Meet the Founder of Sudden Money® Institute & Financial Transitionist® Institute
Hi, I'm Susan Bradley, CFP®, CeFT®, and the founder of the Sudden Money® Institute which began 23 years ago as a community of practice seeking to better serve their financial planning clients by developing processes and tools for the personal side of money and clients going through transitions.Â
This Think Tank created the Certified Financial Transitionist® (CeFT®) designation and a division for training and certification called the Financial Transitionist® Institute.
Susan has served on the FPA’s National Board of Directors, she currently sits on the National Football League’s Players Association’s Financial Education Advisory Board, and she serves as the Dean of Transitions for the Council of Deans of the Purposeful Planning Institute. She is seen and heard frequently in the national media, including NBC’s Nightly News, CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times.
She is the author of Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall (Wiley 2000), and she is also the recipient of the Insiders Forum Iconoclast Award 2017.
Meet the FTI Team
Peggy F. Frye, CFP®, CeFT®
Director of Training & Faculty
Peggy is our Lead Trainer & Director of Training.
Peggy is the Principal of Glenayr Family Advisors LLC and an experienced wealth manager, Certified Financial Planner ®, Registered Life Planner®, and Certified Financial Transitionist®. She advises high-net-worth individuals and families using a unique planning and financial advisory approach and counsels clients to achieve life-altering goals using process-specific strategies. Peggy resides with her husband on Glenayr Farm in central Virginia where they raise champion Airedale terriers and Angus cattle.
Judith RhodesÂ
Director of Membership & Training
[+] As the Director of Membership & Training, Judith is responsible for driving growth and providing strategic direction for FTI/SMI. She is highly dedicated and focused on prioritizing and organizing various projects and events for the benefit of our members. Judith assists in our Event Coordination and is responsible for the Annual, Mid-Year and Inward Bound activities.
Judith has vast experience of over 10+ years in the operations and administration in the legal industry, specializing in Family, Criminal, Estate, and Trademark law. Her expertise in legal matters has proved to be an asset in her role in our organization.
Apart from her professional pursuits, Judith enjoys indulging in her hobbies, which include reading, cooking and traveling with her family. She is also a devoted mother of two who never misses out on her children’s activities.
Sharmon Tourjee
[+] Sharmon Tourjee brings with her an impressive portfolio of experience in Accounting and Finance. At FTI/SMI, she's responsible for the management and oversight of all financial matters.
Additionally, Sharmon is a valued contributor to both annual and mid-year conferences, as well as coordinating Inward-Bound activities.
In addition to her experience at FTI/SMI, Sharmon operates her own bookkeeping business that she has built without significant external investment. With a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Sharmon is also currently studying for the CFP (Certified Financial Planner) examination. In her leisure time, when not managing four children aged 13 to 23, Sharmon loves spreading her time at the beach or tending to her garden.
Alexi Gilmore
Director of Learning Experience
[+] As the Director of Learning Experience at FTI, Alexi Gilmore is responsible for the overall learning strategy, curriculum development, and content for FTI's training programs and continuing education offerings. Alexi is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and subject matter expert in values-driven planning through behavioral finance, philanthropic stewardship, and grief support.
With a background in cultivating long-term client relationships to drive retention, Alexi is dedicated to helping other financial professionals provide the same for their clientele by focusing on improving our training interface, systems integrations, deliverables, and access to tools that drive meaningful financial relationships and successful completion of our training programs.
Alexi fills her days adventuring with her husband, children, and chocolate lab. She is also the Founder and Chair of RAISE Your Hearts, a charity organization in pursuit of wellness in grief for every family member that has experienced infant loss in the United States.
Meet the FTI Faculty Members
Joan Cox, CFP®,CeFT®, CRPC®
Faculty & Trainer
Joan is part of a select number of advisors who earned the Certified Financial Transitionist® (CeFT®) designation.
Joan's testimonial: Have you noticed how sudden and irrevocable life changes influence your thoughts and actions? For years, I’ve seen people struggle to make decisions when their lives are turned upside down. That’s what led me to the CeFT® program.
