VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
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Creating Safe Spaces for Financial Conversations
Sharon Rich has dedicated decades to her involvement with NAPFA, leveraging financial planning to create safe, supportive spaces where people can ask questions, learn, and thrive. As an active volunteer with the NAPFA PRIDE Community Group, Sharon facilitates Conversation Circles, attends monthly meetings, and plans virtual and in-person events for the community. Her volunteer experience with NAPFA helped her launch Pride Planners, a national organization serving the LGBTQ+ community from 2001–2018, which now continues under the FPA umbrella.
Throughout her extensive NAPFA journey, Sharon has strengthened the organization and profession through various contributions. She organized several regional conferences beginning in 1990, served as Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Treasurer in the early to mid-’90s, and delivered multiple presentations over the years. A highlight was her New Orleans conference keynote addressing “non-traditional families” in the mid-’90s, a conversation she was proud to help bring to the forefront early on. Sharon also supported Boston’s Money Bus tours, participated in study groups, and taught in the NAPFA University Communication & Counseling program. “Working with that group of NAPFA members was particularly meaningful,” she shares.
A Journey Rooted in Advocacy and Education
Sharon’s path in financial planning began in 1983 while pursuing her doctorate in education at Harvard. “I discovered a night program at Boston University’s Metropolitan College offering a diploma in financial planning while I was involved with Haymarket People’s Fund and studying women’s psychology,” she explains. “I recognized that women needed a safe space to ask money questions and learn without judgment.” Committed to accessibility, Sharon structured her practice around hourly consulting rather than asset management.
She joined NAPFA in 1990 after helping plan a regional conference, drawn to the community’s commitment to Fee-Only planning and client-centered values. “NAPFA helped me build professional networks, continue my education, and develop my business through valuable PR opportunities,” she notes.
Although she has released her RIA registration and is a retired NAPFA member, Sharon remains actively engaged. She continues to offer general planning support to existing and select new clients on cash flow, retirement transitions, estate planning, and financial foundations. “I’m enjoying the balance between client work, volunteering, grandparenting, and trips to Cape Cod,” Sharon shares. “And I have no plans to fully retire anytime soon.”
For those considering getting involved, Sharon’s advice is straightforward: “Volunteering through NAPFA has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career. You never know where it might lead.”
Connect with Sharon on LinkedIn to learn more about her work in financial planning and LGBTQ+ advocacy.
