Shawn Norton, CPA
Shawn Norton is a graduate of Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Shawn and his wife Sarah moved to the Coachella Valley from Minneapolis in 2004. He was previously employed by the public accounting firm Grant Thornton, and also has experience in private accounting.
Shawn has extensive experience helping clients calculate and support Research and Development (R&D) tax credits, which involves working with accounting departments to capture costs, document R&D activities, and prepare reports for IRS audit defense. He also has experience in cost accounting, corporate reorganizations and mergers, Interest Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC-DISC) computations, and business planning. Shawn has a specific interest in the agriculture industry having been born and raised in farming communities.
Maria Sanchez, CPA
Email: "marias"
Maria joined Godecke Clark in October of 2003 as a Staff Accountant. She earned her Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration on Accounting in the summer of 2005. She is experienced with the accounting issues of various industries, including the agricultural and medical fields.
Maria handles many accounting projects such as financial statement preparation, income tax preparation, and is well-versed in payroll and sales tax preparation. Maria became a Certified Public Accountant in January 2009. In addition to her accounting services, she is also a Notary Public.
Maria was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and came to the United States in 1985, she obtained full citizenship in 1995. Outside the office, Maria enjoys traveling, camping, and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
Vera Mederos, CPA
Email: "veram"
Vera joined Godecke Clark in September of 2006 as a Staff Accountant. She graduated from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Business and Accounting. She worked several years as a bookkeeper for a local company until she decided to travel the world. She made several trips to different continents and finally settled here in the Desert in 2003.
Vera handles many accounting projects including financial statement preparation, payroll, sales tax and income tax preparation. She became a Certified Public Accountant in September 2009.
Stephanie Ruther, Staff Accountant
Stephanie joined the team at Godecke Clark as a Staff Accountant in 2009. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Accounting from California State University San Bernardino in 2008 and aspires to become a Certified Public Accountant. Her past experience includes providing bookkeeping services for a local country club as well as preparing tax returns for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. She was also a Fire Fighter with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in San Diego County.
Stephanie's duties include providing bookkeeping services for individuals as well as monthly and quarterly services for businesses. She prepares sales tax and payroll tax returns for many of our clients in addition to providing administrative support to the entire staff. Her youth, ambition and willingness to learn anything new is a welcome addition as the newest team member at Godecke Clark.
Christina L. McCulloch, Administrative Assistant Billing /Accounts Receivable & Notary Public
Email: "christinam"
Christina was raised in the desert sunshine of Arizona. After high school, she moved to California and attended El Camino College in Torrance, where she earned an Associate Art’s degree in Business and also studied secretarial science. She moved to the Coachella Valley in 1987, happily returning to the heat and beauty of the desert.
Christina is responsible for firm’s human resources and management of billing and accounts receivable. She also provides bookkeeping services for individuals and performs Notary Public services for Godecke Clark’s clientele.
When Christina has free time she enjoys needlework, music, and bicycling. She currently works part time so that she can spend the afternoons with her children, which she considers her true vocation.
Vivian McDonald, Administrative Assistant
Email: "vivianm"
Vivian and her husband moved to the Desert in 2005 from San Diego and shortly thereafter, she became a team member at Godecke Clark. Her background includes several years working in the hospitality industry for the Marriott Corporation and then as an Office Manager for both large and small organizations.
Vivian graduated from San Diego State University in 2004 with a Bachelor's of Art degree in History. She hopes to eventually earn a Master's degree in Education. Her responsibilities at Godecke Clark include being the direct Assistant to Mr. Godecke and providing secretarial support to the entire staff. In addition to the many hats she wears at Godecke Clark, she is proud to have recently become a mother. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her family and taking a cruise whenever possible.
Lani R. Whiteside, Secretary/Receptionist
Email: "laniw"
Lani was raised in San Leandro, California and moved to the Desert with her husband in 1979. She was hired by Dennis Godecke in that same year and in 2009 she celebrated her 30th anniversary with Godecke Clark. Lani is truly a people-person and has an excellent memory for faces. She is well know for her good listening skills, and has a gift for recognizing voices on the telephone.
Many of our clients enjoy arriving early for an appointment to drink a cup of coffee and have a friendly chat with Lani. Outside of work her top priority is her family. She has two grown children and is a very young grandmother of five. When time permits she loves to play softball, and oh, you should see her throw! She also likes to two-step to country music, read, and paint ceramics.
Note: All emails should have @godeckeclark.com after the name in quotes.