REED FINANCIAL - Key Persons


Amanda Lisachenko - COO

Job Titles:
  • Chief Operating Officer
Amanda Lisachenko, CFP, is the Chief Operating Officer of Reed Financial Services. She has spent her professional career working with Reed Financial Services since starting in 1998. Amanda works with a broad range of individuals, including pre-retirees, those living in retirement, professionals, doctors, multi-generational families, and business owners, providing financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning, investment management, business succession planning, and charitable planning. Her many years of leading investment management research for Reed Financial Services provide insight to our Fund Managers, which translates into sound investment decisions for clients. Her knowledge of both investments and market conditions allows her to reassure clients in difficult times through either written communications or personal contact. Amanda enjoys genuinely getting to know people and figuring out how she can help them achieve their financial goals. She believes it is an amazing feeling to know that so much of what she does can and does make a difference in people's lives. She appreciates the ability to be creative when developing solutions for each client's specific needs. Amanda is a forward thinker with the ability to explain complex issues in simple-to-understand terms while helping identify the key issues or concerns most important to clients. Amanda has also implemented many technology enhancements and changes to ensure clients of Reed Financial Services have easy access to their investment results, and that the staff has tools available to meet client requests on a timely basis.

Cathleen Pegg

Cathleen Pegg joined the Reed Financial Services team in April 2018 as our client relations paraplanner, and brings 14 years of industry experience. Cathleen has always valued building strong client relationships and is dedicated to being on a team that is committed to going the extra mile for the clients. In her role, Cathleen's focus is on providing comprehensive and excellent service to our clients. She helps clients with their immediate and short-term needs by assisting with new business and new accounts, daily client service needs, distribution requests, and keeping client accounts in good order. Cathleen also supports the financial planning process to help empower clients to reach their long-term goals. Cathleen graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a minor in Accounting. She has earned her Series 7, Series 63 and Ohio Life, Accident and Health licenses. Cathleen loves being with family and friends, being outdoors, seeing live productions, listening to music and playing with her adorable cat, Sunshine. She served for four years in the Ohio Military Reserve, the Disaster Relief Unit of the Ohio National Guard, and enjoys volunteering whenever possible.

Colleen M. Cleary

Job Titles:
  • Financial Advisor
Colleen M. Cleary, CPA/PFS, CFP®, joined Reed Financial Services as a Financial Advisor in November of 2019. The first 15 years of Colleen's career were in the field of taxation as a Certified Public Accountant. She expanded her professional knowledge to include the area of financial planning upon her move to Cleveland in 1997. Colleen's career has involved clients with a wide variety of backgrounds and financial situations. Her tax and financial planning expertise give her the ability to help clients manage their financial life and develop strategies to meet their goals while keeping an eye on tax efficiency. Throughout her career, Colleen's focus has remained on helping others. She enjoys working with clients as they navigate through all phases of their life, including budgeting, income accumulation, education planning, retirement planning and estate planning. Her theme of helping others carries over into the training and education programs that she develops for our team. Colleen is a CFP® Professional and received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in accounting from Siena College. She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Financial Planning Association. In her spare time, Colleen enjoys spending time with her family, drawing and painting and spending time outdoors.

Evan Watson

Job Titles:
  • Investment Analyst
  • Investment Analyst and Trader
Evan Watson is an investment analyst and trader for Reed Financial Services. Evan began working in the financial services field in 2014 and joined Reed Financial Services in April of 2017. Prior to being with Reed Financial Services, Evan worked in the industry as an intern, which then turned into a full-time position. In that position, he gained experience in all aspects of the business, from working with clients to investment research. Evan is primarily responsible for compiling and organizing research regarding economics and investments. He also tracks the performance and implementation of the portfolios. Through guidance with the investment team, Evan selects topics for analysis and review. Evan enjoys working with the rest of the team to achieve a common goal of providing financial services to the client. He works closely with the investment team with tracking down ideas and research to answer questions that may arise internally or from the clients. Evan graduated from Cleveland State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and received his master of financial economics degree from Ohio University. Outside of work, Evan enjoys spending his time with friends and family. His spare time is usually spent watching sports and being outdoors.

James M. Reed - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
Jim Reed, CFP, CPA-Inactive, founded Reed Financial Services in 1984 and is currently its President. His vast knowledge of both financial planning and investment management, coupled with his mission of "helping others achieve their goals and dreams," is exhibited throughout the culture at Reed Financial Services. He has worked for over 30 years to create a firm culture that helps investors seeking to accumulate assets with a focus on both good returns, capital preservation, and high-quality service. Reed Financial Services has grown to be one of the larger firms in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Jim works with a broad range of individuals, including pre-retirees, those living in retirement, professionals, doctors, multi-generational families, and business owners. Jim provides financial planning, estate planning, retirement planning, investment management, business succession planning, and charitable planning. Jim believes in giving his time, talent and monies to help others. Reed Financial Services donates its time to help different charities during the year. Jim has also helped clients match their interests and skills with organizations in need. Personally, Jim spent 15 years on the Board and as Chairman of Trustees of Our Lady of the Wayside (OLW), an organization that cares for over 400 disadvantaged individuals in 75 group homes. Most recently, he has begun to give back to his alma mater, Kansas State University. He is on the College of Business Administration, Dean's Business Advisory Council, and serves on the Kansas State University Foundation Board of Trustees. He provides professional development and real-life experiences to students through seminars and classroom attendance while on campus. He is also working to find meaningful summer internships for students and serves as a mentor to several. He works with the Development Office at Kansas State to raise monies to help students with scholarships. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Kansas State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He belongs to the Financial Planners Association and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Janet S. Edwards

