About Sheila
I’m a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and professor at Georgetown University. I teach students, professionals, and athletes how to think more clearly about financial decisions.
Educator for thousands of students, athletes, and professionals
NCAA Division I National Champion rower
Brown University Athletics Hall of Fame inductee
Former insights leader at Capital Group and Fidelity Investments
Featured in Business Insider, Yahoo! Finance, and WalletHub
How I Became Interested in Financial Decision-Making
I’ve always been curious about how people make decisions, especially when emotions are involved.
My career began in the food and beverage industry, where I saw the emotional choices many of us make with what we eat. We even have names for our food-related emotions….who hasn’t felt “hangry”?
Later, working in investment management during the Great Recession of 2008-09, I saw the very same dynamic shaping financial decisions. Even when people understood the numbers, it was frequently emotions, stress, and outside influences that drove their decisions.
How Athletics Shape My Approach
As an NCAA Division I rower at Brown University, I learned that habits, preparation, and mindset matter.
Success in competitive athletics isn’t determined by one moment. It’s shaped by the daily habits that prepare you to perform when the stakes are high.
The attributes and systems that drive athletic excellence are often the same ones that support thoughtful decisions, and the lessons I learned in sports continue to influence how I think about money choices today.
Fun Facts:
As a freshman, I raced an “American Gladiator” at the World Indoor Rowing Championships…and won.
20+ years after my competitive racing days ended, I came out of retirement in 2023 to race in the Head of the Charles regatta with my old college teammates…and was fired up to know we still know how to race.
photo credit: row2k.com
Working in Financial Services During the Financial Crisis
For 15+ years, I’ve worked closely with financial advisors and investors on another emotional topic: money.
I started in the investment management industry during the financial crisis of 2008–09. It was an “all hands on deck” and “jump into the deep end” type of entry.
At Capital Group and Fidelity Investments, I led insight initiatives supporting thousands of financial advisors and investors as they navigated market volatility, life transitions, and the behavioral tendencies that influence our financial outcomes.
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, I’ve seen firsthand how even when people understand the numbers, it’s emotions, uncertainty and outside influences that often shape they decisions they ultimately make.
How It All Came Together
Over time, these experiences evolved into the decision-making frameworks I now teach in classrooms and workshops.
At Georgetown University, I teach financial literacy and decision-making, including The Hidden Curriculum of Post-College Life, an innovative course that helps students navigate financial and life choices rarely discussed in traditional academic settings.
I also speak and conduct workshops for universities, athletic programs, and organizations across the country.
If you’re interested in bringing this work to your campus or organization, I’d welcome the opportunity to connect.