Chippewa Valley 5ive for Women The Chippewa Valley’s Premier Magazine for Women!
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By Katie McKy
Becoming your best self is never easy. It’s never a straight, paved road. Fortunately, you’re not alone. There are women in the Chippewa Valley who can blaze your way, marking your turns and explaining why you are making them.
If you need a savvy woman to guide you in estate planning, contact Maggie McLoone of Weld Riley, S.C. or call her colleague Jennifer Brown, who practices family law, for help with many family issues. Need some savvy in investing? Tap Katie Noe of River Prairie Wealth Partners. Want to know your options for looking your best? Call Deb Markham, a Licensed Aesthetician at Merrick Plastic Surgery. If you’re facing a terrible challenge and need a role model, an indomitable woman who survived and thrives, you need Ashley Lien. Read on to meet this quintessential quintet of area women.
Maggie McLoone
Maggie McLoone is an attorney who focuses on estate planning at Weld Riley, S.C.
“We are a general practice law firm, so we can help with a wide variety of issues, but my practice is just primarily estate planning,” McLoone said.
McLoone was attracted to estate planning initially because she has a background in accounting. “Estate planning is the area in our firm where tax issues come up the most,” she said. “I really like to work one-on-one with people.”
Estate planning is complex.
“I like giving people peace of mind surrounding a topic that is really confusing for many,” McLoone said. “Most of my clients come in knowing general terms, and knowing they should have some sort of estate plan in place, but they have no idea where to start or what they need.”
That’s where McLoone makes a difference.
“Drafting a plan that accomplishes their wishes, and explaining it to them in a way that makes sense, really makes people feel better about the plan we’re putting in place,” she said.
McLoone’s legal expertise works like a balm.
“Estate planning can be stressful for people – it makes you think about worst-case-scenarios so that we can plan for them, and you have to trust a stranger with a lot of sensitive information,” she said.
If you’re thinking that estate planning is just something that happens in your golden years, rethink that position.
“Estate planning is important at all ages and phases of your life,” McLoone explained. “Beyond just planning for what happens after your death, which is important, estate planning also involves implementing things like powers of attorney, just in case something happens, and you aren’t able to make decisions.”
Jennifer Brown
Jennifer Brown is McLoone’s colleague at Weld Riley, S.C., but Brown focuses on family law. Like McLoone, Brown guides her clients through tough decisions.
“You tend to see clients during a very difficult time in their lives, and you get to help them navigate the process and hopefully come out confident and satisfied on the other side,” Brown said.
Brown has practiced family law for ten years. It’s been a decade of relationship building.
“I enjoy family law because you can really get to know your clients,” she said.
They come to her in myriad situations.
“There is divorce, prenuptial agreements, post-divorce matters like child support, maintenance, or placement modifications, and then there are also adoptions and guardian ad litem work,” Brown said. “Any given day, I am working with clients on any and all of those issues, and it really keeps the work interesting.”
About half of her clients are women.
“I do the best I can in any given case with the facts at hand. Some clients have mentioned I am a good listener, that I dedicate time to their case, that I strongly advocate for them, and that they appreciate my prompt response times,” Brown said. “My goal is for every client to feel like their case is the most important case I have!”
The stakes make it hard to simply walk out of the office some evenings.
“It can be difficult to not to take some of the cases home with you at night,” she said. “Again, you are seeing people for an emotionally-charged matter, and it is hard not to absorb some of that. Exercise is a good release for me!”
Brown’s colleagues also help.
“The amazingly supportive and knowledgeable group of colleagues at Weld Riley really helps me provide my clients with fantastic representation and allows us to take a team approach,” she said. “If I have business or tax or employment questions in a family case, I know I can get a thorough answer from my colleagues, and that helps me put on the best case possible for our client.”
Pooling expertise produces more happy endings.
“I love seeing clients satisfied with their outcomes,” Brown said. “If I can get a client to smile and feel as though someone ‘had their back’ in the case, then it makes my day.”
Kate Noe
Kate Noe, APMA®, CDFA®, CLTC®, is a Managing Partner, Financial Advisor, and Chief Marketing Officer at River Prairie Wealth Partners, which is a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC.
“We are one of the largest private wealth teams within Ameriprise Financial with ten locations across Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa,” Noe said.
Noe is a little surprised to find herself in finance.
“Growing up, a career in finance was the very last field I expected to find myself in, and I have the embarrassing amount of bank overdraft notices of my youth to prove it,” she said. Seventeen years ago, she was working as a marketing executive for a national restaurant chain when she was approached by her now business partner who was looking to add a marketing and business development role to his growing practice.
“As a matter of practicality, more than an interest in finance, I made the leap,” Noe said.
Three years in, she was hooked. “I began to feel a pull toward getting my securities licenses and working hands on with clients,” she said.
Today, she works with goal-oriented and success-minded higher net worth individuals who recognize the value of advice.
“I especially have a passion for helping women and hold the unique designation as a Certified Divorce Financial Advisor,” Noe said. “At this point in my career, I have the privilege of being selective and working with individuals whom I genuinely enjoy.”
