Who leaves a lucrative corporate career to dedicate her life to teach charitable gift planning? ME!

After two decades working in legal, charitable, and financial planning, I felt a tug on my mind and on my spirit. – a tug towards something new. I looked back at my professional career and realized that all of my experiences, education, and expertise were leading me to something bigger than just a job. They were leading me to a professional calling – a vocation.

Let me tell you the story….

Rewind to 2003……I had my first taste of nonprofit work at my law school’s nonprofit business clinic. We had the “joyous” task of filing paperwork with the IRS to help people turn their ideas into actual charities. This was right up my alley. The nerdy side of my personality got to fill out stacks of tax forms and the caring side got to help create charities. Win-Win!

After passing the bar exam, I joined an estate planning law practice. I was on my way – or so I thought. The firm closed a year later and I lost my job. I was devastated! That very same day a community foundation posted an opening for a gift planner. Not knowing exactly what a “gift planner” was, I applied and happily spent the next decade as a charitable gift planner working with people from all over the country to turn hundreds of millions of dollars into what mattered to them. There, I also discovered my natural talent for teaching – in front of a crowd, no less!

Eventually, my thirst for knowledge came knocking. I wanted to know more about the financial side of all those gift plans I worked on. I landed a job at a Fortune 300 financial services company. The learning curve was a sheer vertical cliff face. I learned a lot very quickly. I got my securities licenses; earned RICP and AEP certifications. I spent several busy years counseling and training hundreds of financial advisors all over the U.S. on everything from income tax to social security to retirement plans, business succession planning, and beyond.

Years went by and I felt that tug from within – that tug toward vocation. It was time for me to turn my passions for educating and charitable planning into a business. It was time to connect the dots, share my knowledge, and lead others on a journey to to unlock the wealth that wants to be shared.

The result was HOLT Consulting. Now, I live my vocational dream every single day. It’s my job to help make the magic that happens when we turn wealth into what matters.