Our Team

We are all products of our background, and I am no exception.  I was raised by a single mother who was a public-school teacher; we didn’t have a lot.  Money was never far from my mind, and that experience eventually drew me to a career in banking.  I spent the first 13 years of my career at Mark Twain Bank and its successors, learning the mechanics of how the financial world works. 

I left banking in 2001. I have been a financial planner and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional for the past 25 years. My purpose has been to build a career helping people understand and use their money to make their wealth meaningful.

I have also made just about every financial mistake there is to make, and these mistakes have helped me become a better advisor. I know how it feels to wonder about money; I’ve been where you are.

I’ve been married to my high-school sweetheart Julie for 36 years.  We spend a lot of time traveling the world, attempting to play golf and ski, and figuring out how to make our own money meaningful.  Our adult kids married well; Katherine (Mike) and Jake (Anne Marie) have given us our awesome grandchildren: Margaux, Ellie and Parker.  We spend a lot of our free time being entertained by them.

I am honored to serve some amazing organizations in various ways: The St. Louis County Library Foundation, The College School of Webster Groves, Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, Operation Food Search, CEPAD, and the American Red Cross.  When I’m not working with them, I’m reading, discussing politics, attempting crossword puzzles and devoting my sports allegiances to St. Louis City SC, Liverpool Football Club, and all other things St. Louis.  

Let’s figure out what is meaningful to you.

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As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional, I’m passionate about partnering with clients to design meaningful financial plans that support their goals through every chapter of life - from exciting new beginnings to major transitions and everything in between.

I also hold the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst^® (CDFA^®) designation and specialize in guiding clients through the financial complexities of divorce, empowering them to rebuild and thrive in their next chapter.

With two decades in the financial planning industry, I strive to make money feel less intimidating - and even a little fun - to talk about.

Alongside my work at Pathmark, my husband, Greg, and I are raising our three kids, Peter, Caroline, and Connor. I’m a planner at heart, so I’m always thinking about our next adventure - and I love hearing about my clients’ travels. I’ve retired from sourdough baking and am now in my gardening era.

Let’s connect. I’d love to help make your wealth meaningful!

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Some people get into financial planning because of a fascination with markets. I got into it because of people. Two decades in, that has not changed.

I grew up in St. Charles, Missouri, went to St. Charles West High School, and have spent most of my life in the same community where I work, coach, and raise my kids. There is something I appreciate about that kind of continuity. My wife Katie teaches in the St. Charles School District, our son Brady is playing baseball at St. Charles Community College, and our son Ethan is a junior at St. Charles West, playing football, baseball, and staying active in DECA. On any given weekend, you will find at least one of us at a field somewhere.

I joined Jim Wood's team in 2005 and learned this business the way I think it is best learned, from the inside out, starting in a conference room and building from there. I hold Series 7, Series 66, and Life and Health licenses, but the credential I rely on most is simply having been around long enough to have seen a lot. Good markets and bad ones. Families who felt completely lost and families who just needed someone to confirm they were on the right track. I have heard enough by now to be genuinely useful in both situations.

What keeps me coming back every day is the puzzle of it. Every client is carrying a different financial picture with different goals attached to it, and working out how those pieces fit together is something I find genuinely engaging. The meetings I enjoy most are the ones where we spend half the time talking about a kid heading off to college, a trip they are planning, or a home project they finally started. The financial conversation is almost secondary because the planning behind it was already done. That is the version of this work I find most meaningful.

Coaching has been the other constant in my life. Over the last decade, I have coached youth basketball and baseball almost without interruption, logging somewhere north of 750 games for exactly zero dollars. What I got out of it was worth considerably more than that. Coaching and financial planning are not as different as they might seem. Both require you to listen more than you talk, adapt to who is in front of you, and trust that the work you put in now will show up when it matters.

I volunteer at St. Charles West during football season and serve as an alumni ambassador for my sons' baseball club, where I get to share what I have learned with coaches who are just getting started. Turns out that part of the job, passing things along, is one of the parts I am most proud of.

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Kara serves as Director of Operations and Office Manager at Pathmark Wealth Advisors, where she oversees the firm's day-to-day operations and works to ensure an exceptional experience for both clients and the advisory team.

