Who We Are

Your Business is Ours, Too.

Since 1985, we’ve called Austin home, and the people and businesses that have grown up around us family. Whether it’s tax advice or business planning, we take a personal, tailored approach to helping your turn your dream and vision into results. Let’s get to work.

Jim Clark, CPA

Director

Jim is a native Austinite having graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1997 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the McCombs School of Business and was privileged to represent the university as a member of the football team. He has been licensed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant since 2007. Jim started his career in public accounting in 1999 navigating international individual taxation in Houston. When the opportunity arose to move back to Austin, he joined his father’s tax practice and eventually took it over. After years of working as a sole proprietor, he decided to join a small local firm and found Arbor Creek Tax. Jim enjoys working with clients and coaching them in all aspects of tax and life. He spends most of his free time with his wife, Amy, while watching the activities of their four children.

Jose M. Vela

Tax Manager

Jose is a graduate of the University of Texas at Brownsville with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. He is licensed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant. Jose has been practicing public accounting since 1998 working on business and individual clients. He is a current member of the Austin Chapter of the TSCPA. Jose was born and raised in Brownsville and is a United States Navy Veteran. He is fluent in English and Spanish. He particularly enjoys empowering clients with QuickBooks knowledge.
Thomas Cepek

Senior Tax Accountant

Tom is a graduate of Robert Morris University in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He is licensed by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant and is also a Certified Pro Advisor in QuickBooks. Tom has 13 years of experience in public accounting in Pennsylvania and over 5 years of public accounting experience in Texas. He is a current member of the Austin Chapter of TSCPA. Tom was born and raised in Pennsylvania. He moved to Texas in 2014 to take advantage of our seasonal temperatures. He enjoys preparing and reviewing tax returns for a wide range of individuals, corporations and partnerships.

Leslie Acosta Bhattacharya

Tax Advisor

Leslie began her career in public accounting at a small CPA firm in Houston. Two years later, she married, moved to San Francisco, and began her family. She spent 4 years working at KMPG and then working with a local estate planning attorney. Recently, Leslie moved back to Texas with a renewed interest in public accounting. She enjoys working with individuals and their trust and estate compliance work. Leslie earned her LLM in Taxation from Golden Gate University School of Law, her JD from South Texas College of Law, her MBA in Accounting and BBA in Finance from the University of Houston.

Robyn Blackwell

Tax Advisor

Robyn is a graduate of Schreiner University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. She began her career in public accounting at Price Waterhouse Coopers and transitioned into tax at Arbor Creek in 2019. Robyn is a Texas Hill Country native and moved to Austin to enjoy the outdoors, running, yoga, and spending time with friends and family.

Sharon Babin

Office Manager

Sharon is a longtime Texas resident originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree in General Business. She has been in the Office Administration/Customer Service industry for over 20 years. Sharon’s optimism and passion for people help her strive to provide superior customer service to our clients. She enjoys greeting clients and guiding them in getting answers to their tax related questions.
John Clements, CPA

Director

John is an Austin native who graduated from Texas State University (FKA Southwest Texas State University) with a BBA in Accounting in 1998. He kicked off his career with Greg Salley as an Intern in 1997 and became a Texas Licensed CPA in February of 2000. John then became Greg’s business partner in 2007 and is honored to help serve our clients’ tax and accounting needs. He enjoys fostering relationships with new/existing clients and being a trusted advocate for them. John and his wife Shilo are blessed to have three smart, wonderful children. They enjoy spending their time off with family and attending their kids’ extracurricular activities.

Dustin Aycock, CPA

Tax Manager

Dustin has been working in the tax industry since he graduated from the University of North Texas in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Science degree in Taxation. Since his graduation, he has worked in specialties including individual and entity tax preparation, research and development tax credit, and cost segregation credit analysis. Dustin’s favorite part of the job is helping clients navigate ever-changing tax laws and helping his fellow staff learn and grow. In his free time, Dustin loves to cook unnecessarily complicated food like making his own graham crackers and marshmallows for smores, a 25-ingredient mole sauce, and a pork chili verde that is simply the best according to anybody who has tried it. Dustin also loves spending time with his wife and two dogs (a goldendoodle and sheepadoodle).
Tori Davis

Office Manager

Tori joined the firm that she now considers family in 2015. She is originally from California but has built her life here in Texas. Tori met her husband in 2013 and had her daughter, Penny, in 2017. Since then, her life has been filled with dinosaurs, tea parties, and adventures of all sorts

Amy Ingram, CPA

Tax Manager

Amy is a graduate of Howard Payne University with a BBA in Accounting and has been a licensed CPA since 1990. She began working for the firm in 2006 and enjoys the relationships she has developed with her clients over the years. Amy works on all different types of tax returns, including individual, partnership, corporate, and trust returns. Amy has been married to her high school sweetheart since 1987. Amy and Brad have three amazing married children and three precious grandchildren. When not working with her clients, you can find Amy driving to the Dallas, Fort Worth area to spend time with her kids and grandkids.
Sheila Coates, EA

Senior Tax Advisor

Sheila is originally from Western New York and graduated with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from Elmira College in 1993. She moved down to Texas right after graduation and immediately began her career in tax and bookkeeping in Austin. She enjoys working with clients and strives to provide great customer service. Now that her children are young adults, Sheila hopes to start traveling and dancing with her husband in her spare time.
Angie Gubser

Business Advisor

Angie graduated with a BBA from Oklahoma State University. She is originally from Oklahoma but considers herself a Texan, where she’s lived since 2002. Angie is a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor with over 20 years of experience in a wide range of industries, all while building long-lasting relationships with her clients. She enjoys live music and traveling with her husband and daughter in her spare time. However, they are chasing a soccer ball and enjoying the outdoors on most weekends.
Brett Devine

Tax Advisor

Brett is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. He has been working in public accounting for 4 years and transitioned to Arbor creek at the end 2022. Brett enjoys Jiu-Jitsu, soccer, running, and spending time with family and friends.
Marlen Rosas

Tax Advisor

Marlen is originally from Brownsville, Texas and graduated with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Brownsville and a Master’s Degree in Accountancy from St. Edwards University. Marlen works on all different types of tax returns including individual, partnership, corporate, and trust returns. In her spare time she enjoys going to concerts and exploring new restaurants with her husband.

Andrea Palazola

Tax Advisor

Andrea graduated from Texas Tech University and has practiced accounting and bookkeeping for 18 years.  She grew up in New Mexico and moved to Austin in 2007. When she’s not helping with taxes you can find her enjoying the great outdoors and tending to all her animals.