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# Donate
#### Together we can succeed in engaging and empowering more women in the financial advisory profession.
Tax-deductible donations may be made through any of the following:
## **Donate by credit card.**
Make your contribution online through our secure donor tool:
## **Donate by check.**
Make the check payable to Women’s Leadership Alliance and mail to:
Women’s Leadership Alliance
P.O. Box #55186
Saint Petersburg, FL  33732-9998
##
## **Donate cash, stock, or mutual funds held in a brokerage account.**
To make a donation from a brokerage account, please reference:
DTC Eligible Securities: DTC# 5179 – Raymond James Trust, N.A.
\*To make a donation from a Raymond James brokerage account, download and complete the donation form and send to:
Tracy Christensen, WLA
Email: 
Phone: 727-300-3171, ext.800
*If you have questions or would like to discuss ways to contribute to the WLA, please contact Executive Director, Stephanie Gularte at *
The Women’s Leadership Alliance is a registered 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization.  EIN #81-3732234
## ***2024 Circle of Support***
Bella & Chris Allaire | Ellenore Baker | Sharon Barton | Anne Bedinger | Paul Bennett | Kalita Blessing | Kimberlee Bouska | Bill Carter | Mary Carter | Maria Daley | David Law | Edythe De Marco | Bary Dedge | Connie Deianni | Melissa Dyer | Pamela Grey | Jeannie Holliday | Tom & Mary James | Melissa Joy | Teri Kelley | Jack Kennedy | Mikerson Laurent | Judith McGee | Tim McQueen | Kathleen Miller | Miran Milovanovic | Kathy Muldoon | Leo Nemanov | Nina O’Neal | Jodi Perez | Julie Perez | Kelly Petrocella | Paul & Rose Reilly | Colleen Schon | Cathy Seeber | Mark Smith | Margaret Starner | Sherri Stephens | Carl Stuart | Will Taylor | Tom Walrond | Laura Webb | Yvonne Hall | Merrill Lynch | Morgan Stanley | Raymond James
## ***Founding & Visionary Circle Donors***
Bella Allaire | Tracy Alm | Ellenore Baker | Anne Bedinger | Paul Bennett | Kalita Blessing\* | Sarah Boston | Kimberlee Bouska\* | Scott Curtis | Bruce Cacho-Negrete | Vincent Campagnoli | Mary Carter\* | Shelly Church | Chris Butler | Linette Dobbins | Mary Durie | Tash Elwyn | Lynn Faust | Lynn Gaines-Phillips | Janice Henderson | Tom James | Lois James | Kim Jenson | Melissa Joy | Kate Kooman Starkey | Sally Law\* | Judith McGee\* | Kathleen Miller | Constance Miner | Kathy Muldoon \* | Danielle Page\* | Jodi Perry | Frances Povloski | Paul Reilly | Traci Richmond | Judy Singleton | Colleen Schon | Alyssa & Todd Sanford | David Sisemore | Mark & Susanna Robinson | Mark Smith | Sue Spellman | Dawn Starks | Margaret Starner\* | Sherri Stephens\* | Carl Stuart | Jon Wax | Michael & Gina White | Laura Webb | Lara Yates | Lynn Wright | Scott & Melissa Weingarden | Dennis Zank
\*Legacy Founding Donors $25,000+
## ***Empowering Circle Donors***
Tori Boswell | Pamela Grey | Ilona Box | Tracy Belton | Jeanne Connolly | Mary Owens | Amber Seale
## ***Supporting & Sustaining Circle Donors***
Sacha Millstone | Robert Bjork | Daniel Boyce | Caroline Holt | Tim Meek | Patrick Rooney | Brian Sweet | Melissa Dyer | Marcia Person | Crystal Alford Cooper | Ramzi Baklouti | Bill Carter | Karen Flynn | Timothy & Christina Killgoar | Kristie Kindstrom | Julie Perez | Jeannie Holliday | Lisa & Peter Walsh | John & Donna Walton
## ***Her Trailblazing Path 2023: Judith McGee***
*Presenting Sponsor*
The Starner Group of Raymond James, Margaret Starner, Scott Weindgarden, Bruce Cacho-Negrete
*Leadership Sponsor*
Raymond James, Andrea Masterson
Carl Stuart Investment Advisors
Mercer Advisors, Kalita Blessing
*Partner Sponsor*
Law & Associates, Janice Henderson
Stephens Wealth Management Group, Sherri Stephens
Carter Financial Management, Ellenore Baker and Kathy Muldoon
*Friends of Judith*
Addison Avenue Investment Services, Kimberlee Bouska
Anthem Advisors, Collen Schon
Beachside Wealth Advisors, Mary Carter
Birch Cove Group, Robert Bjork
Calamos Investments, Tim Meek
Tash Elwyn
Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Patrick Rooney
Webb Investment Services, Laura Webb
*Donors*
Andrea Cook | Daniel Boyce | Laura Webb | Brett Agnew | Tammy Hall | Danielle Page | Heidi King | Lanta Evans-Motte | Victoria Azpurua | Connie Webb | Anne Bedinger | Caroline Holt | Glenda Kemple | Jackie Schlup | Kim Waldman | JoAnne Galbraith | Kristie Strubeck | Melissa Joy | Connie Deianni | Melissa Dyer |
\*Please reach out to Tracy Christensen at  with any questions or concerns regarding contributions.
