Meet our Review Board members and learn more about our process
We know that finding trustworthy
financial advice online can be difficult and confusing—the internet is full of unverified information and
personal opinions masquerading as facts. In order to help you feel confident making money decisions, we
prioritize publishing fact-checked articles that are up to date with industry developments and trends. To
ensure we’re reaching that goal, we created the Financial Review Board, a group of professionals with
wide-ranging expertise in the financial industry, from professors to certified financial planners. These
experts comb over our content and work with our editorial team to make sure we’re giving you the best
possible information, every time.
Who Is On The Board?
Our board boasts experts with 100+
years of combined financial experience and a range of specialties, like taxes, investing, debt, financial
planning, and economics. We hand-picked these members based on their impressive credentials and ability to
communicate sometimes difficult or dense concepts to a broad audience.
Somer G. Anderson
Assistant Dean—Accounting, Finance, & Economics and Assistant Professor—Accounting & Finance
Somer G. Anderson, Ph.D., CPA, has been working in the accounting and finance industries for over 20
years as a financial statement auditor, a finance manager in a large healthcare organization, and a
finance and accounting professor. She has a passion for increasing the financial literacy of American
consumers and has published her related research in peer-reviewed publications such as the Journal of
Financial Planning, Financial Services Review, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Journal of
Financial Counseling and Planning, and Family of Consumer Sciences Research Journal. Somer is an
assistant professor in accounting and finance at Maryville University where her balance of industry
experience, research, and service brings depth to her teaching and allows her to extrapolate teaching
moments from real business events.
Anthony Battle is a financial planning expert, entrepreneur, dedicated life long learner and a
recovering Wall Street professional. He has been working in the finance industry for 15+ years and is a
fierce advocate for including financial literacy as a basic educational requirement in public education.
Anthony is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. He has earned the Chartered Financial
Consultant® designation for advanced financial planning, the Chartered Life Underwriter® designation for
advanced insurance specialization, the Accredited Financial Counselor® for Financial Counseling and both
the Retirement Income Certified Professional®, and Certified Retirement Counselor designations for
advance retirement planning.
Michael Boyle is an experienced financial professional with more than 9 years working with financial
planning, derivatives, equities, fixed income, project management, and analytics. Highlights from
his career in the securities industry include implementing firm-wide technology migrations, conducting
education for financial planners, becoming a subject matter expert on regulatory changes, and trading a
variety of derivatives. Chartered Leadership Fellow at the American College of Financial Services, he
coached and supervised financial planners on making suitable recommendations of complex financial
products.
Thomas J. Brock is a Certified Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant with more than two
decades of experience in a variety of corporate and individual settings. In a corporate setting, he
oversees a $4 billion insurance portfolio that includes $650 million in life insurance assets,
facilitates investment risk assessments, formulates asset allocation recommendations, manages
relationships with external advisors and money managers, and ensures compliance. In personal settings,
Thomas has provided financial planning and investment management services to individuals. In those
roles, he's offered retirement plans, investment policies, and in-depth education on asset classes,
investment strategies, personal finance topics, insurance, and annuities.
JeFreda R. Brown is a financial consultant, educator, entrepreneur, and researcher. She has more than 20
years of professional finance experience across federal, nonprofit, corporate, and academic sectors. In
addition to her experience across multiple sectors, she has served as a professor and facilitator for
courses at Cornell University, University of Alabama Birmingham, and Indiana Wesleyan University. She
has taught courses in corporate finance, personal finance, financial accounting, and managerial
accounting, and she facilitates Cornell's Women's Entrepreneurship Certificate Program. JeFreda holds a
doctorate in business administration from Walden University.
Thomas J Catalano is a CFP and Registered Investment Adviser with the state of South Carolina. He holds
an MBA from PACE University and completed his education in financial planning at NYU. Thomas has worked
for Merrill Lynch and NMS Capital Advisors. In those positions, Thomas worked with individuals and
companies to assess their financial situation and create a comprehensive plan to achieve their financial
goals. Thomas currently owns his own advisory firm, Hilton Head Wealth Advisors. His daily client
services include portfolio management and ongoing guidance on which financial strategies, insurance
products, and savings vehicles are most appropriate based on individual client goals.
Amilcar Chavarria is a fintech and blockchain entrepreneur with over a decade of experience launching
companies. He currently teaches cryptocurrency and fintech at major universities like Cornell, Wharton,
and MIT; and advises governments, financial institutions, regulators, and startups. He’s also held
management roles at Goldman Sachs and BlackRock. As the founder of FinTech School and instructor at
various universities, Amilcar has trained over 20,000 students in his academic career in topics related
to finTech, blockchain, cryptocurrency, entrepreneurship, and Innovation.
