We are here for you.

This last year has been a challenge to everyone.  While 2020 made us hunker down and focus on just treading water, it was also so much about change and innovation.  We had to learn to support our KT staff and clients in a highly dynamic and unstable environment.  We put incredible demands on our team, and they rose to the challenge.

As accounting professionals, we saw a shift in clients’ needs.  We focused on being advisors helping you navigate the shifting deadlines and new tax laws.   We no longer just offer tax advice and compliance services; we are navigating all kinds of new regulations the government has thrown at businesses and non-profits.  The changes such as filing postponements, payroll tax credits, PPP loan application, and retirement law changes have disrupted our normal business practices and have brought challenges and opportunities to our client base. 

I am stepping into the role of CEO at Ketel Thorstenson, LLP in a time of enormous change—and this year we celebrate our firm’s legacy, our 85th anniversary!  As I look at the firm hitting its 85th year in business, I am reminded we did not age complacently to get here.  We have evolved and continue to adapt to be the firm which our employees and communities need.   I am honored to carry out the KT tradition and manage the next years of transformation. 

I also want to thank Denise Webster for her many contributions as Managing Partner at KT and I look forward to this next chapter of her career as she goes back to focus on client service.  Denise has been a supportive mentor through this transition process.  

As we start this phase of our journey together, I wanted to share some background on what inspires and motivates me.

Who am I?

I’ve been married for sixteen years to Erik Braun, and we have two middle school aged daughters and a dog.  I was raised by immigrant parents in New Jersey—-I am still fluent in Croatian!  I love to read, do crossword puzzles, and host dinner parties.   

Why am I here?

My husband and I moved to Rapid City, SD when we were married, to test out living in his hometown.  I joined KT from a Big 4 accounting firm.  Sixteen years and countless remodels later we are still in our starter home because we can’t bear to leave what we found in this community.  I believe over the next decade that our industry and our world will continue to change, and I want to be here to shape it.  There will be new opportunities open to our firm that we have not had before.

What am I grateful for?

I am forever grateful for my family and my support system.  I’m grateful that I found my way into this firm sixteen years ago and that it has continued to be a place full of inspired and innovative professionals.  I’ve been lucky to be able to be in a place where I can call clients and coworkers friends.