Stephane Johnston

I specialize in helping families make better financial decisions related to stock options and RSUs. I know we’re saving enough for retirement in 401k’s, but my wife and I still have serious conversations about how to use her company stock to help live the life we want. Our issues require significant financial planning that firms focused on AUM can't help with. In my free time, I coach my three kids sports teams, play softball, golf, ski in Incline Village, and work on the NYTimes Crossword puzzle with my wife, Jessica. If you ever see me out and about, I’m the guy wearing something UCLA, Chargers, Padres, or Warriors. Listen to Aaron's podcast here: https://mindmoneyspectrum.buzzsprout.com/

Faith is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and the founder of Chrysalid Financial. Our clients: We serve high achieving mid-career women in Tech with equity compensation. Whether you are too busy to manage your complex finances, feel overwhelmed by decisions about your equity compensation or wondering if your finances align with your goals, we’re available to assist as a trusted advisor. We offer expert guidance to optimize your complex finances and navigate the milestones and multi-faceted decisions stemming from your RSUs, Stock Options, ESPP and company stock. We help you: • Strategize for and optimize equity compensation. • Leverage your compensation to achieve your financial goals; whether it’s buying a home, taking a sabbatical or financial independence. • Understand, maximize and utilize employee benefits. • We manage your investments to align with your financial goals. Why Partner with Us? • Collaborative Process: Together we collaborate to optimize your complex finances. • Emphasis on you: Emphasis is on you, the future you envision, helping attain it! • We’ve walked in your shoes: As seasoned high achieving professionals in a dynamic landscape. Managing a demanding career, a busy personal life and navigating key equity compensation milestones. Want to find out more about our services, approach and how we can work together? Schedule an Introductory Call at: https://chrysalidfinancial.com/book-consultation/ Faith’s professional and educational background: Prior to Launching Chrysalid Financial Faith counseled high net-worth families with cross-border lifestyles and finances. As a former spouse to a technology professional, she brings personal experience to helping clients navigate decisions regarding equity compensation and the myriad of other employee benefits specific to the Tech industry. Previously, Faith provided consulting and research services to pension plans, foundations and endowments for 19 years as an investment professional and employee benefits consultant. Faith has an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and has BSc. Degrees Information Systems and Business Administration. In addition to being a CFP® professional, she is a member of the Financial Planning Association, through which she volunteers as a pro-bono financial planner. Having lived on four continents and worked on three, Faith likes to travel in her free time – sampling new cuisines along the way.

We work with people who want a long-term partnership where together we create a plan that uses your money and resources to live a fulfilling life that aligns with your deepest values while creating positive change in the world. We focus on who you are and what it is you want for yourself and loved ones. My passion is making financial planning an approachable and enjoyable experience. I became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to help people find solutions for their financial needs but soon realized that traditional financial planning was designed for a male head of household with a certain amount of wealth. Since I am most passionate about equality for women and the LGBTQ community, I realized that I needed additional skills to make financial planning meet our specific needs. So, I became a certified coach which allows me and my clients to go deeper to explore and clarify their individual values and goals. Once we’ve figured out what their ideal life looks like and what is really important to them, we can create a financial plan designed for them. Anyone who knows me knows of my deep love of pastries. I started my career as a pastry chef, fully embracing my creativity, a love of science and math, and delight in creating delicious concoctions. I loved this career, until one day I had an epiphany: My love of numbers and baking science acumen could be used in better ways to help the world. Turns out I like baking more as a hobby than as a career. No more petit fours! I returned to college as a women studies major determined to help women realize their potential and gain equality. Upon self-reflection I realized that I had a lot of passion but lacked any real skills to make the change in the world that I sought to make. Around this time my grandfather died, and I started helping my grandmother with her finances. We sought out information and together we came up with a financial plan for her new life alone. Helping my grandmother become financially independent was exactly the type of impact I wanted to have on other women’s lives. My career path was born.

I am the Founder of CareGen Wealth Management and a Wealth Advisor providing fee-only financial planning and wealth management services with customized solutions for my clients, with a primary focus on women. My clients may be divorced, retireed, widowed, or recent inheritors. They're looking for someone to literally and/or figuratively sit right next to them, hip to hip, as they make financial decisions that impact their lives and the lives of those who are important to them. My ultimate goal is to empower my clients to believe in themselves, make the most of their resources, make smart decisions, and forge better financial outcomes. I am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional, and hold the Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional(℠) credential. Prior to starting my own firm, I was a Vice President with Goldman Sachs, Personal Financial Management and have worked in the financial services industry since 2006 following an earlier career working in the aerospace and information systems industries. I studied Financial Planning at UC Berkeley, have an MBA from the University of Southern California, and a Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Economics from UC Santa Barbara. I live in the San Francisco, California area with my husband and when I'm not working with clients, I love to spend time in Brooklyn, Phoenix, and Los Angeles with my three grown children. (If you're curious, ask me about how this relates to my "Family Mission Statement".) I also enjoy spending time in Park City, Utah downhill skiing, hiking, or seeing films at the annual Sundance Film Festival.

In 2009 I founded Game Theory Academy, a nonprofit that teaches financial skills to teenagers through the lens of strategic decision-making. My favorite part of that work has been guiding young people to set their own goals outside of what their grownups want for them and then align their day-to-day decisions with those goals. I bring that same strategic curiosity to financial planning for you. Prior to Game Theory Academy, I was CFO of a news media organization. I hold an MBA from Yale and a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. I am a CFP® professional, and a member of the XY Planning Network and National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. I have a lifelong interest in economics and am excited to work with you to do the heavy lifting of financial planning so you can focus on what you love to do. When I’m not creating financial plans, I’m the mother of a child with avid and ever-changing interests. I love to play guitar and sing bluegrass, roots, and old-time music, with a pop twist.

I launched Focused Finances, a sole proprietorship, in 1994 and transitioned to Focused Finances, LLC, in 2004. My objective then and now is to help individuals and couples with their financial planning and investment needs. My advice and insight have been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, the Huffington Post, Real Simple, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. I am a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), which is the premiere professional association for fee-only financial planners, and the XY Planning Network (helping advisors serve the other 99% effectively). I am a Certified Financial Planner™ and hold an MBA in Finance from California State University, Hayward (now CSU East Bay). I am also a well-trained and avid musician (my undergraduate degree is in music, and I pursued graduate work as well). I specialize in choral singing and an unusual Baroque instrument – the viola da gamba. I perform with the San Francisco Bay Area Chamber Choir, California Bach Society, participate in numerous vocal and instrumental music workshops, and informal musical gatherings. For me, music is an important touchstone; it’s one of the ways I keep my life in balance.