Steve Clarke

A native of Calgary, Canada, Steve graduated from the University of Richmond with a double major in French and International Studies, with a minor in Economics. Steve assumed he would eventually have a traditional career in business, but for his education, he chose to focus on a liberal arts degree rather than a business degree.

“I loved Political Science. I found the study of government and international relations to be fascinating,” he says. “I thought a liberal arts degree would better prepare me for my career than a degree in business. Learning to write, learning to think critically, and learning to communicate and express ideas is best learned in the classroom.”

Steve’s critical thinking and communication skills are among the greatest assets he brings to Heartwood, and perhaps chief among his communication skills is Steve’s ability to listen carefully.

“You can’t help people if you don’t listen to them,” Steve says.“Too many advisors want to jump to the solution – or worse, just sell something – without really taking the time to listen to their clients.”

Having spent seventeen years with the Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group before co-founding Heartwood, Steve believes in treating his clients the way you would want your family members to be treated. He maintains his focus on the client’s best interests by adhering to three simple rules:

1. When you start a job, finish it.
2. Always be transparent and candid in your interactions with people.
3. When you make a commitment, you keep it – no matter how hard.

“Heartwood has an entrepreneurial spirit,” Steve says, when asked about what makes Heartwood special. “We are all working towards a common goal. We’re in this together.”

Steve and his wife, Patricia, live in Richmond with their four children, Grace, Phillip, Betsy, and Andrew. Steve enjoys golf, ice hockey, and trail running.

Sid Martin

A native of Lynchburg, Virginia, Sid is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, where he studied Political Science. As a native Virginian, Sid has spent his entire life here with the exception of a short time in Birmingham, Alabama. The yearning to return home coincided with the start of a sixteen year career with Merrill Lynch, ultimately working as a Senior Vice President – Investments, before starting Heartwood Wealth Advisors.

Sid learned several important values early in life that have had a profound impact on his professional career. His father, who was a football coach, taught him the value of hard work, and what can be accomplished through teamwork. His mother taught him to be courteous and pleasant to everyone – that being thoughtful to others offers rich personal rewards.

Chief among those values was empathy. Sid recognized early in his career that he was a far better advisor when he could visualize himself in his client’s situation. Sid believes that understanding a client’s goals and dreams is critical to offering substantive advice, and a key to appreciating a client’s unique circumstances is listening carefully to what they say.

“We think of client relationships lasting decades, and in many cases we work with multi-generational families. Throughout their lives, we will interact with clients in times of extreme happiness and in times of great despair,” Sid reveals. “Through it all we want to be here for them, even if it sometimes means just listening and being supportive. What we do transcends asset management”

Sid and his wife Cathy enjoy spending time on the Chesapeake Bay where you can find them in the garden or on the boat. An avid bird hunter and fisherman, Sid can also be found in the woods and on the waters of Virginia, possibly humming a Jason Isbell song.

Anita Bost

Today she uses her communication and reporting skills to gather information for her clients and present it in a format they can digest, comprehend, and use to take specific action. It may not be televised, but her work has a much greater impact on her clients’ lives than what they may see on the evening news.

To Anita’s colleagues and clients, she is a highly organized, knowledgeable and resourceful problem-solver – someone who will provide a methodical process to work on any question or problem a client may have and to help them find a solution or answer. She is often described as the quintessential “Type A” personality, a label which may appropriately be renamed “Type Anita” for the purposes of demonstrating its characteristics in person.

Anita’s penchant for accountability is captured perfectly in her own advice: “Don’t rely on others to be responsible for you and your work. Take ownership of everything you do,” she says. “If you are working with others, follow up to ensure their part is completed and done correctly. If not, you will be the one left explaining what went wrong.”

The source of these characteristics is also very clear. Anita views her clients as more than clients; they are friends to whom she feels a huge responsibility. They entrust her with their assets, and she wants them to know that she thinks about that responsibility even when she’s not in the office.

“Everyone here has a common goal,” she says, “to provide the best service possible. It is like family, from your co-workers to our clients.”

Anita is an avid traveller, who enjoys learning new languages, discovering new red wines, and cheering on her beloved Hokies in her free time. She lives with her husband, Jim, in Cold Harbor, Hanover county.

Tricia Mustico

Tricia believes that a strong work ethic is necessary for success in anything you do – a principle she attributes to her parents. She recently completed her first Triathlon, maintaining a disciplined, 4-month routine of waking at 5:30am to train before a hectic work day & family responsibilities. She plans to continue competing in Triathlons.

The rigorous discipline Tricia demonstrated in training is the same discipline she brings to her work every day at Heartwood and the attention to detail she provides to her clients.

“Follow up and follow through. These two things are so simple but vitally important,” Tricia advises. “It surprises me how few people actually do this and it stands out when people do. It shows you really care about doing your job well.”

Tricia has a deep appreciation for the fact that small mistakes often can create very big problems. She takes great care in serving our clients.

“I care about each client. I want them to feel comfortable and confident in the job I do and the service I provide. It is important to me that they know I care about getting things right. I will follow up and follow through, and I’m never too busy for even the smallest request.”

Tricia’s dedication to her clients is emblematic of Heartwood as a company.

Tricia and her husband, Rich, live in Richmond with their two children, Ben and Andy.

Liz Dedman

“Above all else, I am here to help and to listen,” says Liz. “In my first months working at Heartwood, one of our clients called and had some concerns. I talked to her for twenty minutes and was able to help solve her problem, and by the end of the phone call we were both laughing. This was the moment that I finally felt at home here.”

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Richmond, Liz is grateful the Volunteers rarely play the Spiders in college football. She currently resides in the historic Fan District.

