Investing In Your Values

Shari interviews David G. Booth, Founder and Executive Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors. David shares his path from selling newspapers and shoes to founding one of the largest money management firms in the world. He also discusses how he gives back to the organizations that helped him along the way.

David Booth is Executive Chairman of Dimensional Fund Advisors, a firm he founded in 1981. Under David’s leadership, Dimensional has grown from a fledgling business operating out of the spare room of his Brooklyn brownstone apartment to a global investment manager with more than 1,500 employees and $540 billion in assets under management. David led Dimensional as CEO and later Co-CEO until 2017, when he stepped back from the daily management of the firm. He remains closely involved in strategic initiatives at Dimensional.

A trailblazer in the financial world, David helped create one of the world’s first index funds in the 1970s and launched the first passively managed small company strategy in the early ’80s. He has spent his career applying groundbreaking financial theory and research to the practical world of asset management, working closely with renowned academics to develop innovative investment strategies that he believed could outperform index funds, pioneering what would later be called factor investing.

David received a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1968 and a master’s degree in business in 1969 from the University of Kansas. In 1971, he received an MBA from the University of Chicago. Over the years, David has been a benefactor to both schools. Upon announcing a gift from the Booth family to the business school at Chicago in 2008, David cited his education there as being instrumental to his later success with Dimensional. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is named in David’s honor, and the gift has helped to advance its field-defining research and to support the school’s faculty, a number of whom have had close ties to Dimensional. David has also donated to support athletics at the University of Kansas — as a boy, he ushered there at football games—and he is a vocal advocate of the role sports play in keeping alumni connected to a school.

An avid art collector and enthusiast, David has participated in and donated to artistic initiatives across the US, and the David Booth Conservation Center and Department is responsible for the preservation of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection in New York.

Learn more about Dimensional Fund Advisors: https://www.dimensional.com/us-en/financial-professionals

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

Shari interviews Eric Rosen, Digital Content Creator and International Chess Master. They discuss how Eric turned his passion for chess into a thriving business, how he began playing, chess in pop culture, a few pointers – and how he maximizes his return on life.

About Eric:

Eric Rosen is a 29-year-old International Chess Master based in St. Louis who has a worldwide following on YouTube and Twitch. He was born and raised in Skokie, Illinois, where his older brother Alex taught him to play chess at the age of 7. After his first chess tournament at age 8, he declared to his parents on the car ride home that he loved the way chess made him think and wanted to play it the rest of his life. Apparently, he meant it. At age 9, he won the Illinois 3rd Grade State Championship, his first of many successes.

He graduated from Niles North High School in 2012, where he led his chess team to two state championships, and in his junior year won the 2011 U.S. High School national chess championship, earning him the right to compete in the world youth championships later that year in Brazil. He earned his FIDE Master Title in 2011, and his International Master Title in 2015. (FIDE is the world chess organization that confers international titles).

He attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana for two years, where with his longtime friend and fellow chess player Michael Auger led the team to the Final Four competition of College chess in 2013 and 2014, an almost unprecedented accomplishment for a school that had no formal chess program. He later transferred to Webster University, where from 2015 to 2017 he competed in the school’s SPICE program under the direction of former World Women’s Champion, Susan Polgar. He graduated from Webster in 2017 with a B.A. in Interactive Digital Media. After graduating, in lieu of looking for a regular job, Eric decided to travel the world for a year — competing in chess tournaments and supporting himself by teaching chess online. In 2017, he launched a Twitch channel and began creating more regular content for his YouTube Channel, which he began in 2013.

The channels grew steadily in popularity the first couple of years, to the point where he was able to generate enough revenue through his online content and teaching to comfortably support himself. In 2020, interest in chess exploded as the world was locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and viewership of his channels took off. He now has more than 600,000 subscribers on YouTube, and more than 230,000 on Twitch. He is known and liked by his viewers for his laid-back style and his encouragement of a growth mindset — valuing hard work, practice, learning from your mistakes and enjoying the journey.

He has also done professional photography work and was hired by FIDE (the World Chess Federation) as one of the official photographers of the most recent World Chess Championship held in Dubai between Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi.

