Sadie Barker, our Head of People, is responsible for building the people infrastructure that supports the firm’s continued growth, overseeing HR compliance, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, and learning and development as well as internal communications and community building.

Sadie joined Modern Wealth in March 2024 during a period of rapid expansion and has built the firm’s modern, in-house people platform, including payroll, benefits, performance, learning and engagement systems.

Previously, Sadie spent a decade supporting high-growth companies through scale and transformation. She served as a fractional HR director for startups and small businesses and later drove a multi-year HR transformation at a multi-national company leading global teams.

Sadie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Fontbonne University and a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Webster University. She also holds a Senior Certified Professional designation from SHRM, is a certified ADKAR change practitioner and Personalysis Coach. She lives in the Kansas City area with her three sons and enjoys baking, being outdoors, and traveling.

Experience: Wealth management since 2025 

Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Kansas State University 

As a concierge associate, Graham reaches out to prospective clients — learning about their unique circumstances and financial and life goals and educating them about Modern Wealth Management’s Advantage Offerings. Graham schedules complimentary meetings between prospective clients and Modern Wealth’s advisors. He loves talking with people about their goals and how Modern Wealth can assist them in reaching their objectives. 

Graham joined the Modern Wealth team in September 2025. He aspires to be a financial advisor and has enjoyed learning about the wealth management industry from his colleagues early in his career. 

Prior to arriving at Modern Wealth, Graham spent two years working in management for Alterra Mountain Company, the largest privately-owned ski company in the world, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He oversaw the day-to-day operations of a luxury ski rental delivery service, where he worked with celebrities and corporate clients and established partnerships with local properties management groups. Graham also spent previous summers working with the Colorado Mountain Club and the City of Steamboat Springs, where he collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service and nonprofit organizations to increase access to trails in Northwest Colorado. 

The career transition to the wealth management industry also provided Graham the opportunity to move back to Kansas City and be closer to family. Graham received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Kansas State University, where he majored in marketing with a minor in psychology. 

Graham spends a lot of his free time out in nature. Skiing, backpacking, cycling, fishing, and disc golf are some of his favorite outdoor activities. He also enjoys playing guitar and watching Jeopardy! Graham hopes to be a contestant on the famous game show one day. 

Experience: Bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University; MBA and Master’s in Finance from Webster University

Education: Finance since 1998

Wayne joined the Modern Wealth team in January 2025 to oversee the firm’s financial operations, reporting, and governance and support high-level strategic planning. He provides regulatory oversight for financial reporting and accounting to help ensure operations are compliant and responsive to operational or regulatory changes.

Based out of our Lenexa, Kansas office, Wayne collaborates with senior leaders to understand business needs, develop strategies, and align financial goals with business objectives. He reviews and approves budgets and forecasts to ensure resources and efforts align with the organization’s mission.

Wayne also evaluates and improves financial modeling and analytical tools to measure and forecast the impact of various economic scenarios, risks, and business changes. He identifies and oversees funding through debt, equity, and various financial instruments to support business operations, optimize cash flow, and manage risk.

The entirety of Wayne’s career has been in the financial services industry. He has previously served as the VP of Finance at Mariner Wealth Advisors, SS&C (formerly DST Systems), and JPMorgan Chase and as a financial analyst at American Century Investments.

Wayne married his college sweetheart, Amy, and they have two children, Austin and Brooke. They enjoy spending time at the lake, the beach in Grand Cayman, and in the mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado. Wayne’s favorite hobbies include spending time on his boat at the lake, playing golf, attending/watching sporting events (football, soccer, baseball, and volleyball), and listening to country music, especially Kenny Chesney.

Along with having a passion for finance, Wayne excelled on the football field. He was an All-American placekicker at Missouri State University and went on to be elected to the Missouri State Hall of Fame and play for the San Diego Chargers.

Fun Fact

Maria can say the alphabet forwards AND backward.

As Modern Wealth’s content manager works alongside our Director of Marketing Paul Manger to publish much of the educational financial planning content that you’ll find within the education center page on our website. The articles, emails, and social posts that Chris composes cover a wide range of retirement planning topics, including tax planning, estate planning, risk management, asset management, and non-financial life planning.

