Geffen Mesher has been named the Best Accounting Firm of 2019 by the Daily Journal of Commerce (DJC), a prominent publication in the building and construction industry.
Concordia’s Nursing Program Continues Record Growth
Tax Shareholder Michael Lortz, CPA, LEED AP is transitioning from his role at Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based accounting firm, to join the firm’s longtime commercial real estate client, Downtown Development Group, as its Chief Financial Officer.
The transition isn’t a surprise move as Lortz has served over the past several years as a trusted advisor to the Goodman Family. The Goodman Family owns the Downtown Development Group, which has been investing in Portland commercial real estate since 1955.
“Of course it’s difficult to lose one of our talented and respected leaders,” noted Michael A. Rompa, Geffen Mesher’s Managing Shareholder. “But it underscores our firm’s commitment to our client’s best interests, and Michael will be an excellent addition to the Downtown Development Group.”
Lortz joined Geffen Mesher in 2001 as an intern after having worked in the industry since he was 15 years old. He was hired full time in 2002, and he made firm history as its youngest Shareholder in 2011. Lortz’s many accomplishments include spearheading the firm’s Women’s Leadership Initiative in 2013, which addresses gender-specific challenges and inequity in the workplace. In 2015, he received the Portland Business Journal’s prestigious Forty Under 40 award, and that same year became the Chair of the firm’s Real Estate Industry Group. He helped launch the firm’s Family Office Group in 2013, which provides customized financial management and administration for high net worth individuals and families.
“I’m thrilled to call my former clients my new employer,” explained Lortz. “I’ve always been invested in their success, and I look forward to continuing that success in my new role as CFO.”
The firm wishes him the best in this exciting new endeavor.
About Geffen Mesher: Geffen Mesher, a Portland-based accounting and consulting firm, that focuses on providing ongoing financial strategy, accounting and tax services for businesses and high-net-worth individuals. We serve many industries and create solutions that help our diverse clientele plan and build their financial pictures wisely.
For more than 85 years, our focus has taken us beyond the numbers and into the lives, plans, and strategic goals of our clients. In providing professional tax, financial and business consulting, and reporting, we have successfully guided our clients through booms and busts, recessions and recoveries, with an approach and model built around the commitment of our people, decades of experience, and expertise across a wide range of industries.
Guests at Mt. Bachelor Village can enjoy free weekly walking tours throughout the summer.
Non-perishable, kid-friendly food items or cash can be donated at all branches throughout the month of June.
The idea was simple, but unprecedented: to create an event that celebrated deep equity work happening all over the Portland-metro region. An event that is future focused, inspiring, and fun.
American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor for the 14th Annual National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP) Conference and Expo.
Geffen Mesher is gearing up for a unique and exciting event, to be held on May 15 at Coopers Hall Winery & Taproom. The event, Brand Central: Authenticity, Disruption, & Engagement, is being sponsored by Geffen Mesher, the Meriwether Group, and HomeStreet Bank.
In 2017, Winrock International awarded Dorene Petersen, President and Founder of the American College of Healthcare Sciences, (ACHS) the President’s Volunteer Service Award, for her 27 day volunteer service with the Agency for International Development-funded Farmer-to-Farmer Program in the Terai, the southern lowland area of Nepal.
Portland-based investment firm Arnerich Massena, an independent investment advisory firm specializing in endowment & foundation, private wealth management, retirement plan consulting services, and impact investing strategies, announced today that Shelly Kapoor has joined the firm as director of operations.
What happens when your business is sued for sexual harassment, wrongful termination, discrimination, and other types of wrongful employment acts? How does insurance respond and what typically happens from a legal perspective? Ward Insurance invites you to an informative seminar to discuss Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) and provide a step by step walkthrough of how these types of claims move through our legal system.
Tuesday June 4, 2019
8:30am Check In
9:00-10:00am Presentation
Hotel Lucia – Pettygrove Room
400 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205
To Register click here - or RSVP to Julie Douglas at (503) 954-1360 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by May 28, 2019
Speakers:
Haley Morrison
Partner, Labor and Employment Practice Group – Tonkon Torp, LP
Haley Morrison is a partner with Tonkon Torp in their Labor and Employment Practice Group here in Portland providing counsel to employers on a wide variety of matters including discrimination, retaliation, harassment and wage and hour cases. She has conducted comprehensive employment practice diagnostics for national and global companies as well as developed an expertise in workforce exempt classification reviews. Prior to joining Tonkon, Haley was an associate in the San Diego office of the multinational law firm Paul Hastings LLP from 2008 to 20015. Haley is an alumni of the University of San Diego School of Law (magna cum laude), Colorado College and our very own Lincoln High School. She has received numerous accolades for her work as an attorney including most recently being named as an Oregon Rising Star Super Lawyers (2016 to 2018) and America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators in 2018.
Anne Hasenstab
Executive Risk Practice Leader – Ward Insurance
Anne recently joined Ward Insurance in 2019 and has spent the last 18 years of her career specializing in Executive Risk/Management Liability insurance. Anne began her career as an Executive Risk Underwriter for Chubb in Chicago, IL working with Fortune 500 clients. She later worked as a Client Advisor for a large brokerage firm specializing in employment practices liability. Most recently Anne held underwriting management roles at both Travelers and Chubb in the Pacific Northwest. Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Fairfield University in Connecticut.
