2024 EmpowHER Women of the Year

Celebrating Samantha Karoly, Julie Webster, and Sydney Van Scoy

Whether they are implementing operational functions, managing portfolios and meeting clients, or myriad other responsibilities, there is no shortage of exceptional women at Clearstead!

As the firm has grown, so have the unique needs of our clients and the expertise of the employees who serve them. To recognize their contributions, EmpowHER honors three of the firm’s women as the 2024 Women of the Year:

• Samantha Karoly, Senior Operations Lead, Clearstead Advisors
• Julie Webster, Senior Managing Director of Trust Operations, Clearstead Trust
• Sydney Van Scoy, Senior Portfolio Manager, Clearstead Advisors

We sat down with each of them to learn more about their work and how they are making an impact in their offices.

Establishing Trust with Clients: Samantha Karoly

As a Senior Operations Lead, Samantha Karoly keeps herself organized by structuring her days that separate time for completing tasks and collaborative work with her colleagues. This organization is what helps her and her team establish efficiency and solid processes, ultimately making things easier for the clients they support.

“We work together to keep clients happy and feel supported – consistently going above and beyond,” Samantha said, “That’s how we earn their trust and help them to stay focused on fulfilling their organization’s mission.”

In her role, Samantha performs operational support for Clearstead’s Institutional Consulting Services, which includes working with institutional consultants on client needs and the firm’s portfolio management team regarding clients’ investments. She has been with the firm since 2021, works on developing plans and training for future team growth, and seeks opportunities to help colleagues across the enterprise.

Although she and her team can often get very busy with tasks and full workloads, she makes it a point to pause and reflect on the broader impact of her team’s work. “We care deeply about our clients’ missions—many of whom are hospitals, colleges, and foundations making a real difference.” Samantha shared “It’s rewarding to contribute, even in a small way, to the bigger impact they create!”

Samantha has over 8 years of experience providing client and operational services and spends time outside of the office doing community work. She regularly volunteers at Second Harvest, a local soup kitchen, leads a study at her community church, and is working with other individuals in Lorain to found a nonprofit for women and children in poverty or facing other disadvantages. “This year, we are focusing on a community garden but hope to offer more resources and learning in the future.” Samantha said.

Outside of these activities, Samantha also enjoys painting, studying, reading, writing or spending time outside with her daughter. Both in and outside the office, it is easy to recognize Samantha’s commitment to community, collaboration, and making an impact with the people she works with.

Creating Process Improvement & Efficiency: Julie Webster

As the Senior Managing Director of Trust Operations at Clearstead Trust – a wholly owned subsidiary of Clearstead Advisors, LLC – Julie Webster wears many hats to ensure her and the rest of the firm’s team are providing excellent client service and upholding the integrity of the data they manage.

“I enjoy being in a work environment that encourages process improvements and other efficiencies,” Julie said, “It is fast paced but we have built out a matrix and reminders that help keep us on track for monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks.”

In her role, Julie oversees Clearstead Trust’s Client Service and Operations teams to ensure proper and timely execution of trust company policies and client requests. She has been with the firm since 2021, when Atlantic Trust merged with Plimsoll Mark Capital to form Clearstead Trust. Since then, she has worked with the rest of the team to document processes and training and build in process controls that can be measured and verified.

While her prior firm was smaller and she had the opportunity to help build processes and aspects of how they functioned, she appreciates the career acceleration that Clearstead Trust can offer. “I have more opportunities now to grow at a much faster pace than if I had stayed with a smaller company,” Julie said.

Julie has over 25 years of experience in all aspects of trust operations, client service and compliance. She also holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of New England.

Outside the office, Julie volunteers with the Girl Scouts of Maine (GSME) and led a troop that her daughters had been part of and is the treasurer for three of the towns she is involved with through the organization. She has also been featured as a Volunteer of the Month by GSME in September 2024.

“I’ve been involved in the Girl Scouts for the past sixteen years and my daughters participated all the way through high school,” Julie said. “It was nice to include the whole family since my husband has also been a troop leader.”

Beyond her volunteer work, she enjoys travelling, visiting museums, and doing various outdoor activities throughout the year. Whether it’s in her volunteer work or in the office, Julie’s work ethic and high-quality standards for processes shines through.

Understanding Clients’ Needs: Sydney Van Scoy

As a Senior Portfolio Manager, Sydney Van Scoy’s day can range from project-based work and preparing meeting materials to handling client requests and often attending client meetings herself. Despite the upfront work preparing for these meetings, she enjoys the opportunities to connect with them.

“I love getting to know our clients more personally,” Sydney said, “It’s a great way to meet new people and help them achieve their objectives.”

In her role, Sydney develops and manages investment policy, asset allocation, manager selection, and portfolio monitoring for clients’ investments. She also helps facilitate trading and provides analytical research through the resources and perspectives provided by Clearstead’s Investment Office. She has been with the firm since 2022 and is always watching the markets, economy and other headlines that may move the market to ensure portfolios are in line with clients’ unique goals or if need to be updated.

Since each relationship is unique, Sydney spends much of her time working with others on her team and the advisors to gain a full understanding of each client’s situation and needs so she can help build portfolios that are appropriate and customized for them. “Everyone at Clearstead is so collaborative and willing to help no matter what is going on,” Sydney said.

Sydney has over 4 years of experience in portfolio management and was a Financial Services Intern for Clearstead before joining the firm full-time. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Ohio University and is currently a CFA Level II Candidate.

In her free time, Sydney is part of the Ohio University Cleveland Alumni Planning Committee and helps the group organize events for Cleveland-based alum, including outings to Cavs or Guardians’ games and other social events.

“I enjoy being part of this Planning Committee and being involved,” Sydney said, “I look forward to doing more community and volunteer work once I am done studying for the CFA!”

Outside these activities, Sydney also enjoys both local and international traveling, spending time with her family, and skiing. Sydney’s work with her colleagues is a fantastic example of the collaboration that Clearstead values and allows us to help our clients with our best ideas and service.

Celebrating 10 Years of Empowering Women

This year, EmpowHER is celebrating 10 years of fostering women’s growth at Clearstead and fundraising for various charities throughout Northeast Ohio.

Through our EmpowHER initiative, we seek to empower the women of the Clearstead Enterprise at every level for success and support women-focused charities, businesses, and associations to achieve a brighter future for all. 

Founded in 2015, EmpowHER’s purpose comprises three core pillars:

CULTIVATION

Cultivate a workplace environment that drives the success of our women and, subsequently, the success of our firm and clients. 

CHARITY

Implement charitable efforts that impact our communities.

CELEBRATION

Celebrate successful women and women-led businesses through support of and advocacy for their work.