[MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome, and thank you
for joining us virtually
to celebrate the
students and key members
of the personal financial
planning program at UC Berkeley
Extension.
I am Brian Kozel, the 2020 chair
of the Professional Advisory
Board.
And along with Heather
Liston, our Program Director,
we'll be hosting this
virtual presentation.
During this video, we will
highlight a collection
of outstanding students
and instructors
to reflect on their stories,
which are part of our larger
shared story here at the UC
Berkeley Financial Planning
Program, to remind
ourselves why--
why is it worth it to put
forth the energy required
to prepare for, teach,
and attend classes
after long days of work
and family responsibility?
It is no secret that this is a
time of great financial stress,
when families and individuals
in the Bay Area and beyond
would benefit from
wise counsel, blending
technical and personal
skills needed to navigate
financial decisions amidst
the global health crisis
and all of its impacts.
It is with this mission,
cultivating and developing
world-class financial
planners that we proudly
move forward as a program.
One of our key stakeholders
in that mission
is our sponsors, sponsors
who generously support
our efforts each and every
year, and more importantly,
who employ and hire our students
in meaningful, professional
roles.
We are grateful to
these sponsors for all
of their past support
and look forward
to continued partnership
in years to come.
With that, I'll turn it
over to Heather Liston
for a few additional
words of welcome.
And then, we'll excitedly
announce the 2020 award
and scholarship recipients.
Thank you, Brian.
Welcome, everyone, and thank
you for joining us here
to honor the accomplishments
of yourselves and your peers
over this past year.
Amid all of our
unexpected challenges,
the work that you do
continues to have great value.
I applaud your perseverance
and adaptability.
I look forward to celebrating
with you in person
as soon as conditions allow.
And now, I hope you
enjoy this presentation.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hi, my name is
Kurt Carrasquilla,
and I'm going to be presenting
the 2020 Outstanding Student.
To pick one student,
not an easy task.
In our program, we are
very fortunate to attract
the best and the brightest, and
the student is no exception.
Lots of deserving people--
we do have amazing students.
This particular student--
outstanding academic record,
always in the program.
Inside the classroom, excellent
at leading discussion,
commanding respect
from her peers.
Outside the classroom,
works at a firm,
sought-after financial planner,
very, very professional.
It's with my great
pleasure to announce
Jen Maneatis as the 2020
Outstanding Student.
Congratulations, Jen.
Jen is the type of
person beyond the program
is going to make the
university and our program
proud for years to come.
Wishing you the very
best and congratulations.
Thank you.
Kurt, thank you so much
for that kind intro.
And hello, everyone.
My name is Jennifer Maneatis.
And I'm here today to accept
the award I have so kindly been
presented with.
Before I express
my thanks, I want
to start off by saying that
I hope everyone is doing well
during these unprecedented
and very uncertain times.
My heart goes out to anyone
affected either directly
or indirectly.
And next, I want to extend my
deepest thanks to the Personal
Financial Planning Board.
I'm so beyond honored to have
been selected as the 2020
Outstanding Student.
I've always strived to optimize
my time spent in the classroom
through my years
of schooling by way
of interacting with
classmates and professors,
and always asking questions.
If you've had me in
a class, you know
I am not shy if I need
further clarification.
My experience through
Berkeley's program
has been nothing
short of phenomenal.
It has been the
perfect environment
to actively participate and for
many meaningful professional
relationships that
will absolutely
stretch beyond our time spent
enrolled in this growing
program.
As I wrap up my last
two classes and look
ahead to studying
for the CFP exam,
I truly look forward
to putting everything
into practice in
my day-to-day role
at First Republic as
a dedicated planner.
To wrap up my spiel, I have a
few final thanks to hand out.
To Kurt, for ridding me of
my fear of the complexities
of investments, and
to Heather for helping
me to discover how
much I truly do
love the inner workings
of our tax code.
Go figure.
Sending my well wishes to all.
Thank you again.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello, my name is Rich Arzaga.
I'm one of the instructors
here in the personal financial
planning program.
