You are at the center of everything we do.
The Schwab and Fidelity investment platforms, and other vast resources give us the tools to help create successful solutions. Our custody, research and technology are activated to design a financial plan for what matters to you and your family. We offer a wide range of investment vehicles available on US exchanges and are not locked into any one fund family.
Our Team
Rick Mordesovich, CIMA, CWS
CEO + Founder
Rick brings 30+ years of investment experience and is responsible for providing customized wealth management advice and solutions to individuals, families and family businesses. He helped build two previous successful investment advisory firms since 2008. Prior to that he worked for large institutions in leadership roles at Neuberger Berman, Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.
Rick devotes much of his personal time to supporting environmental causes including Friends of the Urban Forest San Francisco, as well as human rights and equality through The San Francisco AIDS Foundation and Horizons Foundation.
Education: MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a CIMA® credential from Wharton. He earned his BA at DePaul University in Chicago.
Shane Hiller
Senior Wealth Advisor
Shane Hiller brings over 30 years of experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners on customized financial strategies. At Sonoma Private Wealth, he advises clients on comprehensive wealth management solutions, including financial planning, generational planning, and investment solutions.
Throughout his career, Shane has held senior roles at leading financial institutions, where he developed a reputation for delivering thoughtful, relationship-driven advice and structuring sophisticated solutions across both liquid and illiquid assets. Shane and Rick worked together at Bank of America back in 2001.
Shane takes a highly personalized approach to advising clients and helping them align their financial strategies with their long-term goals, values, and legacy objectives.
Shane is based in California and enjoys an active outdoor lifestyle, with a passion for the ocean, hiking, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Education: BA Business Administration / Marketing, San Francisco State University
Melissa Yu
Client Services Team
Melissa Yu brings over two decades of experience in financial services to her role as Head of Client Service at Sonoma Private Wealth LLC, where she is the cornerstone of the firm's commitment to delivering an exceptional client experience for high-net-worth families.
Melissa began her career at Montgomery Securities, where she served as a Portfolio Analyst supporting broker teams and leading performance reporting — developing a deep fluency in both the analytical and relational dimensions of wealth management. When Montgomery merged with Bank of America Securities, Melissa played an instrumental role in building out the Consulting Services Group alongside Rick Mordesovich, a collaboration that began in 2001 and laid the foundation for a lasting professional partnership.
That partnership continued when Melissa joined Rick at Sonoma Private Wealth, where she has been integral to shaping the firm's client service philosophy from the ground up. Her rare combination of technical expertise and genuine dedication to client relationships makes her an invaluable resource for the families the firm serves.
Melissa is known for her calm presence, meticulous attention to detail, and an unwavering commitment to ensuring that every client interaction reflects the highest standard of care — qualities that have earned her the deep trust of both clients and colleagues alike.
Education: BA from Lehigh University.
Sandra Bergsten
Multi-Generational Coach
Sandy first collaborated with Rick in 1992. They share a passion for cultivating human capital. Both see wealth as a vehicle to leverage not only the mission of the family but also to simultaneously support each individual within to grow and thrive as their truest self.
Sandy’s has served as a curriculum designer, consultant and administrator in educational, business and non-profit settings. She is a Gestalt practitioner and generational coach specializing in on-boarding the next generation of the family.
Education: BFA from the University of Michigan (Magna Cum Laude), MA in Curriculum Design from Teachers College Columbia University (Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society), Post-Graduate Degree in Organizational Development from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.
Kathe Oster
Operations Manager
Kathe has a passion for planning, organization and compliance management and is a key member of the operations team. Her skills from her previous formal career as an elementary school teacher give her an edge at making the work fun. She also worked for many years mentoring beginning teachers and served as the Co-Chair of the Board of Friends of the Children, San Francisco. In addition to working with SPW, Kathe is also an experienced yoga and fitness instructor.
Education: MA from Mills College.
The Impact Community
The personalized service of a boutique investment firm with the breadth of expertise of a large firm. Sonoma Private Wealth has partnered with HIP Investor to create The Impact Community. Together we focus on achieving impact along with financial results for clients, communities and the world.
