Meet the Koala team.
Meet our advisors, accountants, attorney, and client-service staff. We work from our Bonita office and serve clients in English and Spanish.
The family behind Koala.
Bobbi Koala
Bobbi leads the tax practice, focusing on practical planning, accurate filings, and tax-advantaged strategies. His background spans public finance, accounting, tax work, and financial planning.
CA Insurance License #0728219
Bobbi leads the tax practice. He meets with clients directly on planning, filings, and the tax side of retirement, insurance, and business decisions, and he has done that work from the same Bonita office since Koala bought Bonita Tax Service in 2013.
Before Koala, Bobbi spent a career in public finance with the County of San Diego, where he oversaw more than $1.5 billion of the County budget and served as chief negotiator on contracts involving hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds. He then went back to college alongside his youngest son, Benjamin. They graduated summa cum laude in accountancy together and earned their CPA licenses together.
- CredentialsCertified Public Accountant. California Insurance License #0728219.
- EducationDegree in accountancy, summa cum laude.
Benjamin Koala
Benjamin cofounded Koala Financial with his father and brings together tax, legal, insurance, and investment planning to help clients make informed decisions about their wealth, businesses, and estates. He also serves as a captain in the California Air National Guard.
Benjamin works with clients on taxes, investments, business ownership, and estate planning. As an attorney, CPA, and wealth advisor, he can help identify when a decision needs review across more than one of those areas.
A San Diego native, Benjamin graduated summa cum laude with a degree in accountancy and spent six years as an accountant with the County of San Diego before cofounding Koala Financial with his father. He later became a California attorney and founded Koala Law PC, expanding his work to include the legal side of business and estate planning.
- CredentialsCalifornia Attorney (State Bar No. 363112), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS™), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional (CFP®), Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®), and California Real Estate Agent (DRE No. 01997240).
- Military and community serviceBenjamin serves as a captain in the California Air National Guard. He is also an active member and past president of the Chula Vista Rotary Club.
Alex Wymore
Alex supports Koala clients through tax and accounting work. He holds a Master of Procurement and Acquisitions Management from Webster University’s George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology, and is a retired Army captain.
Alex works with clients on tax preparation and accounting for individuals and small businesses, and keeps questions, records, and planning details moving between clients and the rest of the office.
He is a retired Army captain. While serving, he earned a Master of Procurement and Acquisitions Management from Webster University’s George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology, and he brought that management and leadership background to the family firm when he joined in 2014.
- EducationMaster of Procurement and Acquisitions Management, Webster University.
- ServiceRetired U.S. Army captain.
Everyone here works directly with clients.
Tax advisors, client relations, and operations. Several members of the team serve clients in Spanish.
Veronica Ferguson
Veronica works across tax preparation, bookkeeping, financial statements, and taxpayer representation. She brings years of accounting office experience and is fluent in Italian, English, and Spanish.
Veronica works across tax preparation, bookkeeping, financial statements, and taxpayer representation for individuals and businesses.
She started at an accounting firm in 2016 as an administrative assistant, learned every part of an accounting office and the tax return process from the inside, and went on to earn her CPA license. Originally from Italy, she serves clients in Italian, English, and Spanish.
- CredentialsCertified Public Accountant.
- LanguagesItalian, English, and Spanish.
Diego Quilantan
Diego supports the CPA division with tax preparation, client records, and planning for individual and business clients. He holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from San Diego State University and is studying for the CPA exam, having passed the first section.
Diego prepares individual and business returns and works with clients on planning, records, and representation before the IRS. He also manages much of the firm’s technology and information systems.
An Enrolled Agent, he holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from San Diego State University and is working toward his CPA license, with the first section of the exam already passed.
- CredentialsEnrolled Agent (EA), federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
- EducationMaster of Science in Accountancy, San Diego State University. CPA exam in progress.
Veronica Rachlin
Veronica holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and began her career at KPMG before serving as chief accountant for a private accounting firm. At Koala she supports tax preparation, accounting, and financial services coordination, and she serves clients in Spanish.
Veronica supports tax preparation, accounting, and financial services coordination, and is often the person moving a client’s paperwork from signature to completion.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, began her career as an associate at KPMG, and later served as chief accountant and manager of a private accounting firm before joining Koala. She serves clients in Spanish.
- CredentialsCTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP).
- EducationBachelor’s degree in accounting, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora.
- LanguagesSpanish and English.
Abel Ekubaselase
Abel works with the tax team on preparation support, document review, and client follow-up. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and is enrolled in a Master of Accounting program, with plans to pursue the CPA after graduating.
Abel supports the tax team from intake through completion: preparation support, document review, and client follow-up, so nothing waits on a missing document or an unanswered question.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and is currently enrolled in a Master of Accounting program, with plans to sit for the CPA exam after he graduates.
- CredentialsCTEC Registered Tax Preparer (CRTP).
- EducationBachelor’s degree in economics. Master of Accounting in progress.
Berenice Garcia
Berenice coordinates client communication and scheduling. She earned her law degree in Mexico and practiced law there before moving to California. She has been a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer since 2012 and has held a California Notary Public commission since 2016. She is fluent in Spanish.
Berenice coordinates client communication and scheduling, and serves clients in Spanish.
She earned her law degree in 1994 from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California and practiced law in Mexico before moving to California. She has been a CTEC Registered Tax Preparer since 2012 and has held a California Notary Public commission since 2016.
- CredentialsCTEC Registered Tax Preparer since 2012. California Notary Public since 2016.
- EducationLaw degree, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, 1994.
- LanguagesSpanish and English.
- Outside the officeSince 2021 she has taught university seminarians for the Diocese of Tijuana.
Sandra Bobadilla-Hernandez
Sandra handles client service and scheduling, and quality control on returns and documents. She is fluent in Spanish.
Sandra runs the front of the office: client service, scheduling, and the quality checks on returns and documents before they go out the door.
She serves clients in Spanish and English, and keeps the office schedule moving so the advisors’ time goes to client work.
- LanguagesSpanish and English.
Jacob Elghallab
Jacob supports day-to-day operations, client onboarding, and planning follow-through.
Jacob supports day-to-day operations, client onboarding, and planning follow-through, and works with the wealth team on account paperwork and transitions.
When a decision is made in a client meeting, Jacob is usually the person who carries it through: opening accounts, preparing documents for signature, and following up with custodians and carriers until it is done.
Salem Wymore
Salem supports the CPAs and tax advisors with client communication and follow-up. She is Alex Wymore’s daughter.
Salem supports the CPAs and tax advisors with client communication and follow-up, keeping clients informed while their work is in progress.
She is Alex Wymore’s daughter, which makes her the third generation of the family working at Koala.
Check our credentials and fees.
Use the links below to check firm registration and professional licenses. Our pricing pages list our fees, and your engagement documents confirm the work and cost before we begin.
Read all Koala disclosures- A registered investment adviserKoala Financial, Inc. is registered with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, Firm CRD #340891. Confirm it on the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
- A fiduciary when we manage your moneyWhen Koala Financial, Inc. manages your account under an advisory agreement, we are a fiduciary. We put your interests first and invest in line with your stated goals and objectives.
- Professional licensesOur CPAs are licensed by the California Board of Accountancy, our attorney by the State Bar of California, and our tax preparers are registered with CTEC. Each license is searchable by name.
- Independent, with no product quotasKoala has no parent company, and nobody here is told what to sell.
- Fees discussed before work beginsPublished fees and ranges on our pricing pages, and an estimate for your situation before you commit.
- Coordination only when you ask for itEach Koala entity is separate. Clients are never required to use another Koala service, and the teams share information only with your authorization.
Working together on your behalf.
When you use more than one Koala service, you can authorize your advisor, CPA, and attorney to share relevant information and discuss your work together.
Each professional remains responsible for their own work. We explain the scope, fees, and service provider in your engagement documents.
Meet With Our TeamCommunication between teams
With your authorization, your advisor, CPA, and attorney can discuss the work they are doing for you and share relevant updates.
Ongoing availability
Wealth clients can contact their advisor directly with questions or changes in their circumstances.
Fiduciary standard
Koala Financial, Inc. is a fiduciary when we provide investment advisory services under an advisory agreement. That means we put the client’s interests first and build the plan around their stated goals and objectives. Tax, legal, and insurance work are offered through separate Koala entities and are not the same relationship.