JOHN E. GRABLE, PH.D., CFP®

Professor and Athletic Association Endowed Professor of Financial Planning, University of Georgia

Professor John Grable teaches financial planning courses at the University of Georgia, where he holds an Athletic Association Endowed Professorship. Before his academic career, he worked as a pension and benefits administrator and later as a Registered Investment Adviser at an asset management firm. Dr. Grable has contributed to the profession of financial planning in numerous ways. He founded the Journal of Personal Finance and co-founded the Journal of Financial Therapy. He was also a founding co-editor of Financial Planning Review and served as the interim editor of Financial Services Review. He is well-known for his research in financial literacy and education, financial risk tolerance assessment, behavioral financial planning, and evidence-based financial planning. Dr. Grable has received numerous research and publication awards and grants focused on promoting the connection between research and financial planning practice. Over the past quarter-century, Dr. Grable has published over 200 refereed papers, coauthored several textbooks, coauthored a book on financial planning communication skills, co-edited a book on financial planning and counseling scales, coauthored a book on financial services ethics, and contributed to a graduate-level personal finance book. Additionally, Dr. Grable has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC) and held leadership roles with the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) and the Financial Therapy Association. His contributions to the profession have earned him several awards, including the prestigious Cato Award for Distinguished Journalism in Financial Services, the IARFC Founders Award, the Dawley-Scholer Award for Faculty Excellence in Student Development, and the ACCI Mid-Career Award. When not teaching and publishing, he provides research and consulting services through the Financial Planning Performance Lab.

MICHELLE E. KRUGER, PH.D., CFP®

Private Practice, Augusta Georgia, and Clinical Instructor of Financial Planning, University of Georgia

Michelle E. Kruger, Ph.D., CFP®, is a distinguished financial planner, researcher, educator, and author with deep expertise in comprehensive financial planning, behavioral finance, and evidence-based practice. She currently serves as Director of Financial Planning at Focus Partners Wealth in Atlanta, Georgia, where she leads a centralized planning group and develops customized, holistic financial plans for high-net-worth and affluent households using professional planning tools, including eMoney™. In this role, she also mentors and oversees other financial planners as part of the firm’s strategic planning initiatives. Dr. Kruger holds a Ph.D. in Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics (2019) from the University of Georgia (UGA) and graduated magna cum laude with a B.B.A. in Finance from UGA’s Terry College of Business. Her doctoral dissertation focused on financial satisfaction and the joint financial management of couples, reflecting her longstanding interest in the interpersonal and behavioral dimensions of financial decision-making. Before joining Focus Partners Wealth, Dr. Kruger served as a Senior Financial Planner at Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group, a well-established fee-only comprehensive financial planning firm in Athens, Georgia, where she developed evidence-based financial plans and investment strategies for families and individuals. She also previously worked as a financial planning analyst for the same firm earlier in her career. In academia, Dr. Kruger has held roles as Assistant Professor of Finance at Loras College and as a clinical instructor at the University of Georgia, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in financial planning, including advanced financial planning seminars, computer applications in planning, practice management, and related finance subjects. Dr. Kruger is also actively engaged in research. Her work has appeared in respected peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Financial Planning, the Journal of Financial Therapy, the Financial Services Review, and Financial Planning Review. Her research explores topics such as risk tolerance assessment, financial satisfaction, and shared financial responsibilities among couples, household wealth-building behaviors, and financial planning interventions grounded in behavioral insights. Beyond traditional research, Dr. Kruger served as a financial counselor at the Love and Money Center (formerly the Aspire Clinic), an interdisciplinary teaching and research institution where financial planning services are integrated with marriage and family therapy theories to support clients’ financial and relational well-being. In addition to her academic and professional roles, Dr. Kruger is an accomplished author. She has coauthored multiple influential books in the field of financial planning, including The Fundamentals of Writing a Financial Plan, The First 50 Years of CFP® Certification: The Standard for Financial Planning, The Psychology of Financial Planning: Practitioner Resource Guide, and Financial Planning Counseling Skills. Through these works, she contributes to the development of financial planning education and the profession’s knowledge base. Dr. Kruger’s combination of academic rigor, practical planning experience, research leadership, and commitment to client-centered practice positions her as a leading voice in the financial planning profession, particularly at the intersection of behavioral science and financial planning practice.