Other interests include tennis, ping pong, Scrabble and bowling.

Connect with Eric:

Website & Email: https://imrosen.com/ | [email protected]

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/eric-rosen

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/rosenchess

Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/imrosen

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ericrosenphotography/ 

NPR Article: https://news.stlpublicradio.org/2014-01-01/on-chess-webster-university-university-of-illinois-advance-to-chess-final-four

Webster University, SPICE and Chess: https://www.webster.edu/spice/

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

Shari interviews Karen Asbra, CFP®, Chief Operating Officer and Principal of Rappaport Reiches Capital Management. They go all the way back to the beginning, when Karen was the first employee as an Associate at RRCM – and her path to becoming Chief Operating Officer, how she balances work and family, some financial tips, and how Karen maximizes her return on life.

About Karen:

Karen L. Asbra, CFP® is Chief Operating Officer and Principal of Rappaport Reiches Capital Management. Karen joined RRCM in 2007, is a CFP® professional and Series 65 licensed and is a strategic partner to her clients, bringing discipline and clarity to achieving their goals. Karen loves to talk about investing and financial planning, enjoys traveling, live music and Broadway musicals.

Connect with Karen:  linkedin.com/in/karen-l-asbra-cfp

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

Shari talks with Lindsey Paige Markus, an estate planning attorney, and author of the book A Gift for the Future – Conversations About Estate Planning. They discuss Lindsey’s path to becoming an attorney, proactive estate planning for every stage of your life, why she wrote the book, and how creating a gift for the future can maximize your return on life today.

Lindsey Paige Markus is a shareholder with Chuhak & Tecson, P.C., a boutique law firm in Chicago, where she leads the firm’s 25 attorney estate planning & asset protection group. In her practice she assists business owners and families in planning their estates, protecting assets, transferring wealth and minimizing taxation. She works closely with clients to formulate succession plans, advise on business formation, maximize wealth preservation and minimize gift and estate taxation. Licensed in Illinois, New York and Florida, Lindsey has a national practice.

Passionate about educating clients and advisors about death and taxes, Lindsey appears on local television shows and authored A Gift for the Future – Conversations About Estate Planning, in April 2022. The book was quickly a #1 Best Seller on Amazon in Legal Self-Help and a #1 New Release in several categories. A Gift for the Future takes readers on a journey through the world of estate planning. In her easy-to-follow writing style she provides the ins and outs of every estate planning tool from simple to advanced. By interweaving the family story of Jack and Diane she leads readers through estate planning needs from the time they decide to marry through the birth of children, business growth, divorce, and the formation of new families and relationships along the way. Russ Sullivan, the former staff director for Senate Finance Committee and one of America’s leading tax authorities, authored the foreward, noting “Death and taxes are inevitable for all of us, making this book a wonderful tool for everyone.”

Passionate about philanthropy and giving back, Lindsey is a founding member of Chuhak & Tecson’s Women Helping Women initiative, sits on the Jewish United Fund’s Executive Board, Advocate Charitable Foundation’s Gift Planning Advisory Committee and co-chairs American Technion Society’s Midwest Planned Giving Committee.

Lindsey has been recognized in countless publications, including Leading Lawyers, Super Lawyers, Crain’s Chicago Business as a Notable Gen X Leaders in Accounting, Consulting and Law, Crain’s Notable Women in Law, and as a Top Woman in Law by Chicago Lawyer.

Connect with Lindsey:

A Gift for the Future: www.AGiftForTheFuture.com

Personal website: www.LindseyMarkus.com

Get a copy of Lindsey’s book A Gift for the Future – Conversations About Estate Planning here.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsey-markus-a279237/

Email: [email protected]

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

I am a storyteller by nature and recently published my first book:  Maximize Your Return on Life. In this podcast I share my inspiration for writing the book, and why I feel so strongly about using your Core Values to guide key decisions on how you spend your time and money.

