I was born to a high school teacher father and civil servant mother. My sisters and I grew up in a household that always valued helping others. My father dedicated his professional life nurturing his students with the knowledge they would need to succeed in adulthood. On weekends, my mother fed the homeless, and taught English and local customs to newly immigrated families.  

Our family’s passion for community service influenced my decision to join the Royal Australian Navy, where I served for 14 years. Here, I learned the value of teamwork and collaboration, both on and off the field. Influenced by my fellow sailors, I first became interested in personal finance.  My friends and I freely shared best practices in the interest of improving all of our financial futures. It was during this time I began investing in portfolios and purchased my first two homes in my early 20’s.

Over a decade ago, I moved to the United States to start a family and new career. I had a decision to make on what to do in this next chapter of my life. Combining my passion for personal finance and helping others, I joined a team at a major insurance company that focused on air traffic controllers. Here, I saw the positive impact life insurance and annuities could have with families as a financial solution, but also realized it was often misrepresented and misused. Thankfully, my mentor believed in making sure our recommendations always served the client’s best interest.

From there, I gained more experience working with individuals and families during my time at JPMorgan Chase, and most recently at TIAA, where I refined my skills in financial planning. Collaborating with business partners both within and outside of TIAA, I crafted custom solutions for my clients encompassing everything from retirement income needs to planning for future generations.

Now, my business partner and I are taking our collective experience and dedication to helping others to the next level by creating the WealthGarden f.s., where we deliver a higher level service experience to a small client base, for the rest of their lives.

Merrick is my son and #1 travel buddy. We’ve explored the world together, with his first trip at 4 months old. It’s our goal to visit every national park while camping in my renovated 1983 Volkswagen Vanagon. During the summer, we’re beach bums, and in the winter, we’re improving our snowboarding skills. I LOVE to cook elaborate meals and host dinner parties, which I hope to do again soon.

To learn more about Jade, see our blog, "Ask Jade Anything".