Ben Gurley

Originally from Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, Ben graduated from the University of Virginia with a major in Spanish Literature. Ben spent two years after college in New Orleans, Louisiana, teaching middle school mathematics and renovating homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. “My experiences directly out of college revealed the need for business leaders in the community that possessed both integrity and the proper experience to lead,” he says. “The recognition of that need drove me to pursue my M.B.A. at Darden, so that I might work towards becoming such a leader in my community.”

Asked about why he came to Heartwood, Ben says, “It’s rare that you find a firm with such a cultural and philosophical fit. Heartwood’s deep concern for its clients, insistence on transparency, and intellectually honest investment philosophy aligned distinctly with the kind of forthright service I wanted to provide for clients.”

Prior to joining Heartwood, Ben worked in private equity and investment banking, most recently at Harris Williams & Co. in Richmond, Virginia.

Ben and his wife Lucy live in Richmond’s Museum District with their two children. Ben enjoys golf, racket sports of all kinds, and exploring Richmond’s eclectic food scene.

Doug Dorsey

After 17 years as an accomplished solo-practitioner at Chesapeake Asset Management, Doug joined his practice to Heartwood in 2018. Doug has spent his career caring for the unique needs of each client and joined Heartwood to offer an even more robust set of services to new and existing clients.

“My duty to my clients is to deliver best-in-class solutions. And it today’s world, that requires a team of highly experienced professionals. I joined Heartwood because I believe together we can help provide clients with the absolute best there is to offer,” Doug stated.

“Our shared approach to relationships – putting the client first, follow through, and transparency – made an association with Heartwood not only a logical fit, but a philosophical one as well.”

Doug is a graduate of Washington & Lee University. Doug and his wife Carrie have two children, Peter and Anna, and live in Richmond’s West End. Doug is an avid painter and sailor.

Kathryn Pruitt

Kathryn is a graduate of Randolph-Macon College with a degree in International Relations. As a sports lover, she took the first job she could find in a city with a NFL football team. This landed her in Baltimore, Maryland where she held her first job as an internal wholesaler at the brokerage firm, Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc.

Having been born and raised in Richmond, Kathryn spent two years in Baltimore before returning home to work for Davenport & Company, LLC. Her first two jobs, being service oriented, laid the groundwork for how she responds to client needs today. “I always try to put myself in the shoes of those I am helping, and treat them how I would want and expect to be treated,” Kathryn says. “Ultimately, I am not satisfied until the client is.”

Prior to joining Heartwood, Kathryn worked in an investor relations capacity at several local firms including Wells Fargo Financial Network, LLC and Private Advisors, LLC.

Kathryn and her husband, Michael, live in Richmond with their two children, Hayden and Ben. Kathryn and her family enjoy spending time together skiing and hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Wes Kaufman

Wes graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a BS degree in English and a minor in French, earning multiple letters in swimming and golf and serving as the golf team captain his senior year. Commissioned as a United States Marine Corps officer, Wes served for five years, fighting in the first Gulf War conflict. After serving in the military, Wes travelled extensively through North America and Europe for 15 months, where he learned the value of treating others the way you want to be treated.

“It was one of the greatest experiences of my life to that point,” he says, “and was one of the things that taught me most people really are good at the core.”

Wes always knew he wanted to be in a profession where he could have control over his own destiny, and be fully responsible for his own successes or failures, as well as those he was working to help. He found his calling in the financial advisory profession, and spent eighteen years with the Merrill Lynch Global Private Client Group, leaving the firm as a Vice President.

Wes brings to the discipline of financial consultation many of the attributes you may expect from a Marine: trustworthiness, honesty, hard work, intelligence, responsiveness, and accountability. His clients have come to value his calm demeanor in times of stress and difficulty, relying upon the decisive guidance Wes provides – free of the emotion and fear that too often cloud one’s judgement when under strain.

“I am motivated by using the knowledge and experience I have gained to help my clients have the best chance to live the way they want to live, and then seeing that play out,” he says. “I could do that over and over and over again.“

With his wife, Jennifer, and their two children, Gardner and Elizabeth, Wes resides in Richmond’s Museum District and is an active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.

Sarah Harris

Originally from Rocky Mount, Virginia, Sarah is a graduate of Washington and Lee University with a degree in Mathematics.  With over 20 years of experience in this industry, she has an extensive background in wealth management and trust administration.  “Those experiences made me realize how important it is to develop meaningful relationships with your clients, because they really do end up feeling like family.”

Asked about the culture at Heartwood, “Everyone has such respect for each other, and genuinely likes each other.  It really shows that everyone is working together towards a common goal – give the best service possible to our clients”.

Prior to joining Heartwood, Sarah worked as a Trust Advisor/Wealth Advisor for SunTrust Bank and SBK Financial, Inc. in Richmond, Virginia.

Sarah and her husband, Michael, live in Richmond with their two children, Michael and Carrington.  Sarah enjoys running, being active outside with her family, and cooking.

Susan Norfleet

Susan grew up in Charlottesville and graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in Commerce.  During her four years at UVA, she served as a Manager for the Men’s Basketball Team under Terry Holland.   Susan learned much from this experience, but one meaningful skill was the need to look outside the box to solve problems.

Susan gained valuable experience working at KPMG for over fourteen years.  As a Senior Manager in both their Tax and Personal Financial Planning Practices, she provided tax planning, personal financial planning, and tax preparation services to individuals and businesses.   During this time, she received a Masters in Taxation degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and qualified for the AICPA Personal Financial Specialist designation.

In 2002, she started a CPA firm specializing in tax and financial planning, originally known as Norfleet, Musselman & Company, now Heartwood Tax Consultants.

Susan and her husband Alan live in Bon Air with their son, Jason, who is studying architecture at Virginia Tech.  Their daughter, Kelly, graduated from the University of Virginia and is working in Northern Virginia.

 Rachael Brown

Brian Cann