Our Team
We’re a seasoned team from financial services and a diverse set of industries. We are committed to putting our clients first and upholding Willow’s core values of trust, transparency, empathy and respect in everything we do.
Lacy Garcia
Founder & CEO
Lacy Garcia, Founder & CEO
“I’m a Willow Woman because... as a hard-working entrepreneur and divorced, single mother, I know how necessary trusted financial guidance is to achieve my goals and care for my family. That’s why I am passionate about helping women achieve financial independence.”
Lacy has spent her two-decade career at the intersection of women’s empowerment, financial services and education.
She brings deep experience in wealth management to Willow having served as Vice President, Head of Marketing & Communications and a Relationship Manager at Deltec Bank & Trust Limited. Previously, she was a Vice President at Weber Shandwick where she advised a fortune 50 bank on its post financial crisis local market reputation campaign, the launch of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University and the Massachusetts Conference for Women.
Prior to that, she was the Director of Marketing & Communications for WHERE (Acquired by PayPal). Most recently, she led Babson College’s Centennial as the Managing Director of the Centennial Office and member of the President’s Cabinet.
Lacy holds a BS in Political Science from Davidson College, an MS in Education, magna cum laude from Hunter College, and an MBA from Simmons School of Management, where she received a merit scholarship. A Division I lacrosse player, she was named an Emerging Leader by The Boston Foundation (2008) and is actively involved with several nonprofits that focus on women’s empowerment and underserved youth.
She brings deep experience in wealth management to Willow having served as Vice President, Head of Marketing & Communications and a Relationship Manager at Deltec Bank & Trust Limited. Previously, she was a Vice President at Weber Shandwick where she advised a fortune 50 bank on its post financial crisis local market reputation campaign, the launch of the Center for Women and Business at Bentley University and the Massachusetts Conference for Women.
Prior to that, she was the Director of Marketing & Communications for WHERE (Acquired by PayPal). Most recently, she led Babson College’s Centennial as the Managing Director of the Centennial Office and member of the President’s Cabinet.
Lacy holds a BS in Political Science from Davidson College, an MS in Education, magna cum laude from Hunter College, and an MBA from Simmons School of Management, where she received a merit scholarship. A Division I lacrosse player, she was named an Emerging Leader by The Boston Foundation (2008) and is actively involved with several nonprofits that focus on women’s empowerment and underserved youth.
Jason Aronson, CFA, Founder & CPO
“I co-founded Willow because… as a financial advisor, I saw how many women’s needs were not being met by the industry. Coupled with the knowledge of my mother, sister and wife’s experience - I felt compelled to help to connect women with trusted financial experts who could empathize and support their unique life journeys.”
Jason is a quant, full-stack developer, CFA Charterholder, and all-around data geek. He helped create Empirical Asset Management, a wealth management firm delivering emotion-free rules-based portfolios to investors, institutions, and advisors. At Empirical, Jason built the firm’s research and trading platforms, back-office operations, managed equity portfolios including a machine learning driven multi-factor ESG strategy, and helped individuals and families achieve their financial goals.
Prior to Empirical, Jason was a quant working at Santander in solvency risk for the $20B commercial real estate loan portfolio. Prior to Santander, he worked in risk management and actuarial at Covery’s where Jason built a product using clustering to assess the quality of insured doctors.
Jason holds a MS in Quantitative Finance from Bentley University and a BS in Computational Finance and Computer Science from Babson College.
Prior to Empirical, Jason was a quant working at Santander in solvency risk for the $20B commercial real estate loan portfolio. Prior to Santander, he worked in risk management and actuarial at Covery’s where Jason built a product using clustering to assess the quality of insured doctors.
Jason holds a MS in Quantitative Finance from Bentley University and a BS in Computational Finance and Computer Science from Babson College.
Jason Aronson, CFA
Founder & CPO
Sheila Walsh, CFP®
GM of Financial Coaching
Sheila Walsh, CFP®, GM of Financial Coaching
"I’m a Willow Woman because…I believe women face unique challenges when it comes to navigating their financial journey and I’m passionate about providing them the tailored support they need. By aligning our financial decisions with what we value and what matters to us, we can all bring greater confidence and wellness into our lives!"
Sheila is a financial empowerment and wellness specialist dedicated to helping women transform their money experience. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Sheila’s work combines art and science, research and real-world experience. It’s this unique combination bringing together disciplines ranging from behavioral economics to mindfulness and neuro-linguistic programming that fuels her passion to support conscious decision-making in both life and in business.
Sheila has spent over a decade in the investment management industry working closely with financial advisors and investors. While holding roles at Capital Group and Fidelity Investments, she managed multiple award-winning insights programs helping millions of investors across the United States understand how life events and behavioral tendencies can impact their personal financial journey. She began her career in the food and beverage industry and has also consulted for major companies such as Toyota and United Airlines.
