Our People

Staff

Carol Anderson, MS
Executive Director

Carol Anderson is the President of MQ Research & Education™ and Vice President of Money Quotient, Inc.  She has an MS in Consumer Economics & Family Resource Management and a diverse background in business, education, and financial services.  Since 1989, Carol has focused on the issues of financial planning education, retirement preparation, life planning, and productive aging.  As a researcher, writer, and consultant, Carol has worked with a broad range of companies and non-profit organizations in designing studies, conducting analyses, and compiling research reports. In addition, Carol has designed educational tools, materials, and training workshops. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association,  Financial Therapy Association, and Invest for Better.  When not working, Carol enjoys spending time with her family and pets, gardening, and hiking.

Steve Beard, MS, CFP®
Director of Education and Communication

Steve is the Director of Education and Communication of MQ Research & Education™. He has been an educator for over 20 years in public, private, and charter schools. Steve enjoys building relationships and developing connections with various topics. He completed a MS in Leadership for Sustainability Education giving him insight into socially responsible and sustainable investing. He branched out to financial advising and became a CFP® in 2021. He is passionate about the integrated work of MQ and looks forward to partnering with others to help more people put this holistic approach into action. When not working, you can find Steve enjoying time with his family, biking, cheering for the Timbers, and involved in his faith community. 

Governing Board

Carol Anderson, MS
President

Carol Anderson is the President of MQ Research & Education™ and Vice President of Money Quotient, Inc.  She has an MS in Consumer Economics & Family Resource Management and a diverse background in business, education, and financial services.  Since 1989, Carol has focused on the issues of financial planning education, retirement preparation, life planning, and productive aging.  As a researcher, writer, and consultant, Carol has worked with a broad range of companies and non-profit organizations in designing studies, conducting analyses, and compiling research reports. In addition, Carol has designed educational tools, materials, and training workshops. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association,  Financial Therapy Association, and Invest for Better.  When not working, Carol enjoys spending time with her family and pets, gardening, and hiking.

Amy N. Mullen, CFP®
Vice President

Amy Mullen, CFP® is President of Money Quotient Inc. and Vice President of MQ Research & Education™. In these roles, she frequently presents at financial industry conferences on the benefits and effectiveness of a values-based approach to financial planning, understanding client motivations and how to guide them through change, and creating long-lasting client-planner relationships. Amy also focuses much of her time facilitating the multi-day “Fundamentals of True Wealth Planning” course for financial planners and educators. Amy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and completed an Interdisciplinary Studies Degree with a concentration in “Financial Motivation & Change” at Marylhurst University. Amy is a member of the Financial Therapy Association and Financial Planning Association. When not working, Amy enjoys getting outdoors, photography, live music, and cooking. 

Deanna L. Sharpe, PhD, CFP®, CRPC®, CRPS
Director

Deanna is an associate professor in the Personal Financial Planning Department at the University of Missouri. Her research examines factors affecting later life financial and economic well-being. Work on “Expenditures in Grandparent-Headed Households” and the “Financial Issues of Having a Child with Autism” won Outstanding Paper awards. She has provided professional service to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Educators, and the American Council on Consumer Interests and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, the Journal of Financial Planning and Counseling, and the Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Julie Davis
Director

Julie has worked as a community organizer and advocate for more than 25 years. As the founding Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon, she has worked to build a diverse, inclusive, and accepting network of activists committed to defending everyone's basic rights.

Today, Julie is a Portland, OR realtor, committed to building strong, inclusive communities where everyone thrives. She brings heart and passion to her practice, working to help every client find their place – their home.

Marilyn Bergen
Director

Marilyn started her financial planning career in the mid 1980's. After working as an Independent Contractor, she co-founded a fee only firm in 1996 and merged with another firm in 2011 to form Confluence Wealth Management. She retired in January 2019.

Marilyn’s career highlights include (1) working with her original business partner “a man of ethics, talent and concern for client satisfaction”; (2) Board experience with the Oregon chapter of ICFP, one of the predecessors to FPA; (3) participation in a National Study Group; (4) National and local recognition in several publications as one of the best Financial Planners; and (5) the opportunity to help so many people work towards and achieve their financial goals. Marilyn’s son is married and has a young son. In addition to her grandchild, travel is her passion along with socializing with friends.

Faculty

Carol Anderson, MS

Carol Anderson is the President of MQ Research & Education™ and Vice President of Money Quotient, Inc.  She has an MS in Consumer Economics & Family Resource Management and a diverse background in business, education, and financial services.  Since 1989, Carol has focused on the issues of financial planning education, retirement preparation, life planning, and productive aging.  As a researcher, writer, and consultant, Carol has worked with a broad range of companies and non-profit organizations in designing studies, conducting analyses, and compiling research reports. In addition, Carol has designed educational tools, materials, and training workshops. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association,  Financial Therapy Association, and Invest for Better.  When not working, Carol enjoys spending time with her family and pets, gardening, and hiking.

Deanna L. Sharpe, PhD, CFP®, CRPC®, CRPS 

Deanna is an associate professor in the Personal Financial Planning Department at the University of Missouri. Her research examines factors affecting later life financial and economic well-being. Work on “Expenditures in Grandparent-Headed Households” and the “Financial Issues of Having a Child with Autism” won Outstanding Paper awards. She has provided professional service to the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., the Association of Financial Counseling and Planning Educators, and the American Council on Consumer Interests and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Family and Economic Issues, the Journal of Financial Planning and Counseling, and the Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Meghaan Lurtz, PhD, FBS™

Meghaan is a Professor of Practice at Kansas State University where she teaches courses for the Advanced Financial Planning Certificate Program, a lecturer at Columbia University where she teaches Financial Psychology, and an on-staff writer and researcher of financial psychology at Kitces.com. Her research interests vary as she studies both practitioners of financial planning as well as financial planning and financial therapy practices and interventions. Her research and expertise have been featured in the Journal of Financial Planning, Journal of Consumer Affairs, Financial Planning Review, Wall Street Journal, BBC, Million Dollar Roundtable, and New York Magazine. She has also contributed chapters to the CFP Board’s textbook, Client Psychology. Meghaan is a past President and current board member for the Financial Therapy Association and Financial Psychology Institute Europe. 

William “Marty” Martin, PsyD, CFP®

Marty is a licensed clinical psychologist and also earned an MSc in behavioral sleep medicine from the University of Glasgow. Marty currently serves as Professor in the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul, where he launched a wide array of degree and other educational programs. He has authored over 100 refereed articles, and his scholarly work has been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

After earning an MS in Personal Financial Planning, Marty began to practice as a financial psychologist focusing on direct client services and consulting with financial planning firms. He co-developed a collaborative financial planning model with Cicily Maton, CFP® that was featured in The Journal of Financial Planning. Marty is also the author of The Inner World of Money: Taking Control of Your Financial Decisions, published by Praeger Press.

Marco Vangelisti, CFA

Marco is a 100% Aware and No-Harm investor with a longstanding commitment to impact and regenerative investing and is dedicated to democratizing financial literacy.  He is a founding member of Slow Money and on the leadership team of the Slow Money Northern California Network from its inception to 2020.  Prior to his shift in focus towards no-harm, impact and regenerative investing, Marco spent 20 years in the finance industry, where he managed investment equity portfolios on behalf of large foundations and endowments and developed statistical risk models for equity and fixed income markets around the world.

Marco was a Fulbright scholar in Mathematics and Economics at the University of California in Berkeley, earned an MBA and a Master of Fine Arts . He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and taught portfolio management, asset allocation, and performance and risk analysis at the San Francisco CFA Institute for 12 years.