Chia-Li Chien, PH.D., CFP®, PMP®

Chia-Li Chien, Ph.D., CFP®, PMP® joined CFP Board as Managing Director, Professional Practice in April 2025. In this role, Chia-Li ensures that CFP® certification meets the annual third-party accreditation standards of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, and that the CFP® exam remains a valid, reliable and legally defensible assessment, upholding the highest professional standards.

Before joining CFP Board, Chia-Li was Associate Provost of Undergraduate & Graduate Programs at The American College of Financial Services, where she oversaw standards, policies and curriculum management. While at The American College, she developed a new CFP Board Registered program  — the Master of Science in Financial Planning. Chia-Li was instrumental in developing CFP Board Registered Programs at Ball State University and California Lutheran University. Before leading financial education programs, she was a CFP® practitioner and held several senior management roles with Fortune 500 companies.

A longtime CFP Board volunteer, Chia-Li was Chair of the 2024 Council on Education, a mentor in the WIN program and a CFP® exam writer for more than a decade.
Chia-Li earned her CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification in 2008. She holds a Ph.D. in financial and retirement planning and a master’s degree in financial services, both from The American College, as well as a master’s degree in insurance from the University of Hartford and a bachelor’s degree in finance from Central Connecticut State University. She is also certified as a Project Management Professional® (PMP®).