How mentorship helps to foster diversity on a one-on-one level and on a larger scale within the industry How partners can get involved with Quad A

How we can lift one another up and promote partnerships within the industry The impact of creating space for minorities in the financial planning profession (through organizations such as Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad A) The importance of representation both in the financial planning profession, financial service industry and the world Change takes time, but you can be the one who sparks the fire. As you move forward, continue to have these valuable conversations, continue to engage, and be patient. Turning away from the industry practices of old and growing yourself either in your personal life or in your firm is absolutely necessary. In this episode, she makes it clear that being a doer is what helps us become our full selves. We encourage you to be a doer in this environment. We are in a world that is reaching a pivotal point of change - and you have a choice: to be the disruptor or the disrupted.

We’ll go over the importance of having cheerleaders inside and outside the financial planning profession, how to promote representation and visibility to encourage the generations to come to be anything they want to be, how to surround yourself with people who act as mentors and help you grow, and how to get involved with groups (such as Quad A) that are actively working to increase diversity in financial planning. In this episode of 2050 TrailBlazers, Lazetta and I are going to tackle many important topics. She is a true trailblazer in the financial planning profession - she serves as the Chair of the Association of African American Financial Advisors (Quad A), she’s on the board of the Foundation of Financial Planning, and she’s an active member of the CFP Board’s Center for Financial Planning Advisory Panel, Women’s Initiative Council, and the Diversity Advisory Group. Her passion for her clients’ financial well-being and for teaching effective stewardship practices is the cornerstone of Financial Fountains’ client-centered approach. Lazetta Rainey Braxton, CFP®, MBA, founded Financial Fountains in 2008.

Women Wise by Eleanor Blayney