Careers with Cabrillo Compliance

Wade is a Senior Advisor at Cabrillo Compliance. He is also Chairman  and CEO at Cabrillo Advisors.  Wade brings
significant experience  in professional advisory services into building Cabrillo Compliance.

Wade began his career with EY, and has been actively serving mutual clients for
nearly 20 years. Wade’s relationship with EY is significant enough to merit being featured in EY’s alumni quarterly Connect Magazine.
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Wade founded Cabrillo Advisors to leverage three decades of experience spanning strategic management consulting, venture investing, and M&A for publicly-traded and privately-held companies. He previously was founding principal of Cabrillo’s predecessor, MHT Partners, (acquired by Cowen), and Dell Ventures based in Austin, TX, where he invested in high-tech and e-commerce companies.

Prior to Dell, Wade spent five years with McKinsey & Co., advising high-tech and pharma companies on matters of strategic growth and M&A. He began his post-undergraduate career at EY’s Assurance Group, and is an active CPA in the state of Texas.

Educationally, Wade earned his MBA with distinction from Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business, with an emphasis in Accounting, Finance and Strategy, and received his B.S. in Accounting, summa cum laude, from San Diego State University.

Duyen (Julia) Nguyen leads Cabrillo Compliance as its President and CEO.  She boasts over 14 years of rich expertise in accounting services, grant management, compliance consulting, and Single Audits, formerly known as OMB Circular A-133. Julia’s illustrious career is marked by her profound knowledge in higher education and sponsored research, where she has demonstrated excellence in Grant Management and Compliance, nonprofit budgeting, financial analysis, reporting, benchmarking, cash management, and accounting disciplines. 

Before her tenure with Cabrillo, she was instrumental in leading UCSD’s team responsible for sponsored research financial services, grant management, compliance advisory, and conducting both single and agency audits for the University of California, San Diego, and the UC Office of the President. Julia’s professional journey commenced at PwC’s San Diego office, where she specialized in performing a variety of audits across numerous industries. 

Julia is an alumnus of San Diego State University, holding a Bachelor’s in Accounting and an MBA in Finance. Julia holds CPA certification in California and is a valued member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of CPAs. Her dedication to fostering strong client relationships, upholding integrity, and navigating complex problem-solving scenarios stand as a testament to her commitment to excellence and leadership in the field.

Brenda Kraft is the CFO at Cabrillo Compliance, serving clients in Accounting services, Grant
Management, Compliance Consulting and Single
Audits Practice​. Brenda has an
extensive background in finance, accounting, SEC and
internal financial reporting as well as accounting
compliance matters.

Brenda began her career in the audit practice at EY. As an
Audit Manager she served public and non-public
companies in the retail/consumer products, software and
life sciences industries for nearly 10 years.

Prior to joining Cabrillo family, she served a number of
life sciences companies in various executive roles in
Accounting and Finance. Her experience includes
managing accounting departments, managing the
implementation of an enterprise-wide accounting and
operations management system and raising over $58
million in venture capital funding.

She also served as an accounting consultant for various
technology companies, supervising accounting staff,
managing cash flow and liquidity and preparing financial
statements.

Brenda graduated from University of Oklahoma with a
Bachelor in Business Administration in Accounting with
Honors. She holds a CPA license in Texas.

Thomas is a Manager at Cabrillo Compliance, serving clients in
Accounting Services, Grant Management and Compliance
Consulting. Thomas has more than 8 years of knowledge
and experience working in the areas of not-for-profits and
higher education, with a specialty in budgeting, financial
analysis, reporting, grants management, cash
management and accounting.

Thomas began his career in public accounting at Raffa PC
(now Marcum) in Washington, DC, serving dozens of
businesses and organizations with managed accounting
services and the implementation of financial systems and
tools. He went on to lead the accounting departments at
two non-profit organizations before moving to San Diego
in 2017.

Prior to joining Cabrillo Compliance , Thomas led a central
office team at the University of California, San Diego
managing cash, accounts receivable, bank and credit card
accounts, and is versed in sponsored research award
administration. During his time at UCSD, he oversaw data
conversion and reconciliation projects with enterprise
systems migration and performed multiple PCI risk and
compliance assessments for both UCSD and the University
of California, Office of the President,

Thomas graduated from American University in
Washington, DC with a Bachelor in International Relations
and a Masters in Accounting. He holds a CPA license in DC.