As the end of 2025 approaches, we take a moment to pause and reflect on what a momentous year it’s been at North Berkeley Wealth. It’s been a year of meaningful growth and thoughtful change, made possible by the trust of our clients and the dedication of an exceptional team. We share below a few stories that made 2025 a year to remember as we look forward to 2026.
Growth and Milestones
North Berkeley Wealth Management turned 20 this year, marking an important milestone for our team! It signified our long-standing commitment to maintaining client service continuity through thoughtful, deliberate succession planning. It was also a great excuse to throw a party at Comal.
In 2025, Brian Kozel assumed the role of managing partner and, along with partner Sam Wood-Bednarz, will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the firm. Kate King is taking on an emeritus role starting in 2026, ready for more free time to pursue her varied interests, while also remaining a mentoring leader for the incredible team she built over the past two decades.
Our team also grew in 2025. Stephanie Nehmens and Maria Quintana-Pilling joined the North Berkeley team as Associate Advisors, bringing years of diverse experience to their work with clients. Our operations team welcomed Cagatay Koc as a Portfolio Administrator. His work supports both clients and our internal team. Team members also built on their expertise, with two of our Associate Advisors earning their CFP® certifications in 2025.
A New Home
In July of this year, we moved to a new location at 1995 El Dorado Avenue in Berkeley! After 20 years in our prior offices, our team was ready for a more collaborative space. The tailor-made offices, situated on two floors, bring together our team and clients in an environment that is at once vibrant and calm. We are incredibly grateful to have found a space that works for our needs and for the expertise of our architects Robin Pennell and Lisa Trujillo at Jarvis Architects and contractor Chip Harley at Holland and Harley Construction.
We celebrated the opening of our new space with an office warming for our new neighbors and a ribbon-cutting with our team, families, and local city officials.
10 Years of Art
Our art program also celebrated a milestone in 2025, reaching the ten-year mark of art exhibitions in our gallery. Over the past decade, we have featured more than seventy artists across thirty-two shows. In coordination with the move to our new space, we launched a retrospective exhibit highlighting the work of over sixty of these artists. Looking back over this span of time provides us with a visual story and reminds us of the amazing community we’ve welcomed into our North Berkeley gallery.
Community Engagement
We are privileged to interact with nonprofits that champion causes we find essential to the well-being of our shared communities. In 2025, we continued our community partnerships with the Berkeley Food Network, YES! Nature to Neighborhoods, and the YWCA. As part of our pledge to donate 1% of our annual revenue, we conducted two team giving drives that raised funds for 25 organizations selected by individual team members. Other engagement highlights include, sponsoring the Daring Donuts ABGSL softball team, the Berkeley Athletic Fund, School of the Madeleine, the Oakland School for the Arts Financial Literacy Event, and the Berkeley High School Development Group.
