Our Team

Betty Wang came to financial planning the way most good advisors do, through genuine curiosity about people and money, and a deep belief that the right guidance can change someone’s life.

Betty didn’t grow up with wealth, and became fascinated by how it was built, protected, and passed on.  That curiosity shaped a career that spans corporate finance, institutional investment management, and ultimately, the kind of planning-forward, relationship-first practice she always wanted to lead.  After earning her finance degree, she completed a management program at Northern Trust’s corporate headquarters in Chicago.  She then spent the majority of her career at Dodge & Cox in San Francisco, where she worked with institutional clients, including 401(k) and pension plans, rising to Vice President and Shareholder of the private firm.  She later consulted for a hedge fund and private equity firm before founding BW Financial Planning.

Betty joined Innovative Financial because she saw, in DeDe’s firm, exactly what she had built her own practice around: a genuine commitment to putting clients’ lives first, a team that treats every relationship with care, and a planning philosophy grounded in real goals, not just portfolio performance.

As Owner and Wealth Advisor, Betty brings expanded planning capacity and leadership to the firm — and a belief that great financial planning meets people exactly where they are, no matter where they’re starting from.

DeDe Smolen founded Innovative Financial on a simple but deeply held belief: life goals come before money goals.  That conviction has guided every client relationship and every planning decision she has made over more than two decades in the financial industry.

Before founding Innovative Financial, DeDe built a career across some of the most demanding corners of the financial world.  She began as an auditor at Ernst & Young, went on to serve as a lender at First Interstate Bank (now Wells Fargo), and held Controller roles across multiple companies while working within a venture capital firm.  As Vice President of Retirement Without Tears, she found her professional home in financial planning and investment consulting,and never looked back.

DeDe believes that experience only has value when it lives inside a trusted relationship.  She is known for being genuinely accessible.  She is available when clients have questions, willing to meet as often as needed, and committed to making sure no one feels alone in navigating a financial decision.  As she often tells clients: “Call me — you’ll sleep better.”

DeDe holds a CPA® and CFP® designation and is a proud member of the Denver financial planning community.  She lives by her own advice, including the belief that every good plan includes a plan for what comes next.

Jennifer believes a good financial plan is only as strong as the details behind it — the numbers checked, the projections current, the small changes in a client's life caught before they become big surprises.  That belief is what drew her to financial planning.  She studied engineering and math at Colorado State University, and that analytical foundation, paired with a natural creative streak, makes her an excellent problem solver — sharpened further by earlier work in tax preparation and mortgage processing before she found her place at Innovative Financial.

As the firm's Paraplanner, Jennifer manages the software behind every comprehensive plan, preparing reports, updating portfolio projections, and flagging changes the team needs to know about. Outside the office, she enjoys drawing, painting, and crafting while her dog, Gracie, is something of an honorary team member, often spotted wandering the halls.

June believes good client service comes down to the details — the application processed correctly the first time, the report that's accurate and on time, the follow-through that makes people feel taken care of.  That commitment is what she brings to every client and team member she supports, built on more than 10 years of experience in business administration.

June studied at Colorado State University before moving to Hawaii, where she met the soldier who'd become her husband.  A few years of Army life later, they settled back in the Denver area, where she spent over a decade working in the travel industry before finding her place at Innovative Financial.  Outside the office, she enjoys hiking, biking, camping, traveling, good coffee, and spending time with family.