UC Santa Barbara for eight years, given various speeches and written numerous professional tax articles, many of which have been published nationally, and is also world traveler.

John has been active with the California CPA Society, having served as President of the local chapter and on the Board of Trustees for the CalCPA Educational Foundation. He has also served on the boards and committees of the Hope Ranch Association (Treasurer), the Sansum Clinic (Chairman Investment Committee), the Trinity Lutheran Church (Past President / Chairman Endowment Committee), the PKF Tax Committee (Chairman), the Sansum Diabetes Institute (Treasurer), the La Cumbre Country Club (Membership/ Captain Tennis Team) and the American Institute of CPAs.

He recently received the Distinguished Service Award from the CalCPA Channel Counties Chapter, its highest award for service to the CPA profession.

 

Laura S. Ciontea, CPA

Retired Audit Partner/ Of Counsel

Laura Ciontea, CPA, works in the audit and accounting practice of Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset. She joined the firm in 1997 and has over 30 years of experience in public accounting. Her principal areas of practice are accounting and auditing with special emphasis in nonprofit organizations, manufacturing, and benefit plans. Laura also provides litigation support, internal control reviews, and other attest services.

Laura received her Bachelors degree in Accountancy from University of Illinois, graduating with highest honors and bronze tablet award. She is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Laura is the past president of the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Red Cross and the treasurer of The Mountain View School Foundation and Las Aletas, the auxiliary of Assistance League of Santa Barbara. Laura is also an active volunteer for these organizations as well as Alpha Resource Center and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Brenda S. Zavalla, CPA

Of Counsel

Brenda Zavalla, CPA, was a tax manager with Damitz, Brooks, Nightingale, Turner & Morrisset who relocated to Paso Robles.  She joined the firm in 1999 after working with a CPA firm in San Luis Obispo for several years after graduating from college. Brenda works on a variety of client engagements including partnerships and high net worth individuals and specializes in the area of trust and estate tax.

Brenda received her Bachelor of Science in accounting from Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo.  She is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

In her free time, Brenda enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter and enjoys family camping trips, golf and the outdoors.