Meet the Sound Payroll™ team
Payroll team
Mary Jilek
With both a father and husband who are small-business owners, Mary has always been devoted to supporting small businesses. A graduate of the University of Washington with a B.A. in business administration (marketing and finance), she joined our partner company The Akopyan Group in 2017 after working as a product manager and research analyst in the insurance industry. Mary and her husband of over 30 years live in Issaquah; they have two kids. She enjoys travel, live music, discovering new restaurants, and spending time with friends and family.
Emily McFeron
Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Emily started with Sound Payroll in 2024; she brings a wealth of experience from her previous role in healthcare management. Before joining our team, Emily worked in various administrative positions and learned that she loves numbers and helping people stay organized. In her spare time, she tends to her plants in her rooftop garden and spends time with her Australian Shepherd, Henry. Emily also enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, and hanging out with her friends and family.
Client support team
Scott Hancock
Scott loves Seattle’s entrepreneurial spirit—he joined our partner company The Akopyan Group because the firm’s focus on small businesses allows him to play a part in our city’s innovation and growth. Scott’s attention to detail, passion for client service and technical background help keep Sound Payroll’s office running efficiently and effectively. When he’s not working, Scott enjoys cooking, spending time with his family and taking in the glorious natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest.
Jennifer Pacheco
Jennifer joined our partner company The Akopyan Group in 2022 after spending over 15 years in the mortgage and real estate industries. Her strong financial background includes experience in loan processing as well as title and escrow services. She is enjoying learning yet another industry—tax, payroll, and accounting—while cultivating relationships with Sound Payroll clients. A resident of Fall City, Jennifer and her fiancé, John, have six kids, two dogs, and a guinea pig. She loves cooking and all things food, along with reading, watching movies, and traveling.
Management
Yuriy Akopyan, CPA
Yuriy, the founder of Sound Payroll and our partner company The Akopyan Group, has 20+ years of experience in tax preparation, advising, and public accounting. A Certified Public Accountant since 2002, he specializes in creating and executing operational and tax strategies for businesses to increase efficiencies and minimize liabilities. Clients benefit from Yuriy’s unique ability to understand their individual needs and provide expert guidance—as an entrepreneur himself, he understands the importance of trusted advisors and their impact on a growing business. Yuriy enjoys travel and fine dining, and also is a firm believer in giving back to the community. He’s an active participant in charitable work for the Armenian community in the Northwest.
Jennifer Berry, EA
An industry veteran with over 20 years of experience, Jeni Berry leads our small-business accounting department; her responsibilities include onboarding new clients along with helping manage workflow and processes. She loves working with these businesses to get everything “cleaned up,” providing reports and information they can use to make better decisions.
Jeni is an Enrolled Agent with a degree in accounting from the University of Idaho. She lives in Maple Valley with her husband, Jake, and has two adult sons—one in Montana and one in Utah. When she’s not helping small businesses, she loves traveling and getting outside to hike and camp.
Diana Akopyan
Diana Akopyan brings more than 20 years of business-development experience to The Akopyan Group—she enjoys working with small-business owners to build relationships, solve problems, and help their businesses grow. Before joining our team, she was a program manager for a firm providing private-jet travel, a product manager for an expedition-cruise line, and worked in strategic business development for Amazon.
Diana, who earned a degree in history from Moscow Humanitarian University and studied project management at Edmonds College, lives in Edmonds with her husband of more than 25 years; they have two sons, ages 24 and 18. When she isn’t helping our clients, Diana volunteers for her church and the local Armenian community. She also loves planning complicated international travel itineraries, taking daily walks, reading, and cooking.