Job Titles:
  • Certified Wealth Strategist
  • Director of Client Relations
Janet Edwards, Certified Wealth Strategist® is our multi-talented Director of Client Relations who's passionate about taking on new challenges, building relationships with clients and supporting them in all areas of their needs. She applies professional insight and attention-to-detail to implement our clients' financial plans. This often involves researching and acting as liaison with outside providers in working with topics such as education planning, charitable endeavors, retirement, cash flow, and insurance. It is her goal for all clients to know that a knowledgeable, friendly contact is only a phone call away. She uses her strong organizational skills to encourage staff communication and timely completion of action items to maintain desired customer service levels. She continually looks for opportunities to keep us moving forward and to further enhance client satisfaction. Janet also enjoys working on our marketing efforts including coordination of our newsletters, social media posts, and website updates. Janet came to Reed in 2012 with over 13 years of industry experience in client relations, marketing, and compliance roles. She has always enjoyed listening to her customers' needs and helping them achieve their goals. Janet holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Miami University and is Series 7 securities licensed. She also is a 2016 graduate of the Leadership Geauga Program. In her free time, Janet enjoys spending time with her family and dogs. Additionally, Janet is an avid recreational sports enthusiast who enjoys triathlons, mountain biking, running, skiing and pretty much anything else that keeps her outside!

Kristen Ibanez

Job Titles:
  • Client Relations Specialist
Kristen Ibanez joined the Reed Financial Services team in December 2021 as our Client Relations Specialist. Kristen has fifteen years of client service experience, with nearly ten years focused within the financial services and banking industries. In her role, Kristen strives to deliver a highly personalized and exceptional service experience for our clients. As a primary contact, Kristen helps address any immediate and short-term needs that might arise for clients while also facilitating the onboarding of new clients, establishing new accounts for existing clients and executing on daily client service items. Kristen graduated from Wittenberg University with a B.A. in Business Management and earned her MBA from Cleveland State University. Kristen loves spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, jogging and planning family adventures.

Liam Studt

Job Titles:
  • Financial Analyst
Liam joined Reed Financial Services as an intern in September of 2017. While interning, he completed his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Akron. Shortly after graduating, he joined the team full-time as a financial analyst. Liam is primarily responsible for organizing pertinent information for each client's unique needs and integrating this information into our clients' financial plans. He enjoys working closely with our investments and planning team to keep improving our planning process. Liam has a drive to help clients better understand their financial situation and improve their financial literacy. Liam works to solve the bottom-line issues that clients will encounter when it comes to the financial planning side. He aims to provide the above-and-beyond value-added that the Reed Financial Services team has always strived for. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching Cleveland sports, talking cars, and technology.

Mark Lisachenko

Job Titles:
  • IT and Risk Management
Mark Lisachenko is the IT and Risk Management lead at Reed Financial Services. Mark has been with RFS since the summer of 2012, bringing 16 years of prior information technology and management experience. He supports the internal operations and systems of the company, from portfolio accounting to information technology. Mark is passionate about security and IT and joined RFS to help lead those efforts internally and to provide support to our client base. Mark enjoys working together with clients to solve problems and feels that knowing that we made a difference is the biggest reward. Mark holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems degree from Miami University. Mark enjoys spending time with his family, supporting Cleveland sports teams, and fishing. ×

Michelle Hohlbaugh

Job Titles:
  • Assistant
  • Senior Executive
Michelle Hohlbaugh has been the Senior Executive Assistant at Reed Financial Services since 1999. She is a very self-motivated individual who enjoys the variety and challenges of projects that come from working in a company that puts its client's needs and desires first.

Nikki Huffman

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant
  • Executive Assistant / Operations
Nikki Huffman is Executive Assistant at Reed Financial Services. Nikki has the ability to make people feel welcome and comfortable at Reed which helps build the strong relationships that exist between Reed and its clients. Nikki came to Reed from a large Finance and Insurance company where she worked in the Finance and Accounts Payable departments. As Executive Assistant at Reed, Nikki assists and supports Jim and Amanda. Nikki does a variety of work such as answering phone calls, sending out client statements and correspondence, and helping put financial plans together, but the interaction with the owners, co-workers, and clients is what Nikki really enjoys. Nikki likes to spend time with her family and to be involved in her son's activities. She also enjoys numerous outdoor activities such as running, swimming, and hiking. Nikki is an active participant in charity runs.

Troy Hammer

Job Titles:
  • Operations Manager
Troy Hammer is the Operations Manager at Reed Financial Services. He joined Reed Financial Services in 2018. Troy's area of focus is accounting and finance-related problem-solving. He has excelled in his position and benefits RFS and its clients by bringing his experience in other business projects and industries into the financial services industry. Over the past 20 years, Troy has had varied experience with large, multinational companies as well as small, privately run entities across different industries. He began his career as an auditor with a big four accounting firm, focusing primarily on large publicly traded companies. Through his experience, he got to learn about a variety of industries, from manufacturing to mining. Most recently before joining RFS, Troy was a Principal, VP, and CFO of a hotel management company based in San Francisco. Troy earned his associate of occupational studies degree in hospitality from California Culinary Academy and his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Miami University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) in the state of Ohio.