Ryan grew up in Phoenix, AZ and received his undergraduate degree from Arizona State University (ASU) in Accounting. Upon graduation, he began working on his Master’s in Taxation at ASU. Before beginning his career, Ryan had the privilege of teaching an undergraduate tax class at ASU. It was here that he discovered how much he enjoyed teaching others about the world of taxation.

At the beginning of 2023, Ryan began working for Ernst & Young (EY) doing tax compliance for investment partnerships in the private equity and hedge fund space. He learned more in the two and a half years he spent there than he had during his previous 5 years in school. However, he quickly realized two things. First, working 100+ weeks for months on end was difficult in a number of ways. He struggled with mental health, physical health, and just didn’t feel like the best version of himself. Second, he realized that working as hard as he was to save private equity firms with millions (sometimes billions) of taxable income each year money in tax didn’t give him the warm and fuzzy feeling he was hoping to get from the career he had chosen.

So, he decided it was time for a change. Ryan and his wife, Megan, abandoned their plans to move to Los Angeles and decided to put down roots in Megan’s hometown - Evergreen, Colorado. It didn't take long for Ryan to realize they had found their forever home.

In December of 2024, Ryan created Shambaugh Advisory - a locally run CPA firm aimed at providing tax and financial solutions for our mountain community. Shambaugh Advisory was born out of Ryan’s love for his community and all of the people and small businesses that make it the magical place that it is.

Ryan’s first client was a small excavation company here in the mountains that had been operating for only a few years. Despite the fact that the owner had been working their hardest (and doing well for themselves), they felt as though they couldn’t get ahead. They would have what felt like a good year only to end up owing tens of thousands to the IRS. After a few years of this cycle, they knew that they needed some help navigating this complex world of tax. Once they started working with Ryan, they quickly got to a point where they had a clear path forward. For the first time in years, they told Ryan, they saw a light at the end of the tunnel. And Ryan had found his purpose.

Ryan is eager to use his skills to make a positive impact on the lives of those who work and reside in his community. His goal is to educate his clients and create a partnership with them in order to allow them to focus on doing what they love while taking comfort in the fact that he will be doing everything in his power to keep as much of their hard-earned money in their pockets.