I grew up on the family farm in southwest Michigan. After four generations, we’re still farming there. I learned the business aspects of running the farm from an early age. My father taught me to buy stock while I was only in elementary school, maybe 7 or 8 years old. He was working as a commercial banker with JP Morgan. I was naturally drawn to math. My teachers told me that girls were not good at math. Math was for boys. They suggested I focus my interests on things that girls were good at like nursing or teaching.
But my father encouraged me to choose a career in any field I wanted. He told me that girls can be good in math too. He constantly test us and wouldn’t allow a calculator in our home. In high school, I started following my stock portfolio in the Wall Street Journal and voiced my career goals to become a financial advisor.
I went on to college to study engineering and ended up with a B.S. in Architecture. I was one of two as the first African American women ever to earn this degree from the School of Architecture at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
I took my Architecture degree to work for General Motors – in the manufacturing engineering department and after some time they offered me a fellowship to obtain my MBA from the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.
Of course, once I had the MBA in my hip pocket, it was only a matter of time before I became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Today I teach CFP courses for The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Professional Education.
Now I have achieved the goal of my childhood and enjoy time with clients, listening to them talk about their goals and the things that concern them. I enjoy reviewing the entire financial picture of the family and help them plan for specific goals such as retirement, vacation travel, college funding, or a second home.
I live in Lago Vista, Texas on the north shore of Lake Travis. I enjoy live music concerts and visiting Texas wine country events in central Texas. However, most weekends I play golf with my league at the Balcones Country Club, where I am a member.