Chris’s journalism background has featured a wide range of stops since he graduated from Baker University in 2013. He joined the Modern Wealth team in 2021 after serving as a sports reporter for the Lawrence Journal-World and Shawnee Dispatch newspapers and as a content manager for Pennington & Company, a Greek life fundraising and consulting firm.

Chris lives in Mission, Kansas, with his wife, Katherine; son, Reed; and Great Pyrenees, Honey. He loves trying new places to eat, attending sporting events (especially the Kansas City Chiefs, Kansas City Royals, and Kansas Jayhawks), spending time outdoors, and hanging out with friends and family.

Experience: Human Resources since 2018

Education: Dual Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management and Marketing from Northwest Missouri State University

Since joining the Modern Wealth team in January 2025, Nick has focused on enhancing internal processes, managing data, and supporting employee initiatives. He is passionate about identifying efficiencies and strengthening systems that improve the overall employee experience.

Prior to Modern Wealth, Nick supported recruiting and benefits, followed by playing a key role in the design and implementation of a global HRIS system. He began his HR career in the automotive industry and later expanded his experience within healthcare staffing, developing a strong foundation in fast-paced, high-demand settings.

Outside of work, Nick enjoys working on cars and has a goal of visiting all 50 states.

Experience: Marketing since 2019

Education: B.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC)

Prior to arriving at Modern Wealth Management in 2023, Jordan worked primarily as a marketing specialist across a few different industries, including education, healthcare, and manufacturing. His focus areas of marketing included social media, content curation, email marketing, ambassador marketing, campaign management, and data/analytics.

Jordan’s favorite thing to do with his family is going on vacations together, whether it’s northern Michigan on the lake or somewhere tropical. Some of his favorite hobbies are video games, hiking, working out, and trying new restaurants.

Experience: IT since 2005

Education: Computer Science at Kansas State University-Salina

Brent has overseen Modern Wealth’s technology strategy since joining the team in March 2025. He manages IT operations, ensures system security and reliability, leads IT projects, and aligns tech initiatives with business goals. Brent also manages vendor relationships, budget planning, and helps shape the future IT landscape.

Brent brought 20 years of IT experience to Modern Wealth, 10 of which were focused on systems engineering. He also spent two years as a solution architect and eight years at Mariner Wealth Advisors, where he served as the VP of Information Systems. At Mariner, Brent oversaw a 10-person team and was responsible for day-to-day operations of 140 locations, two data centers, supporting 1,800 associates, and 70 IGO integrations.

The opportunity to lean on his experience to build a high-performance IT team from the ground up at Modern Wealth and align technology with a forward-thinking, client-focused vision was something he found very appealing.

Brent and his wife, Heydee, have a daughter who is a medicolegal death investigator and a son who loves anything to do with sports. His family likes to travel and find fun activities to do around Kansas City. Brent enjoys playing drums, guitar, and piano. He also loves fitness, cooking, watching football and baseball games, and spending time in the country fishing and hunting. A fun fact about Brent is that he worked at a salt mine during Christmas breaks during college.

As a concierge associate, Samira helps prospective clients connect with Modern Wealth advisors. Samira joined the Modern Wealth team in November 2025 and brought 26 years of experience in the financial services to the firm. The firm’s culture was the number one thing that attracted her to Modern Wealth.

Prior to arriving at Modern Wealth, Samira spent most of her career supporting financial advisors at Charles Schwab. She mostly served as a financial planner and relationship manager during the end of her tenure at Charles Schwab.

Samira has four kids, two kid-in-laws, and three grandchildren. Her family loves to spend time traveling together and going to fun family events in Kansas City. Samira loves sports, especially football! However, nothing beats an early summer baseball game cheering on the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium for Samira. While Samira grew up in the foothills of Colorado, she can’t stand skiing or snow. She’s much more at home on a beach!

Andrea’s experience in the financial service industry has focused on risk management and customer due diligence since entering the industry in 2016. Prior to joining Modern Wealth in May 2025, she held compliance-focused roles in various financial sectors, spanning from banking, securities industry, cryptocurrency, and institutional crypto banking.

Andrea’s responsibilities throughout her career have included regulatory licensing, CDD reviews, SAR investigations, enhanced due diligence, onboarding procedures, transactions monitoring and internal audits. She was excited about Modern Wealth’s fast-paced environment and the firm’s mission upon joining the team.

