About Us
Principal Fiduciary
Herb Thomas, a California licensed private professional fiduciary (CLPF #86), is the principal fiduciary of Herb Thomas and Associates. Herb has a passion for people. He has extensive experience serving families throughout California with Special Needs Trusts, public benefits counseling and advocacy, Estate/Trust Administration, and Conservatorships. Additionally Herb is a board member of Behavioral Intervention Association (a non-profit dedicated to providing intervention services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their families). Herb also served on the board for Legal Assistance for Seniors, East Bay.
Before starting Herb Thomas and Associates, Herb served as the developer and coordinator of the Kaiser Permanente (KP), East Bay Community Benefits Advocacy program. The goal of this program was to find innovative methods to subsidize KP's members' health care costs through the complex maze of public and private benefits (e.g., Social Security, Medi-Cal, COBRA, HIPPA, etc.). Herb served seven years as taxpayer delinquency investigator with the Internal Revenue Service. In this position he located taxpayers who had not filed federal income tax returns and assisted them with becoming compliant with federal regulations. Herb is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in Health Sciences.
Practice Manager
Cathleen Chattler ensures that Estate Administration and Trust services are delivered as ordered by the court, trustees and other controlling parties. She is responsible for preparing accountings for court approval as well as overall office operations. Cathleen is currently an enrolled agent with IRS. She has extensive experience in preparing fiduciary and individual tax returns. In addition, her background includes working as a trust and estate paralegal. Cathleen is a native Californian and loves the outdoors.
Client Services Coordinator and Care Manager
Kate Panepinto is a health and human services specialist who assists older adults, their families and others who need living support in attaining their maximum functional potential. She provides thorough home assessments and creates care plans that include results of her assessment, suggestions for actions and referrals for local resources. Kate has worked as a care manager for several agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area, and as Director of Social Services for a skilled nursing facility. She holds a master's degree in gerontology with an emphasis in geriatric care management from San Francisco State University. Kate is a health enthusiast with a passion for running.
Financial Services Specialist
Leon Khersonsky is a Certified Financial Planner professional, whose primary responsibility is to help clients ensure their assets last as long as possible. He reviews budgets and spending priorities and prepares financial projections for clients to help them make the most of their resources. Leon also monitors their investment portfolios managed by outside advisors as a second opinion to ensure clients' needs are being well-served. In addition, with experience in real estate and insurance, Leon is uniquely qualified to help clients maximize return on assets. Leon hails from the former USSR by way of San Francisco and Las Vegas and in his free time he loves exploring good food and wines.
Client Services Case Manager
Janice Olvarado has over 15 years of experience working in the field of care management, primarily medical care and patient delivery systems.Janice is also a Medicare and Medicaid specialist and has worked extensively with senior populations. She gathers information to assess and determine each client's needs and develops and implements a service plan to assist clients in attaining their maximum quality of life. Janice has a Masters in Social Work and is a long-time Alameda resident. She is actively involved with the local SPCA and enjoys spending time with her English Springer Spaniel.
Client Services Case Manager
Jeanene Cannon has a Masters in Social Work and plays a vital role in helping clients navigate and access needed services while providing services that are flexible to the client's current medical and social needs. Her professional experience includes case management, child welfare investigations and mental health assessments for children and their families in Santa Clara County. Jeanene is also a certified health and wellness professional who understands the connection between a healthy body and healthy mind. In their spare time, Jeanene and her family audition for television commercials.
Accounting Assistant
Kurt Scortt works to ensure the accuracy of all financial accounts. In addition to assisting with client accounting and reconciliations, Kurt helps in pulling together all the necessary information for tax preparation. Kurt has over ten years of experience in bookkeeping and accounting and is working on a degree in Accounting. He is a life-long Bay Area resident who enjoys coaching his daughter and son's baseball teams.
Bookkeeper
Christina Lehn maintains the financial records and transactions for our clients. Along with paying client bills, monitoring and reconciling bank accounts, Christina ensures that every penny is accurately accounted for. She is meticulous in monitoring client budgets and investments. A third generation bookkeeper, Christina has worked in several industries including aviation and home loans. An Army brat, Christina hails from Youngstown, OH. In her spare time Christina likes to do handy crafts, such as quilting—and loves to play pool.
Administrative Assistant
Laleh Namdar works closely with our Practice Manager within a broad framework of standard policies and procedures and performs the essential clerical functions that keeps the office running smoothly. She comes to us with extensive administrative experience and has a bachelor's degree in Interior Design from San Francisco State University. Laleh is a California native and in her spare time she loves to dance and spending time with her dogs.
Client Services Assistant
Thea Miranda Vanoorschot works directly with clients assisting them with their care plan. From shopping and prescription pick-up to medical visit assistance and hospital visits, Thea ensures that each client gets one-to-one Herb Thomas attention. Thea's background includes project management and client services for software and computer systems companies. Born and raised in Alameda, Thea comes from a large family and loves to dance.
Administrative Assistant
Angela Agabao makes sure that all calls and correspondence are handled immediately. She also provides the critical office support that keeps Herb Thomas & Associates running smoothly. Angela's prior experience includes administrative support for various law firms. A California native, Angela graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in sociology. Angela is a dog lover and an avid reader.