By: Karen Demasters
Two women from China and Columbia will receive the Financial Planning Association Diversity Scholarships, which recognize professionals who are working to encourage diversity in the financial planning profession, FPA announced Wednesday.
Danqin (Kristin) Fang was born in China and came to Lubbock, Texas, to pursue a career in financial planning. Since arriving in the United States, she has obtained a master’s degree in personal finance from Texas Tech University, earned the certified financial planner (CFP) certification and has been working towards her chartered financial analyst (CFA) designation. She is a senior financial analyst at Evensky & Katz/Foldes Financial Wealth Management in Coral Gables, Fla.
Pamela Peña Serrano was born in Colombia and started her career in the United States in commercial law and real estate before receiving a bachelor’s degree in business administration, with an emphasis in finance, from Florida International University. She became the first Hispanic firm member at Carson Wealth Management in Omaha, Neb., where she is an associate wealth advisor.
The merit-based scholarship recipients earn one-year FPA membership and complimentary registration and travel expenses to the FPA annual conference BE (business and education) Boston 2015. The scholarships will be presented there later this month.
“The recipients of the Diversity Scholarships this year are doing admirable work in not only representing the new face of financial planning, but also in making diverse communities aware of the importance of financial planning,” FPA executive director and CEO Lauren M. Schadle said in a prepared statement.