Glad to be here to
speak about a runner up
to this year's
Outstanding Student Award
and a credit to a
highly-regarded group
of PFP students.
Sarah Sprague-Gerber,
better known to us
as Sarah Sprague until she
got married last September
is an accomplished
classmate and colleague.
Voted this year by instructors
as one of the top three
students in our
program, Sarah is
remembered as someone
who has worked hard,
while somehow making this
hard work look effortless.
Her educational
achievements didn't
start in the PFP program,
nor did they stop here.
Sarah graduated from MIT with a
degree in chemical engineering
and biology.
You had us at MIT.
Following the PFP program,
she feathered her credentials
by adding an additional
certificate from the extension
in project management.
During her time in
our program, Sarah
earned 10 As and one B-plus.
Who is the instructor
that gave her the B-plus?
She took more
courses than needed
to earn her certificate of
course, because she can,
effortlessly.
When I think of Sarah, other
words that come to mind
include studious, composed,
efficient, and kind.
And Sarah, thank you for not
beating me up after class
like the other students did.
Today, Sarah continues
to be effortless,
working as a senior project
manager for Moneyline,
while part time, helping
young professionals
around the country in her
role as a paraplanner.
She just recently gave
back to the program
by sharing her story,
which was prominently
featured on the PFP website.
You'll see she was
rock climbing, running,
and signed up for her
first ironman triathlon for
later this year.
I wonder if she'll
break a sweat.
Sarah, on behalf
of the instructors,
congratulations
on a job well done
and for being a 2020
PFP student of the year.
Thank you very much for
bestowing this honor on me.
I really appreciate it.
And I am very excited to
share in it with everyone
else as well.
I have enjoyed my time
with UC Berkeley Extension.
In the Personal Financial
Planning program so much.
I've learned so much from
my teachers, my classmates,
the content, and I use it every
day in my forward momentum.
Hello, everyone.
Today it's my pleasure
to say a few words
about our next recipient,
Laura McDowell.
Laura holds herself to a very
high standard of excellence.
In class, she was
never satisfied
with just knowing
the right answer,
but always needed to understand
the why behind the answer.
This gave her the
proper context to learn.
Laura pushed herself and
others around her to excel.
She made us all better.
In addition to her
academic accomplishments,
Laura left a solid
legacy for our program
through her
exceptional leadership
of the Student Advisory Board.
With her co-chair, Laura
led one of the most
active and productive
incarnations of that board,
executing new events like the
now annual Test Preparation
Company Panel Discussion and
the Speed Mentoring evening.
Laura and her exceptional
work ethic and dedication
to excellence made
us all better.
Laura, I want to
congratulate you.
You made me a better teacher.
Hopefully, you learned as much
from me as I learned from you.
Congratulations, and I
wish you all the best.
I am truly honored
to be a finalist
for the Outstanding
Student Award
and feel humbled
by the recognition.
The caliber of talented,
hardworking, and dedicated
classmates I attended
this program with
is truly inspiring.
I am proud of each
and every one of us
for putting in the hard work
needed to get the most out
of the UC Berkeley Extension
Personal Financial Planning
program.
It takes a lot of dedicated
and passionate people
to run a program
like this, including
ones behind the scenes like
those on the advisory board.
Thank you for all you
do for this program.
I also want to personally thank
all the dedicated instructors
that spend countless
hours helping
to prepare us to
continue their legacy
and others as financial
planning professionals,
helping our communities with
their own financial journeys.
I hope all of you
involved in this program
know how valued and
appreciated your efforts are,
and the time you spend making
this program and our community
support what it is.
It doesn't go unnoticed.
I can honestly say that
your dedication to all of us
inspired me to work even
harder to get the most out
of each and every class.
Thanks for inspiring
the best in all of us.
Hope everyone stays healthy
and safe this summer,
and thank you for this honor.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
One of my favorite parts of
the awards ceremony each year
is the scholarships.
It's a reminder about how bright
the future of our profession
is, as well as how diverse the
backgrounds of our planners
are.
