My Story

I sat at the dinner table with my mom, barely touching my food, trying to put words to a growing sense of frustration. I was a trained social worker, and my day involved talking with clients about their goals and trying to help them navigate situations that felt overwhelming. I loved connecting with people, but I worked at a shelter, supporting people who were buried under medical debt, earning wages that couldn’t keep up, and living with the health consequences of environmental neglect. We talked about dreams and stability, but the systems around them stayed the same. So there I was, with no appetite.

That same day I had come across a quote from artist Jenny Hozler that had me rethinking everything: “Use what is dominant in a culture to change it quickly.” I brought it up that night at dinner and told my mom I wanted to find a way to create lasting change.

My mom had a way of seeing the bigger picture and never shying away from uncomfortable truths. When I was a kid, she once woke me up to watch a news report about scientists being forced to redact information on climate change. So when I told her about the quote and how stuck I felt, she didn’t try to make me feel better or offer a quick solution. She helped me think through what it might actually look like to apply that idea in the real world.

In American culture, money can play an enormous role in shaping incentives, behavior, and outcomes. Instead of focusing only at the point of crisis, I started paying attention to where money flows, and what happens when it’s directed with intention. I read about conscious capitalism, learned about B Corps, and discovered sustainable and impact investing. For the first time, I could see a path that connected everything I cared about: working closely with people, listening to their stories, and supporting change at a systemic level.

Talking about money is another way of talking about values, trade-offs, and the kind of world we want to help shape. Moving from social work to financial advising felt familiar, just expressed through a different language.

Today, I’m proud to be at Abacus Wealth Partners, a B Corp financial planning and wealth management firm rooted in sustainable investing and built for people who care deeply about the impact their money has on their lives, their communities, and the planet. For those who want to make a positive impact but know that managing money isn’t their calling, that’s where I come in. Together, we can focus on using money not just as a tool for security, but as a way to help support meaningful, lasting change.

How I’m expanding what’s possible with money

I enjoy exploring the behavioral side of finance in addition to the numbers. My experience has shown me how our financial goals can be influenced by our beliefs, values, and experiences. As a former social worker, I am also passionate about supporting local nonprofits. I co-founded 100+ Women Who Care Asheville, a giving circle that supports nonprofits in Western North Carolina, and I serve on the development committee for Pisgah Legal Services, a nonprofit that offers legal aid to underserved residents across 18 counties.

Outside of work, my passions include

Gardening, reading, yoga, running, meditating, and attempting home improvement projects with my husband at our home just outside of Asheville, NC (usually with our two dogs trying to “help”). I’m also a lifelong theatre lover who enjoys everything from going to a performance to (once upon a time) designing costumes or acting.