Sheila Padden, CFP®, CPA/PFS, CPA President sheila@paddenfinancial.com
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After completing Northwestern University's Certified Financial Planning Program and passing the rigorous 10 hour CFP Exam, Sheila knew that she would re-focus her career on Personal Financial Planning. At the NAPFA conference in Chicago, Sheila learned about fee-only practice models, met amazing fee-only advisors, and felt relieved that she could continue working as a trusted advisor and not sell commission-laded products.
Sheila graduated with Honors from the University of Notre Dame and holds a Bachelor's of Business Administration in Accountancy. As a licensed CPA in Illinois, Sheila completes at least 120 hours every three years of continuing education. Sheila is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and its Personal Financial Planning Section.
Sheila is actively involved in Notre Dame Women Connect where she is national chair, and in the Center for Economic Progress where she is a tax preparer for low-income families.
Her favorite activities include: tennis, golf, reading and spending time with family and friends. Sheila has been married to Mike for over 25 years and they have 4 children, 3 sons and a daughter. The youngest son and daughter are twins
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Sophie Kaluziak, CFP®, CPA Secretary / Treasurer sophie@vistafp.com
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I have a sole proprietorship in Oak Park, IL. After getting my B.S. in Accounting and my CPA, I worked as a sales tax auditor for the Florida and Massachusetts Departments of Revenue, eventually training new auditors and then moving into management for the final twelve years of my time there.
It was a great run, but after 21 years in state tax auditing, I was ready for a career change. Working with a career counselor, I narrowed my interests down to being an electrician or a financial planner. I chose the latter. My first professional conference was in Reno where I met Joanne Paynter. My conversations with her, and all that I subsequently learned about ACP (FKA Cambridge Advisors), convinced me that this was the system that I wanted to use for my financial planning practice. I began Vista Financial planning in 2003 and received my CFP in 2006
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Steve Swicegood, CFP® Immediate Past President steve@consciousmoney.com
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Steve Swicegood, CFP® began his financial services career in 1974 in the property and casualty insurance business. Prompted by his personal interest in investing and finance and by an increase in requests for help from his insurance clients, Steve began offering personal financial planning in the mid 90’s.
Steve founded his current business, Conscious Money Solutions, in 2009 with the specific intent of offering his clients holistic Financial Life Planning. This is a process that, in his words, “includes full consideration of how each financial decision impacts other areas of life that are touched by money. More importantly, Financial Life Planning is about helping clients make the money they have work for the life they want.”
A veteran of the US Air Force, Steve attended Central Arizona College and the University of Albuquerque as a business major. He completed his financial planning curriculum through Florida State University. Steve and his wife, Connie, have lived in Amarillo since 1978. They have two adult children—a son, Jimmy, who is a successful business owner in Amarillo, and a daughter, Erica, who is a physician in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.
When he is not working or playing with his grandchildren, Steve likes to scuba dive, ski, travel (particularly to locations with sandy beaches and palm trees) and participate in CrossFit workouts. Steve and Connie are active at First Baptist Church in Amarillo, where they both work with ESL (English as Second Language) classes. Additionally, Steve teaches financial literacy classes for Habitat for Humanity and volunteers as a counselor and mentor to juvenile offenders.
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Tim Caban, CFP®, EA tim.caban@copperbeech advisors.com
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I live with my family in Malvern, PA, with my wife and two children, our dog, and five chickens. I am an avid gardener and cook.
In my earlier career, I worked for 11 years in New York City in multiple jobs in the financial industry. I worked as a currency trader at JP Morgan & Co, and later as a loan officer at the JP Morgan Private Bank before switching careers to become a financial planner. Having witnessed the financial industry firsthand, warts and all, I was eager to find a better way.
I am a CFP® and EA. Before ACP, I never did my own taxes. It was through the encouragement of the group that I got outside my comfort zone and started doing taxes, ultimately obtaining my EA designation. It is a huge differentiator from my competition, and I would not have achieved this if it were not for ACP.
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Josh Cutler, CFP®, EA josh@bluestemfa.com
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Josh is a partner and lead advisor at Bluestem Financial Advisors in Champaign, IL. He joined Bluestem in 2014 after working for a regional investment brokerage firm, where prior to joining Bluestem, he realized that his passion was in helping people, not selling them products. Josh’s active involvement volunteering for ACP supplements his serving on the boards of other local organizations, including the Eastern Illinois Estate Planning Council, his local Toastmasters group, and the regional board for American Cancer Society.
At home, Josh loves enjoying time with his wife, daughter, and English Bulldog above all else. Living in the Champaign area, which is home to the University of Illinois, means Josh is surrounded by sports and a culture of always learning. He is also an avid fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Bears and enjoys playing the guitar, golfing, exercising, and trying new craft beers.
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Cole McClarren, CFP®, EA cole@cambridgetucson.com
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Cole is a Certified Financial Planner™, Investment Advisor Representative, and is enrolled to practice before the IRS. Cole is a graduate of Susquehanna University, where he earned degrees in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Finance, as well as Economics. Cole is also an active member of Mensa.
Cole joined Cambridge Financial Group in 2013. He specializes in Stock Option planning, investments, goal setting, and cash flow management.
Outside of work, Cole enjoys spending time with friends, cooking, watching television, and figuring out ways to optimize his life, and performance. He is currently learning how to code Java, and attempting to be handy around the house.
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Cordi Powell, CFP®, EA Cordi@FavoredFP.com
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Cordi founded Favored Financial Planning to serve people from all walks of life. She believes that once you understand how to integrate the pieces that comprise your financial life, you can reach your goals. Cordi’s team is comprised of financial advisors from the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. These organizations are invaluable for remaining up to date on the latest changes in the financial world and ensuring she has the resources to help her clients make the best financial decisions possible.
Prior to Favored Financial Planning she received a Doctor of Medicine and completed a medical residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Brody School of Medicine in Greenville, N.C. There are a lot of similarities between achieving physical fitness and being fiscally fit. You identify goals for yourself, develop a plan to reach those goals and live intentionally toward achieving your goals.
Cordi has worked with individuals, through a program at her church called Financial Freedom, since 2007 helping them to identify and achieve their financial goals.
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Wesley Stien, CFP®, MBA wstien@lodestarfm.com
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Wesley grew up in the Holston River Valley of Virginia, and it was here that his love of the outdoors took hold. He has lived most of his life in the Mid-Atlantic region and currently resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his amazing wife, Christine, eleven year-old daughter, Sadie, and trusty canine, Rodney.
Wes’ education and professional experience are a collection of two recurrent themes: intellectual challenges and helping people improve their lives. He worked as a case manager at a multi-national law firm where he assisted attorneys with front page litigation while earning his MBA. He also tutored inner-city kids in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and led troubled teens through intense personal and physical challenges across hundreds of miles of wilderness trails and rivers.
In business school, Wes was drawn to personal finance because it offered both intellectual challenges and the ability to work with people. Following graduation, Wes joined a well-known brokerage firm as a financial advisor. He later worked as a dually registered advisor at an RIA before concluding that his mindset differed fundamentally from commission based advisors and discovering fee-only financial planning.
Wes is a CFP® practitioner who holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University, an MBA from George Mason University, and an executive certificate from Georgetown University.
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