Elina
Elina was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her family relocated to the United States in 1992. She proudly graduated from the University of South Florida twice where she holds a degree in Accounting and Audit, as well as, in Spanish Language and Literature. Elina is an Enrolled Agent, a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for tax issues that include audits, collections, and appeals. Enrolled Agent status is the highest credential awarded by the IRS and is recognized across all 50 U.S. states. Elina and her husband are self -proclaimed foodies. They enjoy traveling, entertaining friends at their house, and spending time with family. Elina’s son recently graduated from Florida Atlantic University with his Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and has since joined the business.
Marina
Marina grew up in a small Siberian village in the Krasnoyarsk region. She graduated from the Siberian Transportation University in Novosibirsk, earning her degree in Accounting and Management. During her career, she has held various positions, from Junior Accountant to Senior Manager and even as a Consultant. Marina holds a certificate from Russia that is equivalent to the U.S. CPA designation. She is very adventurous and is not afraid to make changes in her life, so when she won a green card on her first attempt, she easily moved to the United States. As a Senior Manager at La Rusa since 2018, Marina is an integral part of the organization. Marina loves to travel and study psychology, but she will not accept an offer to jump with a parachute.
Daniel
Have you ever met a native Floridian? Allow us to introduce you to one – our very own Daniel Linderman. If you noted that Daniel’s last name is the same as the owner’s of our company, you are correct. We are very fortunate to be able to continue our generational legacy and are happy that right after graduation from Florida Atlantic University in 2021 with Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Daniel has joined our firm. When not preparing your tax returns or assisting you with managing your books, Daniel enjoys weight lifting, traveling, going to concerts, and spending time with his rescued pit bull Chico.
Ilona
Ilona was born in a city called Frunze, located at the foot of the Tien Shan Mountains. Guess what city this is? That’s right, that was the name of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. After graduating from the Faculty of Economics, Ilona worked for ten years in the field of Economics and Finance. However, suddenly fate gave her a surprise – winning the green card lottery, as a result of which Ilona and her family immigrated to the United States. After living for several years in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she moved to the sunnier and warmer Florida. If you contact our company to file a tax return, she will help you with joy and a smile, using her years of experience in the economic field. Ilona loves to spend her free time with family, singing, dancing, and just enjoying every moment of life.
Natalya
What associations do you have when you combine the smell of freshly baked croissants, the aroma of freshly ground coffee, and the word lion? If you ever had a chance to visit the most romantic city in Ukraine – Lviv, then you understand where our Natalya comes from. She graduated from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with a degree in Accounting and Finance in 1998. During her studies, Natalya fell in love with the accounting profession forever and passionately decided to devote her life to this. She has more than 25 years of experience in accounting in various fields – from a pharmaceutical company to a chess school. Natalya has a special passion for numbers, challenging tasks, and learning new skills. Therefore, after moving from Ukraine to the USA with her family in 2022, she immediately decided to learn all accounting and taxation in the USA and joined our team. In her free time, Natalya prefers to visit the theater with her beloved spouse and bake delicious cakes for her children.
Lisa
Lisa was born in Temryuk, Krasnodar Krai, Russia, but grew up in Havana, Cuba. Her parents met while studying in Donetsk, Ukraine. Although Lisa considers her first language to be Spanish, she is also fluent in Russian and English. Lisa graduated from El Instituto Superior de Deseño Industrial in Havana, Cuba. Lisa immigrated to the United States with her family in 2014 and is now a proud U.S. citizen. Lisa has been with La Rusa since 2018, progressing from an administrator to a tax declaration preparer. In her free time, Lisa enjoys traveling, salsa dancing, and spending time with her wonderful daughters, dog, and two cats.
Roman
Roman was born in Ukraine. He graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in Advanced Mathematics. Roman considers himself to be a citizen of the universe, having lived in four different countries. Roman is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian, and knows German. He held various positions in the financial services and insurance industry before joining the La Rusa team. Roman specializes in problem resolution with the IRS and state agencies, including unfiled tax returns, back taxes, IRS liens, and levies.
Katy
Katy is originally from Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. Her family relocated to the United States in 2002. After being Elina’s client for almost 15 years, Katy joined La Rusa in an administrative role in 2018. Katy specializes in corporate formation and dissolution, multistate issues research, and compliance, as well as problem resolutions with the IRS. Just like all other members of the La Rusa team, she is multilingual, speaking English and Spanish. When not at the office, you will find her dining out with her husband or attending church service with her daughter.
Almagul
Born in the picturesque city of Semey in Kazakhstan, Almagul spent her early years on the beautiful banks of the Irtysh River. This peaceful environment had a significant impact on her formation and left a deep mark on her life.
