The Drive to Succeed

Jackie Yoder ’07 has spent the past 15 years in Arizona, carving a path of success.

“After graduation, I packed my bags, hopped in my car, and headed west, leaving my hometown and telling my mom I’d return if things didn’t work out. Little did I know, this journey would shape the course of my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined.”

Jackie Yoder, a Pennsylvania native and a graduate of Mount Aloysius’ accounting program in 2007, now serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Wilde Wealth Management Group, a renowned financial advisory firm that Barron’s and Forbes consistently recognizes as one of Arizona’s top financial advisors, Jackie’s accomplishments speak for themselves.

However, Jackie’s path from Pennsylvania to Arizona wasn’t without its challenges. As the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, attending college was an entirely new experience for her. Initially, she started her college journey at another local institution, where she felt like just another face in the crowd. Unsatisfied with her impersonal college experience, Jackie took the leap and transferred to Mount Aloysius.

She credits the Mount with providing a welcoming campus environment and an incredibly supportive faculty. “Unlike my previous school, at Mount Aloysius, you could approach professors for guidance. The difference was remarkable.”

Having traveled over 2,100 miles away from home, Jackie began her professional journey as an accountant at Freeport-McMoRan, a global leader in molybdenum production, a major copper producer, and the operator of the world’s largest gold mine. After eight years, she decided to transition into financial advising, leveraging the strong foundation she had built through her education at Mount Aloysius. “Even though I ventured into financial advising, my education equipped me with valuable tools for running a business.”

Jackie spent two years as a financial advisor at Edward Jones before assuming her current role at Wilde Wealth Management.

While the core mission of Wilde Wealth is to provide financial stability to clients, the firm’s true impact transcends the boundaries of a typical 9-to-5 job.

Together with CEO Trevor Wilde, Jackie has fostered a culture of giving back. She oversees the Wilde for Arizona Community Outreach Program, the company’s charitable arm, which partners with a different nonprofit organization in Arizona every month. Recently, their efforts raised $5,000 and collected 500 toys for Toys-for-Tots.

Jackie shared her thoughts on LinkedIn, stating, “We are committed to serving as servant leaders and making positive impacts in the communities where we live and work.”

This commitment aligns closely with Mount Aloysius’ mission statement, emphasizing the need to respond to individual and community needs—an embodiment of a Mercy Education in action.

In 2022, Jackie was named to Phoenix Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. When Jackie embarked on her postgraduation journey in 2007, armed with an insatiable drive to succeed, a passion for helping others, and her education from Mount Aloysius, little did she know how far she would go—but she hasn’t looked back since.