Marina Kanushkina
Personal Profile
It all started when she was 12 - Marina wanted a clothing empire. "I tried to talk my Mom into joining me in a clothing business - she wanted no part of it, but it did start my love with business and getting them going." She has come a long way since then; hospitality management in Switzerland, operating a profitable start-up restaurant, getting an MBA in The City, and working in a CPA firm preparing tax returns.
Marina moved to the Bay Area eight years ago to pursue her MBA degree. Four years later after working in a CPA firm, she helped Margaret to launch Legal Thrive because there is more to life than just a tax return. Her passion is to help business owners to understand financial data and to improve their firm’s operations by drawing upon technology. In addition, the entrepreneurial mindset that she has had since she was 12 helps to ignite that same spirit in firm partners.
She loves traveling and outdoor activities like camping, snowboarding, and walking her dog Schubert.
Margaret Schopp
Personal Profile
The number crunching started early. There was a Bank of America branch right across the street from the school and they gave her a job - lots of jobs. When she got to Deloitte the banking followed her. She was finally able to escape the world of regulations, button-down suits, and endless internal controls, and landed at Wild Brain as VP of Finance. And there she got to do everything everyone else did not want to do. However she loved it and more importantly, she loved the environment. It was never the same job two days in a row and she learned quickly to figure things out and think on her feet.
That led to launching her own firm where both tax and accounting were center stage. Then seeing Marina’s passion for bringing clients more than just numbers, she founded Legal Thrive, a place that does not just serve up data, they provide information.
When not knee-deep in numbers, she is out traveling the world or swinging a hammer on her next home improvement project.
Sarah Roach
Senior Accounting Manager
Growing up in a large family with both parents being self-employed she learned very early on the importance of a good work ethic and gained a huge appreciation for entrepreneurship. Working as a babysitter at the ripe old age of 10 for $2 an hour started the fire of working and saving so she could be independent.
The entrepreneurship she had always appreciated came full circle 17 years ago when she started working for a stay-at-home mom who started a women’s clothing company. This was a perfect fit because of her entrepreneurial spirit and interest in patterns and designs. She wore many hats including production, bookkeeping, as well as hundreds of other things that need to be done in a startup company. Out of all of that, she found accounting to be something she really enjoyed. After 17 years though it was time to focus on something that she truly loves – numbers. Sarah brings her hands-on expertise and natural curiosity to solve clients’ accounting issues.
When not working she loves day-long cooking projects (taking inspiration from any meal she’s loved or trips she has taken), hanging with friends and family, and of course the dogs.
Pamela Fernandez
Accounting Manager
At a young age, Pamela has always liked to help people. She enjoyed running errands for her grandparents and going to the store across the street to buy various items, instilling a sense of responsibility and learning the importance of numbers. Moving around from one town to another and growing up with six other siblings, Pamela learned to adapt to various environments and to take on challenges that came with that. Early experience include working for a local tax CPA and also for a local restaurant where not only did bookkeeping but also helped with operations and production.
Since then, she gained experience that ranges from Fortune 500 companies, tech start-ups, and small businesses working with a wide range of industries and clients. Pamela is always eager to take on challenges and learn new skills and knowledge to expand her growth to help others in different ways. Pamela enjoys various activities from music, arts, and sports, to outdoor activities. She likes to play the guitar, hike, play tennis, visit museums, and explore new places.
