Peter Rivera Honors Late Wife with Kelley Rivera Tax Diva Scholarship

When the late Kelley Rivera ‘86 was an accounting student
at CSUN, she signed up to be a volunteer tax preparer at the VITA Clinic looking to gain some client experience and help the community. During her training, she spotted a student supervisor named Peter giving presentations to the new tax preparers.

“I had a sweater vest on,” said Peter Rivera ‘88, a certified global management accountant (CGMA) and the Chief Compliance Officer at Shamrock Capital. “I was totally geeky and she turned to the guy next to her and said, ‘that’s the man I’m going to marry.’”

Sure enough, the VITA Clinic love story led to marriage in 1988 for Peter and Kelley, both CPAs. Kelley, who worked as a tax accountant for decades, eventually opened her own tax practice specializing in estates and trusts. Married for 35 years, they have one daughter, Morgan.

Following Kelley’s passing in July 2023, Peter said he looked for a way to honor his wife’s passion for accounting and her quirky sense of humor, while also helping the volunteer tax clinic where the couple got their start. In 2024, he endowed the Kelley Rivera Tax Diva Scholarship, which will be given annually to a VITA student volunteer.

“Kelley actually has the words ‘Tax Diva’ on her headstone,” Rivera said. “She loved her clients. They were like family to her. She had a great sense of humor and that’s what made the connection with her clients.”

Rivera said the VITA Clinic will always hold a special place in his heart and he is happy to honor his late wife and help students with the new scholarship.

“I thought this was a great way to honor her and set up something that will help students into the future,” Rivera said.

The VITA program recently named the first Kelley Rivera Tax Diva Scholarship winner, an accounting student and two-year VITA Clinic volunteer, Sona Petrosyan.

Petrosyan said she shares the Riveras’ love for the VITA Clinic and encourages CSUN accounting students to take advantage of the opportunity to volunteer. 

“It is one of the greatest, best decisions they can make, because you get to learn how the tax world works, you are dealing with many different people every day and you learn that communication is essential,” Petrosyan said.

During the 2024 tax season, Petrosyan was a lead supervisor at the CSUN VITA Clinic, reviewing tax returns for quality control. She remembers fondly helping one woman in her 70s, whose husband had recently died.

“It was really a high point of this tax season to be able to help that family,” she said.