The American College of Healthcare Sciences will celebrate Herb Day, Saturday, May 4, at the college campus located at 5005 SW Macadam Ave., between 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The public is invited to learn what local experts have to say about CBD and essential oils for both humans and dogs. At this year’s Herb Day Celebration, we delve into the methods and mechanism of how non-psychoactive CBD is used in treatment of many conditions in pets and humans. We’re excited to invite you to our 2019 Herb Day Celebration.
The morning will kick off with a light breakfast and hands on demonstration with the help of Griffy a rescue dog from China. Our key note expert and local naturopathic doctor, Kris Ritchey, will share case examples and successful uses of CBDs in treating her patients. The morning will wrap up with renowned international aromatherapy expert Dorene Petersen, ACHS’s founding president. She will demonstrate how to make pain relieving salves and creams using CBD and essential oil blends. For more information and to register to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/achs-herb-day-celebration-tickets-59787750772
Herb Day is an international celebration of herbs and herbal products that are packed with events aimed at educating and sharing ideas about the many ways herbs bring joy and well-being into our daily lives. It’s a celebration of herbs used in food, beverages, medicine, beauty products, and crafts, along with the art of growing and gardening with herbs.
Herb Day is a grassroots movement and its events belong to everyone who chooses to participate. Although May 4th will be the focal point of our celebration, we encourage you to commemorate Herb Day any time, any day, any time of year! Get more info by visiting herbday.org
About American College of Healthcare Sciences - Founded in 1978, ACHS.edu is a Portland, Ore.-based, accredited college offering online, on-campus, and study abroad integrative health education. With undergraduate and graduate degrees, diplomas, certificates, and continuing education units in integrative health, ACHS makes holistic health and wellness education accessible to a diverse community, including healthcare professionals, military students, stay-at-home parents, and lifelong learners. Specializations include aromatherapy, herbal medicine, holistic nutrition, and wellness. ACHS is a Certified B Corporation® and was named two of 100 Best Green Workplaces in Oregon 2017 by Oregon Business magazine. ACHS is also accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Visit achs.edu.
Raymond Cheung, an Audit Shareholder at Geffen Mesher and the leader of the firm’s M&A Transaction Advisory team, recently participated in a Thought Leader Forum hosted by the Portland Business Journal. The topic of discussion was the world of mergers and acquisitions and the challenges, best practices, and players associated it.
Portland-based investment firm Arnerich Massena, an independent investment advisory firm specializing in endowment & foundation, private wealth management, retirement plan consulting services, and impact investing strategies, announces the publication of a new white paper: Women in Investing: Why balanced gender representation on your advisory team helps lead to success. While other industries are beginning to see a greater balance between men and women, the financial services industry continues to be heavily male dominated. This paper discusses why the investment industry would benefit from including more female financial professionals and how to foster that change.
“Arnerich Massena is unique in that the firm has had an equal or near-equal gender balance among its leadership and advisory team throughout the company’s history,” notes Terri Schwartz, contributor to the paper, firm principal, and managing director of institutional services. “We think this balance has improved our strategic thinking and our ability to connect and communicate with our clients, and want to share our experience. There is research that supports the idea that bringing both male and female perspectives to the table can contribute to long-term outcomes.”
“We need different perspectives, which ultimately help foster collaboration and better long-term results,” adds Reegan Rae, contributor, principal, and managing director of Wealth Management. “The most effective teams don’t all look the same or think the same. We maintain the gender balance of our advisory teams because we are convicted that it presents a material advantage for our clients, and we’re pleased to do our part to foster this change across the financial services industry, ultimately benefiting all people who are seeking investment advice and assistance.”
The white paper takes a deeper look at how significant the gender disparity is in the investment industry and some of the reasons the imbalance has remained so pronounced. The discussion then focuses on why we need women in the financial services profession and what the industry can do to help promote this. The paper is intended to provide real solutions that will be of long-term benefit to financial services firms, their clients, and the industry itself.
Arnerich Massena is 100% employee-owned, with 52% owned by women; the firm was listed among the top 20 largest women-owned firms by The Portland Business Journal in 2018. The company’s executive leadership team is evenly divided between men and women. The firm’s overall investment advisory team is 45% female, with the wealth management advisory team comprised of 50% women.
A downloadable version of Women in Investing: Why balanced gender representation on your advisory team helps lead to success is available at http://arnerichmassena.com/Research-Resources/.
About Arnerich Massena - Founded in 1991, Arnerich Massena is a Portland-based independent investment advisory firm servicing endowments, foundations, charitable organizations, private clients, trust and estates, and corporate pension and profit sharing plans. The firm provides traditional portfolio management and investing for clients, and is also widely known for successfully investing in high-impact areas like water resources, sustainable agriculture, fisheries, healthcare, and clean energy technology. Arnerich Massena strives to be a business that exemplifies both corporate citizenship and professional service, and has received awards for its innovations in corporate philanthropy. More information is available at www.arnerichmassena.com.