Lara Ryan

Lara Ryan is an advisor for Shields & Stripes.

The daughter of a Coast Guard officer, Lara was born and raised in New Jersey, and attended the University of Colorado, Boulder for her BS and the University of Montana, Missoula for her MS.

Lara then spent more than 20 years working in the field of philanthropy, most recently as a CEO and Director of Development (fundraiser) with a focus on military and veteran causes.

Lara sees philanthropy as being about meeting the needs of others, and she realized the people with whom she was regularly working had a significant unmet need. She became a financial advisor after realizing how many military servicemembers don’t have a good opportunity to learn the needed skills to practice financial readiness and could benefit from some advice and guidance.

That became her new mission, and she opened a comprehensive financial planning practice focused on active duty, reserve, retired, veteran and military-connected individuals, families and businesses. Her mission is to create enduring relationships by providing innovative solutions and professional direction to help clients achieve financial readiness and accomplish financial freedom.

When she’s not working, Lara is a volunteer with a number of local military/veteran causes; she is a financial readiness and military transition instructor with The Honor Foundation, has served on the Advisory Boards of the San Diego Military Advisory Council and the Veteran Entrepreneur Summit, in addition to Shields and Stripes.

Lara’s husband, Mike,  retired from the US Navy in 2019, after 24 years as a Navy Pilot. Lara and Mike live in San Diego with their two Australian Shepherds and spend their time traveling, cooking and enjoying the great local food scene, gardening, reading, and taking their dogs to the beach.