Charisse Rivers

Zinnia Wealth Management

CEO of Zinnia Wealth Management, Charisse Rivers embodies the tagline: Live by design, not by default. Being one of three children raised by her father with limited resources, she has proved her resilience and tenacity by being one of the top females in her field. She now contributes to the success of others.

Charisse initially started with $500 in her pocket and learned how to save and reinvest her earnings and eat a lot of ramen noodles. Many years ago, when she knew the financial industry wasn’t doing what needed to be done for the success of retirees, she took the avenue of working with renowned financial professors, mentors and financial strategists all across the country. To help provide a lower cost platform and more balanced strategy for the average retiree.

Now, Charisse shares her knowledge as an educator through various media platforms like radio, podcasts, TV news shows, and at the Zinnia Center in The Villages.

Charisse is grateful for what she received from her community while growing up, and launched a non-profit, The Grilled Cheese Foundation. The Foundation aims to provide extra funding to children from single-parent homes so they can find their passion and get a fresh start after high school, as she did.

“The Grilled Cheese Foundation gives me absolute bliss to be able to pay it forward.”