I grew up in Southern California and watched the dot-com bust wipe out savings invested on hype instead of a plan. That experience stayed with me. It taught me that the real value of financial advice isn’t picking the next big thing. It’s making sure every dollar has a job that serves the life you want to build.

I started my career in 2015 as an intern at UnionBanc Investment Services. After a brief early role that helped me figure out what kind of advisor I wanted to be, I joined Wells Fargo Advisors as a registered representative serving high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth households. I learned the many layers of wealth management there: how highly paid W-2 professionals and business owners can make their finances more efficient, and how multigenerational families plan to leave a legacy for their heirs while also giving generously to the causes they care about. While working full time, I earned my MBA at USC’s Marshall School of Business. In my final year, I moved into a management role at Morgan Stanley overseeing three branches.

After Marshall, my wife Savannah was finishing her doctorate as a nurse anesthetist (CRNA, DNP), and we moved to the Bay Area for her to join Stanford. I became a branch leader at Fidelity Investments, where I led the branch’s shift from a product-driven business to one built on planning. During that time I also earned my CFP® certification through NYU’s School of Professional Studies.

By then I knew I wanted to build a firm focused on comprehensive, personal financial planning. While planning that next step, I met Jeff Clark. As he walked me through what Redwood Money stands for and how he had built it, I realized he had already created the firm I had in mind. Joining him made more sense than starting over on my own. I believe the saying “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together” holds true in this business.

Today I especially enjoy working with medical professionals, including RNs, CRNAs, DNPs, PAs and MDs, as well as highly paid millennials and multigenerational families with philanthropic goals. My goal is to help each of them invest with purpose and build wealth that reflects what matters most.

Outside the office, Savannah and I are raising our child and working toward our own big goal: one day funding an endowment at the Long Beach State University School of Nursing, where Savannah earned her undergraduate degree, to help bring more nurses into the profession.