Chelsea Ransom-Cooper

The first clients Chelsea Ransom-Cooper brought in were couple in their late 30s and early 40s with a first child. The woman had equity compensation from her job in technology and had received a serious windfall, triggering a need for tax planning.

Working with them helped Ransom-Cooper realize her niche. Today, she specializes in empowering women with compensation to build wealth.

Beyond planning for clients, Ransom-Cooper also has built out a process for other advisors, especially other women of color, to find a home in financial services. Zenith has grown from two employees in 2020 to eight by creating a platform for traditionally underrepresented advisors to serve their own communities.

“What inspires me is making sure this is a place where we can continue to grow and have more women and people of color in this profession, where they can come to a firm with everything already built out for them in terms of back office and processes to grow,” Ransom-Cooper said. “That’s my new big goal, to help other advisors focus on growing their clients.”

She’s taken this mission beyond her own practice, partnering with the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team on the Buy Black program, which highlights local Black-owned small businesses and provides them advice and consultation. —Ryan Neal