Our Professional Staff

Ed Cicchillo is a CPA. His first job out of college was as an Internal Revenue Agent. Later he joined the staff of a national CPA firm in Century City, CA. From there he worked for a small CPA firm in Downey, CA. It was at this point he started his own firm. In addition to the above, Ed served as vice president and controller of a sales and marketing firm, plus owned and operated a separate retail business for several years.

Ed's educational background includes a B.S. in Accounting, and additional Masters Degree classes in taxation plus IRS tax training. He is a Financial Advisor, a Certified Wealth Strategist, and is licensed with the State of California Insurance Department, along with being a licensed Real Estate Broker.

Ed enjoys spending time at his vacation home along the central coast when he isn’t working. Four children and seven grandchildren add to his leisure time activities.

Linda Riley grew up in Hemet, the daughter of CPA Hal Battey. After college, marriage and starting a family of two sons, she returned to the San Jacinto Valley and began working for her father in 1986. After Ed Cicchillo acquired her father’s practice when he retired a couple of years later, Linda continued her career in the accounting and tax profession with the new firm. Under the guidance of Ed and with additional education and experience, she became integral in providing outstanding accounting and tax services to our clients. Additionally, she has managed the bookkeeping department for more than 10 years.

Linda finds pleasure in reading, gardening, and sharing life at home with her husband and two Chihuahuas, Gizmo and Peanut. Her greatest source of pride and joy are her two sons, and now, a baby granddaughter born in June 2010.

Deborah Gould has been with Cicchillo & Associates for over seven years. She is the face and voice of our office, and makes sure that everything runs smoothly. When she’s not at work, Deborah enjoys spending time in Pismo Beach with her daughter.

Julie Garvey has been working for Cicchillo & Associates since September 2003. She enjoys accounting and tax return preparation. In order to increase her knowledge of accounting and taxes, she earned a Certificate in Accounting from Cal State San Bernardino in 2005. In 2008, she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from University of Phoenix. Additionally, she completes yearly continuing education hours.

Outside of work, she is a mother of two sons, one who is active duty military and the other in high school. She is a founding member and volunteers as the treasurer of ICAN of the Inland Empire. She enjoys yoga, walking her pet Shih Tzu Kobe, reading, church, traveling and visiting family and friends.

Kelly Wilson is a long time resident of Southern California and started out as a receptionist for a CPA firm in Brea, CA.  As her interest grew for bookkeeping, she took QuickBooks and Accounting courses.  Additionally, with great in-house training from co-workers and accountants, she worked her way up to a bookkeeper position. She has been working for Cicchillo & Associates since May, 2007 and likes working with numbers and helping clients. Kelly enjoys motocross with her husband, taking their 2 dogs on long walks and cooking.

Diane Blass has worked for Cicchillo & Associates for over 3 years now. She is Ed’s administrative assistant. Diane lives in the wine country in Temecula with her husband, daughter, a dog and a horse.

Gerrie Jaekel has been with Cicchillo & Associates off and on for over 20 years. Our clients know Gerrie very well as she is the courier for our office and helps out where ever is needed. Gerrie is a long time resident of Hemet and enjoys playing bingo and spending time with her family.

Outside Consultants

Dulce J. Lackemann, CPA, has been serving the accounting and tax needs of business and individuals since 1985 and since 2004 has been assisting us with our clients. She worked in Oregon in public accounting and had her own practice there before moving to southern California. She was part of the Cicchillo & Associates team for about five years before moving to northern California. During this time she worked for a CPA firm and continued to maintain a small practice.

When our firm decided to move to the advanced technology available that allows for remote functions she became a consultant for our firm providing tax knowledge as well as assisting with locating and training of other remote consultants. Dulce is what is called a full time RVer, traveling around the US with her husband most of the year. During the winter she stays in Texas. She says that one of the first things that many of our clients ask when she talks with them is, "Where are you now?"

Bruce Raskin, CPA, has been serving the accounting, tax, and advisory needs of businesses and individuals since 1965. He acquired experience with various local and regional accounting firms in the Baltimore area. Bruce formed his own firm in 1972, specializing in providing tax and advisory services to small, closely held businesses and professionals in the medical, legal, and architectural fields. He assisted owners of printing, real estate, insurance, and various other service businesses to manage and expand their companies.

Bruce’s educational background includes a Certificate in Accounting and Data Processing from Baltimore Institute and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business from Eastern College in Baltimore. Bruce was licensed to practice as a certified Public Accountant in Maryland in 1969. He is also licensed as a CPA in Illinois (2002) and Arizona (2004). His firm is located in Chandler, Arizona.

Bruce has been a member of the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants since 2002. When practicing in Maryland, Bruce was an active member of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants. He served as a member of the Federal Taxation Committee and was Chairman of the Technology Committee. He arranged and lectured at a number of conferences. He had articles published in the MACPA and Vermont Society of CPA’s newsletters. He has been associated with Cicchillo & Associates since January 2008 as an outside consultant.

Michelle Cunningham, CPA, graduated from Ohio State University with a B.S. in Business Administration, Accounting in 2000 and was licensed by the Ohio State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant in 2004. She has gained knowledge and experience in the public accounting arena for over 8 years. Her background includes preparing financial statements as well as corporate and personal income tax planning and preparation.

Michelle is currently attending the Master in Taxation program at Akron University anticipating graduation in Spring 2011, and she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters.

Jan Reid has spent over 30 years working in the accounting field, from small business full-charge bookkeeping to corporate cost accounting. She was employed by our firm from 1996 to 2003, where she was able to take her private accounting experience to a new level in the public accounting field, benefitting from the excellent training, professionalism and expertise of Ed Cicchillo and Linda Riley.

A QuickBooks Certified Pro Advisor since 1999, Jan branched off in 2003 and started her own bookkeeping and QuickBooks consulting service, while continuing to support Cicchillo & Associates as an outside consultant. In the ever-growing field of e-commerce, Jan enjoys the challenge of supporting business clients with unique accounting needs, from Riverside County to Asia, along with her more traditional clients. She also enjoys the flexibility of remote access accounting, which enables her and her husband to travel across the country to visit with their five grown children and six grandchildren.