Advisory Council

The Youth Working Group increases awareness and interest in financial planning careers among college bound high school students - particularly girls and students of color - with opportunities to reach even younger learners. It builds partnerships with organizations connected to business and finance education, especially those embedded in schools and serving diverse youth, while also creating meaningful volunteer engagement and impact‑measurement opportunities. A key aim is to cultivate early interest that steers young people toward registered financial planning programs and the path to CFP® certification. This work strengthens the Center’s emerging efforts to cultivate early interest in the profession.

• Chair: Karen Schaeffer, CFP®, Schaeffer Financial, LLC, Managing Member and Co-founder
• Vice-Chair: Nancy Kistner, CFP®, Vice Chair, U.S. Trust, Bank of America, Private Wealth Management, Managing Director, Wealth Strategy Executive & Head of Business Strategy
• Mary Beth Franklin, CFP®, RetirePro, President + Social Security Expert
• Cary Carbonaro, CFP®, Advisors Capital Management, LLC, Head of Office
• Katie Cullen, CFP®, BlackRock, Head of BlackRock Business Consulting
• Danny Harvey, Prairie View A&M University, Financial Planning Program Director
• Annie Haehl, Northwestern Mutual, Senior Director, Field Talent Acquisition and Growth Initiatives
• Mark Johannessen, CFP®, Creative Planning, Partner, Private Wealth Manager
• Robert Powell, CFP®, RMA®, Swampscott Tides, Inc., Founder

The College Student Working Group focuses on expanding awareness and interest in financial planning careers, supporting students on their early career journeys and in becoming CFP® Professionals, with a particular focus on CFP Board registered baccalaureate financial planning programs. Initiatives increasing the number and diversity of college students entering the profession support the Center’s commitment to building a sustainable and diverse financial planning pipeline.

• Chair: Sherri Trombley, Schwab Advisor Services, Director | Advisor Services Business Consulting & Education
• Vice Chair: Maxim Dollinsky, Warrington College of Business, Clinical Assistant Professor & Director of Finance Professional Development (FPD) Program
• Yusuf Abugideiri, CFP®, Yeske Buie, Chief Investment Officer + Partner
• Caleb Brown, CFP®, MBA, New Planner Recruiting, LLC, CEO & Founder
• Luke Dean, Ph.D., Utah Valley University, CFP® Financial Planning Program Director + Associate Professor
• Mac Gardner, CFP®, FinLit Tech + The Four Money Bears, Founder & Chief Education Officer + Co-Founder
• Sabrina Lowell, CFP®, Second Summit Wealth Management, LLC, Founder + CEO
• Debra Radway, CFP®, MBA, Arizona State University Teaching Associate Professor
• Erin Voisin, CFP®, EA, MS, CDFA®, ChFC®, EP Wealth Advisors LLC, Managing Director & Partner

The Career Changer Working Group engages individuals from diverse professional backgrounds who are exploring a transition into financial planning. Career changers represent a significant share of new CFP® professionals, bringing valuable skills, life experience, professionalism, and connections from other fields. Meeting growing consumer demand for financial planners requires welcoming and supporting this talent. The group offers resources to help them enter the profession, strengthen their resumes, and access meaningful experience and employment opportunities while cultivating strategic partnerships that broaden these pathways.

• Chair: Phuong Luong CFP®, Just Wealth, LLC + Boston University Online Financial Planning Program, Founder & Financial Planner + Director
• Vice Chair: Billy Walsh, MBA, ABFP®, Corient, Wealth Advisor
• Kelly DiGonzini, CFP®, MST, Beacon Pointe, Director of Financial Planning
• Kedisha Ebanks, Global Advisor Group, Financial Advisor
• Miquez Hadley, CFP®, AAMS®, Edward Jones, Director
• Erica James, CFP®, CPA, Signify Wealth, Wealth Advisor
• Sheila Lawrence, CFP®, Ballentine Partners, LLC, Partner and Senior Client Advisor
• Angela Ribuffo, CFP®, RICP®,ChFC®, CDFA, CLTC, WMCP®, Raion Financial Strategies, LLC + Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., President & Financial Advisor + Registered Representative
• Melissa Sotudeh, CFP®, MAI Capital Management LLC, Managing Director + Senior Wealth Advisor
• Leslie Tabor, Charles Schwab, Director of Business Consulting and Education

The Career Enhancers Working Group focuses on attracting, retaining, and supporting early-career financial services professionals — particularly women and people of color — on their path to CFP® certification. It develops programs and resources that strengthen career growth, address barriers that cause talented professionals to leave the field, and support the pursuit of certification, including through the accelerated pathway available to qualifying credential holders such as CPAs and CFAs. Through this work, the group directly advances the CFP Board's goal of building a more diverse profession that better reflects the communities it serves.

• Chair: Brandon Dixon-James, CFP®, Resilient Wealth Management, Inc., President/Financial Planner
• Vice Chair: Charles Adi, CFP®, Blueprint 360, LLC, Financial Advisor
• Audra Bohannon, Bohannon Advisors, Founder
• Frank Dobbin, Ph.D., Harvard University Professor of Sociology
• Craig Jones, JD, MBA, CPWA, The Colony Group, Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer
• Amanda Scipione, Mandy, Fidelity Investments, Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion
• Justin A. Sullivan, CFP®, PNC Private Bank, Senior Vice President + Wealth Market Leader
• Nicole B. Simpson, CFP®, Ph.D., Harvest Wealth Financial, LLC, Founder & CEO
• Grant Rawdin, CFP®, Wescott Financial Advisory Group, Founder & CEO
• Valerie A. Rivera, CFP®, First Gen Wealth, Founder + Financial Planner