The book explores:

“In Maximize Your Return on Life, Shari empowers investors to make smart money decisions by focusing first on what’s truly important to them — their core values. By asking the right questions and fully understanding what matters most to her clients, Shari delivers invaluable advice that helps them stay invested and stick to their long-term plans.”   – David Booth, Founder and Executive Chairman, Dimensional Fund Advisors.

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/maximize-your-return-on-life-blog/your-lifes-grocery-list

Shari interviews The Sleep Ambassador® Nancy Rothstein. Nancy is a globally recognized sleep expert, and she shares her quest to help people live life fully 24/7, with tips to get a better sleep. She also discusses her new book, Rising in the Mourning: Ways to Celebrate Life.

Nancy H. Rothstein is on a quest to help people live life fully, 24/7, by guiding them to rise in the morning and to rise in the mourning.

As The Sleep Ambassador®, Nancy inspires a new respect for sleep and its impact on all aspects of work, life, and well-being. As a globally recognized sleep expert, she consults to companies and organizations as well as being a sleep advocate for the public. Nancy provides sleep information, education, training, and resources with strategic and practical solutions to empower people to make lasting shifts to optimize their sleep. Her course on LinkedIn Learning, Sleep Is Your Superpower, has engaged over 400,000 people, providing a wealth of sleep tips. The Sleep Well/Live Well program she created, a 4-week, virtual sleep improvement program, has engaged 1,000s of employees and will soon be available to the public. Nancy is the author of My Daddy Snores, published by Scholastic, which has sold over 525,000 copies. For more about Nancy and curated sleep resources, courses, and select articles and publications, visit www.thesleepambassador.com.

Nancy is the author of Rising in the Mourning: Ways to Celebrate Life, released in October 2022 on Amazon. In this inspiring book based on her personal journey, Nancy encourages people to embrace the gift of life with gratitude and celebration amid its many challenges. Through decades of spiritual practices and enduring faith, Nancy has gained perspective and hopes to help you find peace and joy to thrive in your life.

Nancy’s Website: https://thesleepambassador.com/

Nancy’s New Book Rising in the Mourning: Ways to Celebrate Life:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1957807911

Book and 21 Ways to Celebrate Life: https://thesleepambassador.com/rising-in-the-mourning/

LinkedIn Learning Course – Sleep Is Your Superpower:  https://www.linkedin.com/learning/sleep-is-your-superpower/your-sleep-improvement-journey?autoplay=true

Sleep Well/Live Well – Nancy’s Virtual Sleep Improvement Program: https://thesleepambassador.com/services-and-courses/

My Daddy Snores children’s book (Scholastic):  https://thesleepambassador.com/my-daddy-snores/

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

Shari talks with Tara May about her journey from Corporate Executive to CEO of Aspiritech — a nonprofit organization that hires individuals on the autism spectrum to provide software testing and quality assurance services to corporate clients. Tara shares the skills needed to be a CEO for a nonprofit. She also discusses her ROI of Kindness philosophy and how she maximizes her return on life.

Tara May is a visionary, charismatic leader who transforms legacy organizations into thriving, future-focused digital properties. In her career in media and tech, Tara has masterfully revolutionized companies by leading cultural shifts, innovating new products and introducing new technology to result in dramatic revenue gr Tara May is a visionary, charismatic leader who transforms legacy organizations into thriving, future-focused digital properties. In her career in media and tech, Tara has masterfully revolutionized companies by leading cultural shifts, innovating new products and introducing new technology to result in dramatic revenue growth. Today she is CEO of Aspiritech, a tech services company that is successful in business innovation and in mission, providing meaningful employment to more than 100 autistic adults.

As EVP of Media and Chief Digital Officer for Winsight and the National Restaurant Association Show, Tara successfully led a company-wide digital transformation that has resulted in an unprecedented 350+% revenue growth in five years.

Tara was also part of the leadership team at AOL’s Patch.com, where she led a geographic expansion of a regional product into a nationally recognized media platform. Tara also led the developed content strategy for a network of 900+ local websites, spearheaded corporate digital training for thousands of employees, and orchestrated the company’s social media and SEO strategies. Tara started her career in journalism as a reporter and editor at the Roswell Daily Record in Roswell, N.M., Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune.