Andrea loves traveling across the country with her husband and their three English bulldogs. They enjoy exploring new places from the mountains of Wyoming and beaches of Florida. If she is not at work, she is in Hawaii.

Experience: Marketing since 2013

Education: Pittsburg State University, Bachelor of Science and Technology (commercial graphics and management) and Bachelor of Business Administration (marketing)

As vice president of marketing, Paul leads the marketing team. Alongside his team, he coordinates Modern Wealth’s marketing strategy; manages the firm’s brand; and helps execute marketing assets like videos, podcasts, and designs.

Beginning his career in 2013, Paul joined Barber Financial Group (now Modern Wealth Management) as graphic designer/marketing coordinator. He later served as digital marketing director and director of marketing. Since the transition to Modern Wealth Management in April 2023, Paul has worked closely with the leadership team to develop the firm’s brand and marketing strategy.

After graduating from Pittsburg State in 2013, Paul knew he wanted to work for a company where he could utilize his broad skill set of design, production, and organization. Barber Financial Group fit that bill. When Modern Wealth Management began, it felt like a natural path to grow in a new, exciting direction.

Paul and his wife, Sydney, tied the knot in 2021 and love living in the Waldo neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri. They have three cats: Karl, Cousin Greg, and Louis. Together, they enjoy exploring new restaurants and watching their favorite TV shows—their current obsession being Severance.

As an avid NFL fan, Paul watches as many NFL games as he can during the season. Though nothing beats cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs. His other primary hobbies include making art and gaming. He likes to draw, paint, and doodle on his iPad, and particularly enjoys games like Dark Souls, Hades, and some multiplayer titles.

One fun fact about Paul is that he earned his Eagle Scout award when he was just 14 years old.

As the Recruiting and Onboarding Lead, Morgan gets to combine her love for people, relationship building, and strategic hiring while striving to create exceptional experiences for both candidates and the Modern Wealth team. Since joining the Modern Wealth team in August 2025, Morgan has managed the full recruiting and onboarding process, making sure candidates, hiring managers, and new hires have a smooth, timely, and values-driven experience. She handles everything from job postings and interview scheduling to offer letters and onboarding plans, acting as a trusted partner and welcoming guide throughout. 

Modern Wealth provided Morgan the opportunity to play a key role in creating a seamless and values-driven experience for both candidates and new team members. She’s passionate about ensuring that recruitment and onboarding aren’t just processes, but meaningful journeys that reflect the company’s culture and commitment to people. Modern Wealth’s focus on organized, timely, and personalized hiring aligns with how Morgan approaches her work. It’s important to Morgan to be a trusted partner to hiring managers and a welcoming guide for new hires.  

In the four years prior to joining Modern Wealth, Morgan recruited for a wide range of positions across the U.S. and various industries. Morgan started her career in consultative sales, quickly working her way up to a director role by focusing on exceptional customer experiences and strong team leadership. In early 2022, Morgan transitioned into recruiting, first as an onsite account manager where she acted as the bridge between the company and its clients — identifying needs, building trust, and delivering solutions. From there, Morgan moved into corporate recruiting and discovered her passion for connecting people with their dream jobs and finding those rare “purple unicorn” candidates.  

Outside of work, Morgan and her husband, Camaron, have three fur babies who are their pride and joy. They have two cats, Leo and Nova, and a dog, Athena. Leo, Nova, and Athena bring a lot of joy and energy to Morgan and Camaron’s lives — making every moment special. They enjoy going on walks with Athena and relaxing at home as a family. Some of Morgan’s other favorite hobbies include hiking and traveling.  

Experience: Staff accounting since 2018 

Education: Associate degree in liberal arts from Johnson County Community College; Bachelor of Science in accounting from University of Missouri-Kansas City; Master of Business Administration with concentration in accounting 

Since joining the Modern Wealth team in December 2025, Maria has specialized in card reconciliation, utilized Ramp Accounting, and assisted Maria Brown. Maria is excited about potential growth opportunities as she gains experience in her role. 

Prior to arriving at Modern Wealth, Maria worked at another management company that specialized in operating companies from various industries, from IT to Marinas.   

