Small Business Profiles

IBank’s Small Business Finance Center supports communities throughout California by providing loan guarantees, Jump Start loans, disaster relief financing and more. Small businesses provide jobs in every region of the state and are a vital contributor to the economy. Check out some of the businesses that have used SBFC programs.

Bakker Construction, Inc

Bakker Construction, Inc

Bakker Construction is jointed owned by husband and wife, Shawn and Amanda Bakker. Shawn is a fourth generation contractor and has lived in Monterey County for the past eight years. Shawn and Amanda are the visionaries of Tatum’s…

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Calexico Brewing Company

Calexico Brewing Company

After three years of perfecting their craft, the Yepez brothers, with their friend Ramiro, and guidance from their father Jose Jr., are ready to open their own brewery in Calexico. Calexico Brewing, Co will be a new and welcome landmark to the Calexico…

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AgPro

AgPro

Abraham Ramirez and AJ Cavaletto are the owners of AgPro, an organic strawberry farm in the heart of California’s Central Coast. AJ and Abraham have been friends for over 15 years, but it wasn’t until 2012 when Abraham approached AJ …

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Pescavore

Pescavore

Pescavore is the premiere Ahi Tuna jerky brand of the Healthy Oceans Seafood Company. Their exclusively sustainable, wild-caught seafood, makes for delicious snacks that are packed with lean protein. Though only established in 2016, Matt and Clarice…

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Coco Breeze

Coco Breeze

Though Coco Breeze began as a full-service catering business, their delicious Caribbean food has produced a restaurant that has become a staple of the Oakland community. Both operations are run by Annabelle Goodridge (Ann)…

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Cupcakin’ Bake Shop

Cupcakin’ Bake Shop

Cupcakin’ Bake Shop, was established in January 2010 and is a bakery specializing in artisanal cupcakes located in Berkeley, CA. Lila Owens founded the bakery and has amassed a cult following. The bakery creates cupcakes…

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Wag Hotels, Inc.

Wag Hotels, Inc.

Wag Hotels, Inc. operates a resort-style pet boarding facility dedicated to the care and well-being of dogs and cats. The accommodations re-imagine the idea of a kennel and provide a much needed upgrade.

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Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates

Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates

Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates pivoted from wholesale to retail with the first brick-and-mortar shop opening in Sacramento in 2008 followed by another in San Francisco in 2017. Ever-refining her craft, Ginger enjoys dissecting…

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Lili’s Creations

Lili’s Creations

Lili’s Creations & Bridal originally began as a flower shop and later expanded into bridal and party gowns. Today, the business focuses entirely on selling bridal gowns, prom dresses, quinceañera dresses…

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Cork Mobile Bottling

Cork Mobile Bottling

Cork Mobile Bottling is a family owned and operated mobile wine bottling truck located on the Central Coast. Cork arrives on site and bottles wine for vineyards and wineries that don’t have their own bottling equipment. Cork takes…

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Carr Winery

Carr Winery

Carr Vineyards & Winery is a small handcrafted winery located in downtown Santa Barbara. The winery’s first vintage was produced in 1999. All of the wines produced at Carr Winery are sourced from Santa Barbara County grapes…

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Captain Fatty’s Brewery, LLC

Captain Fatty’s Brewery, LLC

An award-winning brewery located in Santa Barbara, Captain Fatty’s offers more than 15 beers to enjoy on site in the tasting room, or to take home in a growler. They have food trucks and entertainment on weekends and the tap room…

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B Street Theatre

B Street Theatre

The mission of B Street Theatre is to promote education and literacy, social interaction and cultural enrichment by engaging children and adults in the highest quality theatre arts and playwriting. B Street Theatre is a…

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Ansei Postpartum Center

Ansei Postpartum Center

Ansei Postpartum Center welcomes new moms and families with open arms to an exclusive healing and rejuvenation sanctuary. The Ansei Postpartum Center features a 24-hour facility where families are cared for by a professionally…

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1 Stop Contractors

1 Stop Contractors

1 Stop Contractors is a licensed, bonded and insured general contracting business servicing Southern California that specializes in design and build projects, room additions, kitchen and bathroom remodeling, major home improvement…

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Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission

Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission

Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission is a nonprofit homeless shelter whose mission is to attract people and resources to assist in the effort of meeting the needs of every hungry and homeless man, woman and child in the greater Los Angeles area.

