AAPS PD: Money Conversations

Presented by: 
Tracy Theemes and Diane Ross
Tuesday, February 10, 2026 - 10:00am
In-person at Point Grey Campus
10am-12pm, AAPS Seminar Room, 302-6190 Agronomy Road
Focus Areas: Personal Finance, Interpersonal Communication - Part of our Successful Investor's Journey Series

portrait photo of facilitator Tracy TheemesPortrait photo of facilitator Diane Ross

Program Summary

Tracy will be joined by communications expert and AAPS facilitator Diane Ross for this special opportunity to work on your money communications skills in a supportive practice environment.

Often once members have completed the first 5 steps of financial wellness with Tracy, the next step involves a conversation. It could be with a partner, family member, finance professional, friend, community member, or colleague. It could be personal or professional. These conversations can be challenging, and we want to give you a framework and an opportunity to practice so that you feel prepared. If your next step conversation is too personal to practice with colleagues, no worries! We’ll have several scenarios you can choose from to practice. You can learn the frame work and try things out before having that Money Conversation.

What we hope is that learning how to think about money conversations and practise with a framework will give you a good foundation for your own conversations.

What You Will Learn:

  • Why these conversations can be so challenging and why they are an important part of The Successful Investor's Journey
  • A framework for developing money communications messages
  • Practices for having conversations about money while you remain clear and calm
  • Managing reactions so the conversation stays helpful and productive for all participants

How You Will Learn:

  • Theory Bursts
  • Practice Conversations
  • Role Play
  • Self-reflection
  • Large and Small group discussions

About your facilitators

Tracy Theemes is a financial advisor and co-founder of Sophia Financial Group, an investment advisory firm that works with high-net-worth clients while devoting a day each week to pro bono clients who do not have access to needed financial advice and support.

Tracy holds an M.A. in Counselling Psychology and did her Doctoral work in child psychology at UBC. She is a Certified Financial Planner, insurance licensed and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. She received the UBC Education Alumni 100 award for her community leadership in promoting financial literacy and has been nominated for the YWCA Woman of Distinction award in Business and the Professions and the BIV Influential Women in Business award.

Tracy was awarded the International Alliance of Women Global 100 Award for her work in empowering women through education. Her book “The Financially Empowered Woman” won the Bronze prize for the Living Now awards for finance and economics and the Axiom Gold medal in the category of personal finance.

Diane A. Ross is a lawyer turned certified executive coach, professional leadership mentor, facilitator, and author. For over 15 years, Diane has been designing professional development programs for leaders, individual contributors, and young professionals. She is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach with extensive experience coaching individuals and organizations through strengths-based leadership development. Something clicked when she first did the CliftonStrengths® assessment, and she realized her strengths and purpose did not match her job as a litigation 

About Your Host

AAPS is your labour relations organization representing the Management and Professional Staff group to your employer UBC. AAPS is a separate organization from the University, and your conversations with us are confidential. We offer members professional labour relations advice that is in your best interest as an employee. We encourage you to get to know AAPS and your Collective Agreement.

The AAPS Professional Development Program is designed and hosted by AAPS for our members. We offer a variety of topics on management, leadership, interpersonal skills, workplace skills, as well as personal and social development. The AAPS PD Program is designed in consultation with the AAPS Board of Directors and staff. Member Services Officer Sarah Muff is the program's architect and manager. She staffs the PD events. If you have ideas or feedback, please email Sarah at sarah.muff@ubc.ca.

Registration

Kindly note that registration for this session is limited to members who have attended or reviewed all four parts of The Successful Investor's Journey with Tracy Theemes. If you have questions about this session, please let me know.