Our Team

Carrie Houchins-Witt, CFP®, EA

Carrie is a dedicated financial and tax professional as well as a mainstay of Coralville/Iowa City area theatre.

Carrie earned her Bachelor of Science in theatre from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and has performed professionally as an actor and musician ever since.

Carrie has always loved numbers, and honed this skill while working for nearly a decade as the City Director Of Revenue Management for the Kimpton Group Seattle. She oversaw revenue management of three boutique four-star hotels in downtown Seattle: setting rates, increasing occupancy and using statistical analyses to maximize revenue.

She then found a way to combine her varied interests many years ago when she began preparing tax returns for, and explaining tax regulations to her actor friends. When she realized what an invaluable service this was, she took an extensive tax preparation education program and opened up shop. She has been preparing tax returns professionally for over a decade.

In the meantime, she also completed the Financial Planning education program and became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional in 2009. In 2013, she earned her Enrolled Agent (EA) designation, the highest credential the IRS awards to tax professionals and a designation recognizing her as one of "America's Tax Experts." Most recently, in 2016, Carrie became a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional to better help many of her clients who were experiencing this significant life change.

Carrie was born in West Virginia and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She has lived in New York City, Seattle, Chicago, and has settled in Coralville, Iowa with her husband, Corey and two young sons, Waylon and Carter Birch. She has visited 50 states, 24 countries and 3 continents. She enjoys acoustic music, gardening, traveling, and being outside.

Carrie is proud member of the

Corey Houchins-Witt, CFP®

Corey’s experience in the helping professions and academic interest in finance has led him to his current role as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional.

Corey double-majored in economics and psychology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1993. Since then, he has earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from University of Washington in Seattle, and most recently, the Certificate in Financial Planning from Boston University.

Corey has always been drawn to the helping professions – in the 1990s, Corey worked in social services in both New York City and Seattle as a case manager for the mentally-ill and homeless populations. Wanting to exercise and use his analytical skills to help others, Corey returned to school to earn his MPA where he focused on financial analysis, economics and statistics. After receiving the MPA, he worked as an Analyst for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and as both an Asset Manager and Developer in the affordable housing field. Most recently, Corey acted as the Director of Real Estate Development at the Affordable Housing Network, Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

In 2014, Corey received the opportunity to join Carrie in what is now the family business as its Practice Manager. During this time, Corey worked towards his accreditation as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional by completing the education coursework requirement through Boston University, and passing the CFP® exam in November 2017. Corey received the CFP® designation from the CFP Board in May 2018, which permits him to join Carrie in providing accessible, hourly, fee-only financial planning services to families and individuals. Corey is also a proud member of the CFP Board and the Garrett Planning Network.

Corey was born in New Jersey and has lived in New York City, Seattle and Chicago, but feels he can now legitimately call himself an Iowan as he has been a Coralville resident for almost a decade. Corey is married to Carrie, with whom he has two young sons, Waylon and Carter Birch. He enjoys seeing live bands and listening to really loud music.

Robyn Calhoun, Office Manager

A former DIPLOMAT, and docent for the American embassy in Rome, Robyn is now a mainstay of the Iowa City/Coralville theater scene.

Robyn has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of California, which she put to use as the unofficial grammar police at the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office, where she worked, officially, as an appraiser. She then spent 17 years living all over the world with her husband and kids and the Marine Corps.

When they settled in Iowa City in 2010, Robyn reignited her love of theater, and was cast with Carrie in her first area show. As the business grew, Carrie realized she needed help and knew Robyn would be a great asset to the firm - she asked Robyn to join her and Robyn said yes! Robyn started in the spring of 2016, and Carrie is thrilled that Robyn has been managing the office full-time since early 2017.

Robyn spends much of her leisure time in the theater, either onstage or in the audience. She’s also an avid cook and baker, a voracious reader, and a lover of dogs (all dogs but specifically Nigel, her mischievous bull terrier pup). She lives on the east side of Iowa City with her husband Justin, two cats, and the aforementioned dog where they are visited occasionally by their two fabulous daughters, Tempest and Genevieve.

Mary Jo Harken

please welcome the newest addition to our team!

Mary Jo received both her Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and Master of Accountancy from the University of Iowa. She has worked in public accounting (both audit and tax disciplines), banking, as well as the private sector for businesses large and small.

Mary Jo prepares tax returns and assists Corey with financial planning. She finds particular joy in helping clients achieve their goals by providing them with meaningful financial information and excellent service.

While Mary Jo loves numbers, she considers herself equally an artist. Since 2014 she has costume-designed over a dozen local plays and musicals, many with Carrie and/or Robyn. Mary Jo also loves cooking, thrifting, listening to music (hip-hop is a personal favorite), exercise, and travel.

Mary Jo was born in Iowa and just can’t seem to leave. She met her husband, Dean, in college and they decided to settle down in Iowa City where they raised their two amazing children, Paige and Sean.