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William Painter Sunglasses

William Painter Sunglasses

In November of 2013, the high-end sunglass company William Painter, named after the 19th century American mechanical engineer who most notably invented the crown cork bottle cap and bottle opener, was born…

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Dave Soiland Co./NorCal Crushers

Dave Soiland Co./NorCal Crushers

Dave Soiland has been in Sonoma County since he was born in 1954. He started NorCal Crushers – a division of Dave Soiland Company – a horizontal impact recycle /crushing plant, primarily servicing family owned quarries…

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Fariba Khoie

Fariba Khoie

Bond Unit Manager

Email Fariba, HERE

Fariba Khoie is the Bond Program Manager at California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). She joined IBank in 2014. Fariba is responsible for IBank conduit bonds sales, including Industrial Development Bonds, Exempt Facility Bonds, 501 (c) (3) Bonds, Public Agency Revenue Bonds, and Infrastructure State Revenue Fund Bonds. In addition, she manages continuing disclosure reports; reviews and monitors tax arbitrage reports and prepares annual surveillance reports to rating agencies.

Fariba brings vast experience to IBank from the State Treasurer’s Office where she served as a Treasury Program Manager. While there, she managed various municipal bonds sales, including Economic Recovery Bonds, General Obligation and Revenue Bonds for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Public Works Board. Fariba also managed Pooled Money Investment Account loans and Guaranteed Investment Agreements among other responsibilities. Before that, Fariba worked at the Department of Water Resources with Power Bonds and the Swap Portfolio. At the Department of Transportation she performed various accounting and fiscal duties. Fariba also has a wealth of experience in banking and financial analysis.

Fariba holds an MBA Degree in Finance from California State University Sacramento as well as a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Statistics from Shiraz University in Iran. She is a member of National Federation of Municipal Analysts.

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John Belmont

John Belmont

Public Finance Specialist

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John Belmont is a Public Finance Specialist, Bond Unit, at IBank. John joined IBank in July of 2007. John is responsible for coordinating conduit bond sales and post bond issuance compliance.

Prior to his current role, John spent several years in the financial services industry and was Assistant Vice President, Business Development, for a local community bank. John also served as a loan officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration, Disaster Assistance Program. John holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California State University, Hayward, and an MS Marketing degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco.

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Steven Wright

Steven Wright

Loan Officer

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Steven Wright is a Loan Officer in the Bond Financing Unit. Steven reviews and analyzes applications and bond documents for conduit revenue bond financing. Prior to his current role, Steven served as a Budget Officer with the California Department of Food and Agriculture where he oversaw several program budgets and personnel operations. Steven earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Master’s degree in Agricultural Business from Alabama A&M University.

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Lina Benedict

Lina Benedict

Loan Origination Manager

Email Lina, HERE

Lina Benedict is the Loan Origination Manager for the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) and manages the direct lending programs – the Infrastructure State Revolving Fund (ISRF) Program, and the California Lending for Energy and Environmental Needs (CLEEN) Center direct lending financing.

Lina joined IBank in January 2016, and is responsible for managing and directing all credit and loan underwriting activities for the Loan Origination Unit.  Lina conducts extensive outreach at conferences and expos, speaking and presenting on behalf of IBank at various events including California Financing Coordinating Committee (CFCC) events.

Lina has been in the lending industry for over 26 years. Lina started her career working as a credit analyst and underwriter at Community Bank, N.A before joining Bank of America where she held positions from credit analyst, portfolio manager, SBA underwriter, commercial underwriter, to approval officer. Lina also worked as an SBA underwriter at Resource Capital CDC. Prior to joining IBank she was Vice President of Lending at Vision One Credit Union for over seven years.

Lina holds a degree of Master of Business Administration from Wright State University, and a Graduate Finance Certification from Southern Methodist University.

