Team
It's how we work with our clients that makes us special. Getting to know the ins and outs, pain points, goals and organizational structure of your business is what makes how we work, and our product and process so amazing. Put simply, we want to make your job easier and add value.
Each member of our team brings something unique to the table. Simultaneously, we all share the same passion for serving clients, and each other, in an extraordinary way, with kindness and respect above all else. They are pretty awesome, you'll see!
Joy L. Pearson
FOUNDER & CEO
Meet Joy - Finch & Daisy's, Founder! Joy brings to the table 20+ years of experience in leadership, staff development, project management, and process improvement. After working in Corporate America for 20 years, she decided that she wanted to try her hand at entrepreneurship, and work with companies all over the world to help develop highly engaged teams and efficient processes. Joy named Finch & Daisy in honor of her parents - they loved yellow finches and yellow daisies, and one of her goals is to continue to honor their memory. When not busy with Finch & Daisy, you'll find Joy spending time with her beloved children, Olivia and Jack, and 6 pets. That's right. 3 dogs (Henry, Maude, and Archie) and 3 cats (Penny, Bandit, and Bear).
Melanie Sawyer
OPERATIONS MANAGER
Melanie uses her 25+ years of human resources, real estate, and operations experience to fuel her passion for helping people and building trusted relationships. Known for her dedication and roll up your sleeves approach to any problem, she is committed to helping Finch & Daisy tackle the daily challenges of a growing business. In her free time, Melanie enjoys vacations to warm climates and spending time on the lake with her family in the summers.
Renae L. Baird
SENIOR CONTROLLER
Renae brings with her real estate and corporate accounting experience dating back to 1991. She has a passion for leading others, clear and defined processes, and ensuring the client is along for the ride every step of the way. In her free time, you'll find Renae playing with her dog Stewy, volunteering at her daughter’s high school, or enjoying dinner out with her husband.
Michelle Bade
SENIOR PROJECT CONTROLLER
Michelle’s background in accounting began in 1994, and includes experience leading teams and working hands-on with clients to help them meet their business goals. Michelle was responsible for overseeing property account services for a team of accounting professionals for several different clients throughout her career. Her free time is spent either at the baseball field or hockey rink watching her teenage son play. She also enjoys spending weekends hiking with her family through the Minnesota State parks and golfing.
Margaret Lynch
CONTROLLER
Margaret has worked in commercial real estate accounting since 1998, with a focus on office transitions, mergers, and acquisitions. Margaret’s known for her focus on policies and procedures, building strong team relationships, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring exceptional service to her internal and external clients. Margaret is also a proud mom of two teenage girls who are in the marching band. On weekends in the summer, you will find her cheering them on at parades and in the fall at band competitions.
Ben Scheffler
CONTROLLER
Ben has experience in real estate accounting, leadership, project management, and client support dating to 2004; including working with a wide range of clients. His passion for helping others and jumping in to get the job done, along with his kind and energetic way, is exactly why he makes such a positive impact with everyone he meets! Outside of work, Ben enjoys the outdoors, spending time with his family, and experimenting with new dinner recipes.
Sam Jirik
ASSISTANT CONTROLLER
Sam joins the team bringing experience in real estate accounting dating back to 2015. He loves a special project or solving a puzzle, especially if it allows for learning something new in Excel. He enjoys absorbing knowledge from his co-workers and clients and using that knowledge to find ways to make things even more efficient for everyone. Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters outdoors, doing puzzles, playing board games, baking, and watching Minnesota sports.
Nicole Pulczinski
ASSISTANT CONTROLLER
Nicole’s journey in accounting began in 2006, when offered an opportunity to help her employer’s accounting team. It was never a role she planned for, but she fell in love with accounting and hasn’t looked back. She loves the clear and concise process of accounting and how the numbers tell a story. Outside of her working hours, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Jason, and their two cats – Sophie and Kensington. Together, they love to travel, including numerous trips to Mexico as well as road trips exploring Minnesota and beyond. You can also catch them at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival… where they married many years ago.
Jake Cordes
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
Jake brings experience in corporate sales and project management dating back to 2010. In addition to his corporate experience, Jake served eight years on the Farmington Area School Board. He has a passion for helping people, building relationships, and serving within his community. During his free time, Jake enjoys spending time with his friends and family, running 5Ks, taking pictures of landscapes and architecture, and of course spending time with his wife, Bridget, and their COVID puppies Ripley and Knox.
