Planning for the Unknown: Health, Longevity, and Flexibility (Ep. 32)
You can plan carefully for your career, family, finances, and future, but what happens if your health changes without warning? Preparing for uncertainty can mean creating room to adapt rather than trying to predict every outcome.
In this episode, Danton Troyer and Kyle Luetters speak with Karen Englert, M.Ed, CFRE, Director of Government Relations at Boys & Girls Clubs of America, about how an unexpected heart disease diagnosis changed her career, family life, financial decisions, and view of the future. Karen shares lessons from seven heart surgeries, advocacy work, raising a family, planning for longevity, asking for help, and learning to focus on the decisions she can still control.
Karen discusses:
- How an unexpected heart disease diagnosis changed the way she thought about work, family, money, and the future
- Why health questions can make retirement planning difficult when you don’t know how long you’ll work or what life may require
- How advocacy for women with heart disease eventually led her from teaching into public policy and nonprofit leadership
- How accepting circumstances, asking for help, and focusing on controllable decisions can create greater flexibility
- How family, legacy, aging in place, and self-advocacy became central to the way she approaches long-term planning
- And more!
Connect With Danton Troyer:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Danton Troyer
- dtroyer@monetagroup.com
- (314) 735-9087
Connect With Kyle Luetters:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Kyle Luetters
- kluetters@monetagroup.com
- (314) 536-8297
Connect With Karen Englert:
About Our Guest:
Karen Englert, M.Ed, CFRE, is the Director of Government Relations, GR Club Services, Midwest Region, at Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Her career has spanned education, nonprofit leadership, government relations, and advocacy, including previous work with the American Heart Association and as CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of St. Charles County. Drawing on both her professional experience and her personal experience living with heart disease, Karen brings a deeply personal perspective to conversations about health, family, career decisions, self-advocacy, and preparing for an uncertain future.
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