At the Love and Money Center, experienced faculty work alongside emerging professionals to provide compassionate care and advance the field. Meet the people who make our mission possible.

Faculty

• Megan Ford, PhD

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  Megan Ford, PhD

  Role

  Director, Love and Money Center  

  Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics 

  Bio

  Dr. Megan Ford is a leading voice in financial therapy and the driving force behind the Love and Money Center's mission. Her research explores how couples navigate money conflict, the role of physiological responses in financial discussions, and how interdisciplinary training prepares professionals to address the complex connections between relational and financial wellbeing. As a licensed marriage and family therapist and Certified Financial Therapist™, she brings both clinical expertise and scholarly rigor to advancing the field. 

  Dr. Ford's leadership extends beyond UGA - she served as President of the Financial Therapy Association (2016-2017) and has shaped national conversations about financial therapy through her publications, including co-authoring The Fundamentals of Writing a Financial Plan and developing the Ford Financial Empowerment Model. Her work exemplifies the Love and Money Center's commitment to bridging research, practice, and professional training. 

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• Christine Hargrove, PhD

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  Christine Hargrove, PhD

  Role

  Assistant Director, Love and Money Center 

  Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences 

  Bio

  Dr. Christine Hargrove is a licensed marriage and family therapist and Certified Financial Therapist™ whose research and clinical work address the intersection of neurodiversity, relationships, and financial wellbeing. Specializing in how ADHD affects couples' relational and financial health, she bridges the gap between understanding neurological differences and developing practical strategies that support both partners. Her work brings compassion and evidence-based insight to challenges that often remain invisible, helping couples and individuals navigate the complex interplay between executive functioning, money management, and relationship dynamics. 

  As Assistant Director of the Love and Money Center and President-Elect of the Financial Therapy Association, Dr. Hargrove is a sought-after speaker and trainer whose expertise appears in national media including CNN, USA Today, NerdWallet, and Fidelity, as well as professional outlets like the Journal of Financial Service Professionals. Through conference presentations, professional trainings, and community education, she translates research into accessible strategies that empower both professionals and the public. Her commitment to visibility and education helps ensure that neurodiverse individuals and couples receive informed, compassionate support for both their relational and financial wellbeing. 

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Faculty Affiliates

• Kristy L. Archuleta, PhD

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  Kristy L. Archuleta, PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Professor in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics 

  Betsy Barnard Sages Professorship in Financial Therapy and Financial Planning

  Behavioral Finance & Financial Therapy Program Graduate Certificate Director 

  Bio

  Dr. Kristy Archuleta is an internationally recognized scholar and pioneer in financial therapy. Her research integrates psychological, relational, and financial factors affecting wellbeing, exploring topics from couples and money conflict to financial anxiety and the behavioral dimensions of financial decision-making. As a licensed marriage and family therapist and Certified Financial Therapist™, she bridges clinical practice with rigorous scholarship, advancing how professionals understand and address the intersection of money and relationships. 

  Dr. Archuleta's leadership has shaped the field itself - she is a co-founding board member and Past-President of the Financial Therapy Association, co-founding Editor of the Journal of Financial Therapy, and co-author of foundational texts including Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, & Practice and Psychology in Practice: Financial Planning Essentials. Her work has earned numerous honors, including induction into the Financial Therapy Association Hall of Fame (2024) and the FTA Educator of the Year (2023). She is frequently featured in major media outlets including the New York Times, CNBC, and Investment News, translating cutting-edge research for public audiences. 

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• Josh R. Novak, PhD, LMFT

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  Josh R. Novak, PhD, LMFT

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Couple and Family Therapy program  

  Bio

  Dr. Josh Novak is a family scientist and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who studies how couple and family relationships shape health. His research examines how partners influence one another’s diet, sleep, and physical activity, and how supportive or strained relationships affect illness management in contexts such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, aging, and dementia. Committed to interdisciplinary, biopsychosocial care, he brings both rigorous scholarship and clinical insight to his teaching and mentorship of future therapists.

  Dr. Novak’s applied work reflects his dedication to strengthening relationships and wellbeing. He has developed and evaluated interventions, including a couple-based relationship education program for chronic illness and an ACT-based program for dementia caregivers, and has authored frameworks to help therapists integrate sleep, nutrition, and physical activity into practice. An AAMFT Approved Supervisor and director of the Relationships and Health Lab, he received the AAMFT Outstanding Research Publication Award. His interprofessional approach supports the Love and Money Center’s mission of promoting wellbeing for individuals, couples, and families.

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• John Grable, PhD

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  John Grable, PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Athletic Association Endowed Professor in Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics 

  Bio

  Dr. John Grable is a leading scholar in behavioral financial planning and financial risk tolerance assessment whose work bridges academic research with practical application for financial professionals and consumers. His research examines how people make financial decisions, how risk tolerance shapes financial behavior, and how evidence-based assessments can improve financial planning outcomes. As director of the Financial Planning Performance Lab, he conducts applied research that helps both consumers and financial service professionals navigate an increasingly complex financial marketplace. 

  Dr. Grable's prolific scholarship includes over 150 peer-reviewed publications and multiple textbooks, including The Fundamentals of Writing a Financial Plan and the De Gruyter Handbook of Personal Finance. A founding member of the Financial Therapy Association and inductee into its Hall of Fame (2023), he has shaped the field through editorial leadership of major journals including Financial Services Review, Financial Planning Review, and Journal of Financial Therapy. His work translates cutting-edge research into practical tools that improve how professionals understand and serve their clients' financial wellbeing. 