Marguerita M. Cheng is the Chief Executive Officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth. Prior to
co-founding Blue Ocean Global Wealth, Marguerita was a Financial Advisor at Ameriprise Financial and an
Analyst and Editor at Towa Securities in Tokyo, Japan. Marguerita is a spokesperson for the AARP
Financial Freedom Campaign and a regular columnist for Kiplinger. She is a CFP® professional, a
Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, a Retirement Income Certified Professional®, and a Certified
Divorce Financial Analyst.Marguerita studied at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan, and earned her B.S. in
Finance and her B.A. in East Asian Language and Japanese Literature from the University of Maryland,
College Park. She is a recipient of the Ameriprise Financial Presidential Award for Quality of Advice
and the prestigious Japanese Monbukagakusho Scholarship.
Doretha Clemon, Ph.D., MBA, PMP, has been a corporate IT executive and professor for 34 years. She
is a Real Estate Investor and principal at Bruised Reed Housing Real Estate Trust, a State of
Connecticut Home Improvement License holder. She advises on real estate wealth building for
retirement, home buying, consumer debt, credit repair, HUD/FHA, VA and USDA mortgage funding programs
with down payment assistance and tax savings on properties in HUD opportunity zones and enterprise
zones. Certified by the State of California to teach Accounting and Finance, she is an
adjunct professor at Connecticut State Colleges & Universities, Maryville University and Indiana
Wesleyan University.
Amy Drury is an accomplished financial educator with nearly two decades of experience teaching training
financial professionals in accounting, business management, analysis, financial modeling, and asset
management. Her clients include Wall Street firms and educational institutions: JP Morgan, HSBC, Morgan
Stanley, Fidelity, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Columbia University, Tulane University, and
Wake Forest University. Some of the topics that Amy has taught include accounting, financial modeling,
valuation techniques, IRFS accounting, merger modeling, and financial analysis. In addition to teaching
clients through classes and workshops, Amy has been a contributing writer for multiple publications,
online learning curricula, and accounting and investment banking textbooks.
Eric is an Independent Insurance Broker, licensed in Life, Health, Property & Casualty
insurance. His time is spent helping his client base prepare for the unexpected. His
background in tax accounting has served as a solid base supporting his current book of
business. Eric primarily services the NJ area, though he is licensed in several other
states. Eric is passionate about financial education, entrepreneurship, and balancing a healthy
mindset toward business. He has been working as a business professional for more than 13
years, whether that be in accounting or insurance. He is committed to understanding the needs of
his clients, while educating them so they are able to understand the products that will protect them
when needed most. Eric's specialities include life insurance, business insurance, and home
insurance.
Akhilesh Ganti is a commodity trading advisor (CTA) with more than 25 years of experience in trading,
with a focus on commodities. He has more than a decade of experience trading on the forex market,
serving as a senior risk manager, proprietary trader, and CTA at three firms, respectively.In those
roles, he managed risk across multiple platforms, ran hedging operations, provided market-making in all
major currencies, and, in his current position at ArctosFX, is responsible for all trading
decisions.Akhilesh graduated from Mississippi State University with a Master of Business Administration
in finance.
Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a credentialed tax expert with Intuit. Her
impressive resume includes accounting positions at health care, banking, and accounting firms. In
addition to her work with companies, Ebony's role as a QuickBooks ProAdvisor allows her to help
individuals work through their tax returns. In the past, Ebony served as a tax preparer for the IRS'
Voluntary Income Tax Assitance program.
Peggy James is a CPA with over nine years of experience in accounting and finance, including corporate
and nonprofit environments. She has a wide variety of experience that includes budgeting, journal
entries, bank reconciliations, expense management, human resources, and payroll. She has also conducted
personal finance training for several hundred undergraduate college students and over one hundred
faculty and staff. She most recently worked at Duke University and is the owner of Peggy James, CPA,
PLLC, serving small businesses, nonprofits, solopreneurs, freelancers, and individuals.
Robert Kelly has an illustrious career as a business executive, economics expert, and investment expert.
He has held executive positions at energy businesses for more than three decades. He is an executive
professor of finance at the Texas A&M Mays Business School, and serves as an adjunct energy
economics instructor of economics at the University of Houston and Rice University. Robert's investment
experience includes roles as a lead or co-lead on more than a dozen projects in which he has raised more
than $4.5 billion from investors and commercial banks.