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John Weir

John Weir

Municipal Finance Specialist

Email John, HERE

John Weir joined IBank in 2015 as a Staff Loan Officer with the IBank Bond Financing Unit. As a member of the bond unit, he was responsible for review of applications for the issuance of tax-exempt bonds to 501(c)(3) organizations and small manufacturing companies, including the review of program requirements, bond documents, managing bond closings, and the presentation of staff recommendations to the IBank Board.

In 2019, he transitioned to the Loan Origination Unit where he is responsible for guiding potential applicants through IBank’s ISRF loan programs including analysis of financial statements, repayment sources, project eligibility and drafting staff reports. He represents IBank in public forums, workshops and conferences, preparation of ad hoc reports, and development of written procedures.

He is also the primary developer of the databases used by the Bond Financing and Loan Origination Units which serve as the primary record source for all transactions, work modules for daily activities, and management reports to satisfy routine and ad hoc reporting obligations. He is currently developing a similar database for the Loan Servicing Unit that will interlink data between the two loan units.

Prior to joining IBank, Mr. Weir worked at the State Treasurers Office for the California Pollution Control Pollution Authority where he was responsible for post-issuance bond compliance and for the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. He also has extensive experience with development of departmental procedures and the drafting of agency regulations for review and approval by the Office of Administrative Law. Previous to his employment in the public sector, Mr. Weir worked for over 15 years in the mortgage banking industry and was a vice president of underwriting for Liberty American Mortgage.

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Betty Bian

Betty Bian

Loan Officer, Loan Origination Unit

Email Betty, HERE

Betty Bian is a Loan Officer in the Loan Origination Unit.

Betty joined IBank’s Loan Origination Unit as an Associate Governmental Program Analyst in February 2020, where she performed analytical and consultative duties and services critical to administering the Infrastructure State Revolving Fund Program (ISRF Program) and the California Lending for Energy and Environmental Needs Center (CLEEN Center) programs.

Prior to her current role, Betty worked 25 years in the banking industry in China. She worked for 8 years with the Royal Bank of Scotland where she served as Branch Compliance Manager; 12 years at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ where she was the manager of the Planning Department. She also worked at Morgan Stanley Bank International as Head of Compliance. Betty has a master’s degree in Japanese Culture from Beijing Foreign Studies University.

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Richard Nesbitt

Richard Nesbitt

Loan Officer (Loan Origination Unit)

Email Richard, HERE

Richard Nesbitt joins the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) as a Loan Officer in the Loan Origination Unit. Richard performs credit underwriting activities for infrastructure Loan Programs at IBank within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

Prior to his current role, Richard served for over four years as a Senior Servicing Officer with California Statewide, an SBA Certified Development Corporation, where he handled Special Assets, Risk Ratings on the loan portfolio and general servicing actions on SBA 504 loans.

Richard has also served as Senior Underwriter and Credit Analyst at Accenture, Underwriter and Analyst at First Northern Bank, and over six years at California Bank and Trust as AVP / SBA Portfolio Representative.

Richard brings 20+ years of experience in lending, managing loan portfolios, maintaining federal compliance regulations, risk analysis, and financial analysis and credit underwriting.

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Fritz Pahland

General Counsel

Email Fritz, HERE

William “Fritz” Pahland serves as General Counsel for IBank overseeing legal affairs relating to IBank’s financing programs. Pahland began his career at IBank in 2015 as Senior Staff Counsel, promoting to General Counsel in 2016.

Pahland brings a unique set of credentials to IBank, having started his professional career as a civil engineer with the County of Sacramento Public Works Agency more than 2 decades ago. He worked for a number of years managing a wastewater treatment plant expansion, coordinating the design-phase project administration for large diameter sewerage expansion projects, and designing flood control projects.

In 2001, Pahland launched his law career as an Associate in the litigation department at Miller Starr Regalia. There he advanced to Shareholder, and expanded his practice to include transactions, in addition to litigation.

Pahland has a plethora of experience relating to both infrastructure construction and bond financing, direct loans, guarantees and various forms of credit enhancement.

Pahland attended the University of California, Davis, where he received both a Juris Doctorate from the King Hall School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He currently holds licenses to practice both law and civil engineering in California.

