About Platt, Miller & Jacobs

Vanessa became a Partner in 2021 and has over fifteen years of experience as a public accountant. She specializes in Individual and Corporate taxes as well as Trusts and Estates.  Local not-for-profits also seek her out for her expertise in preparing Form 990. Vanessa is dedicated to her clients and enjoys helping them plan for all the expected and unexpected that life brings.  She spent the first few years of her accounting career serving various local non-profit organizations, governmental special districts, and low income housing projects with their auditing and financial statement requirement.

Vanessa loves being involved in the Santa Cruz community and served on the board of the Santa Cruz Derby Girls. Originally from Canada, she is fluent in English and French.  She lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and rescue pup Dulce.

Vanessa is licensed as a CPA in California and is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants and the AICPA. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University Monterey Bay with an emphasis in accounting.

Cate is the newest partner, joining David and Vanessa to officially form Platt, Miller, and Jacobs. In 2024, she brought her Summit Accountancy (Formerly Froshman and Billings) tax practice to us when her business partners retired. Cate’s expertise is in both tax planning and preparation for individuals, businesses, estates, and charitable organizations. She has an MBA from Santa Clara University and is a savvy tax and finance consultant to her clients. Her ability to explain complicated sets of rules in a straightforward way and then problem solve specific to the client’s situation makes her an extremely valuable business partner.

Not only is Cate an accomplished CPA, she also is a professor and spends her “spare time” enlightening the next generation of accountants at her alma mater Cal State Monterey Bay. Her mentorship has prepared countless students to hopefully thrive in the ever-evolving world of finance, equipping them with the tools to be responsible and well-rounded professionals.

In 2024, Cate was recognized by Santa Cruz Works as the Titan of the Year. She lives in Aptos with her husband and mischievous cats Figgy and Holly.

David has over 40 years of public accounting experience, the majority of which has been spent serving small local businesses and individual clients. As a tax expert, David consults with businesses on wide-ranging issues such as entity selection, business acquisitions, exit strategies, structuring tax-efficient sales and exchanges and transfers of wealth between generations. His business experience includes serving high-tech, retail, agricultural, non-profit and professional service firms. He also specializes in personal tax issues of real estate, wealth accumulation, retirement planning, trusts and estates. David takes a personal and entrepreneurial approach to problem solving and is a strong advocate for local small businesses.

David is licensed as a CPA in California and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. He served on numerous boards, including the Dominican Hospital Foundation, the Museum of Art and History at the McPherson Center, and Coastal Community Preschool. He is currently the president of Ventana Wilderness Alliance.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Southern California with an emphasis in accounting. David is a long-time resident of Santa Cruz’s Westside and loves the quick access to all the mountain biking trails it offers.

Elaina is a proud Santa Cruz native with over 30 years of practical bookkeeping experience. Elaina is the firm’s office manager providing our clients with efficient and thorough bookkeeping, payroll and sales tax services. She is the center of the office and holds the institutional knowledge so our long-term clients know when they have a question she is the person to call! She builds friendly relationships with all of our clients and is the go-to person for administrative and billing questions. In addition to her administrative duties, she is an invaluable resource for our clients. Elaina studied at Cabrillo College, follows the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors, Santa Cruz Warriors and in her free time, loves to bowl.

Doug Azevedo has been a CPA for over ten years and serves as a Tax Manager at PMJ. He began his career in the Silicon Valley office of Moss Adams, where he spent three years developing a strong foundation across a broad range of tax matters. Doug is known for being highly responsive and dependable, ensuring clients receive timely support and clear, thoughtful guidance when they need it most.

Doug has extensive experience with individual, business, and trust taxation, as well as strategic tax planning. Leveraging his early interest in Bitcoin, he has developed meaningful experience in digital asset and cryptocurrency taxation, helping clients navigate an evolving regulatory landscape.

Doug lives in Santa Cruz with his wife and their two daughters. They enjoy spending time together as a family, visiting the local farmers’ market, and spending Sundays watching the San Francisco 49ers.

Kelly is an experienced administrative office professional, with over 25 years’ experience at a tax firm. She provides essential organizational and operational support to ensure the office runs efficiently and smoothly. Kelly wears many hats as she manages daily administrative tasks, coordinates schedules, and supports clients, staff and leadership as needed. She’s known for reliability and a positive attitude, and she’s committed to maintaining a professional, organized, and welcoming office environment. Kelly is a Santa Cruz Native, who enjoys spending time with her kids and family and enjoys sporting events.

Sarah is a graduate of the University of Oregon via the Lundquist College of Business, School of Accounting. She started her career in Portland, Oregon in 2017 at one of the city’s largest regional accounting firms where she worked in nonprofit, business and individual tax. She joined the Platt, Miller & Jacobs team in 2025. Sarah focuses on middle-market local business, working primarily with individuals who own their own companies. She derives enjoyment from helping entrepreneurial spirits reach their full financial potential and loves following their journey year-over-year. Sarah is a licensed CPA in both California and Oregon. When not working, Sarah can be found running, reading, or playing with her two small children and her two small dogs.

Lisa loves her work and believes that public accounting is more than just a career. For her, it’s about helping people and building relationships with not only the people she works with, but the clients she helps as well.

Lisa graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Business Management Economics degree and is a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. She has over 8 years of experience in public accounting, with 7 being right here at PMJ.

Lisa started her career at Ernst & Young, (EY) with an emphasis on corporate taxation. With the goal of finding a firm centered around serving its local community, she eventually found her place here at PMJ. Since then, she has expanded her practice into individual, estate, trust, business, partnership, and nonprofit taxation. She takes pride in her role here at PMJ and receives a great sense of fulfillment when our clients are happy.

In her free time, she loves stretching, exercising, running with her dog in the forest, and simply just being outside, but what she really loves the most is being with her family.

Matthew is an accounting specialist with a background in Accounts Receivables and sparked an interest in tax preparation during the pandemic of 2020 and has been with CPJ/PMJ since 2021. Born and raised in Santa Cruz County, Matt is also very active in the local music scene and spends his time outside of the tax realm touring internationally with his band The Inciters.

Hannah is a former small business owner and CEO who realized her favorite part of the week was when she got to catch up on the bookkeeping. When she was ready for a new challenge, accounting was a natural fit and she joined Platt, Miller and Jacobs in 2022, officially becoming a CPA in 2024. She brings her business consulting background to taxes and enjoys working with clients to understand their situation and find the best path forward. Hannah prepares individual and business returns and has a particular interest in trusts and estates. She also assists clients with QuickBooks and sales tax questions.

Hannah is a Central Coast native. She graduated from Smith College in Massachusetts with a Government major and later received an MBA from the University of San Francisco. She regularly volunteers at her daughter’s school and her family fosters kittens for the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter (9 litters and counting)! She serves on the Board of the Max and Marion Caldwell Foundation, which sends deserving kids to summer camp. She lives in Aptos with her husband and daughter.