WIPN March 2023 Member Spotlight

Consultant & Director of Client Services at Multnomah Group, Inc.
WIPN Oregon Chapter Co-Chair


WIPN has been an invaluable source of connections, advice and friendship. My firm is small, and while my fellow consultants are incredible people who are happy to share their knowledge and experience, I am the only female consultant. So when I need advice from that specific lens, I reach out to someone I’ve met through WIPN. The people I have met are kind and generous with their time and expertise.


A few years ago, I made myself a promise to get more engaged in volunteer activities. I work for a few organizations that are important to me, including WIPN. I started volunteering to help out when needed. Apparently, I made myself helpful enough and visible enough that our prior co-chair asked me to take over for her.


I’ve been pitching WIPN to my colleagues a lot recently, especially those early in their careers. I always describe the wonderful research WIPN has done, the value I get from our local chapter events, and also the great information put on nationally and by other chapters who are generous enough to open their doors. However, I think the biggest draw is also the opportunity to network and get advice from folks who you don’t see day in and day out.


I still feel fairly junior in my career, so it was a surprise the first time someone told me they saw me as a mentor. That spurred me to try to step up my game, be more conscious of my efforts to bring up the next generation and hold open the door for those behind me. Getting diverse generational voices in our industry is critical to retaining our industry's health and closing the gender gap. So much progress has been made over the last few decades, but we will likely need new tactics to make continued progress, and I want to make sure we are open to hearing those voices.


It is absolutely both. Mentors have helped me cultivate my skills and prepared me for the next step in my career each time I wanted to make a jump. But without a sponsor to bring up my name and tell others that I was ready to take on more, I couldn’t have made the career progression I’ve had.


Vice President, Retirement Plan Services at Finspire, LLC
WIPN Chicago Chapter Co-Chair


The connections I’ve made through this group have been invaluable. I moved to Chicago without knowing anyone in the industry and started working at a predominately male company. WIPN afforded me the ability to connect with so many strong, career-driven women from different areas of the retirement plan industry who were all willing to offer me advice and support as I started my career here.


I see this as an opportunity to help make deep impacts and connections with women in our industry. It’s been a rough few years with COVID and the many of us are still struggling to get back to some semblance of normalcy but we are going to really push hard and try to grow this chapter and make it something people look forward to being a part of. We as an industry have come a long way but we have so much room to grow still. Being a member for a few years now, I’ve experienced the conversations and the thought leadership and can come from this type of group and I think it’s a powerful thing and I want to be a part of that impact.


I would describe WIPN as a way to connect with a diverse group of women in this space, hear different aspects and viewpoints that spark ideas and conversation, and at the same time offers the opportunity to join a network of career-driven women who are making space for one another in our industry.


Very important. It comes with a lot of pressure though. I feel every conversation, promotion, decision, etc. that we make has an impact on the upcoming generation, whether we know what that impact is yet or not. Being intentional with the language and way you talk about money and this industry is key. It’s got a stereotype and talking about and sharing the wins & successes of women is an important tone to set. I want to try and continue to highlight the wins and progress while advocating to make things better in our workplaces for everyone. We need women in this industry, and we need to continue to invest in women, specifically women with diverse backgrounds and diverse thinking.


Both. In my opinion a mentor is there to provide advice and guidance. When I first started out in the industry, this was most important to me. Everything was new to me, and it felt like there were “rules” that I didn’t know about. Having a mentor to help navigate the egos and personalities was so important when I was starting out. Now that I feel like I have the playbook and understand the game, having someone in my corner pushing me and advocating for me is what it takes to get you to the next level. Whether it’s a co-worker, friend, family member, whoever having that sponsor, someone who is Team You is extremely important in helping promote yourself and provide that extra energy to keep you moving upwards.


Sr. Client Relationship Manager at T. Rowe Price Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
WIPN Greater Cincinnati/Kentucky Chapter Co-chair


I joined WIPN in July 2022 and within the past 8 months, WIPN has helped me to love networking again. My chapter is within a part of my territory that I’ve not covered in previous jobs. I know regaining the love for networking and connecting with others within my community will help my career in many ways going forward.


reached out looking for volunteers and I was at a point within my career and personal life where I knew I could take on the time commitment. Volunteering has always been a part of who I am and what better area to give my time than a professional women’s group!


I would describe WIPN as a group of women representing all areas of the retirement plan industry who are looking to inspire, promote equity, diversity and inclusion, network, and build professional and personal relationships.


As we all know, when we walk into a room with retirement professionals, we are usually the only female or there may only be 1 or 2 other females there. I want to help future generations of women to be confident when they step into the room that is mainly filled with men. If we all continue to inspire and build each other up, it will trickle down for generations to come and we won’t be having these conversations in the future.


I’ll never forget a past manager who was my first career mentor and sponsor. I was just getting started in the retirement plan business and he saw the drive I had to accomplish great things. He held regular 1 on 1 sessions with me where we discussed my career development and future goals. He gave me actionable tasks to complete to get me to the next level and was always encouraging me to join different advisory boards, groups and committees. This really grew my network and helped me to get my name out there since I was just starting. He was also a great sponsor and brought up my name during his leadership meetings as someone who would be a great candidate. I was tapped on the shoulder for my next job (that I had no idea was available) because of his sponsorship.


. Being a small (but mighty!) chapter, we are looking to host 3 more in person events this year to help grow WIPN within our community.