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News Release

CFP Board Appoints D.A. Abrams, CAE to lead the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning

November 13, 2019

CFP Board has named D.A. Abrams, CAE—a seasoned not-for-profit leader with special expertise in diversity and inclusion and workplace development programs—as the new managing director of the Center for Financial Planning.

In this position, Abrams will provide the leadership and vision for the Center as it seeks to increase the diversity, inclusion and sustainability of the financial planning profession. He is a member of CFP Board’s executive leadership team reporting to Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Keller, CAE. Abrams began on November 4, 2019.

“D.A. is a highly accomplished and visionary strategist whose ability to build a comprehensive program of diversity and inclusion will benefit the work of the Center and CFP Board’s mission and strategic priorities,” said Keller. “His leadership will build upon the excellent work of the Center, taking it to another level to help grow and sustain the profession and meet Americans’ needs for competent and ethical financial advice. We are excited to welcome him to our team.”

Abrams is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with more than 26 years of experience in both private and nonprofit organizations. The majority of Abrams’s career was spent at the United States Tennis Association (USTA), where he oversaw increases in membership and fundraising. Most recently, Abrams owned and operated his own consulting firm that helped businesses and organizations with their diversity and inclusion efforts.

While at USTA, he became its chief diversity and inclusion officer where he created workplace, workforce, community and marketplace strategies vital to the growth of tennis across the country. Under his leadership, USTA increased the diversity of its staff, volunteers, interns, suppliers, officials, players, tournament organizers and audiences.

“The work of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning is critical in meeting the needs of this growing profession. From increasing the diversity among the ranks of CFP® professionals to helping to build an academic foundation, the Center is central to the profession’s sustainability and longevity,” said Abrams. “I look forward to working with the Board of Directors, the Center’s advisory committees and my colleagues, financial planning firms, and other stakeholders in building on the good work that has been done and continue the progress that has been made.”

Abrams earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Millersville University and his Master of Management and Administration from Metropolitan State University. He is a member of the advisory board of Diversity MBA Magazine, is board chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Sports Consortium and is the National Association of Asian American Professionals board treasurer.

ABOUT CFP BOARD

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board sets standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CFP® certification – one of the most respected certifications in financial services – so that the public has access to and benefits from competent and ethical financial planning. CFP Board, along with its Center for Financial Planning, is committed to increasing the public’s awareness of CFP® certification and access to a diverse, ethical and competent financial planning workforce. Widely recognized by firms and consumer groups as the standard for financial planning, CFP® certification is held by more than 83,000 people in the United States.

CONTACT

Dan Drummond, Director of Communications
202-379-2252
Mobile: 202-243-8621
[email protected]

About the CFP Board center for financial planning

The CFP Board Center for Financial Planning seeks to create a more diverse and sustainable financial planning profession so that every American has access to competent and ethical financial planning advice. The Center brings together CFP® professionals, firms, educators, researchers and experts to address profession-wide challenges in the areas of diversity and workforce development, and to build an academic home that offers opportunities for conducting and publishing new research that adds to the financial planning body of knowledge

Contact

Jessica Lewis
Communications Specialist
202-379-2256
Mobile: 301-655-0389
[email protected]