R. Paul Herman
CEO + Founder
HIP Investor
R. Paul Herman is a senior wealth advisor at SPW and a globally recognized leader in investing to pursue positive impact and profit. HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor licenses 127,000 impact investment ratings of stocks, bonds, and funds to investors, investment advisors, wealth advisors, fund managers, hedge funds, fiduciaries, and retirement plans, including 401(k)s. HIP’s Ratings have helped drive the Newsweek Green Rankings and the Peter Drucker Index. HIP’s Strategies focus on “great places to work,” sustainable real estate, global dividends, and sustainability leaders.
Herman’s 2010 textbook, e-book, and audiobook The HIP Investor: Make Bigger Profits by Building a Better World is published by John Wiley & Sons, and is included in 28 university, MBA and MPA curricula worldwide on finance, capital markets and impact investing. He advised Boards and executives while with McKinsey and Co., found and funded social entrepreneurs at Ashoka.org, and shaped and measured impact investments at eBay founder Pierre Omidyar’s Network. Herman is an advisor to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Net Impact and Sustainable Brands.
Education: Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.
Zachary Worthington
EVP, Operations, Talent, and Finance - HIP
Zach leads operations, talent, and finance at HIP Investor. Zach manages client reporting and is active in client development. Prior to starting at HIP, Zach was a food-related entrepreneur, from designing a commercial aquaponics system to opening a wine bar. When not fighting for increased transparency in capital markets, Zach can often be found in the kitchen or on a basketball court.
Education: MBA from Presidio Graduate School.
Nick Gower
SVP, Impact Investing Analytics, Client Relations + Comms - HIP
Over 8 years at HIP Investor, Nick has helped architect, build, and deploy HIP’s corporate, municipal, fund, and portfolio ratings of impact and profit potential. Nick has built custom ratings frameworks and toolkits for investors, foundations, international consortia, and sustainable development networks. Leveraging that experience, Nick develops clients and partnerships, as well as industry-wide awareness-building and storytelling. Nick also manages HIP’s outreach, communications, and marketing.
Education: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Onindo Khan, M.Sci.
SVP, Impact Investing Analytics + Client Solutions - HIP
Onindo designs, improves, and deploys financial technologies and intelligence into HIP’s corporate, muni, fund, and portfolio ratings. Onindo ensures that the HIP Ratings continuously represent our latest analysis of corporate results relating to human impact and profit potential. Before joining HIP, Onindo worked as an analyst in the governance team at As You Sow, focusing on compensation issues, like overpaid CEOs. Out of the office, Onindo enjoys being outdoors while sailing, biking or hiking.
Education: M.Sci. in Logic from the University of Amsterdam and holds a B.Sci. in Mathematics from the Ruhr Universität Bochum.
Anna Rautenberg, MPA
ESG Impact Investing Analyst - HIP
Anna graduated with a Master in Public Administration (MPA) degree from Columbia University with a concentration in internal finance and specialization in data analysis. She has lived in seven different countries for work and study, such as Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Belgium, and Germany. Her previous experience includes working in international development at the European Commission. More recently Anna has explored impact investing and sustainable finance while consulting on projects for an impact investing fund and the World Bank. She is interested in helping to engage the financial sector to tackle challengers around energy transition, biodiversity protection and climate change through a data driven approach. At HIP, Anna helps to prepare, analyze and display municipal bonds data, and builds ESG ratings.
Amir Khalegui, M.A.
Impact Investment Ratings Analyst- HIP
Amir Khalegui analyzes, innovates and integrates impact data for HIP’s municipal bonds ratings.
Amir has received a Master of Arts in Economics and is a PhD candidate at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. He is deeply interested in the intersection of ESG and sociology to better understand how the transition to a greener economy can maximize societally beneficial outcomes. In his spare time you can find Amir on a mat practicing Jiu-Jitsu, or at home playing with his cats.
FocusPoint Solutions
FocusPoint provides SPW with critical investment research, back-office support, trading, reporting and strategic planning.
Foreside Consulting
Experienced compliance experts and tailored to fulfill the ongoing compliance obligations of investment advisor for SPW, each level of support of Foreside’s compliance programs provides a dedicated consultant, supported by a team of compliance professionals, to deliver proactive services and continuous support to the firm. Foreside’s Partner Program for registered investment advisors provides various levels of comprehensive and customized support to SPW.
