The Professionals

Jim Russell CPA | The Professional Staff | About the Firm | Philosophy | How We Work

Our staff is committed to our core mission of creating value for our clients. Working in teams, we provide multiple levels of consulting services with extensive industry knowledge and expertise. We thrive on the unique challenges that helping each of our clients to reach their goal brings every day. And we embrace our mission of helping our clients succeed in the most competitive business environments by sharing with them the essence of our core values. When describing our staff, many of our clients use terms like “professional,” “understanding,” and “problem solvers.” Many view us as family, or as an extension of their business.

We work hard to establish relationships with our clients so that we can understand the goals and the needs of their businesses. We understand that the speed of business today often means the need for a fast response, and that things always get done right the first time. To us, the trust our clients have in us confirms our commitment to their challenges and opportunities.

Our staff also views their clients almost like a family. Their goal is to build strong working relationships, one step at a time, and we are committed to respecting this process. We believe strongly that business, while always working on the details of day-to-day challenges, must also stay focused on growth and the long term.


• James L. Russell, CPA
• Dale Nesheim, CPA
• Dawn Y. Horvath, MS-T
• Janine L. Kirkpatrick
• Raelyn T. Space, CPA
• Neil Heineman, Manager, Tax Advisor
• Laurie Husbands

James L. Russell, CPA
Principal

Jim’s focus is to assist small business owners and individuals understand their financial complexities and achieve their business and tax planning goals. Jim has been a practicing CPA for nearly 25 years, with experience from Coopers & Lybrand and the past 20 years managing this firm. Jim’s passion is helping people achieve their goals.

Education

• Postgraduate courses in Taxation, Golden Gate University
• Bachelor of Science in Accounting, University of Washington
• United States Navy

Dale Nesheim, CPA
Manager – Tax Services

Dale specializes in working with high net worth individuals, expatriate and foreign national tax payers. Dale also does extensive individual tax planning for investors and small business owners. Dale has been a practicing CPA for the past 20 years, with experience from Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG International, Dale came to work for James Russell, PLLC in 2005 because of the variety of hands on work he is able to accomplish.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Central Washington University

Personal

In Dale’s spare time he is a big Pacific Northwest outdoors enthusiast.

Dawn Y. Horvath, MS-T
Manager - Tax and Business Services

Dawn specializes in providing tax and financial advice to a wide variety of clients. For over ten years, Dawn has developed a wide knowledge base and her experience includes tax and business consulting for individuals/families and closely held businesses in a broad range of industries. She came to work for James Russell, PLLC after graduating in 1996 because she believes in the idea of the firm's mission to provide quality service to every client. She enjoys advising clients so each person can successfully manage and grow their business.

Education

Master of Science in Taxation, Golden Gate University
Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Saint Olaf College

Personal

In Dawn's spare time, she enjoys traveling. She also likes to spend time with her family exploring the different neighborhoods in our exciting northwest city of Seattle.

Janine L. Kirkpatrick
Business Services

Janine specializes in tax compliance as well as business consulting including QuickBooks set-up and training. Janine originally came to work for James Russell, PLLC in 2000 because she believed in the firm's commitment to helping clients. Once she started working for this firm she realized that this was a great place to learn with a lot of opportunities for professional growth.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Central Washington University
Bachelor of Science in Business, Central Washington University

Personal

In Janine’s spare time, she enjoys listening to music, watching her kids play sports and camping and hiking in the Pacific Northwest.

Raelyn T. Space, CPA
Tax Services

Raelyn specializes in tax and accounting including QuickBooks consulting. She has worked in private accounting for over 12 years, with experience in Long-Term Care, Construction and the Aviation Industries. She has also worked in public accounting for more than 5 years. Raelyn came to work for James Russell, PLLC in 2005 because she believes in the firm’s philosophy and commitment of personal customer service when helping and advising clients. She finds working for James Russell, PLLC to be very rewarding as she is able to integrate both the client’s business and personal needs into a long-term goal to maximize their financial wealth.

Education

Masters in Business Administration, Seattle Pacific University
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Washington

Personal

Originally from Hawaii, Raelyn is married and a mother of two. Her weekends are spent at soccer games and Girl Scout events. During the summer, she and her family like to spend their weekends exploring Lake Chelan and trips to Hawaii in between.

Neil Heineman, Manager
Tax Advisor, and Business Consultant

Neil joined the firm with considerable experience in the production of tax returns. He also has significant experience as a senior member of a prominent Northwest business.

Laurie Husbands Certified QuickBooks Proadvisor

Laurie specializes in business accounting services, consulting and training. Laurie came to work for James Russell, PLLC in 2007. She based her decision of employment with James Russell, PLLC on the consulting she received from Jim and professional staff since 2004 regarding her own accounting business. She believes in the firm’s commitment to helping clients and soon realized that it is a great place to learn with many opportunities for professional growth. Laurie enjoys enabling clients to save time and to become more efficient with their accounting.

Personal

In Laurie’s spare time, she enjoys gardening and photography and spending time with her family and pets.