Vanessa Pruett Urie

Kathleen McQuade is a Certified Financial Planner® with three years of industry experience, operating as the sole advisor at her independent firm in Laurel, MD. She has been managing her practice since 2010 and holds a Series 65 license. Her firm provides fee-only financial planning and consulting services to individual clients, focusing on investment, retirement, insurance, education, and estate planning. The practice employs a long-term, buy-and-hold investment approach, primarily recommending no-load, low-cost, tax-efficient mutual funds with asset allocation as the key factor in portfolio returns.

Stanley Liu is the principal of DocEmpowered, LLC, a fee-only financial advisory firm based in Baltimore, MD. He holds a Series 65 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to founding DocEmpowered in 2023, he worked for eight years at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In addition to his advisory role, Mr. Liu practices part-time as a non-invasive cardiologist. DocEmpowered, LLC provides comprehensive financial planning and consulting primarily for physicians and their adult household family members. The firm emphasizes long-term, passive investment strategies based on Modern Portfolio Theory and behavioral finance, offering project-based and ongoing services without discretionary management or custody of assets.

Robert Clark is a CFP® professional with 25 years of experience in financial advising. He has been the principal at Clark Company since 2017 and previously worked at National Planning Corporation for 12 years. In addition to his advisory work, Clark provides income tax preparation and fixed insurance services for clients. Clark Company offers asset and portfolio management, comprehensive wealth planning, and tax preparation for individuals, trusts, businesses, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm employs customized investment strategies and generally operates on a primarily non-discretionary basis, combining investment advisory services with insurance and tax services.

Hi, I’m Matt. My job as a financial planner is to make your life simpler. To help you efficiently and effectively narrow down your options, so you can make the right decisions. And be confident in those decisions for the long-term. Financial planning and investment management are often muddied by unnecessary complexity (usually in an effort to sell you something). It doesn’t need to be this way. I began my career in the financial services industry in 2003 as an analyst with the due diligence law firm Snyder Kearney, LLC (Columbia, MD). At Snyder Kearney, I reviewed public and private securities offerings and evaluated national securities sponsoring companies, focusing on real estate investments and non-traditional investment products. It was there that I realized that I wanted to know more about the practice of law and a lot more about the pretty co-worker in the cubicle next to me, Sylvie. I earned my law degree in 2007 from the University of Baltimore School of Law and married Sylvie in 2008; further proof that education and personal relationships are the investments that produce the best returns. After law school, I practiced law with the firm David Albert & Associates, LLC (Bethesda, MD), focusing in estate planning and administration, guardianship administration, taxation of estates and trusts, and business formations. There, I recognized that helping clients through complicated and often stressful issues was intellectually stimulating and emotionally fulfilling. In 2010, I opened Patuxent Financial Partners, LLC, registered as an Investment Adviser with the State of Maryland in 2017. Here, I leverage my legal background to provide clients with value-added insight in the overlapping areas of estate and financial planning. More importantly, as a personal financial planner and small business owner, I can build lasting relationships with clients and their families; these connections make my work fulfilling, because client success becomes intertwined with my own. I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and hold the FINRA Series 65 securities registration. Raised in Columbia, Maryland, I graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor's degree in English. Outside of the office, I enjoy running, reading, and hiking with my wife, son, and our mutt hound, Kodi.

Gabriel Trasatti is a financial advisor at Trasatti Wealth Planning, LLC in Baltimore, MD, with 15 years of industry experience. He holds the PFS™ and Series 66 designations and has led his independent firm since 2004. His background includes advanced financial planning and accounting credentials. Trasatti Wealth Planning provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to individuals, families, charitable institutions, foundations, and corporate pension or profit-sharing plans. The firm offers customized investment strategies with continuous monitoring and formal quarterly reviews, integrating holistic planning across retirement, tax, estate, and cash-flow matters.

My path to founding a wealth management firm is different than most. As a child, my dream was to become a fighter pilot. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, I achieved that goal, serving on active duty for a decade. I flew the F-18E Super Hornet from aircraft carriers and deployed multiple times to the Western Pacific. After those deployments, the Navy sent me to UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School to study finance, followed by the privilege of teaching undergraduate economics at my alma mater. After transitioning from active duty, I applied the skills I honed in the cockpit and classroom—leadership, effective communication, process improvement, and strategic decision-making—to multiple entrepreneurial ventures. My career as a financial planner is a natural extension of my passion for solving problems and serving others. With a background in engineering, military flight operations, top-tier business education, and collegiate economics instruction, I bring a unique perspective to wealth management: * Tenacity – Giving up is never an option. Just as a fighter pilot must persist in the air, I am relentless in helping my clients succeed. * Calm Under Pressure – I have a proven ability to think clearly in high-stakes situations, whether in the military or financial markets. I will not panic when volatility arises. * Candor – In aviation and life, speaking up is critical when the stakes are high. I will always provide honest advice, even when it’s uncomfortable. Living near Annapolis, Maryland, I cherish time with my family and enjoy Navy football, traveling, boating, and improving my golf game. I also continue to serve as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves. Ventus Wealth Management — After a decade in the workforce, I became increasingly frustrated by the lack of financial services that truly met my needs. I couldn’t find a firm or advisor that offered the right combination of: ☑️A transparent fee and incentive structure ☑️ A flexible, client-focused service model ☑️ Modern technology solutions ☑️ Virtual meeting capabilities ☑️ Expertise tailored to my specific situation Recognizing this gap, I launched Ventus Wealth Management to address these shortcomings. Everything we do is designed with our clients in mind. Every element of our service and business model is intentionally crafted to deliver value and provide solutions that meet your needs.