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Stefan Spich

Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs/Senior Staff Counsel

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Stefan Spich is the Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs and Senior Staff Counsel for IBank. Prior to joining IBank in 2014, Stefan worked as Staff Counsel for the Drinking Water Program at the California Department of Public Health. Prior to state service he worked as a corporate and business attorney for a local Sacramento firm, and for Baker & McKenzie LLP in San Diego. Stefan earned his law degree from UC Davis King Hall, studied at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest and holds honors BA degrees in History and Politics from UC Santa Cruz.

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Mary Hoang

Mary Hoang

Email Mary Hoang, Here

Mary Hoang is a legal assistant in the Legal Unit at the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). She is new to state service. Her background includes customer service and sales in the automotive industry and being a legal assistant in a private practice.

Hoang graduated from California State University Sacramento where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.

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Megan Hodapp

Megan Hodapp

SBFC Program Manager

Email Megan, HERE

Megan Hodapp is the manager of the Small Business Finance Center (SBFC) at the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank). Prior to becoming the manager, she served as a Loan Officer in the Small Business Finance Center for 3 years where she assisted California small businesses with accessing capital. The SBFC currently administers the California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, California Small Business Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Program, Farm Loan, and Jump Start Loan Program. Megan manages IBank’s partnerships with 7 Financial Development Corporations (FDCs) located throughout the State to encourage small business lending. The programs offer repayment of guarantees on behalf of IBank to financial institutions as incentives to make loans to small businesses that experience capital access barriers. Megan has been serving small businesses in California in a variety of jobs and programs throughout her career. Prior to her career with IBank, Megan was a program analyst for the Office of the Small Business Advocate (OSBA) at the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and for the California Capital Access Program (CalCAP) at the State Treasurer’s Office (STO). Megan graduated from California State University Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice.

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Yana Buryak

Yana Buryak

AGPA

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Yana Buryak is a Small Business Finance Center Analyst within the Small Business Finance Center. Prior to her current role, Yana was a Retirement Program Specialist at CalPERS. Prior to her state service, Yana worked as a mathematics and statistics tutor in the math lab of Sacramento City College. She loves numbers and analytical problems.

Yana has a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from California State University, Sacramento.

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Anush Avetisova

Anush Avetisova

SBFC Analyst

Email Anush, HERE

Anush Avetisova is a Small Business Finance Center analyst. Prior to her current role at IBank, Anush worked as a retirement specialist at CalPERS, assisting CalPERS members with Service, Disability, Industrial Disability Retirement benefits. Prior to CalPERS, Anush worked as an accounting assistant with Sterling Caviar, LLC and as an accountant/business owner of Sacramento Design Flooring Inc. Anush graduated from California State University, Sacramento with Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and MBA.

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Dan Adler

Dan Adler

Senior Advisor for Climate Finance

Email Dan, HERE

Mr. Adler is Senior Advisor for Climate Finance at IBank and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Prior to this role, he was Vice President for Policy at the Energy Foundation, a partnership of grant makers advancing clean energy markets across the U.S. He was previously Managing Director of the California Clean Energy Fund (CalCEF) and President of CalCEF Ventures, where he led the firm’s efforts to identify and catalyze transformational new investment theses across venture capital and project finance. He has served as senior analyst in the Division of Strategic Planning at the California Public Utilities Commission, where he was responsible for the design and implementation of California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard and was senior staff for climate policy, and on the boards of the American Council on Renewable Energy, the Coalition for Green Capital, and the Vote Solar Initiative. He has a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA in Public Policy from Harvard University.

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Karen Naungayan

Karen Naungayan

Deputy Director of External Affairs

Email Karen, HERE

In July 2021, Karen Naungayan joined the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank), located within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) as Deputy Director of External Affairs. Prior to joining IBank, in 2016, Karen Naungayan was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown as the Assistant Director of External Affairs at the CA Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), where she served for five years, including two years also functioning as Acting Deputy Director of Communications under Governor Gavin Newsom.

Prior to HCD, Karen was Communications Director for ten years at Housing California, the state’s leading advocacy organization on housing and homelessness. Previous jobs include marketing programs manager at Inventures Alliance Management, where she created and oversaw marketing and communications programs for three non-profit, international high-tech consortia. and managing editor of the B2B arm of Barnes & Noble.com.