Tara has made her mark by running head-first toward the challenges of change, building and leading both companies and individuals alike through important and impactful periods of growth. As a believer in the ROI of kindness and transparency, Tara knows that when her people thrive, explosive business growth is never far behind.

Tara lives in Chicago with her husband and teens and tweens. Tara is the proud mother of an autistic preteen and is dedicated to championing and embracing neurodiversity in both life and work. Tara is a total Peloton and OTF fanatic. She was born and raised in small-town Michigan and loves to escape to the Upper Peninsula with her husband and her Jeep.

Connect with Tara: www.taranicoalmay.com | https://www.linkedin.com/in/taranmay/

Learn more about Aspiritech: www.aspiritech.org

Learn more about The ROI of Kindness

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

Shari talks with Carol and Brad White about their career paths – Carol, an MBA with a corporate client base, to a consultant focused on nonprofit organizations, and Brad, a law school graduate to a real estate professional focusing on neighborhood revitalization, historic preservation and affordable housing. They discuss how their jobs fit with their values, how they planned and took a sabbatical, and their annual trip to Charlevoix, Michigan and what it means to their family.

About Carol:

Carol White (she/her) has helped clients turn information into high-impact marketing strategies for over 25 years.

She founded CBWhite – Marketing Research & Strategy to apply her corporate experience in marketing strategy and research to organizations serving the public interest. Her expertise has been translated for and successfully applied to dozens of clients in the nonprofit arena, helping them use marketing principles and research to further their missions.

Carol leads projects that reveal critical information about all types of constituents and stakeholders. Results are used to transform the way organizations present themselves, to re-brand, to kickoff strategic planning with objective market insights, to design programs, to enhance efforts to reach target audiences, and to create a platform for consistent, high-impact marketing implementation. Projects involve partnership with clients, combining CBWhite’s rigorous and objective research methods with each client’s wisdom, experience, and intuition that is specific to the subject matter.

In the planning phase of engagements, Carol works with clients to define goals, identify issues, and broaden the view of possibilities. She designs and implements market research, from focus groups and interviews to large surveys. With information in hand, she provides insightful analysis and synthesis so clients make decisions and take well-reasoned action.

The client list includes educational institutions, environmental organizations, arts groups, health advocates, and others.

Carol has delivered many seminars on branding, strategy, planning, and research and has been a guest lecturer at University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She holds a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan (grandmother, mother, and daughters went there, too!) and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Carol is a fan of dark chocolate, travel, theater, dance, yoga, puzzles, and her screened porch. She loves time with family and is grateful for spontaneous and planned days together.

Connect with Carol:

CBWhite – Marketing Research & Strategy Website:  cbwhite.com

LinkedIn:  linkedin.com/in/cbwhite/

About Brad:

Brad White is the Senior Program Director at the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, a Chicago-based foundation seeking to improve the built environment, support cultural stewardship in the arts, and strengthen democracy through investigative journalism. He is responsible for overseeing development and implementation of program goals and funding strategy for the Built Environment program.

Brad has over 35 years of experience in community development, affordable housing, and philanthropy. Brad previously served as the Associate Director of the Alphawood Foundation where he identified potential new grantees, provided grantmaking recommendations, and developed strategies to address racial equity in grantmaking and staffing. Major projects included overseeing the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple, collaborating with staff to provide capacity and support to the South Side Community Art Center, and working with a wide variety of arts, architecture, advocacy, and historic preservation organizations. Prior to his work at the Alphawood Foundation, Brad spent more than ten years overseeing the development of affordable housing. He was the development manager for Related Midwest during the first phase of Roosevelt Square, which included more than 300 units of affordable housing, as well as retail and office space.

Brad was appointed by President Barack Obama, as a General Public Member, to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in 2011; he was re-appointed in 2014 and served until October 2020. For the Advisory Council he led the task force on Historic Preservation and Rightsizing and directed the development of a policy statement on community revitalization. Brad is on the Board of Enrich Chicago, a not-for-profit organization focused on racial equity and inclusion in the arts. He is currently the Chair of the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, a board member of DOCOMOMO-US, a board member of the Julius Rosenwald-Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park Campaign, member of the Fund for Historic Synagogues Advisory Committee, and a member of the Public Policy Committee of ULI Chicago. He is the former Chair of Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Action, and the Ely Chapter of Lambda Alpha. Brad is a graduate of the University of Michigan; he received his law degree from DePaul University College of Law.

