Cary Carbonaro Women & Wealth Career Changer Scholarship Announced by CFP Board

WASHINGTON, Sept. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CFP Board announced today the new Cary Carbonaro Women & Wealth Career Changer Scholarship, designed to support the next generation of women training to become CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professionals.

Launched this fall and made possible by $125,000 gift from Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP^®, the scholarship provides financial support to women who identify as career changers — individuals who have never worked in the financial services ecosystem. Eligible candidates must also demonstrate financial need.

“Cary has been a champion for women her entire career, as a financial planner, mentor, author and industry leader,” said CFP Board CEO K. Dane Snowden. “We are grateful for her generosity and commitment to opening doors for women who are ready to make financial planning their next chapter. More women in this profession means more Americans have access to competent, ethical financial advice.”

The new scholarship is the latest initiative by CFP Board to support and welcome career changers into the financial planning profession. CFP Board hosts CFP^® Pro Career studios, live, multi-day events where participants get a closer look at the profession, learning from CFP^® professionals who successfully changed careers, as well as getting insights from employers on what they look for in career changer talent. CFP Board also recently hosted its first virtual career fair focused exclusively on career changers, with nearly 200 attendees.

The Cary Carbonaro Women & Wealth scholarship awards up to $5,000 per student seeking to complete a certificate-level CFP Board Registered Program, which would qualify the student to sit for the CFP^® exam. Applications will be reviewed by a scholarship panel comprised of CFP^® professionals.

Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP^®, is an award-winning, internationally recognized personal finance expert with more than 25 years of experience in wealth management. She currently serves as Managing Director and Women and Wealth Ambassador at Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, an Arax Investment Partners company, where she runs a multimillion-dollar practice helping clients and advisors navigate the financial and emotional dimensions of wealth through a lens of empowerment and inclusion.

“Both my own experience and the data show that the financial planning profession offers exactly the qualities many women career changers are seeking,” said Cary Carbonaro, MBA, CFP^®. “I’m proud to be a CFP^® professional, and proud to help welcome more women into the profession.”

Cary has been widely recognized for her leadership and impact. Honored as an InvestmentNews Woman to Watch, DEI Trailblazer of the Year and Financial Education Champion, she ranked multiple times among Investopedia’s Top 100 Financial Advisors. She is the author of Women and Wealth: A Playbook to Empower Clients and Unlock Their Fortune, a guide for financial advisors seeking to better serve the growing female investor population and listed by Wealth Management in 2025 as a top 10 book for financial advisors. Her 2015 book, The Money Queen’s Guide for Women Who Want to Build Wealth and Banish Fear, is an Amazon #1 bestseller in wealth management across several countries. Cary has served as a CFP Board Ambassador for over a decade and is frequent keynote speaker at wealth management events and conferences.

Cary co-created the Women & Wealth Masterclass, a CE-eligible course to help financial planners better understand and serve women clients. The course explores the history of women and money, factors that may shape women’s financial experiences and decision-making and approaches for strengthening client communication and relationships.

ABOUT CFP BOARD
CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public’s benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP^® certification is held by more than 110,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession’s body of knowledge.

CONTACT: Jane Riley Jacobsen, Director of Public Relations, O: 202-379-2305
M: 703-801-5376, Email: media@cfpboard.org