After entering the Semipalatinsk Technological Institute, she chose the specialty of “engineer-economist” and initially planned to build a career in this field. However, life made its own adjustments, and for 10 years Almagul worked in the tax service of Kazakhstan. This experience became an important stage for her, after which she decided to become a professional accountant. During this transformation, she came across Elina’s blog, which sparked a deep desire to join Elina’s team. This dream has now come true, and Almagul is happy and proud to work in the dream team.
Outside of work, Almagul enjoys hiking, visiting museums, reading books and communicating with new people. Her desire for learning and personal growth fills her life with energy and motivation. Whether she is hiking along scenic trails or immersing herself in fascinating books, Almagul maintains an attitude towards life that is full of wonder and curiosity.
Evgenia
Evgenia was born in the capital of the Ural region – Ekaterinburg. Although Ural is called “the harsh land”, its capital (Ekaterinburg) is recognized as an architectural treasure. Since childhood, Evgenia has absorbed a love for beauty and symmetry and became a student of the Ural State Academy of Fine Arts. However, after discovering that behind a beautiful facade was a boring job with drawings that did not fit in with her creative nature, Evgenia decided to switch gears to a more dynamic career and moved to the position of Assistant Director of a large company providing medical services throughout the Sverdlovsk region. But the wind of change was calling Evgenia’s name and she decided to set herself a new life goal – to build her American dream. At the moment, Evgenia is actively preparing to move to the United States, while working remotely with our team, performing administrative duties, and actively engaging in an in-depth study of the English language. In her spare time, Evgenia enjoys traveling, photography, and playing the piano.
Olga
It is difficult to catch Olga, and even more difficult to understand where exactly does she live now. Born in Ukraine, in the wonderful city of Berdyansk, Olga started her foundation as a future accounting genius in Kyiv, and then decided that her goal was the IT world! But even there, unpredictable events awaited her, a meeting with her future husband, who would make her jump across the ocean to the United States. They then lived in Detroit, moved back to Ukraine, and then back to the USA. At this time, Olga managed to try herself in various positions, even opening her own business!
Tired of traveling, Olga and her family returned back to Ukraine, but life had surprises in store, and after the start of the war in Ukraine, Olga moved to Poland. “Honestly, now I wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself on Mars tomorrow,” Olga said and, succumbing to the persuasion of her friends, returned to the United States. A year ago, while still in Europe, Olga joined our team, where she solves problems a little less complex than international issues.
And between all this, Olga still finds time for her love of painting, the sea and history, as she turns to antiques, like her children to new technologies. Her Sphynx cat contributes to her international family
Estefani
You might think you are seeing double, but that is simply because we are fortunate to have Katy’s daughter as a member of our team! Estefani, who was born in Mexico but relocated to Florida when she was just a year old, is fluent in both English and Spanish. She initially started her college journey at Saint Leo University, but the pandemic led her to transfer to St. Petersburg College, where she earned her Associate’s degree in General Studies. She now plans to pursue a degree in Political Science at the University of South Florida. As a philomath with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Estefani is driven by a deep desire to understand the world. In her free time, she enjoys family gatherings, shopping, beach outings, and exploring new places with her significant other
Farida
Farida hails from Tashkent, the largest city in Central Asia and the capital of Uzbekistan. Tashkent is not only the most modern city in Uzbekistan, but also has a rich history dating back over 2,000 years.
She completed her secondary vocational education in accounting at the College of Communications, where she earned a degree in accounting and business management. Farida’s extensive experience, combined with additional training in international standards (Certified Accounting Practitioner – CAP), has been the key to her success. With over 20 years of accounting experience, including 10 years of remote work, she skillfully combines her professional and personal life.
Moving to the United States provided Farida with a new opportunity to grow. She completed online training in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, earning ProAdvisor certifications in both areas. She initially began working remotely as an accountant at La Rusa while still in Uzbekistan. After moving to the US, she moved to a full-time position at La Rusa in accounting and payroll.
It is important to Farida to do what she loves, no matter where she is. She also deeply values time spent with her family, considering it the most precious part of her life. Her dedication to her career and personal life reflects her belief in maintaining a balanced and fulfilling life.
Olha
Meet Olga – a lawyer with banking experience and incredible patience for phone calls!
Olga was born and raised in Nikopol, Ukraine. She graduated from Kyiv International University with a degree in jurisprudence. After university, Olga worked as a lawyer at a bank. However, due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine, she had to leave her home.
Now she not only helps you with your tax returns, but also greets you on the phone with ease like an old friend. If you need to fill out a declaration or just chat, call and don’t forget to say “hello” – Olga is ready to greet you with a legal hug!
In her free time, Olga enjoys spending time at the beach with her family and her dog.