I grew up in a single-parent household and was raised by my single mother, Barbara, to whom I owe much of who I am. From an early age, my mother taught me the importance of education, hard work, empathy, honesty and structure. A childhood memory I have was when I was about 6 years old. I used to play with a briefcase and pretend I was a businessman on my way to meetings with clients and helping them somehow. Today, I am a financial advisor at Edward Jones who carries a briefcase and meets with clients to understand what's most important to them. I then use an established process to customize their portfolios to their unique situations and goals. Lastly, I partner with them for the rest of their lives to help ensure they stay on track for their long-term goals.

I began my career at Edward Jones in 2009 after being a branch manager at HSBC in the consumer lending department. Before that, I was a commodities broker at Main Street Trading Company. I graduated with my bachelor's degree from Cal Poly Pomona with a major in business and a minor in economics. As soon as I turned 16, I got a job at Stater Bros, a local supermarket, as a courtesy clerk and got promoted at 18 to a regular clerk. As a result, I could pay my way through college and, fortunately, come out of college without any student loan debt.

I am a lifelong learner and on a continual path of professional improvement. I'm open to new ideas and committed to honing my technical knowledge and skills. I have gone through many different designation programs that help expand my knowledge to serve my clients better. The designations I currently hold are ChFC®, CPWA®, CIMA®, RICP®, CLU® and ABFP™.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my two beautiful daughters, Natalia and Siena. I love to travel, golf, read and watch comedy movies. I miss my mother every day.

I have the most incredible career in the world because I don't feel like I ever work and love what I do.