Changing the Face of Finance: Special Guest Sonya Dreizler

The Black Swans Podcast

For decades the financial services industry has been dominated by middle-aged white men. It's the image we saw on television, in movies and on industry conference stages. Today, the field is as diverse as it has ever been, yet still the stereotype of the old boys club remains. Sonya Dreizler and her partner Liv Gagnon have set out to change that as founders of Choir.

Choir’s mission is to lift the voices of women, non-binary folks, people of color, and especially women of color, in industries historically represented by white men - starting with finance.

They believe that we all - conferences, sponsors, speakers, and attendees - have the power to shift an entire industry simply by changing who we listen to. That starts on stage and in the media – the two most public platforms for recognizing and amplifying expert voices.

Sonya joined hosts Shana Orczyk Sissel & Suzanne Lundeen Abrams to talk about the challenges of confronting the industry stereotypes, what inspired her to take on this battle and how she hopes to expand Choir's reach beyond just the financial services industry.

Sonya Dreizler is the co-founder of financial services diversity tech platform Choir, as well as a speaker and author focused on fostering candid conversations about gender and race in financial services.

In addition to her work at Choir, a diversity-tech platform focused on amplifying the voices of women and people of color in finance, Sonya is a sought after speaker for national financial services conferences, writes for Morningstar, and is the author of the acclaimed Do Better Series about sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination in financial services.

She is a former financial services CEO with two decades of industry experience. She is a respected leader, practical thinker, and consensus-builder with excellent communication skills.

Sonya previously spent 13 years at Protected Investors of America, a boutique Broker Dealer and SEC registered Investment Adviser. She started at the firm as an executive assistant and took on increasing roles in the firm, eventually rising to COO, and then CEO. For in depth details on her work experience, please see her LinkedIn profile.

She previously held the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation as well as the Series 7, 66, 24, and 28 securities licenses. She is a recipient of the Investment News 40 Under 40 award, is a 2018 LinkedIn Top Voices Recipient, is on the Refinitiv Social 100 list for 2020, and was in Financial Planning's 20 people to watch for 2020. She is a member of the Racial Justice Investment Coalition, and sits on advisory boards for several industry events, initiatives, and companies. Sonya speaks frequently at conferences, including virtually, and has published articles and been quoted in numerous trade publications. You can hear her in conversation with industry leaders on top podcasts.

Sonya is on the board of Foodwise, a nonprofit dedicated to growing thriving communities through the power and joy of local food. Sonya earned a BA from UCLA in English Literature and speaks fluent Spanish. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and their two sons and she enjoys traveling with her family, weight lifting, gardening, and cooking.

Reference Links:

Choir

Women in ETFs Speakers' Bureau

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