Regardless of her minority status, she made it her mission to achieve success in the financial planning industry and empower other professionals to do the same. In 2015 she was named one of Investment News’s Top 40 Under 40— a list that recognizes the top 40 advisors and associated professionals in the financial planning industry under the age of 40. At age 28, Dorsainvil was placed on the cover of the magazine.

She was overjoyed and decided to share more about her background to show others that regardless of their upbringing, they too can be successful, she said. She decided to share a Facebook post revealing more about her upbringing and background to send the message that anything is possible in the future, regardless of the past, she asserted.

“I shared on Facebook that I was born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia a place where typically three things happened; you ended up in jail, on drugs, or dead. I shared that at the age of seven, a stray bullet killed my friend after I came in the house from playing outside with him—he was seven. I shared that my mother was taken from me at the age of nine and I was raised by my nana and It really took a village,” she said describing the Facebook post that announced her recognition.

Later that week, Dorsainvil had a scheduled meeting with her manager. Online, she received a powerful response filled with support from others who were inspired by her story. During that meeting, she thought she would be met with excitement or that her manager would share some of his own experiences, she said.

Instead, he congratulated her but said her facebook post was “too boastful”. It was early in my career that taught me I could not be myself, she added. However, Dorsainvil’s vulnerability has also been met with support.

A white colleague shared with Dorsainvil that she loved the podcast, 2050 Trailblazers, the podcast she launched earlier this year. She said she was learning a lot but one episode made her feel sad. In that episode she spoke with Lazetta Rainey Braxton, CFP, founder and president of Financial Fountains and described her experience attending her first conference from the Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAA). For the first time, Dorsainvil said she felt she could be her true self without being judged about how she spoke or her appearance.

The colleague asked “How can I help?”, she added.

Responding to the question, Dorsainvil said, “If you see someone who does not look like you, go up to them and say hi. Engage them in conversation —it will make them feel welcome. Because that person, if of color, is probably only one of a handful at that industry conference—she agreed.”

That same colleague reached out to Dorsainvil a few months later and told her she was wandering through a (in her words) very non-white neighborhood with her husband. After 45 minutes she found herself saying, “let’s head back” to her husband because she felt like she stuck out, Dorsainvil explained.

She empathized with Dorsainvil and better understood her feelings— the only difference was that she could leave that environment and go home —“She checked her privileged,” Dorsainvil said.