Get to Know Our 2025 Keynote Presenters!
We are honored and thrilled to introduce you to this year’s Symposium keynote speakers, influential leaders who are shaping the future of financial counseling.
Stay tuned! More keynote speakers will be announced as they are confirmed. We encourage you to check back regularly for updates and new additions to our lineup. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from the best—visit this page often for the latest news.
Gary Mottola and Lisa Berdie
Gary Mottola is the Research Director for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and a social psychologist with over 25 years of research experience. In his role at the FINRA Foundation, he oversees and conducts research projects aimed at better understandings financial capability in America, protecting investors from financial fraud, and improving financial disclosure statements. Dr. Mottola received his B.A. from the University at Albany, M.A. from Brooklyn College, and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. He was a visiting scholar at Wharton in 2006 and is an adjunct professor of statistics in Villanova University’s MBA program.
Lisa Berdie is Director of Research at the Financial Health Network, where she leads mixed-methods research to advance the financial wellbeing of U.S. households. She examines the experiences of individuals and families and the solutions that policymakers, employers, and service providers can leverage to strengthen financial lives. Her expertise spans education and family policy, economic inequality, and the design of programs that promote financial security.
Previously, Lisa held research roles at RAND Corporation and A+ Colorado. She holds a B.A. in Development Studies from Brown University and an M.Phil. in Policy Analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy, where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate.
Session Title: The State of U.S. Financial Health and Capability
This keynote session provides a revealing look at the landscape of financial health and well-being across the country – including financial behaviors, attitudes, knowledge, and access to financial products and services. Insights from data, coupled with real life stories, examines how financial lives are changing over time, revealing key trends, disparities, and opportunities for impact.
Rahkim Sabree
Rahkim Sabree is an award-winning Financial Therapist, Accredited Financial Counselor®, best-selling author, and speaker with an emerging voice in the fields of financial therapy and financial empowerment. He is particularly renowned for his efforts to demystify financial trauma among underserved communities as a leading thought leader. With a dynamic background that bridges financial services and trauma-informed financial wellness, Rahkim is dedicated to helping individuals and organizations challenge traditional views of financial freedom, wealth building, and personal growth.
Session Title: Redefining How We Understand Financial Behavior
In this session, Rahkim invites us to challenge the systems, assumptions, and limitations that have historically defined financial wellness. Drawing from lived experience, clinical insight, and cultural critique, he explores how financial trauma shows up across communities, clients, and institutions—and why we must reimagine our approach to truly meet people where they are.
Riaz Meghji
Riaz Meghji is a human connection expert and author of the book “Every Conversation Counts: The 5 Habits of Human Connection That Build Extraordinary Relationships.” His insights have been featured in Fast Company, Harvard Business Review and Financial Post. After one conversation led him to take a dramatically different career path that changed his life for the better, he became dedicated to exploring the ways that authentic human connection can change lives and organizations. In addition to being a respected thought leader and author on the topic of human connection, Riaz is also an accomplished broadcaster with 17 years of television hosting experience; he has interviewed experts on current affairs, sports, entertainment, politics, and business.
Session Title: Every Conversation Counts: How to Build Extraordinary Relationships
This keynote will empower AFCPE professionals to build deeper, trust-driven relationships in a world of disconnection and hybrid work. Meghji will help financial counselors to foster empathetic curiosity with clients, de-escalate conflict, and inspire breakthroughs through compelling storytelling. Attendees will gain practical tools to create authentic connections with clients and colleagues so that they can enhance their impact, advance financial well- being, and strengthen the human side of financial counseling.
Erika Wasserman
Erika Wasserman is a dynamic force in the world of financial transformation. Armed with a finance degree from the University of Florida and a decade-long career at IBM, she’s also made waves in the organic food industry—bringing a unique mix of corporate savvy and innovative thinking to financial wellness. Erika has a new book coming in Fall 2025, entitled “Conversations with Your Financial Therapist: Stories and Scripts to Grow Your Financial Mindset” with Wiley Books. This book reflects Erika’s passion for making money talk both accessible and transformative. Her own journey reads like an adventure novel—marriage, relocating to Asia, raising kids, divorce, dating, and the loss of a parent—experiences that have shaped her empathetic, holistic approach to financial well-being.
Session Title: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
In this witty, refreshingly real keynote, Certified Financial Therapist Erika Wasserman exposes the inner money dialogue we all carry, then helps you flip the script. Through powerful storytelling, real-life client moments (with permission, of course), and insights from her forthcoming book, Erika invites the audience to unpack how money beliefs were formed, how they sneak into daily decisions, and most importantly, how to rewrite the narrative going forward. You’ll laugh, reflect, and leave with actionable tools to speak about money in a way that drives clarity, confidence, and connection.
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