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MEET OUR TEAM

Ella Taylor, CFP ADPA

A few key facts...

 

  • I love being outdoors, hiking, canoeing, taking long walks and exploring Oakland and the Berkeley Hills, among others

  • I love spending time with friends and family, especially my wife, Morgan, and daughter, Morgan

  • I love reading, bead weaving, and eating and drinking

  • I volunteer to help survivors of domestic violence rebuild their finances

  • As mentioned, I love to bake and cook, trying new recipes and going creatively rogue in the kitchen - and I mean rogue!

Ella, Founder + CEO

My passion is making financial planning an approachable and enjoyable experience.

My path to sustainable finance has an unconventional beginning. I started my career as a professional pastry chef, drawn to the creativity, math, science, and experimentation. However, I soon realized that my deep love of pastries is more of a hobby than a career path. I still love to bake in my spare time and am slowly learning to let go of my perfectionism while baking with my toddler.

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I returned to college as a women studies major determined to help women realize their potential and gain equality. Upon self-reflection I realized that I had a lot of passion but lacked any real skills to make the change in the world that I sought to make. Around this time my grandfather died, and I started helping my grandmother with her finances. Helping my grandmother become financially independent was exactly the type of impact I wanted to have on other women’s lives and showed me how money can be a powerful lever for equity and change.

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This realization ultimately shaped my mission: to make financial planning more inclusive and to use investing as a force for planetary wellbeing. I became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP)® and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) which allows me and my clients to go deeper to explore and clarify their individual values and goals, create personalized financial plans, all while investing their money to support environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and long‑term resilience.

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At the core of my work is the belief that money is one of the most powerful tools we have to not only to provide freedom and stability for ourselves, but also to shape the future of our planet. I believe sustainable investing is not just about avoiding harm, but about actively participating in the transition toward healthier systems—financial, social, and ecological. Through steady, values‑aligned action, I support my clients in using their money to care for both themselves and the world they are part of.

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A few key facts...

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  • I love paddle boarding and kayaking

  • I have four published novels

  • I work closely with survivors of domestic violence to help them escape their current situation and rebuild their lives

  • Unlike Ella, I hate to cook, and I studiously avoid the kitchen whenever possible

Erin, Operations Manager

Like Ella, I didn’t start out in finance. In fact, I’m an English and Communication double major—about as far from finance as one can get. However, my editorial skills
landed me on the radar of a social justice investing firm. Once they realized I could provide a wide variety of support to their operations and strategy teams, they brought me onboard as a full-time team member. While there, I learned a great deal about financial planning and social justice investing, and I ended up discovering my niche.


In 2020, I joined Ella Financial Advisors in the role of operations manager. As a trained editor, I’m skilled at seeing both the big picture and the smallest moving parts, traits that come in handy in my position. I am responsible for handling macro items like company process as well as micro items like detailed account documents.

 

I have passion for providing solid service to our clients and for making the internal processes of our firm run smoothly.
I am proud to be part of Ella Financial Advising because our company provides values-based planning and coaching to those interested in making social, climate, and economic change in the world.

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​A few key facts...

​

  • I’m an illustrator and love to draw and paint 

  • I play the accordion 

  • I’m obsessed with Klezmer and Balkan music 

  • I’m in a band with my husband, called “Zla Vila” 

  • I’m a huge fan of permaculture gardening 

  • I love to do Improv at BATS

Nicolette, Philanthropic Consultant

My journey of learning what it means to use money as a tool for good began when I received an inheritance as a young woman. At the time I considered myself an artist and socialist so the inheritance created a life, status and societal change for me that was uncomfortable, to say the least, but I saw an opportunity.

 

I started studying financial planning while working with the other trustees and turned a previously underperforming, unethical investment portfolio into something 100% green, screened, and carbon neutral. It was a major personal accomplishment, but just the beginning of my journey.

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I discovered my passion for philanthropy when I was given the opportunity to serve on the board of the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation. As board chair I researched charities and helped make decisions around our budget and allocation of grants.

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In 2021 I joined Ella Financial Advising in the role of Philanthropic Consultant. I do what I love - helping people figure out how to use their money to make the maximum possible impact in the charitable areas they value most.

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