My father unexpectedly passed away when I was a young child leaving my mother with confusion, low financial literacy, and a mound of paperwork she had no knowledge on how to navigate. His passing was completely unexpected and our world changed literally overnight.

In the years to come, I saw many financial choices made out of a wide assortment of emotions and rationale, all doing the best we could, but without a guided, informed plan. Early in my career I contacted a financial advisor whose advice focused on stocks picking and returns. Meanwhile, I was trying to understand financial behaviors and larger strategy I could implement to benefit me now and over the long term. Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was seeking a trusted guide for a long-term strategy – a fiduciary, comprehensive financial planner.

Fast forward a few years, my now-spouse and I hired a financial planner. She taught how to optimize our benefits, track toward our goals, all while explaining to us options to consider as we made decisions. Our experience with our planner inspired me to become a CFP® professional myself.

I’ve now been guiding people towards confident, informed financial choices for several years. I have the heart of a social worker and the brain of an engineer, which has been a stronghold as I guide people in navigating meaningful, complex decisions throughout their lives.