Connor Presson

Connor Presson joined Merit in December 2017 and is the Senior Manager in our Property Tax practice. Based in our Oklahoma City office, Connor leads efforts in valuation, negotiation, process improvement, and outsourcing services for clients in energy-related industries. His extensive experience includes providing valuation and negotiation services for clients in the E&P, midstream, and oilfield service sectors.

 Additionally, Connor contributes to the development and implementation of comprehensive property tax systems. These systems are designed to support ad valorem tax management for organizations with substantial multi-state asset portfolios.

Connor holds a BSBA in Accounting from Oklahoma State University.

Kersey Tse

Kersey Tse is a Senior Manager of Sales and Use Tax at Merit Advisors, specializing in sales and use tax strategy, audit defense and transaction tax planning. In this role, Kersey leads complex tax projects, providing strategic solutions that drive measurable results.

Kersey joined Merit in 2023, bringing more than 10 years of tax experience within the energy sector. Previously, he served as Lead Tax Analyst at CenterPoint Energy, where his responsibilities included sales and use tax process improvements, SOX compliance enhancements, and identification of tax benefits. Kersey has also served as a Senior Accountant at Chord Energy Corporation and Senior Consultant at Ryan, LLC.

Kersey graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with dual degrees: Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) and Bachelor of Arts (Sociology). He minored in Accounting and Management Information Systems. Kersey is an active Sales Tax Certified Member (CMI) of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

Kay Vogler

Kay Vogler is a Senior Manager in the Property Tax practice at Merit Advisors, where she leads a team of dedicated consultants focused on minimizing annual property tax liabilities and ensuring accurate valuations for the firm’s clients. Kay joined Merit in 2022, bringing over 30 years of property tax experience. Over the years, she has represented properties all over the United States. Kay started in the property tax business at Jimmy G. Myska, Inc. in 1994. Vann Vandervoort partnered with Jimmy G. Myska in 2005 to form Myska and Vandervoort, LLC. In 2016, that firm merged with Stancil Property Tax , which was acquired by Merit in 2022.

James Holzer

James Holzer is a Senior Manager in the Severance Tax department at Merit Advisors, where he focuses on finding tax savings opportunities for oil and gas producers in a variety of jurisdictions. James and his team uncover these opportunities by analyzing each jurisdiction’s statutes, regulations and case law to identify all possible incentives and deductions. He then coordinates with Merit’s clients to develop a plan to claim these tax credits in alignment with their company’s business model.

Prior to joining Merit in 2023, James was a severance tax manager at Ryan, LLC for more than seven years. His diverse experience includes working as a meteorologist in the military for six years, serving as a financial advisor at Edward Jones, and working for the Louisiana Department of Revenue as a law clerk for two years. These experiences have given James insights that aid him in his current role of securing maximum savings for oil and gas producers.

James earned his bachelor’s degree in social sciences with a specialization in history. He then completed his MBA in international business and earned a J.D. with a heavy focus on tax law.

Kielyn Lewis 

Kielyn Lewis is a Senior Manager of Property Tax at Merit Advisors, where he oversees a team of consultants. Kielyn is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and efficiency of team members’ work while providing ongoing support to foster their continued growth within the company. Prior to joining Merit in 2017, he was a salesman at Glenn Polk Ford in Gainesville, Texas.

Kielyn earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Management and his master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of the Incarnate Word. He is an active member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation.

Yvonne Kimbrel 

Yvonne Kimbrel is a Senior Manager of Property Tax at Merit Advisors, where she focuses on valuations, negotiations, process improvements and outsourcing services for mineral-related clients. She has 16 years of ad valorem tax consulting and compliance experience.

Yvonne joined Merit in 2009 as an ad valorem tax consultant specializing in oil and gas properties, pipeline gathering systems, upstream producing properties and complex properties. At Merit, she performs valuation and negotiation services for numerous energy, energy service and telecommunications companies. Her experience includes utilizing valuations to minimize ad valorem taxation for upstream oil and gas assets, drilling rigs, oilfield service equipment, telecommunications equipment, pipelines and compressors.

Yvonne also assists in the development of property tax systems designed to provide ad valorem tax outsourcing and management services for companies with substantial assets in several states. The capabilities of these systems include compliance, tax estimating, reporting, scheduling, tax bill processing and general oversight of the property tax function.

Yvonne earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston. She is licensed as a Property Tax Consultant by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.