Making a Difference in the Financial Services Industry
Throughout the firm’s history, Wescott advisors have been active in many professional organizations focused on the financial services industry. Their commitment to developing and advancing the profession have resulted in notable contributions as leaders of numerous organizations and initiatives.
Grant Rawdin, Wescott Founder and CEO, has served as a leader of many legal and financial professional organizations over the years. He is a member of the Fidelity Clearing & Custody RIA Segment Advisor Council and has served on the national Charles Schwab and Co., Inc. Institutional Advisory Board. Grant is also a founding member of the Advisory Council of the CFP Board Center for Financial Planning.
Grant currently serves as a member of the Board of Visitors of the Temple University Beasley School of Law, and as President of the Law School Foundation. Recently, he was inducted into Temple University’s Gallery of Success, an elite group of alumni who have established notable careers in their fields of study.
Lydia Sheckels, Wescott’s Chief Investment Officer Emeritus, Partner and Senior Financial Advisor, is an active member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). She joined NAPFA’s National Board in September 2017 for a three-year term. In September 2020, Lydia began her term as the Chair of NAPFA’s National Board. Currently, she serves as their Immediate Past Chair. Additionally, she is the past chair of the organization’s Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Region Board, was a member of NAPFA’s Leadership Development Committee, has served on the NAPFA University School of Practice Management, and was a member of the organization’s Speakers Bureau Content Review Committee.
Scott Michalek, a Partner and Senior Financial Advisor with Wescott, is active in several professional organizations, including NAPFA and the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council. He served on the board of the FPA Philadelphia Tri-State Area Chapter for several years and is a past president of the chapter, which is among the largest local FPA chapters in the nation with more than 700 active members. Scott remains active in the chapter as a member of its Media Response Team.
Karen McIntyre, a Principal and Senior Financial Advisor with Wescott, is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor, having served as a board member of the organization’s Northeast MidAtlantic Region board, and is currently the Center City Philadelphia study group leader for the organization. She was also a virtual study group coordinator, a member of the Regional Conference Planning Committee and a volunteer with the NAPFA Money Bus, a traveling tour that helps educate consumers on the need to reduce personal debt while increasing savings.
A member of the FPA and its Media Response Team, Karen was chosen by Investment Advisor Magazine to serve as a board member for the inaugural Wealth Summit National Conference.
Stephanie James, a Partner and Senior Financial Advisor with Wescott, is a member of the Financial Planning Association and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). In 2013, she established and led the NAPFA Genesis Conference and CFP Scholarship Committee, creating the process, criteria and application requirements, and was responsible to choose scholarship recipients throughout the year.
Stephanie also served on the TD Ameritrade Institutional NextGen Scholarship and Grant Committees, assisting in the review of applications and selection of candidates for annual awards. Additionally, she participated in Fidelity Investments’ G2 Leadership Institute program, which focuses on developing leadership and management skills of future leaders of successful financial advisory firms.
Susan Green, a Principal, Senior Financial Advisor and Director of Financial Planning Standards with Wescott, is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), and the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council. With NAPFA, Susan is a member and past co-chair of their Women’s Initiative Committee and is the Current Chair and Past President of their Northeast/Mid-Atlantic (NEMA) Region Board of Directors.
Most recently, she was one of the first industry professionals to complete NAPFA’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Training and Certificate Program. This program aims to provide resources and education around four specific DE&I topics: culture, hiring practices, people and inclusion.