With more than two decades of experience in the financial services industry, Kara specializes in streamlining processes, managing firm operations, and supporting the continued growth of the business. She is passionate about creating efficient systems that allow advisors to focus on what matters most—helping clients pursue their financial goals.

Kara earned her Finance degree from Marquette University and has built her career around operational excellence, client service, and fostering a collaborative team environment.

Outside the office, Kara enjoys Pilates, exploring new wines, cheering on Marquette athletics, and spending time with her husband, their two kids, and their two dogs.

Two things have always made sense to me: numbers and people. For a few years I focused mostly on the first one. Now I get to work with both.

My background is in analysis. I spent two and a half years as a Commercial Credit Analyst at Heartland Bank and Trust, over a year as a Financial Analyst at Cigna, and interned in wealth management at UBS. That foundation taught me how to read a financial picture carefully and what the details beneath the surface actually tell you. What it clarified, over time, was that I wanted to be closer to the person those details belonged to. That is what brought me to financial planning.

I joined Pathmark Wealth Advisors in late 2025 as a Financial Paraplanner, preparing client agendas, supporting meetings, and following through on the tasks that keep everything on track. I am currently working toward my SIE, Series 7, and Series 66 licenses, with the CFP further down the road. I hold a Finance degree from Illinois State University and bring enough analytical experience to take the planning work seriously from day one.

What keeps me engaged is how differently people define a life well lived. Some want to retire early and simplify everything. Others want to spend their best years seeing the world. There is no version that is more correct than another, and building a plan around what a specific person actually wants is the part of this work I find most rewarding.

I live near the Washington University campus in University City, where Forest Park is close enough to feel like mine. I run half marathons with my dog Eve and travel with my fiancé Evan whenever we can clear the calendar. Our evenings tend to involve cooking, good food, and studying side by side. He is working toward his CFA. I am working toward my licenses. We are getting married in June 2027, which means I currently have two things I am building at once. Both are going well.

I grew up in Hillsboro, Missouri, a small town where life moved slowly and family was everywhere. My clearest memories are from my grandfather's backyard, cousins running around, nobody in a particular hurry. That closeness stayed with me, and it shapes how I show up for the people I work with now.

I studied Computer Science at Missouri Western State University and graduated in 2023, earning my SIE the following year. My path into financial services was driven by something straightforward. I wanted work that had a real effect on people's lives, and I wanted to keep learning. Both of those things are true of this job every day.

I came to Pathmark Wealth Advisors after working at Premier Financial Partners and serve as a Client Relationship Manager, handling account openings, paperwork, scheduling, and the support work that keeps everything running. I am reliable by nature and take follow-through seriously. Clients would tell you the same.

During my time at Missouri Western I played collegiate volleyball, and the sport has stayed with me. I now coach at St. Louis Community College and still play when I can make it work. Away from the court I travel when the opportunity comes, explore coffee shops around St. Louis with more commitment than most people would consider reasonable, and build LEGO sets on evenings when I want something to show for my time. I live in Soulard, which suits me well. It is a neighborhood that always has something going on, and I like being in the middle of it.

My sister called me in 2002 and asked for help with her financial planning practice. I said yes. That phone call turned into a career, and it remains one of the better decisions I have made.

Before financial services, I spent 22 years at Southwestern Bell Telephone Company learning how to manage complexity and work well with people under pressure. Those instincts have served me every day since. At Pathmark Wealth Advisors, I work as an Administrative Assistant handling new business, client review scheduling, and the kind of steady, attentive service that clients notice even when they cannot quite name it. I like seeing things through. A request comes in and I want to see it resolved completely, not just moved along. That instinct shapes how I approach everything I touch.

Two decades in, what still holds my attention is the same thing it always was. The financial landscape keeps shifting and the people in it keep surprising me. Every client brings a different history and a different picture of what they are working towards. Getting to be part of that, even from behind the scenes, is work I find genuinely worthwhile. I have spent the years since building on that foundation one client at a time.

I grew up in St. Louis, graduated from William Jewell College, and now live in O'Fallon, Missouri.  My family is the center of everything for me. My children and grandchildren, and of course my dog, Maggie, keep me motivated in ways that are hard to put into words. Outside the office, I am usually swimming, reading, or watching sports... sometimes all three in the same afternoon.