Kendall Creek – Founder and IQ Bookkeeper
Training marine mammals defined me for over a decade. Sometimes, I can’t believe how lucky I am that I got to live out my childhood dream. I loved my job and still miss it everyday, but I was always incredibly poor as a dolphin trainer. As a result, I got really good at managing my personal finances. Then my husband, Jason, and I started a family, which changed everything, and my wild journey turned me to accounting.
I certainly didn’t see that twist coming, but as it turns out, I love empowering other small businesses with meticulous bookkeeping and improved financial processes. While bookkeeping isn’t sexy in and of itself, we get to support lots of super-sexy mission-aligned businesses as they change the world in unique and powerful ways. Plus, the flexibility of virtual accounting lets me prioritize my kids and family while simultaneously working to change the world, one mission-aligned small business at a time.
Jen Bower – Financial Coach
Jen Bower is an expert financial educator and coach helping individuals, families, and entrepreneurs as they create thriving, values-aligned money lives. Her business, Fortuna Money, is in a committed collaborationship with IQBK, which includes advisory support, editing, and a couple of special joint offers. Jen lives in the greater Charlotte area with her husband and tax deductions kids – who can often be found playing with Kendall’s tax deductions kids while Jen and Kendall work on our latest project (at whoever’s dining room table happens to be the least messy that day). In her previous lives, Jen was a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, financial crime investigator, and senior analyst for a tech startup. She is pursuing her masters in accounting at NC State. Jen also shares IQBK’s passion for social impact and sustainability: she serves on the board of the Charlotte B Corp Collective and volunteers as a tax preparer for Common Wealth Charlotte’s VITA Latino program.
Sara Perez – IQ Bookkeeper
Sara graduated from the SUNY system with both a BA and MA degree in Education. As she began working in the world she frequently found herself organizing the inner workings and finances of the schools, restaurants and businesses that she was part of. The objective nature of bookkeeping is a wonderful balance in her life at this time with the subjective task of raising two teenage boys. When she isn’t problem solving with the IQ Bookkeeping team she can be found camping with her sons and husband, knitting, and working on her property in Asheville.
Amanda Finlon – IQ Bookkeeper
Amanda graduated with a BA and MHA from UNC Charlotte and has a background in healthcare administration. She’s devoted many years to volunteering on nonprofit boards in the fields of education and historic preservation. That work, plus managing the constant chaos of raising three boys, has developed her talents for organization and efficiency, which she now brings to IQ Bookkeeping. Outside of office hours (and when not cheering from the soccer pitch sidelines) she enjoys reading, yoga and planning National Park vacations with her husband and family.
Andrea Dougall – IQ Bookkeeper
Andrea is another convert, like Kendall, who is probably one of the only zookeepers-turned-bookkeepers you will meet. After many years of doing the literal heavy lifting that is required of zookeepers, Andrea realized that her body couldn’t keep up with it much longer and decided to shift gears to the metaphorical heavy lifting of bookkeeping, something she had always been interested in. While she misses the animals and people very much, Andrea enjoys the more direct nature of bookkeeping and is excited to work towards the mission of IQ Bookkeeping.
Mei Olson – IQ Bookkeeper
Mei graduated from UC Davis with a BS in Evolution & Ecology and a minor in Comparative Literature. She worked in accounting during college but decided to lean into her science degree after graduating. During her time working in different labs, she tested everything from contaminated soil samples to 55 gallon home water filtration systems. Mei has always loved working with data and is excited to bring her analytical skills back to the world of finance. When not driving her kids around to their myriad activities, you can find her reading on her screened porch or exploring a new country with her family.
Christy Parrott – IQ Bookeepper
Christy graduated from Elon University with a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Business Administration. Since then, she has worked in Accounting and FInancial Planning and Analysis. Christy and her husband have two girls who are very active in sports and other activities.
In the little bit of time outside of those, Christy enjoys going to the gym, reading and exploring new areas.
Alecia Castellano – IQ Bookkeeper and Social Media
Alecia’s path to bookkeeping wasn’t exactly linear. It started in the classroom as a Special Education teacher. But the signs were always there. Throughout high school and college she somehow kept ending up as the “treasurer,” and she grew up watching her dad and grandfather faithfully collect every spare coin they found (yes, she still saves her change). After realizing her favorite parts of any job involved organizing things, building systems, and making complicated information easier to understand, bookkeeping turned out to be a natural fit.
Outside of bookkeeping, Alecia is usually working on a new habit, chasing a daily step goal, baking, or singing her heart out at karaoke.
Check out our team building at Xtreeme Challenge in Monroe, NC.
