The Balance Editors Highlights We’re a team of writers and editors with a passion for making it easy to understand money. Together we have spent decades researching and answering questions about financial products and processes—not to mention learning from our own personal finances. Experience Kristin Myers, Editor-in-ChiefKristin Myers is an award-winning journalist, producer, and Editor-in-Chief of The Balance. Before joining The Balance, Kristin was a senior writer at Yahoo Finance and anchor of Yahoo Finance Live. She hosted Yahoo Finance Live daily, and was one of the creators and hosts of “A Time for Change,” a weekly program that explores race, diversity, and inclusion in the world of business, finance, and politics. Kristin holds a master of arts in international journalism from Cardiff University, and a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania.Hilarey Gould, Editorial DirectorHilarey Gould has spent 10+ years in the digital media space, where she's developed a passion for helping people understand economics, saving, investing, credit card perks, mortgage rates, and more. Hilarey has held full-time and freelance roles at a variety of financial media companies including realtor.com, Bankrate, and SmartAsset. She has a master's in journalism from the University of Missouri, and a bachelor's in journalism and professional writing from The College of New Jersey (TCNJ).Yasmin Ghahremani, Associate Editorial Director, Financial Products & ServicesYasmin Ghahremani has over two decades of journalism experience and is an expert on personal finance topics, including credit cards, insurance, and loans. As an Associate Editorial Director she sets The Balance’s standards for evaluating the financial products consumers use every day. Yasmin has a bachelor of science in advertising from The University of Texas at Austin, and a master of international affairs degree from Columbia University.Mrinalini Krishna, Senior Investing EditorMrinalini is the senior investing editor at The Balance and is an expert in investing, financial journalism, digital media, and more. She's been a journalist for more than 10 years at organizations such as the Financial Times and Investopedia, and she has a master's in business and economic reporting from New York University.Meredith Mangan, Senior Editor, Insurance ReviewsMeredith Mangan is a senior insurance editor for The Balance, focusing on reviews of insurance products. She brings to the job 15 years of experience in finance, media, and financial markets. Prior to her editing career, Meredith was a licensed financial advisor and a licensed insurance agent in accident and health, variable, and life contracts. Meredith also spent five years as the managing editor for Money Crashers. Meredith received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from New College of Florida.Lars Peterson, Senior EditorLars Peterson is a veteran personal finance writer and editor with broad experience covering personal finance, particularly credit cards, banking products, and mortgages. He has been writing and editing for more than 20 years and has a knack for digging deep into a subject so he can make it easier for others to understand. Lars earned bachelor of arts and master of fine arts degrees in English, both from California State University, Long Beach.Michael Sacchitello, Senior Editor, Investing & Trading Platforms ReviewsMichael is the Senior Investing and Trading Platforms Editor at The Balance, where he is in charge of covering and building the company’s reviews of online brokers, robo advisors, cryptocurrency wallets, and forex exchanges. He has 20 years’ mutual fund, macro market research, institutional trading desk, and trading education experience. Michael is also a chartered member and Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the industry-leading Chartered Market Technicians (CMT) Association.Marisa Figat, Content Integrity & Compliance ManagerMarisa is the Content Integrity and Compliance Manager at The Balance. In addition to making sure all The Balance documents are in compliance, another key function of Marisa’s role is running all product reviews through a routine and rigorous fact-checking process, so we can feel confident we’re publishing the most accurate content. Marisa kickstarted her compliance career at CreditCards.com, where she used her expertise to bring its network of over 100 financial bloggers into compliance by keeping a pulse on the quickly changing industry regulations, attending industry-specific training programs and unifying each blogger's editorial goals with compliance requirements. She also helped oversee the Chase, Wells Fargo, and internal affiliate programs monitoring their network of hundreds of publishers. J.R. Duren, EditorJ.R. is a terms editor at The Balance, where he focuses on providing clear answers to common questions about personal finance and small business. J.R. has more than 10 years of experience reporting, writing, and editing. J.R. has a B.A. in English from San Diego State University.Taylor Tompkins, Economics EditorTaylor Tompkins has worked for more than a decade as a journalist covering business, finance, and the economy. She has logged thousands of hours interviewing experts, analyzing data, and writing articles to help readers understand economic forces. She joined The Balance in 2022 as its Economics Editor. Her work has appeared online and in print at outlets such as American City Business Journals, Yahoo Finance, CreditCards.com, and the San Antonio Express-News. She has a B.S. in Journalism from Texas State University.Sienna Wrenn, Special Projects EditorSienna is a self-proclaimed credit card nerd who has been creating personal finance content for more than seven years. She joined The Balance as a staff writer and is now managing special projects to further engage readers in important topics. Sienna's work has been cited by major news outlets and government agencies. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.Jess Feldman, Associate Editor, Special ProjectsJess Feldman has been writing and editing for over five years, focusing on financial topics. As associate editor she spends hours each day editing and fact-checking articles on The Balance, covering all aspects of living a financially smart lifestyle. Jess has a journalism degree from the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism.Brendan Harkness, Associate Editor, Product ReviewsBrendan has been writing and editing content for nearly a decade, with a recent focus on finance, credit cards, and banking. As an associate editor for The Balance, he edits and fact checks reviews of financial products and services. Previously, Brendan was an editor at Credit Card Insider, where he wrote and managed content about credit cards, credit advice, and related topics.Hannah Kang, Research Associate, Product ReviewsHannah has been conducting research for over a decade, with a recent focus on providing data-driven recommendations from synthesizing quantitative data with qualitative data on financial services and products. Prior to joining The Balance team as a Research Associate, Hannah conducted research for Fortune 500 companies and multinational biotech companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Takeda. Her experience leading rigorous studies for FDA reviews shaped her standard of research integrity which guides her work at on product reviews at Dotdash Meredith.Hiranmayi Srinivasan, Associate EditorHiranmayi Srinivasan is a writer and editor who specializes in explaining the key concepts of personal finance. As an associate editor for The Balance, she writes, edits, and fact checks articles every day, ensuring readers get the clearest, most accurate answers to their questions about money. She joined Dotdash Meredith in March 2021 as a staff writer for the centralized finance desk, and wrote daily personal finance articles for publications such as Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Parents, and Health.Diccon Hyatt, News ReporterDiccon Hyatt is a staff reporter for The Balance. He has written hundreds of articles about how public policy and the economy intersect with personal finance, tracking all the latest dynamics affecting your money. Before joining The Balance, he covered business and community news for 17 years, including Princeton, New Jersey's high-tech Route 1 Corridor. About The Balance The Balance, a Dotdash Meredith brand, makes money easy to understand. We give people tools they need to not only make smart financial decisions but also prepare for the experiences they will have along the way. Our team of expert writers and editors have extensive qualifications in the topics they cover, and many of them have MBAs, PhDs, CFPs, and other advanced degrees and professional certifications. We require our writers to use primary sources in their articles, which are also approved by our Financial Review Board and fact-checked. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in our editorial policy.