Marissa Bales
ACCOUNTANT
Marissa brings a wealth of accounting experience dating back to 2015, which includes both property and corporate accounting roles for organizations of varying sizes. She enjoys the puzzle-like nature of accounting and how no matter how much work there may be, there will always be a solution to be identified. In her free time, Marissa enjoys spending time with her son Carson, taking her mini–Golden Doodle Rhett for a walk, reading autobiographies, catching up on the latest Bravo drama show, and you can catch her a few times a week at Pilates or Spin classes.
Stephanie Burnett
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Stephanie has been working in accounting roles since 1993, and specifically in property accounting roles since 1996. Her interest in accounting began in high school when she took an accounting class as an elective. She enjoys the problem solving and analytical aspects of accounting and believes it is the language of business. When she isn’t working, Stephanie enjoys spending time on the beach (since she lives in Georgia) and listening to live music. She also loves to spend time with her two sons, Payton and Harrison.
Kate Carlson
ACCOUNTANT
Kate's love and prowess for Excel is like nothing you've ever seen! With experience in accounting-related fields dating back to 2012, Kate brings extensive knowledge and passion to the work that she does, and has a special place in her heart for reconciliations, data conversions, monthly reporting, and analyzing data. In her free time, you'll find Kate who's a mama to two boys, either on the bleachers at a sporting event, or crawling around on the floor playing peekaboo with her youngest.
Sharidan Coleman
ACCOUNTANT
Sharidan has been working in accounting roles since 2018, she is excited to continue working in the real estate accounting industry with Finch & Daisy. She has always had a love of numbers and problem solving and accounting was the intersection of these passions. She also loves learning about different ways to solve accounting issues and explaining issues to her clients. When she’s not working, Sharidan loves to spend time outdoors kayaking, traveling, trying new foods – including her favorite, Thai food, and most importantly, spending time with her Toy Poodle, Koi.
Alecia Erklouts
OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
Alecia joins the Finch & Daisy team bringing with her experience in Property Management roles dating to 2020. She enjoys that the work is never static and each day is different from the last. This keeps her on her toes and allows her to continue learning and improving. When she isn’t working, she loves to spend time with her family; including her husband Kyle, son Vicente, daughter Aliyah, and their dog Mickey. She also enjoys spending time outdoors and playing volleyball and softball. Alecia is also a poker player, and before her career in Property Management she was a poker dealer.
Na-Jee Givens
ACCOUNTANT
Na-Jee has been working in accounting roles since 2014, with most of the time spent in property accounting roles, and she is excited to continue this work with Finch & Daisy. She has always been great with numbers and loves the analytical side of accounting. She views it as a puzzle that needs to be continually put together, and that makes the job that much more enjoyable. When she is not working she loves to spend time doing outdoor activities, playing, and watching sports; but more than anything she loves spending time with her kids; the twins Zamarri and Zamya, Columb’ana, and Columbus IV.
Ti Gorski
ACCOUNTANT
Ti brings an open mind, a strong work ethic, and a passion to learn new things to Finch & Daisy. He is excited to begin his professional career in real estate accounting. Ever since taking accounting classes in high school, he has wanted to work in accounting, he loves how everything just adds up. When he’s not working hard, he loves to spend time with his friends, attending concerts, golfing, and playing with his Miniature Dachshund, Biz.
Andrea Haskins
ACCOUNTANT
Andrea has been working in property management and accounting roles since 2013, specifically in property accounting roles since 2021. She is excited to continue her professional growth with Finch & Daisy. Andrea loves accounting because there is always a problem to solve and she loves working to find a solution to any issue. When she isn’t working on balancing the books, she loves to spend time outside hiking the mountains around Phoenix, Arizona. She also loves spending time with her husband Dallas, her son Presley, and two stepdaughters, Melina and Arabella, and the family dog, Boone, a German Shephard; all of whom bring joy to her life.
Krissy Hynes
ACCOUNTING MANAGER
Krissy has been in property accounting since 2010, and she is bringing that experience back to Finch & Daisy as an accounting manager. Included in this is experience in organizations of varying sizes and types of accounting roles, from office settings to on-site property accounting. Her favorite part of the role is getting to know her client’s properties and the complexities that come with the work. Outside of her accounting work, Krissy enjoys spending time with her two daughters, and chasing them around the backyard or at their various activities.
Matt Jirik
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Matt has been working in real estate accounting since 2007, from new apartment development to institutional commercial REITs. He is very proud to be working with such an ambitious and talented team, and excited to jump into the next project coming down the pike. Off the clock, you can find him bringing the family canoeing during the summer, pulling out the snowshoes after a good snowstorm, or checking out the latest Switch game with his three kids.