# ***Many thanks to WLA sponsors!***
 PO Box #55186
 Saint Petersburg, FL 33732-9998
 727-300-3171, ext. 800
##### Blog
  #### 
  31 October, 2024* 
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    24 October, 2024* 
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      26 July, 2024* 
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        10 April, 2024* 
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          14 February, 2024
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##### Get Involved
The Women’s Leadership Alliance (WLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by a group of high-achieving female financial planning professionals from around the country. The alliance provides education and support for women interested in pursuing a career in the financial planning industry.
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Comments on: Donate
Advancing Women in the Financial Advising Profession
Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:32:15 +0000
hourly
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# Join the Ambassador Community
#### Together, we can make a difference.
## Join a powerful community dedicated to empowering women in the financial advising profession.
The Ambassador Community is the WLA’s ambitious next step in building an empowered and diverse community of financial advisors, leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, educators, students, advocates and allies committed to advancing women in the financial advising profession through advocacy and engagement.
Our Ambassadors are a part of a growing network across the country. Together, we are organizing and scaling our energy, resources, outreach, and support for women in the financial advising profession. As a WLA Ambassador you will be a part of a powerful and empowered community making a difference in finally moving the needle in gender representation at all levels in the financial advising profession.
As a WLA Ambassador you will receive exclusive benefits along with opportunities to support advocacy efforts. Ambassadors will benefit from their membership in a growing network of professionals in the exchange of ideas, resources, and tools while collectively helping to scale the reach of our vision to transform the financial advising industry to one in which women comprise an equitable representation at every level.
There is a place for everyone in the WLA Ambassador community who believes that attracting, supporting, and empowering women in the financial advising profession is good for women and good for our entire industry.
Comments on: Join the Ambassador Community
Wed, 20 Mar 2024 16:27:17 +0000
# Meet the Future Faces of Financial Advising
## 31 Oct Meet the Future Faces of Financial Advising
Posted at 11:17h
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Meet the future faces of Financial Advising! The Women’s Leadership Alliance highlights the characteristics and qualities that make a successful advisor and shines light on the many opportunities available to women on this career path.
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##### Tracy Christensen TEST
# Two groups for women financial advisors unite forces
## 24 Oct Two groups for women financial advisors unite forces
Posted at 15:03h
**Two groups for women financial advisors unite forces**
**By** **October 23, 2024**
Two organizations supporting the advancement of women in the financial advisor profession are uniting to boost their shared mission together.
The  merged into the  at the beginning of the month, the . As part of joining forces as a combined group with between 250 and 300 members, Female Advisor founder Nina O’Neal of AIM Advisors joined Women’s Leadership Chair Kimberlee Bouska of Addison Avenue Investment Services and other members of the merged group’s board.
Leaders of the combined group “anticipate doubling our membership in 2025 and continuing to grow quickly from there” through “leveraging the collective experience and professional networks of our ambassadors to form regional circles who work collaboratively to encourage membership” and “rolling out a new business ambassador partnership for businesses to join our community,” Bouska said in an email.
**READ MORE:**
“With the combination of our organizations we hope to build a more impactful, organized movement towards positive change that benefits the entire industry,” Bouska said. “The addition of Nina to our already stellar board and the women of FAN to our ambassador network means that we can be a powerful partner for industry firms and women advisors to finally make significant progress in .”
The groups formed roughly around the same time as efforts  into the industry and  in a profession in which  of  are women. O’Neal . The organization has hosted events of its own and among members at large firms’ conferences, created mentorship and accountability programs and opened a marketplace of technology and professional coaching firms that provide discounts to the group. Much of that will continue after the merger into Women’s Leadership, O’Neal said in an interview.
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The world is changing. Has your approach to financial planning also changed? Have you modified your methods, your messaging, and your mindset to…
After a member of her group who was also on the board of Women’s Leadership brought the two organizations together, O’Neal was “was very impressed with their leadership, their infrastructure,” the fact that they had become a formal 501(c)3 nonprofit and had “raised a lot of money for projects, staff and scholarships,” she said.
“I didn’t know anything about the Women’s Leadership Alliance,” O’Neal said in an interview. “They really wanted to explore working together, versus having two different organizations working toward the same purpose.”
A group of senior-level financial advisors who were part of the Raymond James Women Financial Advisors Network started Women’s Leadership in 2017, and the group is still a strategic partner to the Raymond James program while being open to women, male allies, university professors and student aspiring professionals across the industry. The organization launched its  last year for its most active members, expanding the group’s footprint and participating in local events.
With a board of women advisors from across the country and an advisory board with planners and executives from firms like Raymond James, JPMorgan Chase, Merrill, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Ameriprise, the group also offers mentorship, career resources and college student programs.
“In the past we’ve seen different broker-dealers approach this problem by creating women’s councils in an effort to recruit more women to their firm, but this just shifts the numbers around from broker-dealer to broker-dealer without moving the needle,” Bouska said. “We identified that we needed a firm-agnostic organization dedicated to bringing more women into the industry. At this time, we are working to recruit by focusing efforts on college age women and career changers. We work to overcome biases and societal stereotypes and show them what being a financial advisor is really all about. It’s a career that is rewarding both emotionally and financially, where you have several career paths to choose from based on your personal preferences, where our inherent strengths as women make us exceptional in this career.”
To get involved with the goal of advancing more women in the profession, advisors and firms can join as members or sponsors helping the merged group with, for example, its outreach to young women explaining, “what the job is and what are some of the benefits of it,” O’Neal said. Besides promoting greater gender diversity in the profession, the programming will assist the industry in better , she noted.
“This is a group with a true heart and vision for really working towards the betterment of the whole industry,” O’Neal said. “I’m thrilled at the opportunity we have together and just hope folks will join us.”
Chief Correspondent, Financial Planning