Our Team

Casey brings more than 20 years of industry knowledge to Strike, including eight years of experience calculating R&D tax credits for major accounting and financial services firms. A trained chemist, Casey spent eight years in the petrochemicals industry in Houston, Texas. Prior to that, he served three years in the U.S. Army Nuclear Biological & Chemical Corps, earning an honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant. He has broad industry experience in numerous sectors including life sciences, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, engineering, aerospace and defense, agriculture, and medical devices. With extensive background in numerous business sectors, he is committed to finding solutions to reduce tax burdens and provide personalized, efficient service to each Strike client.

Favorite thing about working at Strike:
“Delivering amazing news to clients after we’ve calculated their credit. Some of them actually become emotional after hearing how much they are getting back.”

While relatively new to the tax and accounting space, Brett is no stranger to helping startups and corporations succeed. With a background in startups, he understands the struggles of nascent businesses, and is passionate about helping companies scale. He enjoys educating business owners on the R&D tax credit, and opening their eyes to this powerful tool.

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Favorite thing about working at Strike: 

“Helping businesses of all sizes succeed puts a smile on my face every day.”

Jonathan Cardella is an entrepreneur with a 20-year track record of building technology businesses. He focuses on solving real-world problems through the rapid development of web and mobile applications and platforms. He founded Strike Tax Advisory in 2019 after realizing the potential of the R&D tax credit to transform companies, especially small- and medium-sized businesses, through the infusion of new, untapped capital.

With more than a decade of experience working in tech, Stephen specializes in developing and supporting cross-functional initiatives to enhance interdepartmental, partner, and client relations. He has worked in the proptech, fintech, and ecommerce spaces, and played an active role in developing the communities they serve. Stephen works across Strike’s business development, product marketing, and intelligence teams to spearhead new initiatives designed to bring awareness to the R&D tax credit and enhance the client and partner experience. 

Friends affectionately refer to Kate as “The Walking Encyclopedia” because she loves getting nerdy about interesting, niche ideas. Want to talk about coffee roasting, rural broadband, or VOIP phones? Kate’s ready to get deep into the weeds with you. How about the Chinese language, CRMs, or tiny start-ups? She’s got you covered. This excitement for technical topics brought her to Strike where she can talk to clients who are innovating in their industries. She’s looking for cool verticals so they can explore together how the R&D tax credit can give them a new source of capital. Heavily involved in her local community, Kate enjoys working with the local arts council, talking deeply about books, and roasting coffee for pop-up shows.

With a background in business operations and data analytics, Kayla is passionate about driving businesses and organizations towards excellence. Kayla’s organizational acumen and critical thinking ability allows her to effectively analyze data, streamline business operations, and create valuable, tangible outputs. Kayla has a successful track record of building and motivating dynamic teams to achieve client and business objectives while constantly innovating to improve the customer and/or end-user experience.

Ryan is a PhD-level neuroscientist with eight years of experience in the R&D tax credit field. Realizing that a career in academic research was not for him, Ryan transitioned into tax consulting and never looked back. Ryan has experience across multiple industries, with a focus on medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and agriculture. He enjoys educating clients, and learning what they produce and how, to give them the best experience (and largest credit) possible.

Most cutting-edge innovation from a prospective client:
A company that specializes in making portable/inflatable satellites

Vlad has held various roles throughout his career, including Director of Web Development, VP of Engineering, and Chief Technology Officer. He began his career as a hardware technician and quickly graduated into software development. He has more than 15 years’ experience designing database-driven web applications. While his skills include writing custom SQL queries, managing web servers, and streamlining various processes, his primary functions as Strike CTO are engineering leadership and acting as a strategic advisor to Strike's clients and partners.

From Tax Intern to Tax Associate, Brennan has fully embraced the magnitude and process of the R&D Tax Credit. Throughout his internship, he built a strong foundation of understanding and executing calculations, research, and report writing of the tax credit. As a Tax Associate, he continues his journey, excited to facilitate and educate clients through the R&D Tax Credit process.

