Heather C. Liston, Principal at Clarity Financial, is a Certified Financial Planner(TM) and also holds the IRS’s Enrolled Agent (EA) credential, as evidence of her expertise in tax planning.

She does financial planning for all of life, and especially enjoys working with:

• Clients who want to prepare for the financial independence of retirement, whether it’s close at hand or far in the future.

• Professionals who have equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, ESPPs, and NQSOs) and other complex employment benefits.

• Couples who are working together to manage joint resources in new or changing relationships.

BACKGROUND

Heather did her undergraduate work in liberal arts at Princeton University and earned a master’s in accounting at the New York University Graduate School of Business Administration, and a Certificate in Personal Financial Planning from the University of California at Berkeley.

She started her career with the international public accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand, in New York City, where she audited Wall Street brokerages, banks, and insurance companies. Following that, she spent many years in the arts and the non-profit world, doing both financial management and fund-raising for organizations like the Santa Fe Opera, the New York Philharmonic, American Youth Hostels, and The Academy of American Poets.

More recently, she has been the director of the UC Berkeley Program in Personal Financial Planning, where she also teaches courses in Retirement Planning, Income Tax, and Employment Benefits for financial advisors.

As a volunteer, she has been the Board Treasurer for the Marin Shakespeare Company; Co-Chair of Programs for Financial Planning Day in San Francisco; and a long-time Fund Drive Supervisor for KQED Public Radio.

WHAT ELSE WE DO

Taxes

• Heather C. Liston is an Enrolled Agent, and offers tax preparation services for individuals. This is a separate business from Clarity Financial, and tax preparation is not included in planning fees. She is accepting a few new clients for 2022 and 2023. If you’re interested in this service, please contact her here.

Speaking

• Heather speaks on tax and other financial topics for organizations like the National Association of Realtors®, the San Francisco Public Library, and the FPA’s Financial Planning Day. If you’d like a speaker for your professional, civic, or educational event, contact her for more information. ­

Education

• Heather has been an instructor or adjunct professor at the University of California at Berkeley Extension, Golden Gate University, and the Hult International Business School.

• She teaches Income Tax for Financial Planners, Employment Benefits and Retirement Planning; Retirement Income Planning; Behavioral Finance; and Introduction to Financial Planning.

• From 2018-2022, she was the Program Director at UC Berkeley Extension, managing the programs in Accounting, Personal Financial Planning, Business Administration, Financial Planning and Analysis.

• She is the only person ever to win all three major awards of the UC Berkeley Program in Personal Financial Planning: Most Outstanding Student, The Tim Kochis Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Golden Bear Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Ongoing Success and Growth of the Program. ­

Writing

• Over the years, Heather has written for publications including The Harvard Business Communications Letter, Bankrate.com, Technology Review, Women Outside, Self Magazine, Office Solutions, Yahoo! Finance, and other publications. She is also the author of “The Moon Handbook to Northern California,” and a contributor to other books, including “Moon California Road Trip,” “Hiring Smart for Competitive Advantage” (Harvard University Press); and “The Running Times Guide to Breakthrough Running.”