Daren Blonski is a financial advisor at Fermata Advisors in Sonoma, CA, holding CFP® and Series 66 credentials with 14 years of industry experience. He has worked at Fermata Advisory, LLC since 2019 and was previously with Enso Wealth Management from 2016 to 2020. Fermata Advisors provides investment management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting primarily to individuals, small businesses, and plan fiduciaries. The firm offers both discretionary and non-discretionary services using a combination of behavioral, charting, cyclical, fundamental, and technical analysis to guide portfolio allocations.

James Stein is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Sonoma, CA, holding the ChFC® designation and Series 66 license with 19 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2006. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving more than four million individual and institutional clients through a nationwide network of over 23,000 advisors. The firm offers a range of advisory programs, including discretionary and non-discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, operating under a fiduciary standard.

John Cruse is the principal of Cruse Investments in Petaluma, CA, holding a Series 66 designation and bringing 24 years of industry experience. He has led Cruse Investments since 2013. Cruse Investments provides investment management and written financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and corporations. The firm customizes portfolios using stocks, bonds, ETFs, and mutual funds, operates primarily on a non-discretionary basis, and offers advice on retirement rollovers and employer plan distributions.

Hardik Patel is the principal of Trusted Path Wealth Management, LLC in Santa Rosa, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and began his advisory career in 2025. Prior to founding his firm, he worked as a lead software engineer at Williams-Sonoma Inc., where he continues to hold that role. He also serves as a board member of Catholic Charities of Northwest California. Trusted Path Wealth Management provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a blend of passive and active investment vehicles guided by modern portfolio theory and offers financial planning services on both a project and ongoing basis.

Daniel Peterson is a CFP® with 32 years of industry experience and has been with Northbay Financial Group, Inc. since 2003. He is the president and CEO of North Bay Financial Group, which provides income tax preparation services through its subsidiary Express Income Tax Services. Northbay Advisors is an independent firm serving individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses with personalized financial planning and investment management. The firm combines advisory services with an affiliated tax-preparation practice, offering clients integrated tax and planning coordination.

John Jones is the principal of John Schooler Jones LLC, an independent advisory firm based in Petaluma, CA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 24 years of industry experience. Jones has led his firm since its founding in 2003. John Schooler Jones LLC provides financial advisory and planning services to a client base primarily consisting of higher-net-worth individuals, closely held corporations, trusts, and pension plans. The firm operates on a non-discretionary model, coordinating third-party asset managers and dedicating significant focus to business succession planning.

Harry Licursi is the principal of Harry Licursi Tax & Retirement Planning in Santa Rosa, CA, with 19 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has led his independent firm since 2004. The firm provides personalized investment advisory and retirement planning services to individuals, trusts, foundations, corporations, and pension plans, emphasizing risk management through customized asset allocation and diversified mutual-fund-focused portfolios. It also integrates tax-efficient strategies and offers tax preparation and IRS representation services alongside ongoing portfolio and pension consulting.

Mark McDonell is a financial advisor based in Santa Rosa, CA, with two years of industry experience. He is a CPA and Personal Financial Specialist with over 37 years of accounting experience through his role at Mark R McDonell, CPA. His firm, McDonell, Mark Robert, combines accounting and advisory services with personal financial planning, offering fee-only compiled financial statements, auditing, tax preparation, and planning. The firm focuses on audit-ready financial reporting and integrates tax considerations into financial plans, serving clients requiring GAAP-based compilations and audit-capable services.

“I want to make the right decisions but I don’t have time to figure it out on my own.” “Can you help me with my student loans? This is more complicated than I thought it would be.” “How do I invest? I know it’s important but I don’t know the best way to do it and I don’t want to mess it up” Have you said any of these before? You’re not alone if you have. I have heard these statements from many lawyers I’ve met throughout my wife’s time in law school and her legal career. As a CPA, CFP, and someone who has worked in financial planning, I have seen young people who are overwhelmed about managing their personal finances. I have also seen people near retirement who unfortunately didn’t make good financial decisions and now have to modify their future lifestyles because of their financial situations. I hate seeing people not achieve everything they want in life because they can’t afford their dream lifestyle. So I set out to change that. My mission is to help young lawyers establish a strong financial foundation early in their careers so they can capitalize on future opportunities instead of trying to fix financial mistakes. So I created the Developing Financial Process. My process identifies what is most important to you, analyzes your current financial situation, builds a comprehensive financial plan, implements the plan, adapts the plan as your life changes on an ongoing basis, and most importantly educates and empowers you throughout the entire process. My process helps you pay off your student loans completely, invest effectively, save and spend intentionally, and achieve your financial goals and ambitions. I believe that everyone should live their dream life without worrying about their finances. I live what I preach and when I’m not working, I am out living. I love to travel and have visited many states and countries. My family and I go camping, spend time at the beach, and visit friends and family as often as possible. I truly love educating and empowering people to live their ideal life. I hope you reach out to learn more about my process and how financial planning can benefit young lawyers like yourself!

E. Wannen is a financial advisor with Sustainvest Asset Management, LLC, holding Series 63, 65, and 66 licenses and 15 years of industry experience. He has worked at Sustainvest Asset Management since 2013. Sustainvest Asset Management provides investment management and advisory services to a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and foundations. The firm employs a long-term, diversified investment approach focused on sustainable and responsible investing using ESG factors, screened funds, and tailored portfolios, with an emphasis on working with charitable organizations and an active proxy-voting policy.