This year, I'm
excited to announce
that our 2020 Professional
Advisory Board scholarship
winner is Patricia Johnson.
Patricia came to financial
planning through a cause near
and dear to my own heart,
financial literacy education.
Patricia founded a nonprofit
called Game Theory Academy,
which taught strategic decision
making and financial skills
to low income and at-risk
teens in the Bay Area.
In this pursuit,
she demonstrated
many values that are aligned
with our program at UC,
a dedication to teamwork
and collaboration,
expert instruction, service
to diverse communities,
and an enthusiasm that was
contagious around the benefit
and power of financial planning.
When Patricia began
her formal path
towards becoming a
financial advisor,
I was excited to see it come
through the PFP program.
And we as a board, are excited
to support her in that mission.
So once again, please
join me in congratulating
Patricia Johnson, the 2020
UC Advisory Board scholarship
winner.
Hello, everybody.
My name is Patricia Johnson.
I am the lucky
scholarship awardee
for this year's scholarship
in Personal Financial
Planning at UC extension.
I just want to thank
everybody involved
for supporting my
continuation of the program
through this really difficult
year-- difficult for everybody.
And most of all, I
want to thank everybody
in the program for their total
enthusiasm for this profession.
One of the things I've noticed
about financial planning
is that financial
planners love their jobs.
It's so exciting to be entering
this profession knowing that.
And the other thing I've
learned is financial planners
love to help.
They are in the
helping profession.
And they help their
clients and they also
help each other tremendously.
So I feel really honored to
be joining this profession.
And I hope once I have my
own practice established
that I can work with
some of you to create
a special financial planning
program for teachers.
I started a financial
education program 10 years ago
that has been incredibly
meaningful to me.
And I've long felt that
the biggest barrier
to getting financial
education in the schools
is teachers own
financial education.
And if we created a
financial planning program
for teachers,
priced for teachers,
we could impact not just them,
but all the students they
teach throughout their careers.
So thank you for your support.
I look forward to working
with all of you on this path.
And stay healthy, stay
strong, and take care.
Bye.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hello, my name is Craig
Kirkpatrick, advisory board
member of the Personal Financial
Planning program at UC Berkeley
Extension and co-founder
of Orinda Asset Management.
ON behalf on the advisory
board, very pleased
to be announcing the winner
of the Paul Emery Scholarship
this year.
You know, a few years back
as the advisory board,
we wanted to find a way
to honor Paul Emery who
is the director of the program.
He was very supportive in the
community of financial planning
literacy with the students,
with the teachers,
and with the advisory board.
So we named this
scholarship on his behalf.
And before I
announced the winner,
we just want to thank
all the applicants who
sent the information in to
apply for this scholarship.
So many worthy
applications to review.
However, there was
one in particular
that stood out to us as a
group on a number of levels,
both from just her interest
in financial planning,
her commitment to give back
to the community, and just
her story.
You know, as an early child, she
was navigating the foster care
system in the Bay Area.
She's first in her family
to ever go to college
and went to UCLA.
She's also the very
first in her family
to be interested in becoming
a financial planner.
And her commitment to want
to learn and give back
to the community on
financial planning
was just quite impressive.
So it's with that, we've
decided to name that Paul Emery
scholarship winner for
2020 to be Adrienne Morris.
Adrienne, congratulations.
[APPLAUSE]
Adrienne, I hope you can
hear the applause there,
because we're just so pleased
on behalf of the advisory board
and the program to offer
you this scholarship.
You embody what
the next generation
of financial planners look like.
And again, your commitment to
give back to the community--
it's just a real honor to
have you part of our program.
We're very pleased to be
offering you this Paul Emery
scholarship.
So if I can give you a
advisory board high five
and shake your hand during
this shelter-in-place time,
I just want to thank you
and say congratulations.
I'm so excited to have received
the Paul Emery scholarship
to continue my CFP courses.
I'm so excited for this
journey that I'm on.
And I'm so grateful
to everyone that
continues to encourage
me and uplift me
as I continue my education and
to work towards achievements
in this field.