Noe finds that her clients are comforted by her winding backstory.
“I think there is a sense of relief and solidarity when women discover that my own personal and financial path hasn’t been linear; nor has it been perfect,” she said. “I have experienced my share of challenges including a painful and chaotic divorce that set me back financially and left me as the sole provider for my three young children.”
Noe’s rocky road endows her with insight.
“I believe I’ve been granted the ability to understand the big picture and guide others because of my life experiences, not in spite of them,” she said.
You might think that Noe’s job is spreadsheets brimming with numbers, but it’s so much more.
“I love the relationships I have with my clients, to celebrate and mourn alongside them,” she said. “To be trusted with such an intimate part of their lives is an honor that never ceases to amaze me.”
Of course, there are setbacks.
“The hardest part of my job is knowing that ultimately there is only so much I can control,” she said. “I can’t influence the markets, and sometimes, no matter how well you prepare, your very best attempts simply fall short.”
Then there are the many days where best attempts don’t fall short.
“My favorite days are when my clients and I see a plan come together as intended,” Noe said. “When I see the relief and joy that comes with helping them create a retirement income stream, send kids and grandkids to college, build their dream lake home, or just simply reassure them they are on solid financial footing.”
Noe shines light on wealth-building.
“Giving purpose to your money, including what you’re saving, is one of the most important steps in building wealth. Any financial advisor worth their weight starts with a financial plan before they talk about investments and how much you should be saving,” Noe said. “Sustainable wealth isn’t created by throwing money into an IRA and hoping someday it will be enough. It’s built by creating a plan; defining your goals, truly understanding where you stand financially today, what resources you have access to, how to maximize those resources, and what potential risks exist that might knock you off course.”
Debra Markham
Debra Markham is a Licensed Aesthetician at Merrick Plastic Surgery. She worked ten years as a Medical Lab Technician, working behind a microscope in hematology, bacteriology and chemistry.
“I then decided to pursue my passion in the health and wellness industry,” Markham said. “My focus was understanding and gaining knowledge of skin physiology and the benefits of medical grade treatments and products.”
She believes that the change was the best decision she’s ever made. Nowadays, Markham consults with clients and they formulate a plan for skin treatments depending on the needs and desires of each individual, which might be acne, scarring, sun damage, anti-aging, fine lines and wrinkles, Rosacea, or overall skin health improvements.
“The trust, respect and loyalty so many have given to me over the years is so very powerful,” Markham said. “I am so happy to see my clients returning to me on a consistent schedule, knowing they put their trust in me.”
Approximately 80% of her clients are female, and they range in age from 12 years to 92 years old. Markham is happy to help all of them achieve their best selves.
“I am incredibly grateful and fulfilled to have chosen a career that touches so many people in such a positive way,” she said. “I help them feel and look their best on their skin health journey.”
Markham invests considerable time in continuously upgrading and updating her knowledge about skincare. All the research and learning has enabled her to not only deliver state-of-the-art skin care, but to build her business, whatever the challenges.
“Being a professional in Medical Aesthetics for so many years, it humbles me when I take the time to think about how far I’ve come amid the distractions, downturns, and competition,” Markham said.
Ashley Lien
When 5ive for Women last checked in on Ashley Lien, whose ex-husband Dan Peggs was former Altoona Schools Superintendent, Lien and her four daughters were awaiting a verdict on Peggs’ possession of child pornography. They were hoping for some closure.
Lien said at the time, “Much of our future hinges on what is done in sentencing, and so we have lived in limbo for quite some time. True healing will not be able to start for me until there is some closure.”
Peggs was sentenced to eight years in prison, followed by ten years of supervised release.
“All four girls will be 18 by then,” she said. “The maximum could have been ten. I felt good that the judge took it so seriously and took the girls into account.”
And was there some closure?
“There is definitely some closure,” Lien said. “We know what the future will look like for a few years, and that allows us to move forward.”
However, Lien’s life remained fraught with challenges even after the verdict.
Peggs gave her the HPV virus.
“I know it came from him because I know 100% what I was doing,” she said.
The HPV virus led to cervical cancer, and the cancer metastasized to her lymph nodes.
“I did chemo and radiation here, and five-week intensive treatment in Madison,” Lien said.
She’s been in remission for a year, but the complications continue.
“I feel pretty good, but what I didn’t expect was being thrown into menopause at 35,” Lien said. “My hormones are off, and I have to worry about bone strength. Menopause induced by radiation is much more intense than regular menopause.”
When Lien was still married, she wrote a blog called Parenting with Principal, referencing her husband’s profession, but nowadays, she parents with principle and shares what she’s learned.
“I’ve helped other women in similar situations,” Lien said. “My long-term goal is writing a book, and I’ve gone back and forth with the idea of becoming a professional counselor.”
School will have to wait, for Lien is a little busy right now with girls aged 10, 8, 6, and 4, but parenting with principle is working for this family.
“The girls are thriving and doing well, and I’m very blessed.”
These five women are working hard in the Valley as role models and advisors, to help the rest of us become our best selves.