Spending quality time with her close-knit family is very important to Maria. The work-life balance she has found has helped her stay focused and energized at work. Her family enjoys attending sporting events, going to Mexico, and watching movies. Maria also likes playing soccer, learning and teaching, attending outdoor events, kickboxing/self-defense classes, and doing arts and crafts. 

Melissa ensures the client experience is first class while coaching and mentoring a team that delivers the same type of service throughout the lifetime of the clients journey. She spent 21 years in banking prior to working at Modern Wealth. Twelve years of that was on the business development and sales side and nine years of it building and developing a client services department for a now $2 billion bank.

Her favorite thing about Modern Wealth is team aspect of the culture and how it feels like being a part of a family. Helping clients live out their financial dreams is a big motivating factor for Melissa.

The most important thing to Melissa is her faith. She enjoys watching sports (especially KU basketball) with a cold beer with her family, traveling, cooking, baking, and reading.

Experience: Investment/Wealth Management since 2017

Education: Bachelor of Arts in Physics from the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Dakota conducts investment research, designs Modern Wealth Management model portfolios, builds the firm’s open architecture platform, and provides ongoing analysis for Director of Investments Stephen Tuckwood, CFA and Modern Wealth’s advisors. His favorite thing about working at Modern Wealth is the potential to build out curated investment solutions alongside Tuck and the firm’s long-term growth prospects.

Prior to joining the Modern Wealth team in May 2024, Dakota managed assets for private clients and charitable trusts with Commerce Trust in Kansas City and served as a research analyst for Conway Investment Research in St. Louis.

Spending time with family is Dakota’s top priority. Dakota’s family will be growing very soon, as he and his wife are expecting a baby girl. Dakota loves family activities, including dinners with his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, and playing golf with his brother-in-law and nephew.

He enjoys traveling, hiking, rafting, and snorkeling with his wife. Some of Dakota’s other hobbies include cooking, reading history books, wildlife photography, and playing guitar. Dakota is an avid outdoorsman who is passionate about conservation and wildlife. He hopes to travel to every continent except Antarctica. So far, he’s only been to Europe outside of North America.

Prior to joining Modern Wealth Management, Chad served for nearly 21 years in the United States Marine Corps as a senior executive advisor. Retiring from the Armed Forces in May of 2021, Chad joined the Modern Wealth Management family as Head of Growth Operations.

His education includes a Master of Business Administration and Master of Military Studies. When he is not working, Chad enjoys spending time with his family, going to the lake, hunting, and attending sporting events. A fun fact is that Chad knows every word to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel.

Blaine is a corporate finance leader with more than a decade of experience driving financial strategy, capital planning, and performance management. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Economics from Washburn University.

At Modern Wealth, Blaine plays a key role in advancing the firm’s strategic growth by partnering across the organization to establish performance targets, measure results against key objectives, and deliver clear, actionable insights to leadership. In addition to leading financial planning and analysis, he manages debt and equity relationships and supports financing initiatives that strengthen the firm’s long-term position.

Prior to joining Modern Wealth in February 2026, Blaine served as Director of Finance at Mariner Wealth, where he progressed through multiple roles within the corporate finance function and helped enhance the firm’s financial planning and operational effectiveness.

Outside of work, Blaine and his wife, Katie, welcomed their daughter, Rylee, in 2025 and cherish every opportunity to watch her grow. He enjoys spending time outdoors—hunting, fishing, camping, and boating—as well as cooking, sharing good food, and spending time with friends and family.

Experience: Payroll management since 1986

Education: Bachelor of Science in criminal justice from Central Missouri State University; Master of Arts in human resources management from Webster University

Since joining the Modern Wealth team in January 2026, Laurie has been responsible for all things payroll: payroll itself, payroll taxes, and payroll accounting. Laurie brought 30 years of payroll experience to the firm and has enjoyed building upon that at Modern Wealth.

Laurie inadvertently got into payroll and never left. Her career in payroll has spanned from starting at a company with less than 15 people to serving as an account manager for the largest clients of a payroll service bureau. She has processed payroll for close to all 50 states and global payroll for Canada and U.S. expatriates abroad.

Laurie has three children and several grandchildren. Her favorite thing to do is spoil her grandchildren. She also enjoys taking them to places and events in KC where they can learn while having fun. Some of Laurie’s other interests include scrapbooking, crafting, and traveling. As of 2026, she has been to 36 states and several countries.