Stephen Bossio is the sole advisor at Magnum Financial in Sonoma, CA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses with 19 years of industry experience. He has been with Magnum Financial since 2009. Outside of advising, he consults to charter schools in California and is a licensed insurance agent, spending a portion of his time on insurance-related business. Magnum Financial is an independent advisory firm offering discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to individuals and institutional clients, including 401(k) plans and pension funds. The firm focuses on asset allocation and diversification, combining strategic and technical analysis to manage portfolios and provides ongoing planning and regular reviews.

Kenneth Perine is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Meritage Wealth Advisory, LLC in Santa Rosa, CA. He has led the firm since 2008. Outside of advisory services, he is involved with DSBC Transition Corp, a holding company for commercial rental property. Meritage Wealth Advisory provides comprehensive financial planning and investment supervision to individuals, families, trusts, estates, and related entities, with additional retirement plan consulting services. The firm’s investment strategy follows Modern Portfolio Theory, emphasizing global diversification through low-cost index funds, mutual funds, and ETFs, and generally offers non-discretionary advice without taking custody of client assets.

Autumn Kruse is a CFP® professional with 14 years of industry experience, currently operating Kruse Financial Strategy in Petaluma, CA. She has been working under her own name since 2007. Kruse Financial Strategy provides fee-only financial planning services tailored to individuals, families, and small businesses, with a focus on high-net-worth clients. The firm emphasizes comprehensive and limited-scope planning without managing client assets, often recommending mutual funds, ETFs, bond funds, and CDs, with attention to socially responsible investing.

James Hague is a financial advisor at Janian Investment Advisers, LLC in Santa Rosa, CA, holding a Series 65 designation with 14 years of industry experience. He has been with Janian Investment Advisers since 2012. Janian Investment Advisers provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning primarily for individual investors and related entities. The firm utilizes bottom-up fundamental analysis and a portfolio-level risk framework, employing a range of strategies including third-party fund selection, bond-benchmarked allocations, and both hedged and unhedged equity security selection, with some portfolios incorporating derivatives and short positions.

John Cort is a financial advisor with Compass Wealth Advisors in Petaluma, CA, holding a Series 66 designation and 16 years of industry experience. He has been with Compass Wealth Advisors since 2012, where he serves as the firm's sole advisor. Compass Wealth Advisors is an independent, state-registered firm that offers comprehensive financial planning and discretionary investment management to individual and household clients. The firm employs an active management style tailored to clients’ risk tolerance and time horizon, utilizing both fundamental and technical analysis across a range of investment vehicles.

Amy Pearl is a CFP® professional with 16 years of industry experience and has operated Acorn Financial Planning since 2013. She holds a Series 65 license and a graduate degree in Computer Science. Amy manages her independent practice from Santa Rosa, California. Acorn Financial Planning is a sole-proprietorship serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, and estates primarily in California. The firm uses an investment approach grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory that emphasizes diversification, tax awareness, and low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, offering discretionary portfolio management alongside comprehensive financial planning.

Peter Dobson is a Series 66–licensed financial advisor with five years of industry experience. He is the sole principal of Riverwest Financial LLC in Petaluma, CA, where he has worked since 2025. His prior roles include positions at Cambridge Investment Research Advisors and Cambridge Investment Research, as well as operating his own advisory practice. Riverwest Financial LLC provides discretionary investment management and financial planning services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm employs a fundamental-analysis framework with a long-term orientation, utilizing exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, individual securities, bonds, CDs, and options, and offers both asset-based wealth management and hourly financial planning.

Jennifer Ramaswamy is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with two years of industry experience. She is the principal of Sonoma Mountain Financial LLC, an independent firm based in Petaluma, CA, where she has worked since 2025. Prior to founding Sonoma Mountain Financial, she was with LPL Financial LLC for two years and has experience in other roles outside the financial industry, including as a homemaker and positions at Lyft and Within Unlimited. Sonoma Mountain Financial LLC provides wealth management, discretionary investment management, and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, families, trusts, estates, and small businesses. The firm uses a strategic asset allocation approach grounded in Modern Portfolio Theory and offers customized portfolios with a variety of investments while maintaining a long-term orientation.

Geoffrey Tompkins is a financial advisor at Slater-Tompkins Legacy, LLC in Santa Rosa, CA, holding a Series 65 designation. He has experience working at Redwood Orthopaedic Surgery Associates for 29 years before transitioning to financial advising in 2026. Prior to founding his firm, he spent time at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Slater-Tompkins Legacy, LLC is a fee-only advisory firm offering comprehensive financial planning and non-discretionary portfolio management services to individuals and families. The firm employs a goals-based planning approach and provides both fixed-fee and hourly billing options while maintaining client decision authority.

Ray Meadows is a CFA® charterholder with 23 years of industry experience. He has been the sole advisor at Berkeley Investment Advisors since 2002. Meadows is also a licensed California real-estate broker and may represent clients in property transactions. Berkeley Investment Advisors is an independent, state-registered firm managing approximately $18.7 million for about 25 clients, primarily high-net-worth individuals as well as some institutional and corporate accounts. The firm employs a fundamental value analysis approach with risk-tailored portfolios across multiple strategies, utilizing ETFs, closed-end funds, REITs, and, in some cases, borrowing and derivative instruments.