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Energy to serve
With her own financial planning business, VISTA Wealth Strategies, Judy Redpath is a busy woman without a lot of spare time.
A big part of the energy she needs comes unexpectedly from spending even more time outside of work helping others, she said.
“You have to figure out what gives you energy and what makes you happy and just do it,” she said. “Giving back gives me more energy.”
Redpath has been involved in the Northern Virginia business community since moving here in 1989. When she moved her business to Reston in 2001, her involvement with the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce grew.
Redpath has been honored for her volunteer work in the community with a 2008 Best of Reston Award. The award has been especially meaningful for her because the event benefits Reston Interfaith, an organization with which Redpath has been involved.
On business trips, Redpath often asks other conference attendees for their hotel toiletries, which she donates to Reston Interfaith's Embry Rucker shelter.
“I think it's the organization in our community that serves the broadest number of people,” she said.
Redpath became a financial planner out of her desire to help people. Her first career was in technology consulting, and she was dismayed to see colleagues spending money like “it was never going to end.”
When her mother died, Redpath helped her father with the estate, and found great satisfaction in that endeavor.
“I enjoyed what I was doing, I was helping him,” she said.
Now, she finds “great passion” in her line of work, and is using her expertise to educate others about financial planning.
Redpath is working on a financial literacy program with Reston Interfaith to help teach clients about sound financial concepts.
“Things like what is a budget. Things you and I might take for granted because they never had the opportunity for someone to walk them through it,” she said.
Her motivation for giving back came from a somewhat different place. While pursuing her MBA at George Mason University, Redpath was assigned to write her own obituary. The result was less than satisfying, and she realized she wanted to leave more of an impact on the community she lived in.
“From that point forward, on a subconscious level, I think what I elected to do in my life was guided by that,” she said.
Her resume is now filled with community outreach. She serves on the board of directors for the Reston chamber, is a member of the Herndon Rotary Club and served as a co-chair on the Best of Reston committee for three years.
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