Derek R. Lawson, MS is a financial planner at Sonas Financial Group in Kansas City, Missouri. Beginning August 2015, he plans to pursue a PhD in financial planning with an emphasis in financial therapy and behavioral finance. Derek is the Director of NexGen for the FPA of Greater Kansas City, and is the Social Media Coordinator for NAPFA Genesis. Additionally, he is a member of the Financial Therapy Association.
Ruth Lytton, PhD
Dr. Ruth Lytton is a professor and Director of the CFP Board Registered Financial Planning Program at Virginia Tech. Dr. Lytton has received various student association, college, university, and professional association awards for her contributions as a teacher, researcher, and career/academic advisor. In 2009 she was awarded the John H. Cecil Lifetime Service Award from the Central Virginia Chapter of FPA, and in 2012 she was awarded the national FPA Heart of Financial Planning Award.
Jason S. McCarley, PhD
Jason S. McCarley holds a PhD in experimental psychology from the University of Louisville. He is currently a professor in the Applied Cognitive Psychology program in the School of Psychology, Flinders University of South Australia.
Lance Palmer, PhD, CPA, CFP®
Dr. Palmer received his Bachelor’s and MBA degrees from The University of Utah and his PhD from Utah State University. He is Associate Professor at the University of Georgia Financial Planning Program, where he teaches courses in financial planning with a focus on retirement and tax planning. Dr. Palmer is a CFP® professional and Certified Public Accountant. He has served on multiple editorial boards and is active in financial planning research. He was a recipient of the Richard B. Russell Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award at the University of Georgia and also received the university’s Engaged Scholar Award. Working in tandem with Tom Cochran and Georgia United Credit Union, Dr. Palmer has helped to expand the service-learning Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program in Athens, Georgia. Students studying financial planning and accounting complete hundreds of tax returns for families and individuals in the local community each year and provide thousands of hours of financial education and planning assistance to these households.
Keith Redhead, PhD
Prior to his retirement in 2014, Dr. Keith Redhead was Principal Lecturer in Finance at Coventry University (UK), where he established a degree program for the education of prospective financial planners. He taught in universities and financial institutions for more than 42 years. Dr. Redhead authored numerous journal articles and nine books in the area of finance. His books included Personal Finance and Investments: A Behavioural Finance Perspective.
Robert Rodermund, MS
Robert Rodermund is Assistant Professor of Finance at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. Prior to his academic career, he was an executive at a large, independent brokerage firm. He holds a BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis, an MSCFE from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and is currently working to complete his PhD at Kansas State University. His research interests include time perspectives and risk tolerance.
D. Bruce Ross III, MS
D. Bruce Ross III, MS, is a marriage and family therapist working on his PhD in Human Development and Family Science with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of Georgia. He earned a Master’s degree in couples and family therapy at the University of Maryland. While working toward his PhD, he works as a traditional marriage and family therapist, as well as a financial practitioner at the ASPIRE Clinic at the University of Georgia.
Jorge Ruiz-Menjivar
Jorge Ruiz-Menjivar is a doctoral student in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia. His current research focuses primarily on financial risk tolerance, its assessment, and cross-cultural applications.
Ronald A. Sages, PhD, AEP®, CFP®, CTFA, EA
Ron is co-founder and President of Chapin Asset Management, a boutique wealth management firm with offices in Greenwich, CT and Hilton Head Island, SC, and Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning at Kansas State University. His research interests are in behavioral finance, risk management, and financial literacy. A financial planner since 1973, Ron earned his PhD in personal financial planning from Kansas State University in 2012.
Joyce Schnur, CFP®, MBA, ChFC
Joyce joined Kaplan University School of Professional and Continuing Education in 2006, and her responsibilities as Dean include oversight of Kaplan’s Financial Services businesses, which include security and insurance licensing, wealth management, and professional development. Kaplan’s reach in the financial services industry extends globally, and in 2014 Joyce was named as a global sector leader for wealth management. Throughout her career, Joyce has been a frequent instructor and lecturer on many financial planning topics including tax topics and estate planning. Prior to joining Kaplan, she had over 20 years of financial counseling experience, during which time she advised many executives and directors of Fortune 500 companies, as well as small business owners.
Katie Seay, CFP®
Katie Seay is Assistant Trust Officer and the Director of Financial Planning at The Trust Company in Manhattan, Kansas, where she provides in-depth and long-term financial and retirement planning expertise to clients. Previously, Katie worked with a large financial planning and counseling firm in Atlanta, Georgia that mainly serves Fortune 500 company executives. Katie is a graduate of the Family Financial Planning Program at the University of Georgia and is a CFP® professional.
Martin C. Seay, PhD, CFP®
Martin C. Seay, PhD, CFP®, is Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. His research focuses on borrowing decisions, the role housing wealth plays in family finances, and how financial behavior is shaped by an individual’s psychological profile. Dr. Seay currently serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Financial Planning and the Journal of Financial Therapy, as well as serving as Vice President of Communications for the Academy of Financial Services.
Deanna L. Sharpe, PhD, CFP®
Deanna L. Sharpe, PhD, CFP®, is Associate Professor in the Personal Financial Planning Department at the University of Missouri–Columbia. Her research and teaching focuses on relationships between the household and market economy. She has won awards for research on grandparent-headed households and financial issues of having a child with autism. The courses she has taught include Financial Counseling, Personal and Family Finance, Assessing the American Dream, Tax Planning, Employee Benefit and Retirement Planning Family Economics, and Personal Financial Issues of Older Adults.
Michael Snowdon, CFP®
Michael Snowdon, CFP®, is director of education and professionalism at Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB). Michael oversees education and training content development to support FPSB’s professionalism and certification standards. A former practicing financial planner and financial planning educator, Michael has more than 30 years of experience in the financial planning profession, and has authored nationally acclaimed financial education and training materials. Michael received a Master’s in psychology and administration from Cincinnati Christian University and a Bachelor’s in education from Ozark Christian College.
Taylor Spangler, MS
Taylor Spangler is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Family, Youth, and Community Sciences Department at the University of Florida, focusing on personal finance topics. She is also the state coordinator for the Florida Master Money Mentor Program, a UF/IFAS Extension volunteer financial mentoring program sponsored by a gift from Bank of America.
Kelly S. Steelman, PhD
Kelly S. Steelman is Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences at Michigan Tech University. Her research focuses