Sarah Johnsen
OPERATIONS ASSISTANT
Sarah joins Finch & Daisy and brings with her two years of experience in virtual administrative assistance experience and nearly three years of experience in real estate related roles. She loves the relational aspect of working in real estate and loves serving others while at work. When she isn’t hard at work, Sarah loves to travel. In 2022 Sarah, and her husband Adam took a road trip across the United States, and they were able to visit all 48 of the contiguous states. Her favorite places to visit are Seatle, WA and Chicago, IL because she loves to visit the cities and experience all the various cultures in those cities. While she and Adam do not have a pet of their own, her furry best friend is her parent’s Bullmastiff, Daisy.
Melantha Kresin
ACCOUNTANT
Melantha has a strong background in accounting, finance, banking, and leadership and finds great joy in building relationships with clients, understanding their challenges, and finding solutions that align with their current and future needs and goals. She is a forever learner, so when she is not knee-deep in numbers, you will find her researching an interesting topic, taking a class, or head down in a novel.
Lena Larson
ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST
Lena joins our team and brings with her a strong background in a variety of administrative support roles. She is incredibly detail oriented and is excited to begin working on client projects. Her passions in the workplace include providing excellent customer service and solving problems. When she isn’t busy at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, taking her dogs Macy and Pete on walks, and traveling with her husband Todd.
Brittany Laulainen
SYSTEMS SUPPORT ANALYST
Brittany brings a plethora of experience to Finch & Daisy. Since 2013 she has worked in a variety of roles, including experience in real estate accounting technology support—with experience in Yardi, AppFolio, and other software systems. Her favorite part of working in these systems is helping people to solve problems and working with users to derive a solution to get the software back up and running for them! She lives in Alaska with her husband, and in her free time she loves to explore Alaska and all its natural beauty, including picking berries, seeing all the wildlife that Alaska has to offer. When it’s too chilly to get outside, she loves to sew and cook!
Kindra Looney
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Kindra has worked in property accounting since 2017. She had no idea she wanted to get into accounting until she took her first accounting class in college, and even though it gave her a migraine she still wanted to stick with it! She loves how there is a logic behind everything in accounting. When she’s not hard at work, she loves spending time with her husband and their two children. They love to travel to the mountains when they can, and they are a football family through and through so they love watching and attending football games in the fall.
Angie Miller
ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST
Angie has been working in property management, commercial real estate, and accounting experience since 2010 and she is excited to bring that experience to Finch & Daisy and our clients. She studied in the administrative business program at St. Cloud Community College. When she isn’t working with numbers and helping clients, she enjoys attending concerts and listening to music, including her favorite genres of 90s grunge, hip-hop, and alternative music. She also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, seeing art exhibitions, and being with her two cats Mats and Sluggo.
Cierra Murry
ACCOUNTING MANAGER
Cierra’s experience in commercial real estate accounting dates back to 2009. She is known for her great work ethic and willingness to go above and beyond to help teammates and clients. She is also interested in the constant learning that accompanies a job in accounting as well as solving problems and creating spreadsheets. When Cierra is not working, she loves spending time with her husband Brian, two children Luella and Pilot, and Iskis their Rottweiler. They love going on adventures, boating and fishing, and working out on her Peloton Tread.
Heather Peterson
ACCOUNTANT
Heather has been working in property management and property accounting since 2014 and is excited to continue her professional growth with Finch & Daisy. While accounting wasn’t her first role in real estate, when she was assigned accounting functions, she excelled and knew she had found her calling! Her favorite aspect of accounting is that it always balances out. When she’s not working, she loves to watch the Houston Astros and other Houston sports teams, hang out with friends, and spend time outside. Heather, her boyfriend, and her parents all share responsibility for their Australian Shephard, Ivy, who they love to take for walks.
Misty Rackers
ACCOUNTANT
Misty joins Finch & Daisy and brings with her accounting experience dating back to 2015, with much of that experience specifically in property accounting. Accounting has always come easy to Misty, and she loves that there is always a right answer, at the end of the day it always adds up. When she’s not working, Misty decompresses by doing color by numbers or diamond art. She also loves to spend time with her family, including husband Logan and two young boys, Wyatt and Elijah, and their two dogs, Maverick the Papillion terrier and Obi the Golden Doodle.
Clarissa Reyes
ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST
Clarissa brings to the table a wealth of expertise in accounting, processes and procedures. She's known to love living in the details, with one of her favorite work items being completing lease abstracts. In addition to being a wife and mother to two absolutely adorable boys, she and Joy have a great story of how the two of them came to meet and work together - make sure you ask her sometime!