Sheila graduated from Brown University with a BA in Political Science and Organizational & Behavioral Management and earned her MBA from Georgetown University.
As a former competitive athlete, Sheila was part of two NCAA Division 1 National Championship rowing teams. She is a fitness advocate and yoga enthusiast.
Sheila has spent over a decade in the investment management industry working closely with financial advisors and investors. While holding roles at Capital Group and Fidelity Investments, she managed multiple award-winning insights programs helping millions of investors across the United States understand how life events and behavioral tendencies can impact their personal financial journey. She began her career in the food and beverage industry and has also consulted for major companies such as Toyota and United Airlines.
Sheila graduated from Brown University with a BA in Political Science and Organizational & Behavioral Management and earned her MBA from Georgetown University.
As a former competitive athlete, Sheila was part of two NCAA Division 1 National Championship rowing teams. She is a fitness advocate and yoga enthusiast.
Ivan Mitrovic, Executive CTO
Ivan is a technology and data science leader, researcher, and practitioner with deep expertise in AI and a proven track record of creating and building scalable technology platforms and mobile solutions.
Ivan was the Director of Data Science at PayPal, where he led PayPal's Data Science Team. As CTO at WHERE (Acquired by PayPal), he led a team of 60 engineers and data scientists. Prior to WHERE, he was the Founder of KMaps, a mobile location platform (Acquired WHERE).
Ivan began his career in financial services. He was the Senior Software Architect at FICS, a financial services startup from Brussels, Belgium, building corporate banking and payment solutions for large banks. FICS was acquired by the USA public company S1 (Nasdaq: SONE) in 2000. Ivan moved to the USA following the acquisition and served as the Project Lead, Corporate Cash Management Banking Solutions at S1 in Atlanta where he deployed and integrated multimillion-dollar custom financial enterprise applications and payment solutions for some of the largest financial institutions in the USA and Europe.
Ivan holds an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Belgrade University.
Ivan was the Director of Data Science at PayPal, where he led PayPal's Data Science Team. As CTO at WHERE (Acquired by PayPal), he led a team of 60 engineers and data scientists. Prior to WHERE, he was the Founder of KMaps, a mobile location platform (Acquired WHERE).
Ivan began his career in financial services. He was the Senior Software Architect at FICS, a financial services startup from Brussels, Belgium, building corporate banking and payment solutions for large banks. FICS was acquired by the USA public company S1 (Nasdaq: SONE) in 2000. Ivan moved to the USA following the acquisition and served as the Project Lead, Corporate Cash Management Banking Solutions at S1 in Atlanta where he deployed and integrated multimillion-dollar custom financial enterprise applications and payment solutions for some of the largest financial institutions in the USA and Europe.
Ivan holds an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Belgrade University.
Ivan Mitrovic
Executive CTO
Sarina Sherwin
Head of Marketing
Sarina Sherwin, Head of Marketing
Marketing executive with outstanding record of spearheading company-wide strategic initiatives through completion. Excellent communicator with ability to successfully influence organization and stakeholders to achieve consensus and alignment on comprehensive recommendations supported by analytical rigor. Background includes marketing strategy for retail and loyalty programs, experience in global product and service brands as well as early stage start-ups, MBA from Kellogg School of Management.
Vera Gibbons, Personal Finance Analyst
"I'm a Willow Woman because...I've had to rely on myself - and only myself - for all of my working years. I started stashing money away in my 20s when I landed my first job as a financial journalist. Over the years, I have since seen the freedom and flexibility that come with good monetary habits and am happy to be part of Willow's mission to help others find their financial way on their path to empowerment."
Vera Gibbons, a long-time member of the media and personal finance expert, is the Founder and Editor of nonpoliticalnews.com, which produces a free daily nonpolitical newsletter called NoPo.
Previously, Vera was a financial contributor with CBS The Early Show, worked as a correspondent for CNBC’s High Net Worth, and was a Financial Analyst for MSNBC. She appeared regularly on all NBC platforms, including the Today Show, Nightly News, and The Weather Channel’s Wake Up With Al, hosted by NBC’s Al Roker.
Vera has written for Inc., SmartMoney, Kiplinger’s, the New York Times, Real Simple, All You, Reuters, AOL, fortune.com, cnbc.com, foxbusiness.com, Zillow, and MarketWatch.
Vera holds a BA in Literary Writing from Trinity College.
Previously, Vera was a financial contributor with CBS The Early Show, worked as a correspondent for CNBC’s High Net Worth, and was a Financial Analyst for MSNBC. She appeared regularly on all NBC platforms, including the Today Show, Nightly News, and The Weather Channel’s Wake Up With Al, hosted by NBC’s Al Roker.
Vera has written for Inc., SmartMoney, Kiplinger’s, the New York Times, Real Simple, All You, Reuters, AOL, fortune.com, cnbc.com, foxbusiness.com, Zillow, and MarketWatch.
Vera holds a BA in Literary Writing from Trinity College.