Thank you again,
and I look forward
to seeing more
professors in my classes
and learning so much
more information.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
The Golden Bear award
is given each year
to an individual who
goes above and beyond
in their contributions
to the UC PFP program.
A quick look at past winners
including Tim Kochis Gordon
Dunne, Kurt Carrasquilla, Paul
Emery, Valerie Dow, quickly
lets you know that this
is a remarkable group
to be a part of.
Founders and stewards of our
program, whose shoulders we all
stand on or have the
privilege of standing
next to as we continue to
guide a UC-caliber caliber
financial planning education.
This year, 2020, a year of
major disruption and herculean
efforts to convert the entire
program to virtual delivery,
we are excited to
award the Golden Bear
award to none other than our
very own, Heather Liston.
Heather came to the UC
program as an instructor.
And then in 2018, as our
incoming program director.
And the major
changes of this year
have been made easier by the
organization, accountability,
and overall structure
and enthusiasm
she has brought to the program
over the past couple of years.
In all fairness
and bit selfishly,
I will say that my
own job has been
made easier by having the
excellent leadership of Heather
in the program director role.
Beyond that, I take
great confidence
in knowing that our program
director is a CFP herself, who
knows the challenges of
sitting across from a client,
engaging in financial
decision making,
and navigating the
complexities of the tax code.
Both inside of the
classroom and out,
I have a lot of faith in
the future of our program
with Heather at the helm.
So once again, please
join me in congratulating
the 2020 Golden Bear award
winner, Heather Liston.
Thank you very much.
My involvement in the UC
Berkeley Extension program
in personal financial
planning has
been life changing
from the day I
started my first course as a
student back in early 2008.
It is a privilege now to
work with every one of you,
the instructors, students,
administrators, sponsors,
and friends who make sure we
continue to transform lives
for others every day.
I'm thrilled to
accept this honor
and to join the
distinguished list of those
who've won it previously.
And I take it as a
challenge to continue
making the mission of personal
financial planning and the good
it can do for so many a central
part of what I do every day.
I thank you very much for
this considerable honor.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
All of our instructors
are industry leaders
who serve clients
all day, and then
share their time and
expertise with our students
in the evenings.
It is a substantial commitment
in the best of times.
This year, we asked more
of them than ever before,
and they rose to the challenge.
In keeping with
everything else about 2020
that is unprecedented, this year
we honor all of our instructors
for their excellence,
resilience, professionalism,
and generosity.
I want to name their names.
If you don't know
Kurt Carrasquilla yet,
I'm pretty sure somebody
has told you you should.
His investments course,
which he's taught since 1997,
is a highlight of our
program for nearly everyone.
Kurt is the only instructor who
has won the Tim Kochis award
for teaching excellence twice.
And he's the only one who has
also won the Golden Bear award.
Catherine Bradford
is the 2012 recipient
of the Teaching
Excellence award,
and she's been
with us since 2009.
She teaches book the
Capstone and the survey
of financial planning.
The 2016 recipient of the
Teaching Excellence award,
Martin Brook, has been with UC
Berkeley Extension since 2001
teaching many different courses.
Although he's
mostly retired now,
we are delighted that he
comes back a few times
a year to teach the
one-day mathematics
and financial calculator course.
This year, he had
a large turnout,
and he got excellent reviews
on his quick adaptation
to virtual teaching.
In 2008, Rich Arzaga was
the second person ever
to win the Teaching
Excellence award.
He has long experience in
both insurance and real estate
investments, and he will be
teaching both for us this fall
over Zoom.
Richard Lehman has been
with us since 2004,
winning recognition for
teaching excellence in 2018.
He teaches our behavioral
economics course, both online
and in the classroom.
David Winkler won the Teaching
Excellence award in 2017.
He taught insurance
for four years
before deciding to take
a well-earned break
after the summer of 2019.
Michael Fontanello, a CPA
began teaching income tax
for extension in 1995.
And though he hasn't
done it every year,
he returned this spring with no
idea of the surprise in store.
