About
Meet Mikelann Valterra
Mikelann has dedicated 25+ years to money coaching, educating, and speaking—empowering thousands of women through her work.
A sought-after speaker and published author, she’s written two influential books: Why Women Earn Less: How to Make What You’re Really Worth and Rise Above the Money Fog: Your Key to Confidence, Clarity, and Control. She is the founder of Seattle Money Coach.
Master Money Coach. Published Author. Keynote Speaker.
Bachelors in Economics. Masters in Transpersonal Psychology.
Financial Therapist. Accredited Financial Counselor, AFC®
Entrepreneur & Educator. Seattle Native. Single Mom Turned Homeowner.
Re-married Romantic. Argentine Tango Dancer. Proud Navy Mom. Life Rebuilder.
About Mikelann Valterra, MA, AFC®
Mikelann Valterra is a money coach, dynamic speaker, and published author with over twenty-five years of experience guiding women as they transform their relationship with money.
Through her work, she empowers women to rise above the “money fog”—that place of stress, avoidance, and overwhelm—to create lives of clarity and confidence.
With a deep understanding of both the emotional and practical sides of money, Mikelann offers a unique, holistic approach. She holds a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Transpersonal Psychology. This foundation allows her to blend money coaching with psychological insight. Her work is grounded in the belief that while money isn’t the purpose of life, it’s a powerful tool to shape a life you love.
Mikelann’s journey began in the late 1990s when she trained under Karen McCall, one of the pioneers of financial coaching, becoming one of the first Financial Recovery Counselors in the United States. Over the decades, she has worked with thousands of clients, trained and mentored new financial coaches, and co-founded a FinTech budgeting software company, MoneyMinderOnline, which later evolved into MoneyGrit. She led that company from 2011 to 2015, before returning to her private practice to focus more deeply on writing, coaching, and speaking.
In 2004, she published her first book, Why Women Earn Less: How to Make What You’re Really Worth, a groundbreaking look at women’s income and self-worth. Her latest book, Rise Above the Money Fog: The Key to Confidence, Clarity, and Control Over Your Life (2023), continues to inspire women to break free from financial stress and reclaim their personal power.
Mikelann is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®) and an active member of the Financial Therapy Association. Recognized as a thought leader in financial psychology, she is a frequent guest on premier podcasts and has been quoted in national outlets such as Forbes, USA Today, and Business Insider.
She regularly blogs and shares insights on topics ranging from emotional spending and lifestyle design to underearning and midlife money transitions.
In her private coaching practice, Mikelann specializes in working with women who are ready to change how they experience money. Her clients come to her for help with everything from breaking the debt cycle and navigating inheritance, to making empowered decisions around earning, saving, and spending.
Through one-on-one coaching and her popular annual retreat focused on “befriending your money personality,” she provides both the emotional support and tools her clients need to build financially satisfying lives.
Born and raised in Seattle, Mikelann is deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest. She has personally experienced divorce and knows the challenges of buying a home and planning her own retirement as a single mother. But she also knows what it means to rebuild and to thrive.
Today, she is happily remarried and shares a vibrant life with her husband, with whom she dances Argentine Tango—a shared passion that brings her joy and balance. She is also a proud Navy mom – her son serves aboard the USS Lincoln.
When she’s not coaching or writing, you’ll find her tango dancing, sipping coffee with her husband, or envisioning the pages of her next book.
