Hello, my name is Ian Sheridan. 

Before pursuing financial planning as a career, I was just a dad managing my family's finances, trying to give my daughter the best possible financial start so she could have options in life. Through years of reading about personal finance — including taxes, savings accounts and retirement savings, health care, the whole gamut — and simply putting in the time, I built up a decent working knowledge of personal finances. I started saving for my daughter's college the day she was born and taught her to open and manage her own accounts, including saving for her own retirement one day — instilling those good habits early.

I didn't fully appreciate what that preparation meant to her until later. Once she was financially independent, she told me it had given her confidence, financial literacy, and the comfort of always knowing she could come to me with questions. She told me she credits being able to go to graduate school, in part, to the financial preparedness I'd provided. Watching that preparation play out in her life is what convinced me that financial planning should be my third career.

Financial planning is a fitting continuation of a career built on service.  After earning my bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics, I started my career as an Air Force officer (working as a satellite systems engineer) and later as a contractor at NASA. From there, I pivoted again, earning a master's degree in international relations. This led to nearly twenty-five years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State — serving as an economic officer and a consular officer.  That career took my family around the world and taught me how to navigate complexity, plan for the long term, and stay steady when circumstances change — skills that translate directly to the  financial planning world.

I decided to pursue formal training and am now working toward my Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) certification, with the goal of helping individuals and families — including fellow military and Foreign Service families navigating the unique financial questions that come with that life — build the same clarity and confidence I built for my own family.

If any of this resonates — whether you're managing family finances and trying to build lasting security, or you're a young professional navigating the same start to financial independence my daughter once did — I'd love to talk. Sign up for a free chat below.