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Meet the Team!
We Are Here to Serve You
Ashley Sharek | Managing Attorney
Attorney Ashley Sharek's estate planning practice focuses on helping families enhance their lives today and secure their futures tomorrow.
She excels in guiding her clients through the often confusing maze of financial and legal decisions to create plans that ensure the well-being of their families and the accomplishment of cherished family goals. Her considerable legal expertise includes family protection, wealth preservation, and values-based planning, as well as planning strategies for unmarried couples and divorced individuals. Whether you are married or single, with a traditional family or blended one, just starting out or looking back on a life well-lived, Ashley will help you to craft a plan that achieves your goals for your loved ones today and for years to come.
Ashley graduated from Duquesne University Law School in 2012 and was admitted before the U.S. Tax Court, successfully defending an innocent spousal relief case against the IRS. After graduation, Ashley focused her law practice in the areas of insurance defense, family law and estate planning & administration in downtown Pittsburgh. Ashley has experience in various areas of civil law and litigation and is currently focusing her practice in the areas of estate planning & administration along with small business and nonprofit formations for Pennsylvania residents.
Ashley is a member of the Elder Counsel, a national organization of trusts and estates attorneys and other legal, tax and business professionals who design sophisticated planning techniques for individuals and families.
Ashley loves speaking to private groups on a variety of topics including family wealth planning, wealth preservation, and asset protection of inheritances, Ashley enjoys educating her community. Ashley has chosen to concentrate on the Trusts and Estates area because she is passionate about helping families create happy and secure futures.
She is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania state courts and the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Ashley resides in Wexford with her husband, Tim, and their two dogs, Parker and Ella.
Samantha Smith | Attorney
Samantha became an attorney to assist clients in making legal and financial decisions with intentionality and awareness to protect their family and legacy. Her goal is to empower families, divorced individuals, and single parents to make choices today to plan for a life they love and a legacy worth leaving. Samantha's practice focuses on Value-Based Planning, Kids Protection Planning and Wealth Protection. She graduated from Widener University Commonwealth Law School, with a certificate in Legislation while receiving recognition for community service. Samantha is an active member of Victory Family Church and the Real Property Probate & Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Lastly, but most importantly, she is blessed to be the mother of Noah and Raquelle and a dog owner of a high-maintenance miniature pinscher named Jay.
Molly Farmer | Client Services Director
Molly is our Client Services Director and your main contact person when you work with Sharek Law Office. With over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry, Molly’s love of client-focused service and learning about clients and their families brings an additional approachable touch to the firm. Molly’s roles include providing regular updates to clients, prompt and friendly communication to questions and inquiries, maintaining records and documents, and assisting Ashley with day-to-day operations. She is a Licensed Notary Public in Pennsylvania. As a true Pittsburgh native, Molly can be found on her days off running, hiking, biking, or boating around the city.
Katie Kudrick| Client Intake Coordinator
With over 15 years of experience working in theatrical lighting design and equipment sales & rentals, Katie is bringing her expertise in collaboration, communication, and customer service to the clients of Sharek Law. As the Client Intake Coordinator, Katie will be the first contact at the firm and is here to guide potential clients to take their very first steps on the path to meet their unique estate planning needs. After the first inquiry, Katie’s goal is to calm any stress and fear clients may have starting the estate planning process and set them up for a successful introductory meeting with Sharek Law. As a Pittsburgh native with deep family roots in the area, don’t hold it against her that she has been living in the Baltimore suburbs for over ten years (rest assured, there’s a reason she does not wear purple). Katie earned her B.F.A. in Theatrical Lighting Design in 2008 from Penn State University, her M.F.A. in the same from the University of Wisconsin in 2011, and her M.B.A. from the University of Maryland in 2020. In Katie’s life outside of work, she enjoys watching theater, concerts, and classic movies with her partner, building her computer coding skills, walking through life with her best friend Skylar (her beloved Shih Tzu), and being an aunt to her amazing niece and nephews.
Alayna Keller | Office Coordinator
Alayna Keller is the Office Coordinator with seven years experience in Human Resources and Banking. Her empathetic and hospitable personality led her to volunteer at Families Matter Food Pantry in Beaver County where she currently resides.
Alayna studied at Colorado Christian University where she obtained her degree in business. She now utilizes her educational background and previous experience to assist colleagues and ensure each individual's planning goals are met.
Sandy Ray | Drafting Coordinator
Sandy is the Drafting Coordinator at Sharek Law Office. She brings 16 years of legal information technology expertise to the firm and has over 22 years as an analyst/developer in the medical and point-of-sale fields, as well as a naval defense contractor. She resides in Westmoreland County with her husband, Herb. Sandy enjoys family time, cycling for charity rides, beachcombing for sea glass, and hunting for whitetail deer with her hubby.
Beth Colletts | Funding Coordinator
Beth Colletts is the Funding Coordinator at Sharek Law Office. Beth brings over 45 years of Banking and customer relationship experience to the firm and recently retired in July 2022 from banking. She is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh and currently resides with her husband in Mars Pa . In her free time Beth enjoys watching her grandsons play football, traveling and camping. Beth looks forward to helping our clients with any needs or questions in the area of funding.
Kelsey Maline | Marketing and Social Media Coordinator
Kelsey creates and manages the content for our social media accounts, blog, newsletters, and Google Business profile. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in Communication in 2013, and has worked in many areas of the field. In 2019, she published her first book on Amazon. Kelsey is a native of Pittsburgh and a lifelong Pennsylvania resident. In her free time, she enjoys skiing, wedding and portrait photography, going to concerts & festivals, adventuring outdoors, spending time with her husband, son, and family.
Ruthann Bowen | Website Designer
Ruthann Bowen, founder and owner of WIX DesignHer, is a creative and business-minded web designer located in the greater Pittsburgh, PA area. She is also the author of "The Female Entrepreneur's Guide to Creating a Website in a Weekend." She works with small businesses and female entrepreneurs building beautiful, modern websites which accurately represent clients' brands. As a WIX expert, she teaches business-related classes showing people how to design using the easy drag-n-drop website building platform. Exercising the experience gained from her background in PR, she also holds workshops focused on the power of utilizing branding, social media and search engine optimization for small businesses.
Ruthann has spoken at Belmont University, Grove City College and Butler County Community College on the topics of of blogging and content creation. She has also contributed to Business News Daily and Best Company on the importance of professional web design.
Tim Sharek | Real Estate Coordinator
Tim Sharek has been an educator for 15 years. In 2018, he began helping Ashley with some of the operational duties at Sharek Law Office. He additionally became a Notary Public. As the Real Estate Coordinator, he is responsible for managing the 67-county deed recording process in Pennsylvania. He continues to assist the firm with technical/IT support as needed. In his free time, he enjoys playing music, distance running, and traveling.