Meet the Team

George Van Buren

Owner

Van Buren & Associates was established by George Van Buren who has over 35 years of experience as a tax and accounting professional. George is an Enrolled Agent and is eligible to practice before the IRS. He earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from the University of Redlands and a MBA from Pepperdine University.

Prior to establishing Van Buren & Associates, George held various senior financial positions for a major aerospace corporation. Additionally, he taught both undergraduate and graduate accounting and finance courses at the University of Redlands, University of Phoenix, and the University of California at Irvine. He was twice named the Faculty of the Year at the University of Redlands.

George is also an experienced tax seminar presenter. For the past several years he has worked for Thomson Reuters/Gear Up speaking to thousands of CPAs, Enrolled Agents, attorneys and other tax professionals throughout the country. Additionally, he has presented tax seminars for the California Society of Enrolled Agents and the California Society of Tax Consultants.

George is an active member of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, the California Society of Enrolled Agents, the National Society of Accountants, and the California Society of Tax Consultants.

Dr. Star Van Buren

Director of Communications

Dr. Star Van Buren co-ordinates all communication for Van Buren and Associates.

She has many years of experience in the field of marketing and specializes in market research, planning, communications, and public relations for small businesses. Her industry background is in financial services and higher education. She recently managed an economic development program for a local community college.

Star earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership from USC, an MBA from the University of Redlands, and a BA in communications from CSU Dominguez Hills.

Diana Stanojevich, EA

Diana joined Van Buren and Associates, Inc. in 2018. Diana has been an Enrolled Agent for over fifteen years, allowing her to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. Her status as an Enrolled Agent has given her enhanced knowledge of Individual, Partnership, Corporate, and Fiduciary taxation.

She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting, from California State University, Long Beach. In addition, she earned a School Business Management Certificate from USC.

Diana has spent twenty years in private industry as a Controller and Accounting Supervisor for local businesses. She also has had pivotal roles in educational institutions located in the South Bay. Diana has been preparing taxes since 1998.

Diana’s attention to detail and work ethic is constantly applauded. She maintains confidentiality when needed and is easy going. She feels organization, prioritizing, and good time management is the key to being efficient. In addition, Diana is greatly analytical and will find the areas that require attention, offering suggestions for their resolution. She is a great addition to the team.

Personally, Diana lives in San Pedro with her husband, Andrew, and her daughter, Katarina, who is pursuing a medical career. In her free time, Diana likes to spend time in Palm Springs and go on nature walks. Her cat, Prince, is the family pet that has human qualities and might as well be their second child.

“Diamonds are forever, Dreams are infinite”

Mylene Snyder, EA

Mylene is an Enrolled Agent and has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service in various tax related issues including Audits, Offer In Compromise, Collection matters and Installment Agreements. Previously she worked for the Internal Revenue Service as a tax auditor.

With this unique background, experience and knowledge from “both sides”, she is able to provide tax guidance to clients in various tax situations. .

In her spare time, Mylene enjoys traveling, sewing and gardening.

Cherie Mancaruso

Administrative Assistant

Cherie is in charge of office support including monitoring the message center, scheduling appointments, coordinating our records retention, doing all of these to ensure the best customer service possible. In most cases, Cherie is the first person you will talk to when you call the office. She has a delightful personality as well as great interpersonal and organizational skills. Cherie attended El Camino College and where she was very active in the theatre and music programs. After attending El Camino, she frequently performed at Disneyland and various private corporate functions. She joined our practice in June, 2013 after spending over twenty years in property management.