Thoughts on Gender Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Colony Group

During Women’s History Month, it seems natural to reflect upon how we are doing with respect to gender diversity and empowering women at The Colony Group. In my role, I collaborate with colleagues on our senior leadership team as we strive to make sound decisions on behalf of the company. We are 50% female and 50% male. I am proud of that statistic, particularly as the wealth management industry dramatically lags behind many in terms of gender parity.

Yet, what is even more exciting, in my opinion, is the important and challenging work we are driving forward daily to create additional opportunities for a fully gender-diverse team, including:

• Seeking to attract, engage and retain talented women at all levels of the organization.
• Promoting women to new roles and encouraging them to consider various career paths as they continue learning and growing.
• Enhancing our benefits, including our paid caregiver leave policies and flexible work arrangements.
• Expanding our third-party manager questionnaires to add questions about diversity. We are being far more intentional about our entire business-partner ecosystem in this regard.
• Constructing a sustainable investment strategy that can focus on diversity within the funds and companies in which we are investing.
• Collaborating with renowned diversity, equity, and inclusion consultants Gloria Cotton and Greg Jenkins to identify how we can be better and to construct and implement a plan to do so. We are engaging our entire company to make this a top priority for us. In 2021, we conducted internal research to understand what is most important to our colleagues and how we can do better. In 2022, we are doing more diversity training and establishing a formal Diversity Council that will be accountable for driving further progress and results.

Our CEO, Michael Nathanson, and I are personally leading our journey toward greater diversity. I am passionate about creating access to some of the very opportunities that have been presented to me over the course of my time at Colony. Just two years after joining The Colony Group, Michael started speaking with me about additional areas of the business where I could make an impact. Since then, I have worked on strategic projects and helped shape what Colony might look like in the days and years to come. My role as Chief of Staff and Strategy is challenging and engaging. It is also a job that I would not have imagined stepping into if someone had asked me even five or ten years ago what my future role might encompass.

I hope that I, too, can help others look up one day and find themselves exploring opportunities they had not yet imagined.

Colony Women’s History Corner

Dawn Doebler is a Senior Wealth Advisor and Principal at The Colony Group. As an experienced advisor, she understands the challenges and financial needs of clients in transition, single breadwinner parents, executives, entrepreneurs, and wealthy families. Dawn is also a co-founder of Her Wealth®, a Colony Group initiative to empower women with financial knowledge and confidence to manage their wealth. She enjoys educating women about their finances and is a sought-after speaker who is frequently quoted in the media.

Dina Lee joined Colony in 2013 through a merger of the firm she founded, Prosper Advisors, the talented team established our initial metropolitan New York presence. Dina specializes in working with C suite executives, wealthy families, and owners of closely held businesses. Dina is a co-author of our book, “Personal Financial Planning for Executives and Entrepreneurs: The Path to Financial Peace of Mind”

Liz Talbot, Colony’s first female advisor, recently celebrated 30 years at The Colony Group. She enjoys the challenge of working with some of the complexities that corporate executives and private equity and venture capital professionals encounter over the course of their careers. Liz has been instrumental in recruiting and developing additional female advisors in our Boston and Hingham offices.

Nina Mitchell is a co-founder of  Her Wealth®, a Colony Group initiative to empower women with financial knowledge and confidence to manage their wealth.  She enjoys advising women in all aspects of their wealth from creation to retirement to legacy planning.  She was also named an InvestmentNews Women to Watch in 2018.  She draws on her deep expertise in investment advisory, financial planning, tax and family office services to serve business owners, executives and an elite group of retired professional athletes, who have gone on to successful second careers.