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• Michael Gene Thomas Jr., PhD

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  Michael Gene Thomas Jr., PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Lecturer in the Department of Financial Planning, Housing and Consumer Economics 

  Bio

  Dr. Michael Thomas is a financial planning educator and community advocate passionate about the behavioral, emotional, and psychological dimensions of financial wellbeing. His research explores how social capital, empathy, and compassion influence financial outcomes, and how data visualization affects financial decision-making. With a commitment to making financial knowledge accessible, he brings both technical expertise and deep care for human wellbeing to his teaching and community work. 

  Dr. Thomas' outreach efforts exemplify his dedication to financial empowerment across diverse populations. He co-created Money Dawgs, an innovative financial literacy summer camp for youth integrating gamification and experiential learning, and Discovering Money Solutions, a financial capability course for adults designed to create inclusive learning spaces. His partnerships with local organizations including the Athens-Clarke County Diversion Center, the Sparrows Nest, and The Ark demonstrate his commitment to serving those often excluded from traditional financial services, living out the Love and Money Center's mission of supporting financial wellbeing for all. 

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• Catherine Walker O'Neal, PhD

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  Catherine Walker O'Neal, PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Sciences 

  Bio

  Dr. Catherine Walker O'Neal is a leading scholar in military family research whose work examines how financial stress, deployment, and life transitions affect family well-being. Her research takes a holistic view of family resilience, using rigorous quantitative methods including dyadic data analysis and longitudinal modeling to understand how families navigate both acute crises and chronic stressors. With a commitment to translational research, she emphasizes the "So what?" question - ensuring her findings directly inform programs and policies that support families. 

  Dr. O'Neal leads the evaluation of the Department of the Air Force’s Personal Financial Readiness Program. She has conducted research with the USAA Educational Foundation, measuring military financial literacy to inform prevention and intervention efforts. She co-leads Military REACH, a DoD/USDA partnership that synthesizes research for families, professionals, and policymakers. Her work bridges family science and financial well-being, demonstrating how financial stress intersects with relationship quality, mental health, and family functioning across the lifespan - insights that inform both military family programs and broader understanding of family financial well-being. 

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• Kimberly Watkins, PhD

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  Kimberly Watkins, PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate  

  Assistant Professor in Department of Financial Planning, Housing, and Consumer Economics 

  Bio

  Dr. Kimberly Watkins is a financial planning scholar whose research addresses financial wellbeing and access among marginalized populations, with particular focus on Black households. Her work examines how financial socialization shapes financial behaviors, how systemic barriers affect banking and financial planning service use, and how to build more inclusive financial planning practices. Through both quantitative and qualitative research, she explores the lived financial experiences of underrepresented groups and identifies pathways to improve financial outcomes and professional practice. 

  Dr. Watkins is committed to translating research into practice and education. As Director of the UGA Financial Planning Academy Camp, she creates pathways for youth to explore financial planning careers. Her scholarship on financial planning pedagogy examines how to better prepare future professionals to serve a diversity of clients. With funding from the CFP Board, American Council on Consumer Interests, and National Endowment for Financial Education, her work continues to shape both the financial planning profession and how we understand financial wellbeing across diverse communities. 

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• Liz Wieling, PhD

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  Liz Wieling, PhD

  Role

  Faculty Affiliate 

  Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences  

  Couple and Family Therapy Doctoral Program Director 

  Bio

  Dr. Elizabeth Wieling is an internationally recognized scholar whose research addresses the mental health needs of families affected by traumatic stress related to war, organized violence, and forced displacement. A central focus of her social justice research agenda is to address mental health disparities with trauma-affected populations by developing culturally appropriate, ethical, and methodologically sound strategies to intervene and assess outcomes. She has expanded her NIH and RWJF funded research to include a multi-component interdisciplinary agenda that includes developing ecologically and culturally relevant interventions. Specifically, she uses Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) (https://www.vivo.org) with individuals to address complex posttraumatic stress; GenerationPMTO (www.generationpmto.org) with parents to interrupt intergenerational transmission of psychopathology and violence; and Ambiguous Loss (https://ambiguousloss.com) to support immigrant, refugee, and minoritized families.  Through partnerships with communities in Northern Uganda, Cambodia, Mexico, Brazil, and with resettled refugee populations, she advances implementation science that translates clinical research into meaningful support for families navigating extraordinary adversity.

  Dr. Wieling's scholarship exemplifies the scientist-practitioner model, integrating rigorous multi-method research with direct clinical application. Her work has earned recognition including the Karen Wampler Outstanding Research Mentor Award from AAMFT and the Bill and June Flatt Outstanding Faculty Research Award. As Director of the Couple and Family Therapy Doctoral Program, she mentors the next generation of scholars and clinicians committed to addressing traumatic stress and strengthening family resilience across diverse cultural contexts.

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Student Therapists

Bethany Pruett

Mario Gaspar de Alba

Sammie Lancaster

Student Financial Planners

Cathy McCrary

Jason Noble

Keiko Ishibashi

Melissa George

Aayat Ali

Charlotte Ingram

Office Staff

• Chrisy Mramor

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  Chrisy Mramor