Principal, Financial Advisor & LPL Branch Manager
As the Branch Manager of Paragon Financial, one of my key roles is to manage the daily operations of running the company. Our office is a bustling hub of productivity and warmth, and I’m proud our clients are surrounded every day by such a talented and caring team of colleagues.
While I officially serve as the CEO, Chief Compliance Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, I prefer the less formal titles of financial advisor, advocate, and tireless facilitator of your goals. My day consists primarily of meeting with and talking to clients, managing client assets, coordinating the daily operations of the firm, and staying on top of our investment research along with our investment committee.
I love helping people and I have always been very people and service oriented. Being a financial advisor gives me great satisfaction in helping your efforts to grow, succeed, prosper and gain financial security and independence. I strive to be the kind of financial advisor who empowers, equips and emboldens you to have the confidence to take control of your financial future.
The path that led me here to Paragon Financial has seen some interesting professional twists and turns. I actually began my working life as a Respiratory Therapist, graduating from Skyline College in 1984 with a Respiratory Therapy certification. Following this I worked as a Pediatric/Neonatal Specialist, first at Stanford University Hospital for seven years, then at the Medical College of Virginia for five years.
I have always had a passion for economics, and loved the way financial planning could have the ability to totally reshape people’s lives for the better. As such, it seemed a natural transition to move from one career focused on taking care of people’s wellbeing, into another. It fascinates me to listen to the individual needs of a client, and help prescribe a new course of action that will help transform the way they live, and view their money.
I now have more than two decades of experience as a financial advisor. Loretta D. Williams, one of the first female Certified Financial Planners in Richmond, started Paragon in 1989. I joined Loretta in 1995, as a registered representative, and became president of Paragon Financial Services in 2010. But my medical background is not forgotten, embedding a deep passion in me for looking after the best interests of everyone we work with.
Everyone’s idea of a life well lived is different, and it’s important for me to understand your perception of what being healthy and happy means for you and your loved ones.
Outside of my role here at Paragon Financial, philanthropy is also deeply important to me, and plays an active part in my life beyond the office. Over the years I have supported a wide range of organizations, including the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), and cycled to raise money for multiple charities: Multiple Sclerosis Society, Massey Cancer Center, McGuire Veterans Hospital for Adaptive Sports and the Epilepsy Foundation. I volunteer every Thanksgiving with Feeding the 5000, and help out at my church for their annual Christmas Outreach.
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California. I moved to Virginia in 1990 and have lived here ever since. I have been married for 30 years and am a father of two amazing children. Besides raising our son and daughter, my wife and I each sponsor a child through Compassion International and have gone on mission trips to Jamaica, Germany, and Slovakia.
When I get some free time to myself I love nothing more than heading out on my bike for a long ride. I also enjoy rock collecting, singing in our church choir, traveling and exploring different cultures and places.