Page 26 - Investment Advisor September 2021

within IMPACT, a multicultural employee resource group. Brian Haney, founder and vice president of The
Horn played a critical role in Courageous Conversations Haney Co., is a member of NAIFA’s Diversity
about race throughout the company. She is a member of an Council, American Society of Association
industry council that works to build an inclusive business Executive’s Diversity committee, the Equality
leadership pipeline and increase the number of successful Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D. C., the
Black executives. Horn volunteers in her community as a Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and
member of its Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Advisory Females & Finance, all with the purpose of being an ally and
Committee. In short, she is a change agent actively pro- partner to underrepresented groups. Recently, he helped The
moting change. Haney Co. earn Green America’s Green Business Certification,
which is awarded to businesses committed to using their plat-
Denise Williams, chief people officer and form for positive social and environmental change.
EVP of human resources at FIS, imple-
mented a strategy to increase awareness
and inclusion in education, engagement, INDIVIDUALS – RIAs
visibility, recruitment and charitable part-
nerships. Williams also chairs the Enterprise Inclusion Akeiva Ellis joined Ballentine Partners in
& Diversity Council at FIS. Recently, she served as host August 2017 as the sole Black employee. She
of the American Heart Association’s Central and NE co-led a grassroots initiative to advance DEI in
Florida Chapter’s 2020 STEM Goes Red for Women the company. She also co-led firm-wide DEI
event to inspire school-age girls to pursue careers in sci- training efforts and assisted in rolling out soft-
ence, technology, engineering and math-related indus- ware that allows for assessment of unconscious bias. In 2021,
tries. Williams serves as executive sponsor of STEM the company made DEI initiatives an official part of her job. As
initiatives at FIS. Additionally, Williams is an active part of this role, Ellis is the project lead in establishing the
participant in mentorship and educational programs for firm’s diversity scholarship to help support Black and Latinx
minorities in Florida. CFP candidates. She also assists the chief creative officer in
establishing the company’s Black wealth initiative.
Michael Kitces, chief financial planning
nerd of Kitces.com, also is the host of the Sarah Cain, Carson Group vice president of
Financial Advisor Success podcast, which coaching & consulting, recently worked with
has featured 114 women in the industry — industry experts to design a DEI course that is
from the founders of major financial ser- available free to industry members. The online
vices enterprises to those who started a solo firm to course includes core information, videos,
balance work and family life — whose stories have been reflection questions and actionable steps individuals and firms
heard nearly 2.5 million times. Kitces notes that the num- can take to make progress in the DEI area. Cain believes if
ber of female CFP professionals has been “stuck” at 23% advisors don’t try to attract and retain a diverse team, they’re
for nearly 20 years, and the lack of stories about success- missing a huge opportunity. As a female in financial services
ful female advisors has been a major inhibitor to attract- for the past 16 years, she understands this firsthand. She was
ing more women, according to the CFP Board’s own especially energized to develop the course after the racial
diversity research. unrest of last year and seemingly waning of initial interest by
the industry.
Leslie Tabor oversees Schwab Advisor
Services’ RIA Talent Advantage program, Rose Niang is director of financial planning
which helps advisory firms attract, develop at Edelman Financial Engines’ office in
and retain diverse talent, and the DEI Duluth, Georgia. She founded EFE’s Black
Advocacy Board, which helps connect advi- and African American Employee Resource
sors with each other and with Schwab leaders to share their Group and BEACON (Black Employees
perspectives and solutions. Tabor also helped develop the Advancing Career Opportunities and Networking). She
RIA Talent Advantage Scholarship Program. She is a member founded EFE’s Black and African American Employee
of the CFP Board’s Diversity Advisory Group, which helps Resource Group with a goal that might seem counterintui-
increase diversity in the financial planning profession. She is tive: to make the group obsolete. BEACON has implemented
also a member of Financial Women of San Francisco, through several new initiatives, including a mentorship program and
which she serves as mentor to the organization’s annual an engagement program to welcome new hires. Niang didn’t
scholarship winners. just want a place for her colleagues to congregate and

24 INVESTMENT ADVISOR SEPTEMBER 2021 | ThinkAdvisor.com