GPC Spotlight - Diana George

Please share about your background and your practice.

Throughout high school, I worked full-time, and I will never forget the time I made a mistake in my checking account and a woman at the bank took the time to teach me how to balance my checkbook. She went a step beyond and gave me my first economic lesson: “Spend less than you make.” This was my first experience with banking and the beginning of my lifelong learning of finance, people, and money.

I have been serving business owners since the beginning of my career and have a deep gratitude for the contributions each one makes to their communities and to the overall economy. Over my career and conversations with business owners, I have found myself gravitating toward helping clients with business succession and exit planning for owners and their families. My years of banking and my client experiences have provided a clear path for my education in both my undergraduate studies and graduate degrees. Ultimately these interests and activities led me to my current role of a private client advisor at Bank of America Private Bank. In this role I work closely with business owners and their families to help integrate their business plans with their personal goals and planning. My focus is to help create opportunities that will support and protect the assets of both the business and the families. These assets often carry more weight than just money as families think about their legacies. In life, our greatest assets are our health and our relationships. By creating an intentional plan, my clients get to create the future they would like to have for themselves and their loved ones as well as for their community.

Why are you involved with the Gift Planning Council?

I first got involved with the Gift Planning Council by attending the annual conference. Being involved has benefited me personally and professionally through the relationships and information that I have been able to obtain while attending.

Can you share some of your favorite experiences that you’ve had while attending the Gift Planning Council conference?

I appreciated the consistent messages that unify the values of clients and their families. As families engage with giving and philanthropy, it provides an invaluable opportunity to create, grow, and develop as individual members and as a family.

Do you have a favorite experience you can share regarding a client who gave to a Church entity?

Philanthropy is one of the most rewarding discussions I have with clients because it’s a confluence of their life’s work and how they want to translate those results into a legacy of giving. When working to help identify goals and opportunities, it is often a discussion of where to make the most impact in a way that matches the values of the person or the family. Being part of that process as the goal takes shape and is put into action is a great privilege and one of the most rewarding aspects of my job. Over the past few years, the Church’s efforts around humanitarian service worldwide have greatly impacted individuals and families facing urgent needs.