At the time, I didn’t realize how rare that was. I didn’t know that many people, especially many women, were never taught how money works, how to budget, how to invest, or how to feel confident making financial decisions.

That realization has shaped my entire life’s work.

In college, I founded a national sorority to help women feel safe, supported and connected. Even then, I found myself teaching women how to budget, how to understand their finances, and how to feel more in control of their lives.

After graduating, I began my career at JP Morgan Chase in the management training program and later the executive management training program after earning my MBA. I went on to hold roles at Citibank and Lord Abbett Mutual Funds before launching my own financial planning firm and earning my CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) designation, which is considered the gold standard in the financial planning profession.

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My journey has not been a straight line. I built my own firm, merged it with another firm, United Capital, navigated the sale of United Capital to Goldman Sachs, and experienced many personal and professional highs and lows along the way. I went through divorce, remarriage, reinvention, uncertainty, and growth. Each chapter deepened my empathy and strengthened my commitment to helping women feel financially safe, secure, heard and empowered.

Over the years, I became a CFP Board Ambassador, founded the Women’s Leadership initiative at United Capital, began speaking around the world, appeared in hundreds of media segments, and received industry recognition for my work. I also wrote The Money Queen’s Guide: For Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear to help women take ownership of their financial futures.

Today, I am represented by Washington Speakers Bureau and continue to speak, write, advise and advocate on the topic that has always been at the center of my work: women and money.

The common thread throughout my life has been helping women move from fear to confidence, from uncertainty to action, and from feeling overlooked to feeling powerful. I believe women should never feel like victims in their financial lives. They should feel like victors.

The wealth management profession has often failed women. It has not always listened to them, understood them, or served them in the way they deserve. But I also believe it has one of the greatest opportunities in front of it: to become more empathetic, more inclusive and more female-friendly.

And that is my life’s work.  To help women own their financial power and to help the financial services industry better serve them.