After 11 years of working at some of Wall Street’s largest firms, I found myself increasingly frustrated by a lack of financial service options for my friends who were in a similar position as me. I was “doing everything right,” contributing a healthy portion of my paycheck to my 401(k), saving for a down payment on a co-op in NYC, and stocking away any extra money toward my yearly travel fund. However, even after following all the rules in the book, I was nowhere near qualifying as a client for the very firms I was working for. I had friends and acquaintances asking me for financial advice, but I couldn’t work with most of my immediate network because - like me - they simply did not have enough money (yet) to invest in order to be my clients.

And, thus, mid-pandemic when I had a lot of time to think and reflect, I started dreaming about what life would look like if I started my own practice that allowed me to work with an audience that I hadn’t been able to before. What started as a fantasy slowly morphed into a concrete plan, and in January 2023, I left Wall Street and launched FAAV.

Now, more than ever, I get to work with 30- and 40- something-year-olds who face the challenges of balancing today’s desires and demands with tomorrow’s goals. I help my peers simplify their financial pictures and give them clarity on where they stand financially in relation to where they want to go so they can spend more time focusing on their families, friends, hobbies, and experiences.

When I’m not working on FAAV, I’m managing a wedding and events venue that my husband, Mike, and I built and run together on our farm in Miami, FL. You can also find me drinking hot tea, reading either a personal finance or mystery book, exploring the Florida Keys, creating new experiences with my bonus kids, or taking my dog to the park.