President/CEO
Arnold T. Ardevela, MBA, CCS, CPC, CPC-I, COC, CHCC, C-CDI, CCDS, CIC
With a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix, Arnold has been able to establish one of the most successful consulting, auditing, and staffing firms for hospitals, medical groups, physicians, and other types of healthcare organizations in Southern California and various parts of the nation.
Trained as a Physician in the Philippines, he has over 25 years of coding and auditing experience. Arnold has multiple Medical Coding credentials issued by both the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) and by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). From the AAPC, he holds the Certified Professional coder (CPC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), and Certified Professional Coder-Instructor (CPC-I) credentials. The CPC-I designates him as an approved Professional Medical Coding Instructor through the AAPC.
Through AHIMA Arnold holds a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) credential. Arnold is at the forefront of the conversion from ICD-9 to ICD-10. He is an AHIMA Approved ICD-10/PCS Trainer, and has been active in making preparations for classes on not only ICD-10, but Anatomy & Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology. He is also a Certified Healthcare Compliance Consultant (CHCC) and has conducted numerous coding audits nationally.
Arnold also serves as Program Director of Tri-County Allied Health School. Being a medical school graduate from the Philippines and having worked in the medical coding industry for several years, he has been able to transform that experience into a comprehensive learning program to help others begin their own careers as healthcare professionals.
Chief Financial Officer
Ester Ardevela, MSN, NP, CCS
Ester has over 25 years of healthcare experience starting from her years of critical care nursing to her later work as a Nurse Practitioner in nephrology. She served for many years as an RN before pursuing her Master’s Degree in Nursing from UCLA. She then became a Certified Nurse Practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
As AE & Associates, LLC began to grow exponentially, Ester advanced from her role as a Nurse Practitioner and assumed the position of CFO of AE in 2005.
Ester is also a Certified Coding Specialist (CCS) through AHIMA and is the Admissions Director of Tri-County Allied Health School. Ester works collaboratively with Arnold Ardevela to successfully direct the company’s daily operations.
General Council
Gary Tran , Esq.
A part of the medical industry in his early days working with pathologists when he was 16, Gary joins us with vast experience in the professional world with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Area Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. After completing his studies at UCLA, he spent time in international commerce assisting with the procurement and rehabilitation of aircraft for the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation of Taiwan before venturing into commercial real estate, public service, and eventually law school.
In 2009, Gary graduated in the top percentile of his class and earned his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University, School of Law. Gary is tasked with ensuring that AE & Associates, LLC is in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local laws, business development, and outreach.
In his spare time, Gary can be found volunteering his time with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles handling cases and staffing legal clinics for the indigent.