Karen is a graduate of California State University, Sacramento and holds a degree in English, with a minor in Business Administration/Marketing. Karen is a previous board member of the Sacramento Housing Alliance and is active in the community as a volunteer, with former work as a court-appointed special advocate (CASA) for foster youth, mentor at Women’s Empowerment (an organization educating and empowering women who are experiencing homelessness so they can find employment and a stable home), and member of Sacramento Junior League. Karen has also participated in fund development for various nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity of the Greater Sacramento Region.

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Ammer Singh

Ammer Singh

Municipal Finance Specialist

Email Ammer, HERE

Ammer Singh is a Municipal Finance Specialist in the Loan Servicing Unit.

Singh has been involved with financial monitoring and oversight in California of affordable housing finance programs throughout his career. Prior to his current role, Singh was with the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) where he was a Staff Services Manager I and worked in the Compliance Monitoring Unit to ensure development of low-income housing tax credit projects and compliance with federal IRS Section 42 program regulations and CTCAC program regulations. Singh was responsible for critical agency contracts that provided financial asset management of tax credit projects and the development of energy efficient tax credit projects in California. During his time with CTCAC, Singh worked with energy consultants to ensure compliance with California title 24 energy efficiency standards and the development of several netzero energy tax credit projects in California.

Prior to CTCAC, Singh was a Housing Finance Specialist in the asset management unit of the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) where he ensured financial monitoring and oversight of multiple affordable housing developments in California.

Singh graduated from California State University, Sacramento where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

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Jim Rennie

Jim Rennie

Staff Loan Officer Specialist

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Jim Rennie is a Staff Loan Officer in the Loan Servicing Unit. He has more than 30 years in the financial services industry in both the private and public sectors. Jim earned his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences and Theatre at Case Western Reserve University, and Master of Business Administration at Golden Gate University.

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Ella Clinton

Ella Clinton

Staff Services Analyst

Ella Clinton is the IBank, Staff Services Analyst (SSA) for the Loan Servicing Unit. Before her promotion, Ella was the Office Technician (Typing) in the Administrative Unit. Prior to State Service, Ella ran her own small business for seven years. Ella holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics, with minors in French and International Relations) from the University of the Pacific.

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Michelle Jones

Michelle Jones

Email Michelle, HERE

Michelle Jones is the Fiscal Manager. She is responsible for the oversight of the accounting financials and ensuring the department maintains compliance.  She brings 19 plus years of experience with the State of California.  She has experience with budgets, human resources, management, state accounting and GAAP rules and requirements.

Prior to IBank, Michelle was the Senior Accounting Officer Supervisor of the Systems Unit at Department of Health Care Services for 4 years.  She was a lead on the transition team to implement the new state required accounting system, FI$Cal from the old legacy system CALSTARS.

Michelle received her associates degree in accounting from Folsom Lake College.  She also has taken the State Fund Accounting class given by Department of Finance and all classes concerning FI$Cal and legacy system.

She has received multiple awards in her years with the state: 1) GFOA Award for IBank, 2) the State Controllers for accurate and completion of year statements, 3) Employment Development Department for leading a team to audit and issue unemployment to Californians during the 2009-2010 recession, 4) Department of Health Care for volunteering on Emergency Drill and CalFIRE and 5) Department of Health Care Services for solving a high-level, high-profile reconciliation for one of the department programs.

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Betty Daquioag-Correa

Betty Daquioag-Correa

Senior Accounting Officer

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Betty Daquioag-Correa is a Senior Accounting Officer, performing complex loan/bond accounting duties and maintains and prepares the loan accounting records and reports, reconciles trustee bank accounts, and assists in preparation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

Prior to her current role, Betty served for six years as an Accounting Officer with the California Department of Transportation in Accounts Payable. Before that she served as a Tax Auditor with the CA State Board of Equalization. Prior to beginning State service in 2000, Betty worked in the private sector as a Senior Accounting Analyst/Supervisor and in other General Ledger Financial/ Cost Accounting areas.

Betty holds a BA degree in Accounting from Golden Gate University in San Francisco and an AA degree in Liberal Arts from City College of San Francisco.

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