Karen Folk
emeritus

On September 1, 2016 Karen transitioned to Emeritus Advisor and began her retirement. While no longer involved in the day to day operations of the business, Karen is still an integral part of the firm working on educational materials and mentoring staff.

Karen has a Ph.D. in Family and Consumption Economics, holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation, and is a retired NAPFA Registered Financial Advisor. Prior to opening Folk Financial Planning in 1999, she was in consumer education for over 25 years, at Oklahoma State University, the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Karen used her academic background to make the financial planning process an educational one and gave clients the tools they needed to reach their financial goals, a skill that she has passed on to each of our advisors.

Karen continues to reach out to the community to foster financial peace of mind for more people. In the past, she served on the Board of Directors for the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners and the Board of the Eastern Illinois Estate Planning Council. She occasionally presents programs to consumers on investment and retirement planning. She has been quoted in articles in the News-Gazette, Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor. 

Now that she is retired Karen has more time to focus on her personal interests including: hiking, gardening, spending time with family, and backpacking in the mountains.