Our Team

Rick Wacek – Senior Partner, CPA

Rick is based in Richmond, VA but often travels around the world visiting family, friends, team members, and clients. He is passionate about saving clients time and is committed to ensuring every dollar of tax savings is received by our clients. There is a 100% you’ll hear his laugh if you are fortunate enough to be on a call with him.

Kathy Wacek – Executive Assistant

Kathy is unsurprisingly also based in Richmond, VA, and is often traveling around the world as well. Kathy primarily assists Rick, although she plugs into various areas when needed. When she’s not working, she spends as much time as she can with her grandkids!

Jay Shewan – Firm Manager

Jay is based in Indianapolis, IN, and runs the day-to-day operations of Wacek and Associates. If you have a question, Jay probably has an answer or can point you to the person who does. When he’s not working, Jay is likely outside with his family, preferably rollerblading.

Maria Densmoor – Reviewing Staff

Maria splits her time between Baltimore, MD, and Jakarta, Indonesia, although she lives primarily in Jakarta. Maria asserts impeccable attention to detail when reviewing and ensures returns she touches are in excellent condition. When she’s in Indonesia, she and her husband Mike are on staff with one of the largest churches in Jakarta!

Nolan Barrick – Tax Preparation Specialist

Nolan is based in Newark, DE, and prepares taxes for Wacek and Associates. Nolan joined our team after a distinguished career at Dupont. If you need any statistics about the Philadelphia Phillies, this fanatic is your guy!

Steven Cain – Tax Preparation Specialist

Steven is based in Dallas, TX, and prepares taxes for Wacek and Associates. After multiple years in Audit, Steven joined W&A full-time. When Steven isn’t preparing excellent returns, he’s most likely hanging with his family and making his daughter, DJ, laugh!

Joe Cozzoli – Tax Preparation Specialist

Joe is based in Pennsylvania and prepares taxes part-time for Wacek and Associates. After investing in real estate, Joe took an interest in the tax side of businesses. He trained with and worked for H&R Block before joining Wacek and Associates. When Joe isn’t working for Wacek and Associates, he is most likely spending time with his family and friends, or managing one of his business ventures.

Jessica Holloway – Tax Preparation Specialist

Jessica is based in Richmond, VA, and prepares taxes for Wacek and Associates. While working for Wacek and Associates, Jessica is also pursuing her CPA. If you’re ever in the Richmond area, make sure you try her homemade kombucha!

Sierra Horstmeier – Tax Preparation Specialist

Sierra is based in Jakarta, Indonesia, and prepares taxes for Wacek and Associates. After working for PricewaterhouseCoopers for 3 years, Sierra and her husband, Samuel, moved to Jakarta to work for the State Department. Hailing from Louisiana, Sierra is an avid Saints fan. She doesn’t let the time difference of living in Jakarta stop her from missing a game on TV.

Connie Miller – Tax Preparation Specialist

Connie is based in Richmond, VA, and prepares taxes for Wacek and Associates. After teaching math for ten years, Connie jumped into the tax world. A fun connection within our team is that Connie is actually Jessica’s mother!

Stephanie Schliesmann – Administrative Assistant

Stephanie is based in Beloit, WI, and serves in several administrative capacities. Wacek and Associates’ tax preparation service starts and ends with Stephanie, as she oversees data gathering at the beginning and filing at the end. Stephanie’s favorite color is orange!

Stephanie Privott – Administrative Assistant

Stephanie is based in Raleigh, NC, and serves primarily as the billing manager, although she plugs into different roles when needed. Stephanie is a full-time teacher and is the daughter of Rick and Kathy!

Ben Wacek – Administrative Assistant

Ben, as you may have guessed, is Rick’s 10-year-old grandson. He serves as Papa’s right-hand man to help him with administrative tasks and even calls the IRS until he finally gets a real person on the line! Ben is an avid reader and loves sports. He’s excited to be returning overseas in August 2023, this time to Bosnia (having already lived in Greece and Egypt).


Want to hear how this team impacts our clients’ lives? Check out our client testimonies here! Want this team to work for you for Tax Year 2022? Sign up here!