Susan Schoenfeld is an Award-Winning Family Wealth Keynote Speaker on the human side of wealth
“One of the few women on the national speaking circuit who is guiding financial services firms and their clients to connect with the human side of the client relationship.”
— Family Wealth Report Awards
The Human Side of Wealth
Family Wealth Keynote Speaker Susan Schoenfeld
Susan Schoenfeld is a Family Wealth Keynote Speaker on the human side of wealth who helps family offices, wealth management firms, and multigenerational families strengthen governance, prepare rising generations, and build enduring family legacies.
Helping advisors turn the “soft issues” of wealth into stronger client relationships, deeper trust, and lasting impact.
Susan combines decades of advising families of significant wealth with compelling stories and practical insights that help audiences rethink the conversations behind wealth. As a family wealth keynote speaker, Susan helps UHNW families and their financial services firms, family offices, and philanthropic partners with Family Governance, Family Meetings and the Family Dynamics of Wealth.
A keynote that combines expertise, storytelling, and actionable conversations
- Real stories from decades advising families of wealth
- Practical frameworks audiences can apply immediately
- A memorable approach to the human side of client relationships
In today’s turbulent world of ruthless competition in the financial services industry, business can be won or lost on subtle differentiators. The stakes have never been higher. Yet too often, firms approach their prospect and client meetings as nothing more than performance and product reviews, and lead with their pitch books. They are squandering a critical chance to focus on what keeps client families up at night, and often lose those business opportunities to firms who treat clients as families and not just as assets under management.
As a self-described “recovering” Trusts & Estates Attorney and CPA, and former principal at a white-shoe trust company catering to ultra-high net-worth families and then family ambassador to a $600 million single family office, Susan R. Schoenfeld, JD, LL.M. (Taxation), CPA, MBA, award-winning thought leader, has the “secret sauce” to help audiences learn to connect with the soft side, the family wealth dynamics side, of the client relationship so that their firm can create a competitive advantage, and win and keep more business.
If you’re searching for a family wealth keynote speaker on family governance, family dynamics, family meetings, or the human side of family wealth, Susan would welcome the opportunity to discuss how her presentations help families and advisors navigate the complex human dynamics of wealth across generations.
Chris Cobb, Wells Fargo Advisors
“As an advisor who deals with money behavior issues each and every day, it was great to have Susan speak at a recent client event of mine. Not only is she articulate and to the point with her message but she really shares a unique angle of openness to the fragile topic of Family ‘money talks.’”
Family Wealth Report Awards
“One of the few women on the national speaking circuit who is guiding financial services firms and their clients to connect with the human side of the client relationship.”
Opal Group
“Susan nails it every time! She first spoke at Opal’s Annual Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum back in 2014, and we’ve invited her back to speak every year since. Our audiences love her insight and actionable takeaways, and our in-house event planners love her flexibility and responsiveness.”
Mike Taylor Consulting
“Susan Schoenfeld is a gifted storyteller who blends expertise, experience, and insight in a way that draws people in—and moves them forward. Her keynote at our recent event for affluent families and business owners was met with universal appreciation from clients, our internal team, and outside experts alike. Susan has a rare ability to make complex topics feel clear, relevant, and actionable. Thanks to her contribution, our event was elevated and made more valuable for everyone in the room. She brought the same clarity and impact when speaking to one of our city’s most respected philanthropic organizations.”
Why meeting planners choose Susan
Deep expertise: Decades advising families of significant wealth and the professionals who serve them.
Unique perspective: A rare combination of estate planning, trust, family office, and human dynamics experience.
Audience impact: Practical insights that improve client conversations and relationships.
Proven speaker: Trusted by wealth organizations, family office forums, and professional advisor groups.
Trusted by conference organizers who value expertise, flexibility, and a seamless speaker experience.
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Financial Services Leader
A self-described "recovering" Trusts & Estates attorney and CPA, she spent nearly 15 years as a Principal at Bessemer Trust serving UHNW families before becoming Family Ambassador to a $600 million single-family office. Today, she serves as a conflict-free thought partner on the human issues of wealth, offering no investment, tax, or legal advice and selling no products.
Author & Award-Winning Thought Leader
Susan is a 4-time winner at the Family Wealth Report Awards. She won the Family Wealth Counseling Award for offering "a range of services to families of significant wealth including advising on raising family members, developing leadership succession plans and legacies of family businesses." Susan twice won the Outstanding Thought Leadership Award, and received the Women in Wealth Management Award for being “one of the few women on the national speaking circuit who is guiding financial services firms and their clients to connect with the human side of the client relationship.” She also won GOLD as Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year at the 2024 Citywealth Powerwomen Awards USA. She is a contributing author to two books, has written many full-length articles, and also publishes monthly thought pieces.
Academic Over-Achiever and Serial Volunteer
In addition to her CPA, Susan was awarded an LL.M. (in Taxation) from NYU School of Law, a J.D. from Pace University School of Law, and BBA (summa cum laude) and MBA (with distinction) degrees in Accounting from Pace University. Susan is volunteer Treasurer for both the Broadway Training Center of Westchester, a not-for-profit performing arts school located in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, and the Women’s League of Sutton Place Synagogue in NYC.
Keynote Speaker
Susan brings unfiltered, actionable insight to the conversations that matter most: legacy, stewardship, family governance, philanthropy, and leadership succession. She is on the national speaking circuit across the country from Newport RI to Napa CA, Lexington KY to Birmingham AL, Las Vegas to Dallas, and of course her home town of NYC. Opal Family Office Forum has invited her back to speak at their annual flagship conference every year since 2014.
Contributor to her Profession
Susan chairs the FFI/ Family Business Advisors Group, is a member of AFHE (Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises), Family Firm Institute (FFI), American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and New York State Society of CPAs, and is a former Professional Advisory Board member of NYC Family Enterprise Center and former Board Member of the New York Philanthropic Advisors Network (NYPAN). She is Past Chair of the Family Office Committee, the Estate Planning Committee and the Tax Division Oversight Committee of the NYS Society of CPAs, and served as the Society’s Vice-President and on its Strategic Planning Task Force, Industry Division Oversight Committee, and Committee on Committee Operations. Susan is past-President of the Society’s Westchester Chapter and chaired its Estate Planning Committee. She was honored with the Chapter President’s Award, and has four times received the Chapter Appreciation Award.
