Kathleen M. Rehl, PhD, CFP®, CeFT® (Emeritus), is an adjunct faculty member for the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® (CAP®) Program at The American College of Financial Services. She brings decades of experience as a financial planner, educator, and researcher focused on philanthropy, legacy planning, and supporting widows.

Rehl is the author of the award-winning book Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows, which has helped thousands of women navigate both the financial and emotional challenges of widowhood. A recognized thought leader, her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s, CNBC, Humble Dollar, Sixty & Me, Agebuzz, Rethinking65, and more.

Rehl founded and led Rehl Financial Advisors for 18 years, specializing in charitably inclined clients, clergy, and widows. After selling her firm, she has dedicated her “ReFirement” years to writing, speaking, and mentoring, with a focus on legacy planning, charitable giving, and purposeful aging. She is also an active philanthropist, making current and estate-planned gifts to support causes meaningful to her.

Honored with The College’s Part-Time Faculty Award for Excellence in Research, Rehl combines academic rigor with real-world insights to empower financial professionals. Through her teaching, she helps advisors engage clients in meaningful conversations about generosity and legacy. She earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and both her master’s and undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin — Madison, all in the field of education, reflecting her lifelong identity as a teacher at heart.

When not writing or teaching, Rehl and her husband enjoy “ReFirement living”— winters at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, summers in Saratoga Springs, NY, and travels to visit family in between.