Adam Gislason has more than 15 years’ experience as a transactional lawyer, litigator, and entrepreneur. With a strong track record as a lead negotiator and executing on all phases of the deal life cycle, Adam excels at collaborating and leading teams across multiple businesses.

Tyler is a tax professional with eight years of public accounting experience. He has specialized in R&D tax credit consulting for the last five years, starting his own R&D consulting firm in 2018. Tyler enjoys educating CPAs, EAs, CFOs, attorneys, and industry leaders about THE tax credit that can make a difference.

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Favorite thing about working at Strike:

“Everyday, I get to speak with the most innovative entrepreneurs, business owners, and CPAs. Because no two businesses are alike, no two R&D tax credit studies are alike!”

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As Senior Technical Writer at Strike, Mike's work is focused on the qualitative side of the R&D tax credit. He enjoys learning about the variety of research and development projects conducted by clients across different industries as well as organizing and distilling that information into clear terms. He has worked as a technical writer for five years, including three years with the R&D tax credit. 

Mike obtained degrees in Philosophy and Hispanic Studies from St. John's University in his home state of Minnesota. Out of college, he spent five years living in Asia where he taught English before transitioning into writing and editing product manuals for Chinese tech companies. He enjoys learning languages and speaks Chinese, Japanese, and Spanish. He lives in Los Angeles where he performs stand-up comedy, watches pretentious movies, and plays too many video games.

Zane studied finance at BSU for the same reason that he came to work for Strike–he loves strategy. Devising different financial plans to improve a company’s bottom line isn’t really that different than figuring out how to use R&D tax credits to help a company reinvest in itself. He’s already diving into learning about the kinds of technologies and processes that qualify for tax credits. One of his most rewarding jobs was custom tutoring, where he had to teach students in whatever subject they needed help in. He loved demonstrating the mental flexibility required to creatively solve whatever problems were in front of him.

Enthusiastic about representing taxpayers, Khai became an Enrolled Agent so that he could be an advocate for taxpayers who are facing audits or that need help with tax resolution. After eight years of finance and tax experience, he made the transition to R&D tax credits. He has a background in health and clinical trials, but he’s excited to get to know better the variety of industries that qualify for R&D. He likes how quickly he can make a difference in a company’s bottom line when he helps them pay the exact amount of tax they owe—no more and no less. Khai’s superpower is Excel. No, really. He moonlights for a non-profit organization, teaching cooking classes to kids and helping the organization with their taxes.

Cortney’s experience as a paralegal and franchise owner, combined with her time as a medical device and technology salesperson, gives her a unique insight into the challenges that business leaders face. She joins the Strike team with experience in R&D sales and has seen firsthand how recapturing funds for businesses can give them the boost they need to build a better future. 

For over two decades, Tom has been in the C-Suite for a number of companies across the tech, real estate, and travel industries. He’s a seasoned operations manager with experience quickly scaling up companies that are positioned for growth. He joins the Strike team ready to streamline processes and increase team efficiency.

Extremely qualified, Yung comes to the Strike team with experience forming new collegiate departments, organizing and supporting executive teams, handling job training, managing finance, and overseeing a sales department. She is credentialed in organizational leadership and human relations, UX design, and dispute resolution; she’s all about the human experience and processes. The Strike team’s customer-centered focus and positive energy attracted her to the position, as well as their genuine joy at saving their clients money. Outside of work, Yung likes to bike around town with her family, go camping, and play chess.

Cynthia is a consulting professional who enjoys using her analytical skills to quantify expenditures, and has substantiated 500+ R&D tax credit claims at the federal and state levels. Throughout her career, Cynthia has worked with clients across nearly every industry and is passionate about educating taxpayers on the benefits available to help spur further innovation. Cynthia received her Juris Doctor degree in 2022 from Mitchell Hamline School of Law.

Nikhil is a tax professional with six years of experience in the accounting and finance industries. He came to Strike from one of the “Big Four”accounting firms and has experience handling large, complex clients. He has been working as an R&D tax credit consultant for the past four years.

Favorite thing about working at Strike:

“The members of this team always strive to do their best and perform at a very high level - it’s a company that I see myself growing with for the long term.”