Dr. Tammy Williams (Ph.D., MBA, CFP®, AFC®), a financial planner at Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group, has been named one of the nation’s 10 Rising Stars by Financial Planning magazine.

Created to recognize fee-only and fee-based financial planners with less than five years of wealth management experience, the Rising Stars awards celebrate early-career RIA professionals who are on a trajectory to make a difference in the financial planning profession.

After building a career in corporate America for nearly two decades, Dr. Williams joined Elwood & Goetz’s Atlanta advisory team earlier this year. She has quickly earned an admirable reputation among her colleagues and clients as a thoughtful, deliberate, and responsive advisor.

“In 2017, I made the decision to change my career and pursue a Ph.D. in financial planning with the belief that our profession could make a tremendous impact by helping families and entrepreneurs achieve financial security and peace of mind,” Elwood & Goetz Financial Planner Dr. Tammy Williams said. “I maintain that belief and am grateful for the opportunity to help realize it for our clients at E&G and for people in the communities we serve.”

Beyond working for her clients at Elwood & Goetz, Tammy also serves as co-founder, president, and executive director of the Foundation for Financial Education Research and Outreach (FFERO), an organization dedicated to improving financial education and literacy for lower- and middle-income people through timely solutions and evidence-based advice.

“Driven by her values and vision for what the financial planning profession should be, Dr. Williams has educated students in college classrooms, assisted members of her local community through pro bono financial planning services, and even co-founded an organization committed to improving financial literacy for all,” Elwood & Goetz Founding Partner and University of Georgia Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor Joe Goetz said.

In addition to her work with FFERO, Williams has also volunteered as a financial counselor at the University of Georgia’s ASPIRE Clinic, where she provided holistic counseling and education services, and as a site supervisor for UGA’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, where she supervised undergraduate students as they prepared tax returns for the UGA and Athens communities.

“Tammy’s accomplishments and impactful contributions are impressive enough for someone with a tenured career as a financial planner — and yet she’s just getting started,” Goetz said. “I’m proud to have her on our team, and I’m confident the future of our profession — and our firm — is bright thanks to her rising star.”