Background

Raised on a cattle ranch in Central Oregon homesteaded by her great grandfather, Melissa carries on the legacy of her family through her work ethic and values. While earning her B.S. in Agricultural & Resource Economics from Oregon State University in 2000, Melissa interned in Washington, D.C. for the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and interned for an Oregon lobbyist who represented agribusiness groups.

She developed her love for accounting when she went to work for a large multi-state cattle feedlot learning the details of accounting, and started her public accounting career with Geffen Mesher in 2007 after finishing her postbaccalaureate accounting certificate at Portland State University. Her accounting practice focuses on agribusiness and real estate. With a true passion for these industries, Melissa builds long-term relationships and takes pride in their successes.

Although Melissa currently spends her free time shuttling her boys to their many sports activities, she is a member of several industry organizations, including the Oregon Women for Agriculture, the Oregon State Alumni Association, the Sigma Alpha National Alumni and National FFA and Oregon FFA Alumni Associations. She is an avid Beaver baseball fan along with her family.

Melissa quickly moved through the ranks to be the firm’s first part-time shareholder. She proudly served as one of the founding members of Geffen Mesher’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, an initiative that the firm created in 2013 to help retain and develop women leaders within the firm.  She also founded the Working Moms Group in 2018, a group providing comradery, support, and guidance to working moms pursuing a tough but rewarding career in public accounting.

“The work ethic and values that I learned growing up on a ranch still guides me today. My follow through and commitment to hard work guide me to be responsive and timely while exceeding the expectations of my clients.