Dr. Sonya Lutter - Money and Happiness

This week on Standard Deviations with Dr. Daniel Crosby, Dr. Crosby speaks with Dr. Sonya Lutter. Dr. Sonya Lutter is a CFP® professional, licensed marriage and family therapist, and researcher. She left academia and higher education administration to serve as the director of research and education at Herbers & Company. Her research has been featured in news outlets such as the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Sonya draws upon decades of experience in academia to apply theory to practice. She believes that any single issue is more complex than it initially appears and that a systemic approach will result in the best outcome. Dr. Lutter won the Best Theoretical research paper award at the national Financial Planning Association meeting two years in a row with her colleagues on topics related to Savers & Spenders and The Financial Implications of Cohabitation. Her developmental work in financial therapy is summarized in Financial Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice with co-editors Drs. Brad Klontz and Kristy Archuleta. Her research for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on The Intergenerational Transfer of Money Attitudes and Behaviors in 2015 was instrumental in moving practical implications forward at the national level. Dr. Lutter has also been active in promoting financial literacy and financial well-being on college campuses. She has worked with multidisciplinary teams to focus on finances within relationships, food insecurity, and financial behaviors of veterinary and pre-veterinary students. Lutter’s work at the financial counseling centers at Texas Tech University and Kansas State University have guided her effectiveness of financial counseling research agenda, which culminates with a co-edited book with Dr. Dorothy Durband titled, Student Financial Literacy: Campus-Based Program Development.