Kristen Judd: Winner – Women Leader in Financial Education, Wealth & Women’s Financial Empowerment | International Women Awards 2026
- Great Companies
- Aug 11
- 7 min read
The 8th International Women Awards 2026 by Great Companies celebrates women leaders who are creating meaningful impact through entrepreneurship, education, leadership, and a commitment to empowering others.
Among this year's distinguished winners is Kristen Judd, Agency Director and Executive Vice President of Money Secrets, a Division of Five Rings Financial, honored as the Winner – Women Leader in Financial Education, Wealth & Women’s Financial Empowerment.
Based in Westminster, Colorado, USA, Kristen has spent more than a decade in financial services helping individuals, families, and business owners make more confident financial decisions through education rather than pressure or product-driven selling.
Her mission extends beyond helping people build wealth. She is creating a culture in which financial knowledge becomes a source of confidence, leadership, independence, and opportunity—particularly for women.
Company Overview
Leader: Kristen Judd
Business: Money Secrets, a Division of Five Rings Financial
Location: Westminster, Colorado, USA
Established: 2013
Category: Financial Education, Wealth & Women’s Financial Empowerment
Industry: Financial Services – Life Insurance
Website: https://moneysecretsteam.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristenjudd/
Education Before Financial Decisions
Money Secrets was built around a simple but powerful belief:
People deserve access to financial education before they are asked to make financial decisions.
Rather than beginning with a financial product, Kristen's approach begins with education.
Her work helps individuals, families, and business owners understand the financial choices available to them so they can make decisions with greater clarity and confidence.
The organization's areas of support include:
Financial Education Workshops
Retirement Planning
Tax-Efficient Wealth Strategies
Living Benefits Life Insurance
Business Protection Planning
Financial Security Planning
Leadership Development
Financial Professional Development
This education-first philosophy allows clients to become active participants in their financial decisions rather than simply recipients of financial recommendations.
Making Financial Education Approachable
Financial concepts can often feel intimidating, complicated, or inaccessible.
Kristen has worked to change that through community-based education programs designed to make financial conversations more welcoming and understandable.
Two of her key initiatives are Money 101 and Wine, Women & Wealth.
These programs create environments where people can ask questions without embarrassment, learn at their own pace, and develop the confidence to take greater control of their financial futures.
For Kristen, financial education is not a one-time conversation.
It is an ongoing journey.
The goal is to help people continue learning, asking questions, and making increasingly informed decisions throughout their lives.
A Holistic Approach to Financial Well-Being
Kristen's philosophy extends beyond wealth accumulation.
She believes financial health is connected to broader personal well-being.
Money Secrets therefore approaches financial planning through multiple dimensions, including:
Education.
Understanding financial choices.
Wealth Building.
Creating strategies for long-term financial growth.
Risk Management.
Protecting the people, income, and assets that matter most.
Long-Term Planning.
Preparing for retirement, business needs, and future goals.
Personal Well-Being.
Recognizing that financial security contributes to overall quality of life.
This broader perspective has led Kristen to integrate conversations around both health and wealth, reflecting her belief that true success should support the whole person.
Building Financial Confidence Through Collaboration
Kristen recognizes that no single professional can provide every answer a client may need.
Her approach therefore incorporates collaboration with a network of specialists, including:
Fiduciary Investment Professionals
Tax Strategists
Estate Planning Attorneys
Financial Professionals
Business Advisors
This collaborative model allows clients to receive guidance that is better aligned with their individual circumstances, goals, and long-term plans.
Instead of promoting a one-size-fits-all solution, Kristen focuses on helping clients understand their options and connect with the appropriate expertise.
Leadership Through Multiplying Impact
One of Kristen's greatest contributions extends beyond the clients she serves directly.
She is deeply committed to developing other financial professionals into leaders.
Through mentoring, coaching, and leadership development, she helps aspiring financial professionals—particularly women—build meaningful careers while creating financial independence for themselves and their families.
Her philosophy is simple:
Leadership is about multiplying impact.
When one person gains financial knowledge, the impact can reach a family.
When one professional becomes a confident leader, the impact can reach an entire team.
When women mentor and champion other women, the impact can continue across generations.
This belief has become central to Kristen's leadership journey.
Creating Opportunities for Women
Kristen is particularly passionate about helping women create meaningful professional and financial opportunities.
She believes women should have access to careers that provide not only income, but also:
Independence
Flexibility
Leadership Opportunities
Personal Growth
Community
Purpose
Through her leadership platform, she helps women develop the skills, confidence, and mindset necessary to build businesses and careers that align with their lives and values.
Her work demonstrates that financial empowerment is not only about having money.
It is also about having the knowledge and confidence to make choices.
A Leadership Journey Shaped by Adversity
Kristen's journey has not been without significant personal challenges.
