2026 FPA NorCal Conference
Speakers & Sessions

Saundra Davis is a Master Certified Coach (ICF MCC), distinguished speaker, and financial wellbeing expert with more than two decades of impact. As the founder and Executive Director of Sage Financial Solutions, she created the Continuum of Financial Wellbeing framework, expanding equitable access to ethical financial services for people of all income levels.

She has trained over 2,500 financial coaches and served as an executive coach to more than 100 leaders across military, government, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. Saundra also leads the Accredited Personal Finance Coach (APFC®) certification program—an ICF Level 1 accredited pathway recognized as a national standard for financial coach training.

A committed mindfulness practitioner, Saundra is a Search Inside Yourself certified teacher and a graduate of Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach’s two-year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher program. She holds a B.S. in Management and an M.S. in Financial Planning from Golden Gate University, where she directs the Financial Planning programs.

Featured on CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR, Saundra is known for making complex financial concepts accessible, grounded, and compassionate. As an Internal Family Systems trained practitioner and Financial Behavior Specialist, she brings both technical expertise and human insight to her work.

Meredith Johnson, CPA, CFP® is a partner at BPM LLP in San Francisco, and leads the Private Client tax practice. Meredith holds an active CPA license in California and is also a Certified Financial Planner practitioner. Her professional leadership roles include serving as State Board Chair of the California Society of CPAs and head of the CalCPA AI Task Force. Meredith has been named Forever Influential by the San Francisco Business Times and has been recognized as one of America’s Top 200 CPAs and Best in State CPAs by Forbes in 2024 and 2025.

An ultramarathoner in her spare time, Meredith has completed endurance races across the U.S. including the Western States 100 and the Vol State 500k. Meredith also enjoys visiting national parks and scenic trails around the world.

With over 15 years of experience in the health insurance industry and a law degree, Margo Steinlage Kreider is a nationally recognized expert in Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Leading a trusted and experienced team that serves thousands of clients, she collaborates with wealth managers, CPAs, and HR leaders nationwide to seamlessly integrate Medicare and ACA planning into comprehensive retirement strategies. Margo’s mission is to simplify the complexities of healthcare coverage while maximizing value and confidence for clients. Her expertise, integrity, and client-centered approach have established her as a leading authority and educator in the evolving healthcare landscape.

Ben serves as the Chief Communications Officer at the Financial Planning Association, where he directs all communications and public relations strategies. His responsibilities encompass media relations, organizational messaging, media training, speechwriting, and overseeing all consumer-facing initiatives. Ben collaborates closely with the marketing, conferences, and publications teams to ensure the Association’s public presence is strategic, cohesive, and impactful.

With a career in financial services dating back to 1998, Ben has held diverse roles, including founding and serving as president of Perception, Inc., a premier public relations firm dedicated to serving financial advisory firms and institutions from 2002 to 2010. His experience also spans the political and non-profit sectors, giving him a well-rounded perspective.

A 1995 graduate of Bradley University, Ben is the author of the book “Perfecting the Pitch: Creating Publicity Through Media Rapport” (Larston, 2007). Outside of work, he is a passionate Boston sports fan, a devoted Tom Brady supporter, and a jelly doughnut enthusiast. He resides in Clarksburg, MD, with his wife, Wendy, and their daughters, Izzy (18) and Jillian (15).

Frank Murtha holds a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from The University at Buffalo where he did his dissertation on cognitive errors in gambling behavior. He has taught at numerous colleges including Marist, Baruch, and NYU. In 2001, he co-founded MarketPsych LLC, the first Behavioral Finance consulting firm in North America, where he specialized in helping financial planners apply financial psychology. He is also the founder of the Financial Counseling Institute, an online training platform for financial advisors.

An investing psychology content expert, Dr. Murtha has been featured numerous times on National Public Radio, Nightly Business Report, CNBC and World Business Review and The New York Times. He works as a consultant, speaker, and writer based out of the New York City area. An award-winning author, his book, MarketPsych: How to Overcome Fear and Build Your Investor Identity was honored by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance as one of “Three Best Financial Books of 2010”.

In his spare time he enjoys being a dad, baseball, poker, historical fiction, and performing stand up comedy.

Russell has been a financial planner for over a decade, specializing in serving founders, early employees, and executives in the startup ecosystem. While building a San Francisco-based RIA, he guided clients through work-life transitions, prepared several hundred tax returns, and helped navigate over $800 million in liquidity events at companies like GitHub, Slack, Roblox, Airbnb, Asana, Palantir, Coinbase, and Stripe. He is now the founder and CEO of Trayecto, a software and education platform that helps planners better serve clients with equity comp. Through Trayecto and the Equity Compensation Master Class he has helped more than 150 RIAs implement and enhance their equity compensation offering- ranging from solo RIAs to firms managing $100B+ in AUM.

Dr. Joaquin Wallace is a nationally recognized leader in behavioral finance and generational wealth development. He is the creator of the Seven-Stage Generational Wealth Model® and the Financial Genetic Code®, frameworks that help financial professionals better understand and influence client behavior. An accomplished speaker, educator, and consultant, he integrates emotional well-being, neuroscience, and financial planning to strengthen every phase of the Seven-Step Financial Planning Process. Dr. Wallace is the Amazon best-selling author of Generational Wealth Begins with Generational Knowledge®. His leadership has earned distinctions, including the Wells Fargo “Living History Makers” Award and recognition as one of the most influential Black contemporary leaders of the 21st century. A former appointee to the Quality Education Commission, he now serves as an adjunct instructor at Golden Gate University. He has also been featured in national periodicals for his work in marginalized communities. A former appointee to the Quality Education Commission, he currently serves as an adjunct instructor in the Financial Planning and Public Policy departments at Golden Gate University. He has also been featured in national periodicals for his work in marginalized communities and his efforts to break persistent systemic financial barriers.