Jonah Duyvelaar

What sparked your interest in financial planning? What fuels you every day in your work?

I honestly did not really know about the financial planning profession until later in my college experience. However, as I saw money problems and financial conflict deeply affect friends and family around me, I gravitated toward the idea of work that would not only seek to help alleviate tensions and fears surrounding money, but would also help to empower and educate individuals who decided they wanted to pursue peace and freedom in their financial lives. This passion lends itself well into the heart of financial planning, and I believe that coming alongside others in their journey toward financial wellness and holistically fulfilling lives fuels me to do the work I get to do each day.

What do you feel is a strength that you have?

I’d like to think that I am an active listener who carries a lot of empathy. I feel as though this allows me to be a safe place for people to feel seen and heard. My hope is that this strength would be something that equips me to be a peaceful presence on my team and to serve clients in a way that is characterized by understanding.

When you retire you’re going to…?

This is a tough one to gauge, given that it’s far down my time horizon. Whatever ways in which I do spend my time in my retirement years, my hope is to continue making my community and space a better place, no matter what avenue or channel that takes place in. I have Filipino heritage, so I would love to spend a few years living there and learning more about where I came from. Playing sports with friends has always been and is a frequent hobby of mine, so I hope that continues throughout my lifetime. However retirement does eventually look, I am excited create a vision for it with my wife, Elizabeth, and the family we will create and shape together.

Where did you grow up? Where do you live now?

I was born in Miami, but I spent most of my childhood years growing up in Cumming, Georgia, not too far from the Modera office here in Atlanta. After spending the last seven years in the Athens area (Go Dawgs!), I recently moved to the city of Roswell, close to where I grew up. My wife and I are super excited to experience some familiar communities and towns from a new perspective during this new chapter of our lives.