Khadija Khartit holds FINRA 7, 63, and 66 licenses and is an accomplished consultant, executive, and
entrepreneur with deep expertise in banking, corporate finance, investing, credit cards, and general
business matters. She is a strategy consultant and M&A advisor at fintech KoreFusion, and serves as
investment officer at Aghaz Investments. Additionally, she teaches fintech and entrepreneurship at
Cornell University and Brandeis University. Khadija is a Fulbright scholar and holds master's degrees in
finance and business administration.
David is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and an expert in the fields of corporate financial
accounting, individual & corporate tax strategy, and financial statement preparation and analysis.
During his 6+ year career, David has assisted complex multimedia, manufacturing, rental & realty,
and digital marketing companies in the development and management of their budgeting, accounting,
finance, and tax strategies to ensure the financial growth and operational success of the businesses. He
has also worked with thousands of individual, corporate, nonprofit, and trust and estate clients in
the planning, preparation, and execution of tax strategies designed to minimize tax burden and increase
wealth retention. David has assisted numerous individuals with retirement planning and long-term
investing strategies to preserve and grow wealth.
CFO Consultant and Finance and Accounting Professor
Julius Mansa is a CFO consultant, finance professor, and U.S. Department of State Fulbright research
awardee in the field of financial technology with over 15 years of experience in financial and
operations management. Julius' business experience is dynamic and includes leading the finance,
operations , and management teams of companies in multiple industries which include real estate,
logistics, financial services, and non-profit organizations. As an academic, Julius spends his time
lecturing on topics in accounting and corporate finance. Outside of academia, Julius is the Managing
Partner and lead CFO consultant of MaxPoint Advisors, which is a financial business partner for
medium-sized companies that need strategic and senior-level advisory services on how to grow their
companies and become more profitable.
Cierra is the Founder and CEO of Murry Consulting which provides banking compliance, credit risk
management, and loan review services to various financial institutions. She has expertise in reviewing
securities-based, premium financing, asset-based, cash flow, small business, middle market, corporate,
and institutional transactions. In addition, she provides loan signing services ensuring borrowers have
completed their loan documentation properly. She also serves as a FINRA non-public arbitrator resolving
securities-related disputes that involve investors and brokerage firms.
Charles is a nationally recognized capital markets specialist and educator who has spent the last three
decades developing in-depth training programs for burgeoning financial professionals. He has spent
over three decades as a financial educator, where he developed specialized classes for investors,
traders, IT executives, legal/compliance officers, and various types of specialized operations groups.
These classes have included topics concerning the real-world issues revolving every day in the worlds of
equities, fixed income and derivatives, as well as discussing and dissecting economics, market
intelligence, and the ever-changing effects that technology has in those markets.
Dr. Colleen Ramos is a strengths-based leader that focuses on helping individual, teams, and
organizations maximize their potential by recognizing and leveraging their human capital to gain or
maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.With more than 20 years of experience, Colleen has
worked closely with start-up organizations and turned around businesses that need to move quickly to
maintain their viability in a competitive market. Her knowledge of human-resources development and
systems approach to change, as well as a keen understanding of organizational culture, has helped her
bring success to failing institutions.
Erika Rasure is an Assistant Professor of Business and Finance at Maryville University. She is an expert
in personal financial planning and practices as a financial therapist. She has spent the past six years
teaching and has included FinTech in personal finance courses and curriculum since 2017, including
cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Globally-recognized as a leading cryptocurrency subject matter expert
and educator, she helped create a FinTech curriculum track within the Management and Information Systems
degree plan at Maryville University, where she developed and teaches the Digital Assets course.
Certified Financial Planner and Assistant Professor of Finance
Brandon is a financial planner, wealth manager, and assistant professor of finance with a wide breadth
of knowledge about taxes, retirement, and financial planning. Brandon is a Certified Financial Planner,
Retirement Income Certified Professional, Enrolled Agent, and an assistant professor of finance at East
Texas Baptist University. He earned a doctorate in finance from Hampton University. Brandon owns his own
financial and retirement planning firm, through which he applies his expertise to daily conversations
about investing, taxes, and financial planning.
Charlene Rhinehart
CPA, Author, and Speaker
Charlene Rhinehart is a certified public accountant, Chair of the Illinois CPA Society Individual Tax
Committee, one of Practice Ignitions Top 50 Women in Accounting, and an accomplished speaker and author.