He is continuing to
work very hard to learn
all the secrets of Zoom.
As many people
know, Tim Kochis was
a founder of this program
back in the early '80s.
Tim had not taught
for years though,
when I persuaded him to design
a new course for us last summer.
He named it Stock Compensation
and the Management
of Concentration Risks
and Opportunities.
And I can report as a
student, that the first round
was a great success.
He recently offered it a
second time under, of course
entirely new conditions.
Last year, we honored Daniel
Lee with the Teaching Excellence
award.
And he has absolutely not
rested on that laurel.
In this past year, Daniel
has taught multiple sections
of both the survey course
and the employment benefits
and retirement planning.
He has also worked on
updating the online version
of the survey course, he
served as an active member
of the Advisory Board,
and he's mentored
several new instructors.
Margaret Pierattini finished
our program in 2018.
By 2019, she was an
assistant instructor,
helping with Daniel's survey
of financial planning course.
And now we're in
the summer of 2020,
and Margaret is already
deep into her second section
of the survey course
as an instructor.
And I'm already
sending new instructors
to observe her in action.
John Mullen joined us in 2018,
and he's already a veteran
of two very different courses.
John taught two sections
of estate planning,
and he had just begun
his first capstone
when the pandemic hit and he
had to adjust to virtual class
meetings in the middle.
The kind of flexibility
John and all the rest of you
exhibited is what makes
it possible for the PFP
to thrive no matter what.
Gregory Crofton had a thriving
tax practice for years
before he came to
Berkeley to add the CFP
credential to his name.
As soon as he
finished the program
with an outstanding student
finalist certificate,
we recruited him
to teach our course
in taxation of corporations and
other flow-through entities.
Andrew Kibby is an active
real estate investor,
and he came highly recommended
by our longtime real estate
investments instructor
Rich Arzaga.
Andrew was the
last new instructor
who got to teach live
in the classroom,
and he brought energy,
professionalism, and humor
to the job his first time out.
Michael J. Lewis co-taught
the first section
of the stock compensation course
and he did an excellent job.
The door is open to Michael
when he's ready to teach more,
whether those doors are
virtual or physical.
When Michael Hanson approached
me about his interest
in teaching, I asked him what
he wanted to teach, and he said,
everything.
Michael's level of enthusiasm
for his work, his clients,
the CFP credential, and the
chance to always keep learning
reminded me of our students.
He stepped up where
we needed him most
in the spring of 2019,
which was insurance.
I sought out Stuart
Bronstein because I
knew he was a popular lecturer
at the FPA's Annual Financial
Planning Day.
Stu has a solo practice as an
estate planning attorney in San
Francisco, and I'm
grateful that he's now
sharing his talents with our
community in his second section
of our estate planning course.
Walter Reinsdorf has
been a financial advisor
for more than 30 years
and was looking for a way
to give back to the
financial planning community
when he found us.
He agreed to lead our
retirement income planning
elective this summer, which
is a special challenge,
because there's no textbook,
no pre-prepared slides,
and the class attracts a broader
than usual range of students.
And then sometime in the
middle of his preparations
to teach for the first
time, everything changed.
Many, many thanks
to every one of you
for your adaptability,
your resilience,
your professionalism, and
your ongoing generosity.
The work you do is enormous,
but so is the impact
it has on so many lives.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
As I wrap us up
right now, I again
want to take a moment to
thank the entire UC Berkeley
financial planning community--
those students and scholarship
winners who are honored
tonight, all the students
who attended classes
after long days of work,
all the instructors who
prepared so diligently
and navigated
the transitions
this year helped,
the sponsors, and larger
financial planning community
who hire our students
into meaningful roles
to help real people
and families.
Thank you all.
This event celebrates your
contributions and efforts
and provides a moment to pause
and reflect before we again
move forward, because there
is indeed a lot more work
to be done.
So thank you on
behalf of everyone
at the UC Berkeley PFP
program, and thank you
for participating and joining us
as we recognize the 2020 award
and scholarship recipients.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
