ASD – Page 2 – The Healthy Advisor Podcast

Transparency with Diana B.: Coming Out of the Closet

By healthy advisor | March 3, 2020

Robert Castillo came out of the closet to his friends and family when he was 16 years old. But when he first got a job at a financial advisory firm in his 20s, he didn’t feel comfortable coming out to his colleagues. The financial services’ reputation for being very male-centric contributed greatly to that decision. He felt he didn’t fit in, and even considered leaving the industry at one point. He eventually did come out at work, and has become a leader in serving and empowering LGBT clients.

While Greg Fields didn’t come out of the closet himself—he’s straight, his son did at 13 years old. Fields wasn’t surprised by it; he spoke frankly to his son about gender and sexuality from a young age. But when his son came out, it did make him nervous; the first thing that came to his mind was his child’s safety. And even living in progressive Los Angeles, that was one of the realities he had to navigate with his son’s sexual orientation—bullying. Greg took action to help protect his son and to become an ally of the LGBT community.

In this episode of Transparency, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton talks to Robert and Greg, both financial advisors with Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management in Santa Monica, Calif., who co-lead the LGBT group at their firm. They share their stories in greater depth and explain what they’re doing to support the LGBT community in an industry that is—in many ways—still closed off to this culture.

In this episode, you will learn:

Robert’s story of coming out in the financial industry
How Greg educated himself on the LGBT community and what he did to help protect his son from bullying
The importance of bringing good advice to this underserved community
Robert’s advice for other financial advisors who are in the LGBT community
What should be done to change the industry’s approach to LGBT issues
How to be more open-minded about the LGBT community and the financial needs of the community
And more.

Tune in now to hear their stories and find out what you can do to better understand and support the LGBT community within the financial services industry.

Resources:

WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | Gerber Kawasaki | Gerber Kawasaki LGBT Group

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Transparency With Diana B.: An Advisor’s Battle With Stomach Cancer, Addiction and Himself

By healthy advisor | December 17, 2019

About 12 years ago, Steve Melen had just started a new job as an advisor at Morgan Stanley, was remodeling his house and had a new baby girl when he got the shock of his life; he was diagnosed with stage III stomach cancer. Not long after, he went through a very serious surgery, with doctors removing several of his organs, including his stomach. But the real problems started after he left the hospital.

In this episode of Transparency, WealthManagement.com Managing Editor Diana Britton is joined by Melen, who shares the intimate details of his battle with cancer. He would later come out of a complicated treatment with an addiction to pain medication and later on, alcohol. Listen to Steve’s story about how he found the strength to change his life for the better.

In this episode, you will learn:

The story of Steve’s diagnosis and battle with cancer

What lead to his addiction to pain meds and how he eventually kicked them
How Steve’s fears, insecurities and broken relationships lead him to self-medicate with alcohol
What his “rock-bottom” moment was
What kind of psychological toll health issues could have on one’s family and caregivers
How Steve got past the addiction and started being open and honest with others about what he went through
About Steve’s new beginning
And more.

Tune in now to hear Steve’s very personal and emotional story about overcoming cancer and addiction.

Resources: WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Contact Diana | Debbie’s Dream Foundation

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Transparency With Diana B.: The Ups and Downs of Living on the Spectrum

By healthy advisor | December 4, 2019

Welcome to the first episode of Transparency with Diana B., a podcast that explores the deepest struggles and hardships that many advisors face. Our mandate is to bring these issues out into the open so that others may find healing.

Today your host Diana Britton, managing editor of WealthManagement.com, is joined by Andrew Komarow, the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum, a financial planning firm that specializes in special-needs individuals and their families. The firm has a specific focus on folks with autism spectrum disorder, a neurological and developmental disorder. Andrew is actually on the spectrum himself, so he knows the disorder first-hand. This conversation about Andrew’s adult diagnosis of autism peels away layers of misconceptions about the disorder and encourages others to cast down their masks.

In this episode, you will learn:

The definition of ASD and typical behaviors and symptoms
Why Andrew believes there is almost too much awareness of ASD and a need for more acceptance and understanding
About one person’s struggle with autism
What helped Andrew to become successful in the financial industry
The truth about common ASD misconceptions
How Andrew overcame the struggles with the disorder
His advice for folks who may be different
And more.

Tune in now to hear a candid conversation with Andrew that unravels the many misconceptions about ASD and offers a practical path to healing.

Resources: WealthManagement.com | Diana Britton | Planning Across The Spectrum | Andrew Komarow | Contact Diana

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