Who We Are
Walden Financial is a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor located in Granville, Ohio, serving clients across the United States. We help a select group of mid-career families get clear on their financial priorities and implement strategies to accomplish their goals.
Josh Dandurand
Founder & Wealth Advisor
How I got here:
I always knew I wanted to spend my career helping people in some way. Like many young adults, I really had no idea what that would mean professionally, so I followed my interest in human behavior and studied Psychology at Otterbein University. Upon Graduating, I spent my early career developing and maintaining relationships as a National Account Manager for a Fortune 500 Company. My time in that role exposed me to incredible life and professional experiences that prepared me to begin my journey in the Wealth Management industry in 2014.
I was fortunate to join an independent firm with a focus on financial planning, and spent 7 years learning the nuances of the business from a great mentor and partner. In 2020, I made the decision to indulge my entreprenurial drive and establish my own firm, which I called Walden Financial.
From the beginning I aspired to create a firm that was focused on guiding our clients through a process that required them to take a step back and think about what really mattered in their lives before setting goals and creating a financial plan. This idea ultimately inspired our mission: “to enrich our clients lives by inspiring them to use their resources to live with intention and purpose”, which I believe we do in every financial planning relationship we have.
Authenticity and Independence are my two core values, so when the opportunity to take my practice fully independent presented itself I didn’t hesitate. On November 1st, 2022, I transitioned Walden Financial to a fee-only Registered Investment Advisor and haven’t looked back. Every day I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve our clients as a fiduciary, helping them craft the life of their dreams with intention and purpose.
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The Work I Do:
As the founder of a business, you typically spend the early years as the “chief cook and bottle washer”. While I still manage the day-to-day operations of the firm, we now have a great team in place that allows me to focus the bulk of my time and energy working directly with our clients, collaborating on their financial plan, and managing their investment portfolios.
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My Family:
Like many of the clients we work with, my family are the roots of my financial purpose; they are my “why”. I’ve been incredibly blessed to have spent the past 17 years with my best friend and wife, Jess. Each of our four children make us feel like we must be doing something right as parents with their unique personalities, unprompted acts of kindness, genuine empathy, and overall happiness.
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The Meaning of Money:
The purpose of money in our lives is to ensure that on any given day, how we choose to spend our time is completely within our control so that we can relish hours together as a family, pursue hobbies and interests that we enjoy, instill in our children the true meaning of wealth, and have the time and resources to contribute to our community.
Meredith Carrington
Client Services Associate
How I got here:
I graduated college with a BS in Civil Engineering and went directly into an 8.5 year career as an Army Engineer Officer. After the Army, I spent the next 4 years working in various capacities of Engineering management from overseas construction management to advising construction teams on the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification process.
In 2008 I began a full-time career as “Mom”. Over the next 14 years I remained very active with our growing family and gained comprehensive “hands on” training in leadership, communication, negotiation, fiscal management, and all the other skills involved in full-time parenting and household management.
In 2022, after our youngest daughter began first grade, I decided to pursue a career outside our home again and was grateful to be given the opportunity to work with Josh as he prepared to transition Walden Financial to a fee-only RIA.
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The Work I Do:
As the Client Service Associate, I spend my time focused on our clients’ service experience. I continually assess the processes we have in place and work closely with Josh and Kathy to ensure that our clients feel connected, heard, and confident that we are here to help them use their resources to live with intention and purpose.
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My Family:
My husband, Dwayne, and I have spent the past 20 years together striving for a balance between “seize the day” and “simplify.” We constantly try new things, craft new experiences, and then make time to assess. We are grateful to have 5 wonderful girls (Caitlin, Paige, Nora, Sadie, and Maggie) who provide ample opportunity for us to challenge our assumptions about life and reevaluate what we hold as truth.
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The Meaning of Money:
Money represents freedom and choice in my family’s life. The purpose of money for us is to allow us to share adventurous and meaningful experiences as a family and to support our Childrens’ initial launches into the world. Money allows my husband and I to ensure that our parents are connected, safe, and comfortable in their later years, and to accelerate the timeline where work is a choice so that we can enjoy long, carefree days together.
Kathy Patton
Financial Coach, Creator and Curator of Walden Roots
How I got here:
I, actually, always wanted to be a teacher. In 1988, freshly armed with my B. S. in Education from THE Ohio State University, I was one of 200 new graduates applying for a single position teaching English at Worthington High School, and I cried before I could even finish the interview.
While at OSU, I had also commandeered a Computer Science minor; such a credential didn’t exist at the time, ESPECIALLY for teachers, so I created one and camped outside of the dean’s office until he signed it. Attempting to leverage both my strengths and pay the bills, I took a job writing technical documentation at AT&T, explaining very complex topics in plain English. 25 years later, I was the Senior Director of Planning and Operations with a Masters degree in Telecommunications Engineering. Over that epoch, I executed worldwide projects that took the mobile telephone from a Maxwell Smart cross-body briefcase to the device you hold in your hand today.
While climbing the technical ranks, I was also rocking the leotards and leg warmers teaching Step Aerobics at Bally’s Total Fitness. 25 years later, I am a Certified Crossfit Level 3 Trainer at Always Forward Crossfit. I’ve never understood why golf is considered the game of business professionals; in my experience, all the best business partnerships start at the gym. To wit, that is where I met Josh.
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The Work I Do:
My two core values are connection and responsibility, so I have very high expectations of someone handling my heart and my money. I had never met a financial advisor quite like Josh who talked to me about defining the true meaning of wealth on my own terms. Quite frankly, it changed my life. My objective as the creator of Walden Roots process is to discover, define, and document financial purpose in a way that brings meaning by uniquely informing financial decision-making, planning, and execution.
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My Family:
I have been married for 31 years to the man for which the term “outlaw biker dude” was coined. We’ve raised two adult children: Thomas, who has a Masters of Engineering from Cornell and lives in San Diego programming drones with artificial intelligence and Julia, who has a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama and works in the Emergency Room at Granview Hospital in Birmingham. We are a tight-knit unit that loves technology, racing, travelling, and each other.
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The Meaning of Money:
I’ve written lots of financial purposes for our clients, but never my own, until now. The purpose of money my life is to live each day intentionally sharing abundant time and meaningful experiences with my family and my friends, and working with a very small, select set of clients who are hungry to begin defining and living their own unique and sacred purpose.