For LeeAnn Roy, numbers have always been part of the story, but they are far from the whole story. As an Editorial Associate at Advisorpedia, Roy brings a background in accounting and finance to her work, driving key research initiatives and reporting on sales and business metrics. A graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a degree in accounting and finance, she also speaks conversational Japanese, adding another dimension to her diverse professional and personal skill set.
This year, LeeAnn brought that perspective to a different kind of work: serving as a judge for the 2026 Invest in Others Awards. The experience gave her an opportunity to look beyond the business metrics and professional accomplishments of financial advisors and see the broader impact of the work they are doing in their communities.
Seeing the Ripple Effect
What surprised Roy most about this year’s finalists was not simply the scale of their charitable work, but the number of lives they touch along the way.
“What surprised me the most about this year’s finalists chosen was just how many lives these advisors change, beyond the direct recipients of their organizations,” she says.
That ripple effect is at the heart of what makes the Invest in Others Awards so powerful. Financial advisors often bring much more to charitable organizations than a financial contribution. They bring relationships, expertise, leadership, problem-solving skills and professional networks, valuable resources that can help organizations grow their reach and deepen their impact.
For Roy, seeing those contributions firsthand reinforced just how much potential exists when advisors apply the skills they use every day in their professional lives to causes they care about.
Inspiring Advisors to Think Differently
Roy believes the 2026 finalists can serve as an important source of inspiration for other advisors who are looking for ways to make a difference.
“I envision this year’s finalists inspiring advisors by showing other advisors how the skill-set and network of an advisor can be used to create real change in the world,” she says.
It is a message that resonates with the broader mission of Invest in Others: to amplify, celebrate and inspire the charitable work of financial advisors.
The finalists demonstrate that charitable impact does not necessarily require stepping away from a professional career or having unlimited time and resources. Instead, advisors can leverage what they already have, their expertise, relationships and networks, to help organizations address important challenges in their communities.
In many cases, those professional skills can become a powerful form of philanthropy in themselves.
Start Small. Let It Grow.
For advisors who may be interested in volunteering or becoming more involved with a charitable organization but aren’t sure where to begin, Roy has simple advice: start.
“The advice I would give to any advisor looking to volunteer or considering charity work is to just start. One day at a time.”
She compares the beginning of a volunteer journey to the growth of a plant.
“Just like plants do not emerge fully grown from the ground, every bit of volunteering starts off from a small seed that takes root into something bigger over time.”
That perspective offers an important reminder: meaningful charitable engagement does not have to begin with a grand gesture.
It can begin with an hour of volunteer work. A conversation. An introduction. A professional skill offered to an organization that needs it. A connection made through an advisor’s network. Over time, those small actions can grow into something much larger.
A Different Way of Measuring Success
Roy’s experience as a 2026 Invest in Others Awards judge offered her a closer look at a side of the financial advisory profession that can sometimes exist outside traditional measures of success.
Her professional work centers on research, reporting and business metrics, ways of understanding performance through data and measurable outcomes. But evaluating this year’s Invest in Others finalists provided another perspective on what success can look like.
It can be measured in the lives changed, communities strengthened and opportunities created because an advisor chose to use their talents and relationships for something beyond themselves. Perhaps most importantly, those stories can inspire others to do the same.
For Roy, the lesson from this year’s finalists is clear: an advisor’s impact can extend far beyond the clients they serve. Sometimes, the greatest measure of an advisor’s influence is found in the lives they help change, and in the people they inspire to begin making a difference themselves.
