Laura Mattia, PhD, MBA, CFP® is a professor, researcher, author and adviser. Her financial expertise is a unique combination of advanced financial degrees and certifications and over 30 years of financial leadership experience as a CFO/Controller for fortune 500 companies and Wall Street firms; as a Wealth Manager/Owner for individuals preparing for retirement, and as a Finance Professor at universities. Dr. Mattia is the founder of Women’s Money Empowerment Network™, a community of women engaged in mastering money to improve their lives.  The network provides education to women and mentorship to female financial advisers.  She hosts an internet radio show, Women’s Money Empowerment Network™ with Laura Mattia and she is the author of a financial news column and financial workbooks used to educate women.  Dr. Mattia’s workshops focus on teaching women how to make effective financial decisions and support female financial advisors to plan for success.  Her research explores the gender gap in financial literacy and in financial leadership. Dr. Mattia is also the Program Director of a newly created Personal Financial Planning Program at Muma College of Business, University of South Florida where she has designed the degree to train a new breed of competent and ethical financial advisors.  She received her Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University, a Masters in Business Administration in Accounting/Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Montclair State University.