Over the past several years, she experienced the loss of her father, became an empty nester, navigated the end of a deeply valued friendship, struggled with depression, and faced significant health challenges.
At times, stepping back would have been understandable.
Instead, Kristen chose to rebuild.
She made a deliberate commitment to restoring both her physical and mental well-being.
That experience fundamentally changed the way she viewed leadership.
She realized that sustainable leadership begins with taking care of oneself.
As her health improved, so did her confidence, resilience, and ability to serve others.
The experience made her a more authentic mentor, stronger business owner, and more
compassionate leader.
Turning Personal Challenges into Leadership Strength
Kristen's story is not one of avoiding adversity.
It is a story of choosing to rise after adversity.
Her experiences taught her that setbacks do not have to become permanent definitions of who we are.
They can become opportunities to:
Rebuild
Learn
Grow
Develop Empathy
Strengthen Resilience
Serve Others More Effectively
This perspective now influences how she mentors the professionals around her and supports the individuals and families who trust her with important financial decisions.
Building Relationships Instead of Transactions
Money Secrets' competitive advantage is rooted in trust.
Kristen believes people are looking for more than a financial product.
They want someone who can:
Explain complicated concepts simply.
Listen to their concerns.
Understand their goals.
Help them evaluate their options.
Provide ongoing guidance.
Create confidence around financial decisions.
That is why Money Secrets leads with education rather than sales.
The objective is not simply to complete a transaction.
It is to create a long-term relationship in which clients feel informed, supported, and empowered.
A Community for Financial Confidence
Kristen's community-based programs reflect another important aspect of her leadership philosophy.
Programs such as Money 101 and Wine, Women & Wealth create spaces where financial conversations become less intimidating and more accessible.
These initiatives encourage participants to ask questions, learn from one another, and develop a stronger understanding of financial concepts.
By making financial education social and approachable, Kristen is helping break down one of the biggest barriers to financial empowerment:
The fear of not knowing enough.
Advice for Women Entrepreneurs
Kristen's advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs begins with one important message:
Don't build your business alone.
She credits mentors throughout her own journey who believed in her before she fully believed in herself.
Those mentors challenged her, encouraged her, held her accountable, and invested in her development.
She believes every entrepreneur needs someone who has already walked the path and is willing to share both their wisdom and their honesty.
She also encourages women to deliberately build a community around themselves.
Surround yourself with people who will:
Celebrate your wins.
Tell you the truth.
Encourage you through setbacks.
Challenge you to grow.
Inspire you to become your best self.
Entrepreneurship can be lonely—but it does not have to be.
And perhaps most importantly, Kristen encourages women not to wait until they feel completely ready.
Confidence is built through action, not before it.
Mistakes are inevitable.
Lessons will come.
Unexpected strengths will emerge.
Growth happens by showing up consistently, staying teachable, and choosing progress over perfection.
Creating a Legacy of Empowerment
Kristen's long-term mission goes beyond financial services.
She wants to create a legacy in which people are more confident about their financial futures, women have greater access to meaningful careers, and knowledge is continuously passed from one person to another.
Her philosophy can be summarized simply:
Educate. Empower. Develop. Multiply the impact.
By helping individuals become more financially confident while developing other professionals into leaders, Kristen is creating an impact that extends far beyond the people she personally serves.
The Future
Money Secrets continues to grow its education-first approach to financial services while expanding its focus on leadership development and women's empowerment.
Kristen's future vision includes:
Expanding financial education initiatives.
Helping more families build financial security.
Supporting business owners with protection and wealth strategies.
Developing more women financial professionals.
Growing Money 101 and Wine, Women & Wealth.
Integrating health and wealth into broader conversations about well-being.
Building a community where financial confidence becomes accessible to more people.
Her vision is ultimately about creating stronger futures—not simply stronger financial portfolios.
Official Recognition
Kristen Judd, Agency Director and Executive Vice President of Money Secrets, a Division of Five Rings Financial, has been honored as the Winner – Women Leader in Financial Education, Wealth & Women’s Financial Empowerment at the 8th International Women Awards 2026 by Great Companies.
The recognition celebrates her contribution to financial education, wealth creation, leadership development, women's empowerment, and her commitment to helping individuals and families make informed financial decisions with confidence.
Kristen's journey demonstrates that financial leadership is not only about numbers.
It is about knowledge, trust, resilience, relationships, and the power to help others build a stronger future.
About the International Women Awards
The International Women Awards by Great Companies celebrates inspiring women entrepreneurs, founders, executives, professionals, and leaders from around the world.
The awards recognize women who demonstrate leadership, resilience, innovation, business excellence, and meaningful contribution to their industries and communities.
Kristen Judd's story reflects the spirit of these awards: educating before selling, leading by empowering others, rebuilding through adversity, and creating opportunities for women to lead with confidence and purpose.