“I absolutely love doing tax returns. My friend calls me a walking spreadsheet,” she says. “I love making sure returns balance and the numbers work where they’re supposed to.”

It’s Melissa’s organization and attention to detail that has made her a vital Verus team member for the firm’s tax professionals (not to mention a left-brained resource for her right-brained sister, who gladly trusts Melissa to do her taxes). After more than 11 years of tax-season employment with Verus, her work has expanded into a year-round role with our firm. Melissa prepares returns for dozens of clients, and handles private trusts and gift returns, too. Taxes require a lot of paperwork or digital files, so Melissa is often the person clients talk to in order to pull all that documentation together.

It was her husband’s job transfer that brought her to Richmond from Roanoke years ago, and her previous employer, an accounting firm, referred her to Verus. As her kids grew in Chesterfield County public schools, Melissa stayed highly involved in the PTAs, working behind the scenes as treasurer, secretary, and in various other roles.