Paulette Mercedes Girod, CFP®

Paulette is a consummate collaborator who works closely with Pitcairn’s Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer to guide and support individuals and families as they engage with the benefits and challenges of wealth. Leveraging the firm’s Wealth Momentum® family office model, which takes a long-term view of family and financial dynamics to achieve better outcomes, Paulette works with families on a wide range of topics such as wealth stewardship, family governance, leadership, and professional development. Using the tenets of positive psychology and Co-Active Coaching, Paulette is committed to helping families achieve harmony while building a family culture of lifelong learning and personal growth.

In her role as Director of Family Engagement, Paulette provides direct coaching, consultation, and educational sessions for individuals, couples, and families to support growth and development across generations and through different life cycles. She facilitates individual and group conversations to identify family dynamics and to promote conditions for clear communication, positive decision making, and healthy relationships. She also designs, customizes, and delivers learning plans and educational sessions for wealth inheritors and wealth creators on how to maintain wealth across multiple generations.

Prior to joining Pitcairn, Paulette worked for Vanguard for almost two decades.  She served in a variety of leadership and client facing roles. She worked in International and Domestic Sales and management in the High Net Worth Retail Client and Institutional divisions. She also gained exposure to estate planning, the insurance industry, and issues faced by business owners as a partner at JKJ Financial Services in Newtown, PA.

Most recently, Paulette was a staff member at the Women's Resource Center, a Pennsylvania nonprofit, where she worked as a financial stability coach helping clients feel more in control of their financial circumstances. She leveraged her experience in Financial Services, and coaching to help women gain agency and resilience while navigating financial uncertainty and their futures. She is still an active volunteer with the organization.

Born in Puerto Rico, Paulette is a native Spanish speaker. She has supported Hispanic communities by teaching English as a second language and preparing tax returns. Paulette’s high energy and contagious enthusiasm for continuous improvement have driven both her professional and personal impact.  

A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Paulette also has an MBA from Villanova School of Business. She is a Certified Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), and holds the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®).

Paulette likes to spend her weekends going on spontaneous adventures with her husband and three sons and throwing impromptu dinner parties for family and friends. She loves to learn and try new things so she is always looking for her next adventure!