Ryan Reyes
SYSTEMS SUPPORT ANALYST
Ryan joins Finch & Daisy and brings over two decades of experience in information technology support. He has consistently worked directly with clients to provide solutions with software issues and will always try to identify efficiencies in their systems. He lives in the Philippines with his wife Clarissa and their two children. In Ryan’s free time, he enjoys spending quality time with his family, watching movies, and enjoying meals at his favorite restaurants.
Randy Schmit
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Randy joins the team with experience in direct real estate accounting dating back to 2012, growing in his roles and handling complex portfolios with strict financial reporting needs, he finds joy and energy from building relationships with clients and wowing them with his high level of service and expertise. In his free time, he enjoys all sports especially football, music, and hiking in the great MN outdoors.
Kirk Steen
ACCOUNTING MANAGER
Kirk’s experience in accounting dates back to 2009, and he has been working in property accounting since 2014. Numbers have always come easy to him, and he loves the symmetry and balance that accounting yields when everything is done correctly. When he is not working Kirk enjoys improving his golf game and working towards his goal of playing in the Senior PGA someday, skiing in the winter, and enjoys being on the water, whether it be on the boat, fishing, stand up paddleboard, or on the beach. Most important to him is spending time with his family. He is married to his wife Jessica, with whom he has two sons, Harford, and Liam, and they have a Golden Retriever, Millie.
Jody Stromquist
OPERATIONS ADMINISTRATOR
Jody joins Finch & Daisy and brings with her a wealth of experience in Property Management roles dating back to 2009. She enjoys the variety in her job and how each day brings something different that always keeps her busy. When she isn’t hard at work, she loves spending time with her husband Dan, daughters Abby, Whitney, and Autumn, her two grandbabies Isaac and Kaili, and her dog Cookie. In the summer she and her husband like to ride the Harley. And on Thursday evenings you’ll find Jody and Dan on their regularly scheduled date nights together.
Nicole Tanner
ACCOUNTANT
Nicole joins Finch & Daisy bringing four years of real estate accounting experience. She is known for her love of getting numbers to sync up and balancing books as well as her dedication to meaningful interactions with everyone, including team members and clients. When she’s not working, Nicole enjoys traveling and is always looking for an opportunity for a new road trip or excursion to a new destination. She also loves board games and spending time with her rescue pup, Pepper, a lab/greyhound mix, who has the quirkiest personality, is loyal, lovable, and an absolute weirdo.
Toni Willems
ACCOUNTANT
Toni joins our team bringing 20 years of professional experience, including 4 years in accounting roles. She has loved learning more and more about accounting and it’s ever-changing nature. When she’s not working, her favorite thing to do is spend time with her husband, 15-year-old step-son, and their two dogs. In the summer they love to spend as much time as possible at their seasonal camping spot in Northern Minnesota. Toni has also taken up crocheting and loves working on warm and cozy projects to donate or give to friends.
Haley Wilson
ACCOUNTANT
Haley’s experience in accounting dates back to 2018. She pursued accounting as a profession because she loves the numbers and structure in accounting. Haley is always looking to learn more about accounting and become a better accountant. In her free time, Haley loves to spend time with her husband and their two husky mixes Nova and Aster. She also loves creative writing, focusing on the young adult fantasy genre. Each November she participates in National Novel Month where she writes a 50,000+ word novel in a month.
Sonya White
ACCOUNTANT
Beginning in 2021 and for nearly two years, Sonya White worked tirelessly to benefit her clients, customers, and co-workers at Finch & Daisy. Her experience in lease administration, accounting, and property management dated back to 2000. Her husband Cody is a 20-year veteran of the US Air Force. Her son Hunter, and their three dogs always kept Sonya busy. In her free time, you could catch her spending time with her family, perfecting her shopping skills, and tapping into her inner detective by watching true crime shows. Sonya fought a courageous battle against cancer that was lost in early 2023; she will always remain a beloved member of the Finch & Daisy family.
Nathan Youso
ACCOUNTANT
Nathan has been interested in accounting since taking his first accounting classes in college. He enjoys exploring the logic behind accounting and how everything balances out. For him accounting just comes easy and that’s why he’s excited to start this new career in property accounting after a career as an office manager. In his free time, Nathan loves to spend time with his wife and young son. They love to do anything outdoors including hunting and fishing and going on hikes with their German Shepherd Luna.