Connect with Brad:  linkedin.com/in/brad-white-0709b45/

Travel Websites Brad and Carol Used:

https://www.travelfish.org/

https://www.agoda.com/

https://www.booking.com/

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

Shari chats with Candance Chow, Co-Founder and Managing Director of NextGroup, a resource for women relaunching or pivoting in their careers. Candace is dedicated to empowering women to be valued, both in and out of the paid workforce. She discusses her own journey and offers practical advice for women facing real challenges.

Candance is a community leader and entrepreneur who uses her deep knowledge of strategy, organizational management, and transformation initiatives in both the public and private sectors. She currently serves as Co-Founder and Managing Director of NextGroup, a company which supports women pivoting careers or re-entering the workplace after a career break and offers employers access to these talented professionals. She previously served two terms on the Evanston/Skokie District 65 School Board and ran a competitive primary in 2018 for democrat to the Illinois State House of Representatives. Before launching NextGroup, Candance led her own management consulting practice that worked with entrepreneurs and nonprofits to bring new products and services to market. She also held roles in several technology startups as business development leader and product/market strategist. Candance began her career as an advocate for educational and workplace equity for women and girls; she believes her current work brings full circle a very full, rewarding career that starts and ends with supporting others to reach their goals and potential.

Candance holds an MBA with distinction from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in strategy and nonprofit management and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Public Communications and International Studies from the American University in Washington, D.C. Candance lives in Evanston with her husband Dan and their three teen and young adult daughters.

More about NextGroup: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nextgroupus/| www.nextgroupus.com

Connect with Candance: linkedin.com/in/candancechow

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values

Shari talks with Kathy Bresler, a Consciousness Concierge, about how passion and values influence our lives and her journey from hosting spiritual programs for women in her living room to creating and opening ALTAR, a center for healing and community.

Kathy Bresler is the founder and Consciousness Concierge of ALTAR, a soul-quenching communal space for women to gather, create and unfurl. She is an ordained Inter-Spiritual Minister with an MBA, who has been working on opening a center for healing and community in Chicago in one form or another for close to a decade.

As the idea for a center fell together and apart through the years, she pursued her own path of spiritual growth and development. She co-founded a women’s circle called LiFT (living in flow together), became a SoulCollage® facilitator, a Pathwork Helper and completed a two-year program in Inter-Spiritual ministry. Her living room became “the center” where women came together in sacred circle to explore and grow.

She had all but given up on her dream until an assignment at seminary asked her to imagine taking LiFT out of her living room and into a space of its own. That experience reignited something that became the spark of ALTAR. She signed a lease in January of 2020 and lovingly curated a one-of-a-kind sacred space. A soft launch was planned for March 2020, just as the world was shutting down. By April, ALTAR moved online and the soul-quenching gathering place for Chicago area women became a soul-quenching gathering space for socially-distanced women across the country. In collaboration with a host of talented facilitators, ALTAR offered close to 100 online gatherings during the pandemic. What began as a temporary solution has become a welcome evolution to ALTAR’s original mission to bring women together for the “soul” purpose of creating more possibility in their lives and in the world.

ALTAR is a sanctuary in the city and a curious seeker’s playground located in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. Programs are open to everyone. Membership options include access to our unique co-working space, discounts on in-person and hybrid programs and a richly curated ALTAR app. Find ALTAR at altarcommunity.com

Connect with Kathy:

Website: www.altarcommunity.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathy-bresler-3a7295/

Instagram: @altarcommunity

Get your copy of Maximize Your Return on Life here.

To learn more about Shari Greco Reiches, visit https://sharigrecoreiches.com/

To learn more about Rappaport Reiches Capital Management, visit https://rrcapital.com/

To discover your core values, visit https://rrcapital.com/blogs-and-more/do-you-know-your-core-values