Journal of Financial Planning: November 2020
Creating Connection
If you’ve met me, you know that diversity, inclusion, and equity are my passions. As a woman of color navigating my professional life, there were instances prior to joining the FPA family where I felt unwelcome or unable to be myself, and I want to find solutions to help ensure that doesn’t happen to others.
This is our second issue with the diversity and inclusion theme. This year, we tried to bring you perspectives from various diverse people in the profession and from diversity and inclusion experts who offer tangible takeaways for you to implement in your firms.
We asked the folks we interviewed for this issue to share their advice for diverse people coming up in this profession. A common theme was to find a mentor—regardless of whether they look like you—or to become a mentor if you’ve done well and want to give back.
I can confirm that this is sound advice to follow. In the October issue, one of my mentors wrote in this very section that she was passing the reins of the Journal of Financial Planning over to me. Former Journal Editor Carly Schulaka and I did not come from the same background nor did we look the same, but from the moment I interviewed with her in 2014, I knew she was ‘my people.’
Time after time, in my nearly seven years at FPA, she has been a mentor, coach, sponsor, champion, cheerleader, and confidante. She was the hand that reached out and brought me into this profession, subsequently connecting me to so many of you who have become mentors and people I look up to. She valued me, paid me fairly, and offered me opportunities for growth.
This issue also addresses neurodiversity. Andrew Komarow, who has multiple designations, writes in a column on page 36 about how neurodivergent people might just be your next best employees, and he offers advice on how to attract and retain that talent.
So be that ‘Carly’ for a diverse person in the profession; be that hand that brings people in and makes it so they can stay. Heed the advice in this issue on how to create cultures and environments that can help you do just that.
Ana Trujillo Limón
Editor-in-Chief