Meet Your EViE Team
Melissa B Reaktenwalt
Founder | Lead Advisor
MBA | CSRIC™ | AIF®
Melissa is a biracial black woman who found her calling as a financial services professional and wealth manager who is passionate about educating individuals on the power of smart and efficient money management. She grew up with minimal means, but in the company of a family that never quit despite challenging financial circumstances. That upbringing, along with her formal education and extensive experience with clients from varied paths, prompted her to start EViE Financial Group in the fall of 2018 to turn that passion into accessible financial services for all. In Melissa’s words, money management and financial wellness are her jam!
As the Founder and lead advisor of EViE Financial, she strives to provide actionable and goal-based financial planning alongside personalized, values-based wealth management to early and mid-career-level professionals, executive women in both the private and public sectors, and small and mid-sized business owner clients across the country. In addition, Melissa strives to ensure that each person she works with feels valid in their financial goals and concerns, and that they have easy access to expert advice and guidance when needed.
During her more than 15 years in the financial services industry, Melissa has focused on helping others create and sustain financial freedom and wellness through a better understanding of what their money has the potential to do for them. In addition to working with clients and small businesses directly, Melissa presents at regional and national conferences and teaches in-depth educational courses focused on financial empowerment and realistic planning strategies.
Melissa currently holds her FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, her life and health license, and the Chartered Socially Responsible Investing Counselor and Accredited Investment Fiduciary designations. Additionally, she earned her BA in Finance, her MBA in Finance and Marketing, and touts herself as a lifelong learner. Her personal money mantra is simple: earn all you can; save and invest all you can; give all you can.
When she’s not number-crunching or catching up with clients, you can find her spending time with her partner, David, and their pup, Jack, doing the things they love: taking in the sites of DC and surrounding areas (it never gets old), enjoying live music in all its forms, and taking as many road trips as life allows. Individually, Melissa reads memoirs and non-fiction books at a steady clip, and she drinks too much caffeine most days of the week. If you want to know more about Melissa, ask her about her tattoos; she is happy to share their stories.
Erin MacPherson
Head of Operations
Erin is a fun-loving mother of one with a profound interest in history, anthropology, and sociology. These pursuits led her to discover her natural love for coaching, teaching, and helping others find their own paths based on what is most important to them.
Her professional background is in marketing, communications, finance, and professional coaching, and her passion for helping people and her love of the finance industry are what inspired her to join the EViE Financial team. She is absolutely thrilled to be in a place where her skills can positively impact people on a daily basis.
Erin uses her passion and experience to help steer the EViE Financial team toward our mutual goals, and to ensure that clients experience the same guidance and support in their partnerships with us.
Erin and her son love superhero movies, Thai and Italian food, camping, trivia, and going to the zoo or the museum. They often spend their free moments playing chess or cards with each other — Erin’s son usually wins, much to her chagrin!
The pair have two very mischievous cats, an axolotl, an excessively obstinate but good-natured horse, and approximately 75 houseplants, though that number seems to grow by the day.
Erin’s spare time is spent designing and making all kinds of things from her ongoing list of ideas. Her favorite hobbies are clothing and costume making, cooking, painting, and, as you might expect, gardening!
Elizabeth S Miller
Associate Advisor
Elizabeth Miller joined our team as an Associate Advisor with over four years of industry experience. She grew up in Texas as part of an immigrant family, with the constant stream of new entrepreneurial endeavors humming in the air.
With a family history of reinvention and perseverance, Elizabeth comes to finance as a second career. She began her professional life in classical music performance, teaching, and vocal research, but financial stressors were seemingly always top of mind. Finance became the ultimate outlet for Elizabeth to fulfill her inner desire to help people reach the goals that matter most to them.
She believes in the importance of having non-judgmental, solution-oriented conversations around money early on. Whether it’s an individual, a multi-generational family, or a growing business, she’s committed to fostering constructive discussions around money. As a member of a family of entrepreneurs, she enjoys working through the complexities of small to medium-sized companies. To that end, Elizabeth conducts Business Valuations offering business owners a compass to steer their strategic growth and retirement planning.
Elizabeth is a fiduciary and holds her FINRA Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, as well as her life insurance license. She has spent a lifetime learning, holding a master's, bachelor’s, and post-graduate certificates, and she will likely find more expensive paper to add to her wall in the coming years. Ultimately, Elizabeth is committed to knowledgeably serving her clients for a more comprehensive planning experience. Passionate about empowering her community, Elizabeth takes pride in fostering educational events to encourage well-informed, composed financial decisions.
She is based in Richmond, VA, having relocated with her family from Texas after falling in love with the “big-little city” nestled between the ocean and the mountains. In her spare time, Elizabeth loves going on family adventures with her husband, son, and now senior dog. Together, they love exploring the area like tourists, taking in all the region has to offer.
Kayla Cumbo
Client Service Associate
Kayla joined our team with a background in client relations and interpersonal communication, and was immediately excited to use those skills to help positively impact the experiences of clients and partners of EViE Financial. She works to ensure that scheduling is smooth, friendly, and efficient, and that those we work with continue to experience the same levels of care and communication that we pride ourselves on here at EViE Financial.
Kayla graduated Morgan State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Family Consumer Science with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising.
She prides herself on her interpersonal skills as well as her ability to build strong client relationships, and her empathetic nature allows her to connect with clients on a deeper level. She enjoys listening to clients' needs and concerns, which helps her ensure that their expectations are not only met but exceeded.
Kayla's keen eye for design, detail-oriented nature, and experience in creating engaging marketing materials give her a passion and drive for executing innovative ideas.
In her free time, Kayla loves to experiment with new crafts and also enjoys digital ideation and learning more about video editing and content creation. In the future she hopes to use her experience to further her interest in social media marketing.
Kayla is excited to be part of a well-integrated team where her skills can be used to positively impact clients’ experience and maybe even their financial futures.