OUR ACCOUNTING TEAM
Ranae H. Heaven, CPA
Ranae has been in public accounting since 1984 and had her own firm since 1991. She has vast experience in tax and accounting services. She has worked with hundreds of businesses over the years, doing tax planning, business consulting, and accounting services. She has a Master’s Degree in Taxation from Georgia State University.
Ranae is a long-time resident of Gwinnett County. She currently lives in historic downtown Norcross. She is a past president of the American Women’s Society of CPAs of Georgia and is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Georgia Society of CPAs, Peachtree Corners Business Association and the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.
Carlos Alvarez, CPA
Carlos is a CPA with over 13 years of experience in tax and accounting. He is a graduate of Georgia State University and has worked in a variety of industries with companies ranging in size from small businesses to Fortune 1000 and multinational corporations. Carlos is also active in the community; He is a Board Member and Treasurer of the Langford Close Homeowners Association, member of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Carlos is completely fluent in Spanish and offers a business tax and accounting course for Latino entrepreneurs at the Latino American Association. He additionally is a member of the Atlanta Track Club.
Taylor Harris
Sr Tax Accountant
Taylor joined the firm in December 2020 with over 5 years of experience in tax. He received his Bachelors in Accounting from Kennesaw State University and is currently studying for the CPA Exam.
Taylor, his girlfriend, and their two cats live in Southwest Atlanta. When away from the office, he is a passionate traveler and an avid cyclist.
Persephone Johnson,
MBA -
Sr Accountant
Persephone is a Florida native with over 10 years of experience in tax, and over 8 years of experience in accounting. She has an Associate’s in Legal Assisting from Gulf Coast State College, an MBA in Accounting from American Intercontinental University, and is currently studying for the CPA exam. She also holds a Life/Health/Accident Insurance license in the state of Georgia.
Persephone worked in Panama City, Florida as a Paralegal for 4 years at Legal Services of NW Florida, and an Office Manager for Liberty Tax Service for 5 years before relocating to Atlanta, GA in 2013. She worked as a night auditor at the Burgess hotel, formerly known as the Wingate by Wyndham-Buckhead. Since 2020 she has worked in Public Accounting and Tax.
Persephone enjoys bowling, writing music, and attending comedy and live music shows in her spare time.
Kevin Mercado
Staff Accountant
Kevin is a Staff Accountant with over 5 years of experience as a bookkeeper in Public Accounting. While working as a bookkeeper he graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
Kevin has experience working in a variety of industries and backgrounds, from construction clients to food service and everything in between.
Kevin’s nationality is Colombian and thus is fluent in Spanish. In his spare time, he enjoys playing soccer and has played for several club teams in Gwinnett and he also trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Bess Harris
Staff Accountant
Bess is a native Atlantan, attended high schools in Dekalb and Gwinnett counties, received her accounting degree from Mercer University and currently resides in Duluth.
Bess has worked in Public accounting, imported Italian food, owned an Italian food market and worked with a logistics company at the Atlanta airport. Bess also enjoys gardening in her spare time.
Julie Nealey
Tax Associate
Julie has been working with Heaven & Alvarez LLC since 1997, doing individual tax returns. Julie has lived in Peachtree Corners for over 40 years and is an avid tennis player.
Before joining Heaven & Alvarez LLC, Julie worked at H&R Block.
Christian Quintana
Tax Intern
Christian is a Tax Intern currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Oglethorpe University, scheduled to graduate in the Spring of 2024. Christian started working at a young age in fast food and most recently at Home Depot. He is the only one in our office that knows how to operate a forklift. Christian also played soccer throughout his entire childhood, most recently playing on the soccer team at Oglethorpe University
Jessica Maldonado
Office Manager
Jessica joined the team as Office Manager in November of 2022. Jessica has been in the administration support field for more than 10 years and has vast experience working with different backgrounds and in different settings. She is passionate about creating a great environment and providing great customer support for our clients. Jessica was born and raised in Austin, TX but currently lives in Georgia. Her hobbies include traveling, dancing, and enjoying time with her kids and 2 dogs.
