Advisory Councils
CFA Society Los Angeles Advisory Councils
Find Your Area of Interest
The following Advisory Councils allow volunteers to participate in smaller groups focused on specific areas of interest. If you are interested in participating, please contact the chair listed below. If no email is available, please email info@cfala.org.
Professional Development
Candidate Engagement
Co-Chairs
Larry Harris, Ph.D., CFA
James Lewis, CFA, CIPM
Areas of Focus
- Administers workshops, boot camps, information sessions, socials, and other candidate activities for each level of the CFA Study and Examination Program.
- Updates the CFALA Board on CFA Exam changes and candidate communications, hires instructors, liaises with CFA Institute, and approves all collateral material.
- Planning and preparation take place year-round.
Career Development
Chair
Roberto Hamilton, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Manages job opportunities and listings posted on the CFALA website and coordinates the Annual Career Development Expo each spring.
- Organizes topical career programs throughout the year.
- Organizes the Career Chat Series.
- May require on-site participation at the Annual Career Expo.
- Primary planning for the Expo occurs from January through mid-April.
- Participation is year-round.
Professional Learning
Chair
Rama Malladi, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Develops professional learning programs, including seminars, boot camps, the annual Fixed Income Series, the annual Alternative Investments Series, and other educational investment courses of interest to CFALA members.
- Serves as a liaison with local colleges and universities in sponsoring student participation in Society programs.
- The Professional Learning Chair approves all CFALA events for CFA Institute Professional Learning credit.
- Participation is ongoing throughout the year.
Special Interest Communities
Alternative Investments
Chair
Allen Kim, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Improves the basic understanding of the types and uses of alternative investments among CFA charterholders and candidates, the general investing public, and the media.
- Provides an avenue for the exchange of new ideas involving alternative investments.
- Discusses and proactively engages in debate surrounding the special ethical circumstances that alternative investments often create.
AI & Financial Innovation
Chair
AJ Mildenberg, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Promotes and fosters opportunities for learning, idea sharing, and networking among CFALA members and the FinTech community.
- Brings together distinguished practitioners with comprehensive expertise across finance.
- Shares collective knowledge and practical experience while connecting curious and passionate members of the FinTech community.
Private Wealth Management
Chair
Yves-Marc Courtines, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Provides an educational forum for professionals associated with the wealth management industry.
- Presents the annual Wealth Management Excellence Series, with educational and networking events touching all aspects of wealth management, including personal financial advisory, capital market forecasts, investments, trust and estate planning, practice management, and FinTech.
- The Wealth Management League is a subgroup of the Private Wealth Management Advisory Council. Read the description HERE.
Santa Barbara
Chair
Falko Hoernicke, CFA
Areas of Focus
- Provides a network for financial professionals living in Santa Barbara and nearby counties.
- Works to provide educational and networking opportunities for CFA charterholders and other financial professionals.
Sustainability Investing
Co-Chairs
Jeff Kuhlman, CFA
Mary Machado Schammel
Areas of Focus
- Explores sustainable investing strategies, sustainable bonds, the blue economy, and the integration of financially relevant ESG risks and opportunities into analysis.
- Examines ways companies can improve long-term performance by enhancing value for all corporate stakeholders.
- Explores how investors can reduce portfolio risk by considering factors beyond typical financial metrics.
- Discusses ways investors can align investments with their values.
Women’s Advisory Council
Chair
Mariya Entina, CFA
Co-Chairs
Lisa Fridman, CFA
Hanan Dakhil
Areas of Focus
- Provides a network of CFA charterholders and candidates offering mentorship and advice.
- Organizes panels, initiates discussions on social networks, mentors CFA candidates, and builds relationships at social events.
- Provides an inclusive network with the objective of promoting professional support and CFALA brand awareness through collaboration within CFALA and with other professional women’s organizations.
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