People

Melissa Gonzalez is a Partner at Grassi and a member of the firm’s Trust & Estate and Private Client Services practices. With extensive experience in fiduciary, estate and gift tax, she specializes in helping high-net-worth individuals plan and meet their tax mitigation and wealth preservation goals.

As a certified public accountant and accredited estate planner, Melissa has deep knowledge of evolving tax law and its application to individuals, trusts, estates and gifting. She uses this expertise to help her clients stay ahead of compliance changes, identify tax planning opportunities and implement asset transfer strategies.

Prior to joining Grassi, Melissa was a partner at a national accounting firm, where she provided high-net-worth individuals and families with strategic trust and estate plans, customized to identify the most effective tax savings vehicles for their unique situations and goals. She has specialized expertise in income, estate and gift tax planning and wealth transfer plans.

Outside the office, Melissa regularly gives back to her community. She serves as the Treasurer of the Board of the Moxxie Mentoring Foundation, which supports the professional and leadership development of young women. The organization awarded her the “Purple Pump Award” for outstanding mentoring.

Melissa also actively supports the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), raising more than $500,000 over the past seven years for the organization’s research into curing leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

A member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), Melissa sits on the society’s Estate Planning Committee. She is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and past president of the Board of the Estate Planning Council of Long Island.

Melissa holds a B.S. in Accounting from Bentley University.