In honor of Women’s History Month, Dynasty Financial Partners is proud to unveil The Dynasty Women’s Network (“DWN”) Trailblazer Series, celebrating the women of Dynasty and its Network of firms. By highlighting the unique professional paths forged by several female advisors, the series is meant to inspire women across the industry to become independent financial advisors and CEOs of their independent financial advisory firms.
In an industry where women are atypical, DWN’s mission is to empower and advance women by focusing on their individual voices and visions and providing business and management education, mentoring, and networking. Since its founding nearly 15 years ago, Dynasty has strived to enhance the visibility and engagement of women, equip its Network with tools for growth, and strive for a balanced representation of women in wealth management.
During the month of March, Dynasty will leverage social media to highlight several female advisors in its network to draw attention to the challenges, as well as the opportunities, for women in the wealth management space. Through their stories, these ‘Trailblazers’ hope to ignite female participation in the industry. In addition, the Dynasty Foundation will donate $1,000 to encourage women in its network to take the NASAA Investment Advisers Law Examination (Series 65).
A snapshot of Trailblazer stories include:
- Katherine Forrester Schneewind, CEO of High Note Wealth, who began her career as a country music singer and transitioned to financial services and is now CEO of her independent firm.
- Jennifer Dorgan, Chief Administrative Officer of Dynasty Financial Partners, influenced by her grandfather’s work for the Federal Reserve and a college visit to the floor of the NYSE, spent 20 years with JP Morgan before founding a healthcare business and ultimately returning to financial services dedicated to helping other entrepreneurs realize their dreams of independence.
- Elizabeth (Lisa) van Walleghem, who joined Continental Illinois Bank after graduating from high school in Miami, is now CEO and Founder of MAXIMAI Investment Partners
- Danie McHugh, who worked at J.Crew Corporate and as a runner for the Board of Trade after college which she transitioned into an opportunity in finance, is now a Partner at Summit Trail Advisors.
- Angela Gingras, Chief Operating Officer of Dynasty Financial Partners, has spent her career in financial services, 22 years of which she spent at Raymond James before joining Dynasty.
- Michelle Smith, Founder and CEO of Source Financial Advisors, stuffed envelopes for seminars her mother hosted for women after she entered the wealth management business following her second divorce.
- Pam Stross, Executive in Residence, Dynasty Financial Partners, who grew up in a military family, started her career as a bank teller following her mother’s advice to “work in a bank because tellers have the cutest uniforms.”
- Teresa Friess, a Managing Director at Nilsine Partners, planned to become a math teacher until an internship led her to apply for an entry support position at Merrill Lynch.
- Samantha Sullivan, Director of Operations at Dynasty Financial Partners, began her career working with teams of wealth management advisors in Florida, Georgia, and New York before joining Dynasty to manage the Dynasty Turnkey Asset Management Program.
- Cathi Sanford-Flores, COO of Next Capital Management, interned on the floor of the NYSE and worked her way to a position with Bear Stearns. When Bear Stearns collapsed, she had the opportunity to join then-client Next Capital as a client service associate.
- Casey Jorgensen, a Senior Vice President, Relationship Management, Dynasty Service Team, started her career as a client service associate after graduating college, sleeping on an air mattress until she could afford to furnish her apartment.
- Jenn Barry, Chief Administrative Officer and Investment Advisor at Aaron Wealth Advisors, started her career as an investment banking analyst, before pivoting to the then-male-dominated trading floor where she spent 24 years as an institutional equity salesperson before joining Aaron Wealth as an investment advisor.
- Sally Cates, Managing Director, Head of Public Relations at Dynasty Financial Partners, began her career journey as an assistant producer for financial news at CBS, which sparked her interest in financial communications. She held a global communications role at Citigroup for over a decade before joining Dynasty shortly after its launch.
- Melissa Dittrich, Executive Vice President of Employee Benefits at Procyon Partners, secured a job with GE Financial after college as an Employee Benefits Underwriter, then moved into account management working for the only female sales manager in the company. The experience inspired her to mentor the next generation of female leaders.
- Leslie Dentinger, Deputy Chief Technology Officer at Dynasty Financial Partners, graduated college with a finance degree and took a job in Operations with a financial services firm in her hometown of St. Petersburg to appease her parents. This role led her to work as a Process Improvement consultant where she discovered how technology can be used to drive better business results.
Throughout his career, Dynasty Founder and CEO Shirl Penney has been a fierce advocate for women within the male-dominated wealth management industry. “Diverse voices and perspectives are essential for the future of our Network and the broader financial services industry. One of the keys to success for female advisors is having a mentor, someone to sponsor and help them navigate the complexities of this industry and provide advice and guidance on moving up the ladder. At Dynasty, we have prioritized this kind of support and community for both female and male advisors so that their clients benefit from the best advice possible.”
Follow Dynasty’s Trailblazer Series on its LinkedIn during the month of March: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dynasty-financial-partners
About Dynasty
Dynasty is a provider of technology-enabled wealth management solutions and business services for financial advisory firms primarily focused on serving high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients. Dynasty provides access to a comprehensive platform of software and technology tools, business services and holistic investment management capabilities through an open-architecture platform delivered via a suite of proprietary and third-party technologies. Dynasty’s technology, tools and services provide advisory firms the supported independence to launch their business, scale their operations and grow their firms — both organically and inorganically — while also allowing them to be more focused on and better equipped to serve their clients.
For more than a decade, Dynasty has championed the benefits of independent wealth management for high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and has contributed to the movement of assets from traditional brokerage channels to the independent channels of wealth management. As Dynasty is becoming a recognized industry leader, Dynasty has differentiated itself by developing competitive strengths, including a deep understanding of and strong relationship with its clients, a comprehensive offering of services and technology-enabled solutions, the ability to leverage its size and breadth to invest, the flexibility and seamlessness enabled by a modular technology solution, the entrepreneurial culture and experienced and committed management team. Dynasty is committed to continually growing its business by facilitating existing advisory firm clients’ growth, onboarding new clients, increasing the clients’ use of its broader capabilities, launching additional solutions and facilitating complementary acquisitions.