CeFT® training helps me understand the impact of human transitions or life events. The curriculum uses science-based tools and protocols designed specifically to merge the human and technical sides of financial planning during significant life changes.
Joan had her B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1976. In 1987, along with the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) designation and in 2001 the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation.
Dr. Moira SomersÂ
Psychologist, Professor
Dr. Moira Somers is a psychologist and professor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  She practices in the areas of financial and business coaching, positive psychology, and neuropsychology. Dr. Somers has a particular interest in the psychological factors that affect people’s financial decisions and actions. Her clients include high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and professional people, all of whom are amid significant life transitions. Dr. Somers is skilled in helping them address the factors that contribute to procrastination, erraticism, and anxiety around their personal and business finances. Her workshops for financial advisors focus on enhancing communication skills and client retention.
She is the author of Advice That Sticks (Practical Inspiration 2018).
Michael Karwic
CFP® CeFT®Â
Michael Karwic is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) and a Certified Financial Transitionist (CeFT®).
He provides financial planning and investment services for clients throughout the U.S., with a focus on working with clients who are experiencing significant financial transition events.
He is also a faculty member with the Financial Transitionist Institute where he teaches advanced planning techniques to financial advisers who also work with clients who are experiencing major life events.
Jane K. Washburn
CLU, ChFC, LTCP
Jane is the conceiver and architect of Legacy Visions Insurance and Financial Services. She has combined 20 years of experience helping her clients with their personal and business financial planning with her interest in the financial and emotional transitions throughout the lifespan to create what has become Legacy Visions.
Jane is a Fellow of the Sudden Money Institute (SMI). SMI is a collaborative learning organization dedicated to developing a new body of knowledge necessary for understanding and managing financial transitions, addressing the overlapping emotional and financial complexities of a life transition. SMI invites advisors with experience and a focus in this area to be a Fellow.
Courtney Pullen
President, Pullen Consulting Group
[+] Courtney Pullen, is the President of the Pullen Consulting Group, a Denver Colorado-based firm that specializes in business coaching, family wealth counseling, leadership development, communication workshops, coaching skills workshops, team building and business planning for family and closely held businesses. He received his graduate degree in Psychology from the University of Northern Colorado in 1983. He was a Clinical Associate at the Professional School of Psychology at the University of Denver and had been an Instructor at both the University of Colorado at Denver and the Community College of Aurora.  He is also a graduate of the Newfield Coaching Program. Pullen has frequently lectured, conducted numerous workshops and published in the areas of individual and organizational change and is a Contributing Editor to the Journal of Financial Planning and a member of the advisory board for The Sudden Money Institute and a trained facilitator in the Seven Stages of Money Maturity. Pullen has over 25 years of experience in helping organizations and individuals through change and growth as a business consultant, psychotherapist and professional speaker and recently published the book; Intentional Wealth: How Families Build Legacies of Stewardship and Financial Health. The Pullen Consulting Group has worked with a variety of industries from manufacturing to financial services. He has extensive experience in small and large group facilitation covering the continuum from corporations to communities in conflict and family meetings.
Maureen Rabotin
ICF & Gallup Strengths© Certified Global Executive Coach
Maureen Rabotin is an accomplished executive coach, author, TEDx speaker and founding director of Effective Global Leadership. Her experience and knowledge come from her naturally inquisitive nature along with certifications in various coaching methodologies (Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, Appreciative Inquiry, Systemic – ORSC and Values-based coaching).
With a foot on each continent (France and USA), Maureen invites people to reflect on two questions: “What needs to shift in me to bring out the best in others?” and “How can we build bridges across cultural, linguistic, generational, and gender divides?”
Meet the FTI Global Leaders
Lovaii Navlakhi
CFP®, CeFT®
India
India's first CeFT, with a deep understanding of people and their behavior.
Mariette Tappan
CFP®, CeFT®
South Africa
Awarded the highest rating of 5-star VIP Executive Consultant status at Liberty Life.
Clare Stenstrom
CFP®, CeFT®
Australia
Director and Educator at the Financial Transitionist® Institute of Australia.
Peter Budge
CFP®, CeFT®
Australia
Director and Educator at Financial Transitionist® Institute Australia.
