Our Team
Trent Porter, CPA, CFP®
Financial Advisor & CEO
After repeatedly witnessing the ways in which family and friends had been taken advantage of by so-called “financial advisors,” Trent Porter wanted to make trustworthy and truly client-focused financial services a reality. So he founded Priority Financial Partners. Trent is uniquely qualified as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®), and a certified life coach. Drawing upon this expertise, he enables clients to shape and transform their financial futures so they can focus on what’s most important in life.
Previously as a director and CCO at nationally recognized Veritat Advisors, Trent worked closely with co-founder and Wharton professor Kent Smetters to successfully launch a fee-only financial planning platform. Together they eliminated commission-based biases and put clients’ interests first, an effort applauded by the Wall Street Journal. Prior to arriving at Veritat Advisors, Trent was an advisor with the prestigious J.F. Williams Co., in Denver, CO. He holds a master’s degree in accounting from Colorado State University and is a graduate of Florida State University’s financial planning program.
Trent makes regular media appearances and has been interviewed on NPR as well as co-hosted the Your Money show on Sirius XM radio. He offers extensive industry insight and personal finance expertise.
Trent is also passionate about collecting vinyl records, mountain biking, playing the guitar, hiking 14’ers and spending time with his wife Savannah, two sons and their unruly dog Louie.
Derek Lawson, Ph.D., CFP®
Financial Advisor & Chief Investment Officer
As a Certified Financial Planner™ and partner in the firm, Derek works to better serve our clients and help them enjoy what’s most important in their lives. In addition, he is an Assistant Professor of Personal Financial Planning at Kansas State University, teaching advanced financial planning courses to undergraduate and doctoral students.
He has an extensive background in the industry, having served as Secretary for the National FPA NexGen group, Treasurer of the Financial Therapy Association, and as the Social Media & Marketing Strategist for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Genesis group.
Derek’s doctoral research focuses on relationship dynamics, physiological stressors, financial therapy, behavioral finance and consumption decisions. His work has been published in the Journal of Financial Planning, Financial Services Review, the Journal of Financial Therapy, and the Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, and he has co-authored a chapter on Money Scripts in the book Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, as well as a chapter on property and casualty insurance in the CFP Board Financial Planning Competency Handbook (2nd ed.). He earned his Ph.D. in Personal Financial Planning and his M.S. in Family Studies and Human Services with an emphasis in Personal Financial Planning from Kansas State University.
When Derek isn't pursuing his passion of helping young professionals better understand the world of personal finance, he enjoys playing ice hockey and being outdoors with his wife, Ashley, and their two dogs. He and his wife welcomed their first child, a daughter, Raelee, into the world in February 2020!