In addition to her accounting experience, Charlene has a real estate license and is the founder of
Wealth Women Daily, a website that provides actionable advice to help women start investing. Charlene
has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University.
Pamela Rodriguez is a Certified Financial Planner®, Series 7 and 66 license holder, with 10 years of
experience in Financial Planning and Retirement Planning. She is the founder and CEO of Fulfilled
Finances LLC, the Social Security Presenter for AARP, the Treasurer for the Financial Planning
Association of NorCal. Through Fulfilled Finances, she currently serves about 60 families, individuals
and businesses. She is currently enrolled in the CIMA® program at the University of Chicago Booth
Business School. Through her participation with the Association of Financial Educators, she is able to
help hundreds of employees understand difficult topics and feel confident about their personal finances
and retirement.
Gordon Scott has been an active investor and has provided education to individual traders and investors
for over 20 years+. He is a licensed broker, an active trader, and proprietary day trader. He was the
managing director for the Chartered Market Technician (CMT)® program offered by the CMT
Association. Gordon had an additional seven years of experience as a trading coach at Beacon
Learning Group. Gordon's career also includes 10-years with International Business Machines Corporation
(IBM), where he developed instructional materials and business process refinement. He also was an
Adjunct Instructor at Brigham Young University–Organizational Strategy and Leadership department.
Michelle P. Scott is a New York attorney with extensive experience and expertise in taxation,
corporate governance, financial and nonprofit law, and federal and state government relations. She
has practiced tax law with private law firms in Washington, D.C. and New York City and served as
legislation counsel for the Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. Congress. For almost two
decades, she was Vice President andCorporate Counsel of an international financial services firm,
responsible for significant investment transactions and tax planning. She also has served as General
Counsel of operating nonprofits engaged in conservation, healthcare and insurance research, and
international development, and has written and lectured extensively.
Samantha Silberstein is a Financial Consultant and Financial Literacy Coach. She is a Certified
Financial Planner currently based out of Northern California. She provides financial education and
advice through 1:1 sessions, customized workshops and personalized webinars. Her day to day is filled
with 1-on-1 conversations about 401ks/403bs, ERISA guidelines, IRAs, student loans, tracking spending,
creating budgets, debt repayment strategies, pretax/Roth contributions/savings, and other non-retirement
saving options/vehicles.
Andy Smith is a self-employed consultant, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), licensed realtor and
“pracademic” (combining practical experience and the ability to teach those concepts). He has 35+ years
of diverse experience across federal, corporate and academic sectors; and is an expert on personal
finance and investing, corporate finance and real estate. After advancing through the ranks from
analyst to CFO, Andy shifted gears to academia and working with students and clients one-on-one. At
heart he is an educator, and enjoys assisting clients in meeting their financial goals, no matter
how large or small their resources.
Amy Soricelli has spent more than four decades working with individuals in their job search. Whether it
is a one-on-one session discussing skills, experience, and goals with a new graduate, or constructing
the resume for a job seeker who is returning to the workforce after a considerable break.In addition to
career planning and assistance for the higher education population, Amy spent fourteen years in a
boutique staffing firm working with administrative professionals.As a fierce advocate for the
under-represented, Amy works with hundreds of employers to provide opportunities for the population she
serves.
Chip Stapleton is a Series 7 and Series 66 license holder, passed the CFA Level 1 exam, and is a CFA
Level 2 candidate. He, and holds a life, accident, and health insurance license in Indiana. He has eight
years' experience in finance, from financial planning and wealth management to corporate finance and
financial planning and analysis. He has experience with case design, product knowledge, investment
analysis, investment recommendation, portfolio construction, asset management, financial statement
analysis, business planning, and business exit strategies.
Each article is written by an expert
in their respective financial field, often certified professionals like CPAs and CFPs. Then, we assign the
article to the best-suited Review Board member, based on their expertise. From there, our board members read
each article thoroughly, evaluating it for accuracy and relevancy, and pass it back to the editorial team to
make any necessary adjustments. Finally, the article receives an official stamp indicating it has been
reviewed by a member of our Financial Review Board. Our Review Board members’ extensive training and
experience, paired with our editorial know-how, give you the best answers to your money questions.
How Do I Know If An Article Was
Reviewed?
You may notice a check mark appear at
the top of some articles. The check mark signifies that a board member has reviewed the article, taking
special care to confirm that the information presented is both accurate and up-to-date.
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