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Engaging the opportunities and challenges of family money

Cambium: (n) in trees, the layer of generative cells originating all secondary growth

Who We Are

Cambium brings together the experience, voice and vision of collaborators immersed in the field of family wealth. The team facilitates thought leadership in action. We synthesize inquiry and resources with contemporary, active engagement with the issues that having money presents. Our collaborators come from backgrounds beyond finance and law, incorporating developmental and motivational psychology, personality and family dynamics training, business and governance education, decision-making research, philosophy and theology.

We believe that having money touches all these layers, and that any engagement – from an educational forum to an individual consultation to a family strategic meeting – is informed and enhanced by this collaborative influence.

headshotKaren Weisgerber

Karen Weisgerber brings an expertise with inheritors and wealth creators that has developed over 20 years as a licensed psychologist in private practice, along with consulting, research, and teaching. Karen’s consulting practice engages individuals, couples and families around the multi-faceted issues that present themselves with the distribution of wealth among siblings and across generations. She also consults with financial and legal professionals seeking to deepen the services they provide to high net worth families.

Karen enhanced her research and interview experience as a Senior Advisor at the Boston Center on Wealth and Philanthropy. She was an active participant in the Family Wealth Impact Project, which investigated the risk factors of inherited wealth. She was also the principal interviewer for a Wisdom and Wealth project researching the field of wealth advising, funded by the Templeton Foundation. Prior to joining the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, Karen served on the faculty of Boston College for over 20 years, teaching graduate students in the department of Counseling, Developmental Psychology and Research Methods. She is also on the faculty of the Psychoanalytic Institute of New England, East. Karen completed her Ph.D. at Boston College. Her clinical training was in affiliation with Harvard Medical School, where she continued as an instructor and clinical supervisor. Karen has authored numerous papers, published articles, and collaborated on book projects. She has been a frequent panelist and invited speaker at the American Psychological Association.

headshotAmy Hunter

Amy consults with families and advisors, blending her years of experience in the financial world with her intensive training in family systems theory.  She has a unique capacity for understanding and integrating the world of finance with the life of a family, fostering the discovery and realization of family vision and personal goals.  Amy aids in translating dreams into achievable outcomes utilizing her skills of deep listening, discerning, and devising actionable plans.  Her expertise interfacing with family financial advisors enables professionals to more fully achieve their clients’ goals.

Amy was one of tne of the seven original founding executives of Boston Private Bank & Trust. Under her leadership as Executive Vice President, Amy developed the Residential Mortgage area, and then in her role as Director of Marketing crafted the Bank’s highly successful marketing strategy. Most recently, Amy was Director of Client Services for the Investment Management, Wealth Advisory and Trust area of the bank. In that role she joined to create the Legacy Planning aspect of the Wealth Advisory and Trust area.

Throughout her work in the financial world, Amy found her greatest rewards in direct client work. Her experience with families led her to pursue further studies in human relations, culminating in a three-year post-graduate program at the Bowen Center for Study of the Family. The Bowen Center provided intensive experience with family systems theory and enriched Amy’s experience serving families. Following her three years in the post-graduate program, Amy continued in directed study, culminating in her decision to leave the financial industry to engage fully in the integration of family dynamics and wealth consulting.

In her role as community leader, Amy has been a member of the Board of Overseers for the Boston Lyric Opera for 14 years.  She is on the Board of Bentley University's Executive Club and an original member of its Advisory Council and Women's Leadership Institute Council. Amy chairs the Corporate Committee at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Amy holds an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Bentley University and a BA in English and Music, magna cum laude, from Tufts University. She attended graduate school at New England Conservatory as a classical pipe organ performance major, also studying at the Royal School of Church Music. A winner of two scholarships for organ study at Chautauqua Institute, Amy also plays piano for a chamber music group.

Alex Brown

Technical Operations

Alex joins Cambium as a technical consultant. He began his career in the high tech industry at Interleaf before entering the startup area. At his first venture, BookLink Technologies, he was instrumental in the creation of one of the early web browsers. BookLink was subsequently acquired by America OnLine. Alex continued at AOL as a System Architect, one of the core engineers involved in the creation of Instant Messenger. Subsequent to AOL, Alex joined Nokia as a mobile software engineer. Realizing his interest in evolving companies, Alex left Nokia to join the world of consulting. He has been involved in various ventures, including online music streaming, gaming platform programming, green technology and local food sourcing. His interest in utilizing capital in transitioning ventures from idea to reality as well as visioning wealth as a positive factor in family growth offers a unique perspective to the Cambium group.

Alex received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, where he completed his MS in Computer Science. He furthered his education with courses at the Museum School in Boston, focusing on drawing and sculpture.