CFP Board Elects Three New Directors
Zohlen, McMorrow and Toolan Bring Diverse Leadership Experience and AI Expertise
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CFP Board today announced that its Board of Directors elected three new members: Evelyn Zohlen, CFP®, Drew McMorrow, CFP® and Zar Toolan. The Board of Directors is the policymaking and oversight body of CFP Board of Standards and CFP Board Center for Financial Planning and acts on behalf of CFP® professionals and the public to advance the profession.
“Welcoming Evelyn, Drew and Zar to the Board of Directors is a genuine privilege,” said CFP Board Chair-Elect Martin Seay, Ph.D., CFP®. “They bring a wealth of experience, valuable perspectives and a shared dedication to the financial planning profession. I look forward to working with each of them to advance CFP® certification and provide more Americans with access to ethical, competent financial advice.”
The Board’s Nominating Committee conducted a detailed gap analysis that identified three recruitment priorities to ensure that the Board has the diversity of experience, viewpoints and representation necessary for good governance: a client-facing CFP® practitioner, a CFP® professional in an RIA leadership role, and a technology professional with expertise in artificial intelligence. Using the descriptive profile as a guide, the Board elected the following new members:
- Evelyn M. Zohlen, MBA, CFP® is Regional Director and Senior Wealth Advisor at Apella Wealth, where she leads the firm’s Southwest Region while continuing to serve financial planning clients. She founded Inspired Financial in 2003 and served as CEO until the firm’s acquisition by Apella Wealth in 2023. Zohlen has also been an active volunteer leader, serving as President-Elect, President, and Chairman of the Financial Planning Association and currently serves on the Directors & Officers Committee and Executive Committee of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra.
Earlier in her career, Zohlen served as a Relationship Manager at The Vanguard Group, advising institutional retirement plan clients with assets ranging from $175 million to $500 million. Prior to entering the financial services profession, Zohlen served as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Air Force. She has taught as an adjunct professor in the Personal Financial Planning Program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and has served on the Advisory Board for the Center for Investment and Wealth Management at UCI. Zohlen earned a B.A. from the University of Texas, an M.S. from the Joint Military Intelligence College and an MBA from Villanova University.
- Drew McMorrow, MBA, CFP® is President & CEO of Ballentine Partners, an independent multi-family office serving ultra-high-net-worth individuals, families and family offices in the United States and internationally. He leads the firm’s strategy and operations while advising multi-generational families on complex wealth management matters, including investments, estate and tax planning, philanthropy, family governance and multigenerational wealth. Calling on a background in business consulting and management, Drew frequently advises families with significant business ownership as issues of strategy and governance intersect with planning issues.
During his tenure as CEO, Drew oversaw the formation of the Ballentine Partners Center for Family Well-being, which brings the firm’s research and experience to the human and family dimensions of significant wealth. He serves on the advisory boards of the Family Wealth Alliance and the Ultra High Net Worth Institute, and on the Industry Leaders Council of the Family Office Exchange.
Prior to joining Ballentine Partners in 2002, Drew worked at Mercer Management Consulting, Oracle Corporation, and the Congressional Budget Office. He holds an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and graduated from Brown University.
- Zar Toolan, MBA is CEO of Archevia Advisors, a data and AI advisory firm serving wealthtech companies, financial planning firms and startups. Drawing on more than two decades of leadership in financial services, Toolan advises Fortune 500 organizations on AI strategy, enterprise transformation, data governance and responsible AI adoption.
In earlier roles, Toolan served as Chief Data & AI Officer and Head of Wealth Platforms at Edward Jones, where he built and led the enterprise data, AI, and knowledge management strategy and launched the firm’s first GenAI and Agentic AI capabilities. He also spent 13 years at Wells Fargo in a variety of executive leadership roles, including Managing Director and Head of Advice & Guidance. He also serves as an industry advocate, contributing to CFP Board Financial Advice and AI Working Groups and speaks frequently on wealthtech, financial planning, and artificial intelligence. Toolan holds multiple patents related to AI-powered advice and planning platforms and maintains FINRA Series 7, 24, and 99 licenses.
Before entering financial services, Toolan was a nuclear engineer overseeing reactor refueling for the U.S. Navy. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University and an MBA in Finance from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at the College of William & Mary. Toolan serves as a trustee of the Fanconi Cancer Foundation and the William & Mary Business School Foundation.
On December 31, 2026, the term of current Board Chair Terri Kallsen, CFP® will expire. On January 1, Martin Seay, Ph.D., CFP® will step into the role of Board Chair, and Richard Shaw, MBA, CFP® will become Board Chair-Elect.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to Terri for her service as Board Chair,” said Seay. “Her executive leadership experience, thoughtful judgment and deep understanding of the profession were especially valuable during an important period of transition for CFP Board. I’m grateful for the foundation she has helped build and the lasting impact of her service.”
The new Board members’ three-year terms begin on January 1, 2027, and end on December 31, 2029. With the three new members elected this month, the Board in 2027 will comprise 15 voting members (10 CFP® professionals and 5 non-CFP® professionals — three of whom are public members). CFP Board CEO K. Dane Snowden will continue as a nonvoting member, bringing the total number of Board members to 16.
ABOUT CFP BOARD
CFP Board is the professional body for personal financial planners in the U.S. CFP Board consists of two affiliated organizations focused on advancing the financial planning profession for the public’s benefit. CFP Board of Standards sets and upholds standards for financial planning and administers the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification — widely recognized by the public, advisors and firms as the standard for financial planners — so that the public has access to the benefits of competent and ethical financial planning. CFP® certification is held by more than 110,000 people in the U.S. CFP Board Center for Financial Planning addresses diversity and workforce development challenges and conducts and publishes research that adds to the financial planning profession’s body of knowledge.
CONTACT: Jane Riley Jacobsen, Director of Public Relations, P: 202-379-2305, E: media@cfpboard.org
