Create a Lesson Plan for Your Financial Freedom

Samantha (Sam) Silberstein, CFP®, CSLP®, EA is an experienced financial consultant. She joined the Student Loan Planner team to be able to combine her financial planning background and experience of working with clients burdened by student debt in education, research, medical and government related fields. She works one-on-one with clients to provide guidance and a path forward on navigating the complexity of student loan debt, while balancing other long-term financial goals. She is passionate about working with individuals and organizations that come from communities who may have been historically underrepresented and may have had limited access to competent and ethical financial guidance. Sam is an advocate for building a financial life that is both sustainable and compatible with one's own values and desires.

Angie spent over a decade in education as a high school teacher and career advisor for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, she spent a year teaching English in the Palestinian Territories and has worked closely with non-profits and service organizations all of her adult life.

Angie fell in love with personal finance while her family paid off $280,000+ of debt from graduate school. Her husband, a pediatrician, had gone to medical school on a partial scholarship. However, even with a modest amount of loans, by the time he finished residency, the loan balance had ballooned to a quarter of a million dollars. This, plus Angie’s graduate school debt, made them feel like they could not think about any other life goals — financial or otherwise — until the loans were paid.

In the process of figuring out how to pay the debt, Angie discovered the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement, where she binged on financial podcasts and blogs and developed a financial strategy to pay off their debt. She felt empowered by what she learned and became passionate about equipping others with the same knowledge. She decided to change careers and become a fiduciary financial planner to help Gen X, Millennial and Gen Z clients with the unprecedented financial issues affecting these generations, like student loans.

Angie enjoys spending time with her husband and their five children in the Monterey Bay area of California, where they live. She swims with her local Masters swim team several times per week, just completed her first marathon, and is actively involved in her church. She also enjoys travel, backpacking, reading and giving back to the community.

Kathleen Boyd is a financial planner who holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional™ (CFP®), Certified in Blockchain & Digital Assets (CBDA), and Certified Student Loan Professional (CSLP®) designations. Kathleen has worked in the financial services industry for over 10 years, having started her career in private wealth managing investment portfolios for institutional clients and working in boutique advisory firms providing comprehensive financial planning services for individuals. She is a proud first-generation college graduate and understands first-hand what it feels like to be saddled with education debt, having financed her own college education with student loans.

Kathleen lives in Southern California and loves to spend her free time enjoying everything the city has to offer, from the beautiful sandy beaches to weekend festivals and the occasional California burrito. Kathleen is also a faculty member in the Graduate Department of Family Financial Planning at Oklahoma State University.