🌈 About Me

I’m Jem Karst (she/they), a Financial Advisor at Thrivent, a queer person, an activist, a community builder, and a parent of three amazing humans who continually remind me what it means to live with compassion, purpose, and intention—rooted in love and care.

At the center of everything I do is a simple belief:

everyone deserves safety, dignity, and freedom.

This belief shapes my work, my relationships, and the way I show up in community.

As a financial advisor, I work with people to create financial safety, dignity, and freedom in their lives—whether that means building stability, creating choice, protecting what matters most, or designing a future that feels aligned with who they truly are.

But this work goes beyond finances.

I’m deeply engaged in community organizing and leadership, including my work with Prism Organizing Network, where we are building a future in which LGBTQIA+ people experience safety, dignity, and freedom in every aspect of life. Through collaboration, advocacy, and connection, I contribute to spaces where people can be seen, supported, and empowered to live fully.

Inclusion isn’t just something I value—it’s how I move through the world. I strive to create spaces where individuals, families, and allies feel welcomed, respected, and able to show up as themselves.

To me, financial work is human work.

It’s about building a life that feels intentional, authentic, and truly your own—with the support, clarity, and confidence to move forward on your terms.

✨ What I Believe

Safety.

Dignity.

Freedom.

These aren’t just ideas—they’re the foundation of a life where people can truly thrive.

I believe financial planning is one way we move toward that foundation—by creating stability, expanding choice, and building a future that reflects who you are and what matters most.

And I believe real change happens in community—when we come together to build systems, spaces, and relationships where everyone has the opportunity to live fully and freely.

✨ How I Work

I work with people to create financial safety, dignity, and freedom—focused on what matters most to you and the life you want to build.

This work isn’t one‑size‑fits‑all. It starts with listening, understanding your story, and exploring what truly matters to you.

From there, we build together.

🌿 Creating Financial Safety

We begin by building a foundation—clarity around where you are today and creating structure around the essentials.

That might include:

- organizing finances so they feel manageable and clear

- building savings and resilience

- protecting income, assets, and the people you love

Safety means having steadiness beneath you—something you can trust and return to.

🌿 Supporting Financial Dignity

Money touches identity, autonomy, and how we move through the world.

I approach this work with care, respect, and intention—creating a space where you can:

- make decisions that feel aligned with your values

- navigate finances without shame or judgment

- feel seen and respected throughout the process

Dignity means your financial life honors who you are.

🌿 Expanding Financial Freedom

Once a foundation is in place, we look toward what’s possible.

This might include:

- investing and long‑term growth strategies

- retirement planning and future visioning

- creating options, flexibility, and choice in your life

- planning for legacy and impact

Freedom means having the ability to live life on your terms—with clarity and confidence.

🤝 What Working Together Feels Like

collaborative, not prescriptive
grounded, not overwhelming
human, not transactional
a safe, judgment free space

You don’t need to have everything figured out before we connect. There’s no expectation to be at a certain place before reaching out.

We’ll start where you are, and move forward together.

🌈 Rooted in Community

My work is deeply grounded in community—because the conditions we all deserve are built collectively, through connection, advocacy, and shared commitment.

I choose to show up in spaces where I can actively contribute to that work in meaningful and tangible ways.

Through my role as a Lead Organizer with Prism Organizing Network, a statewide grassroots organization, I am engaged in building long-term power for LGBTQIA+ communities across Minnesota. This work centers queer liberation—bringing people together to organize, strengthen relationships, and create pathways for real, lasting change. It is community-driven work that focuses on what becomes possible when people move collectively toward a shared vision.

Alongside that work, I serve as a Board Member with LUSH Legacy Fund, helping establish the first nonprofit LGBTQIA2S+ bar and theater in the country. At a time when queer gathering spaces are increasingly at risk, this effort is about permanence—ensuring our community continues to have spaces to gather, celebrate, and express fully. LUSH creates opportunities for LGBTQIA2S+ artists and performers, with a strong focus on uplifting BIPOC voices, while reinvesting resources directly back into the community.

I also serve as a Board Member with Ballet Co.Laboratory, an organization nationally recognized for reimagining ballet in ways that challenge long-standing traditions that exclude. They are creating spaces where more people can participate in and experience the art form—expanding who gets to dance, learn, perform, and be seen. Through productions, education, and outreach, they are removing barriers, supporting dancers across ages and skill levels, and bringing forward stories that have historically been left out of the stage.

Across all of this work, the throughline is the same: creating a world where more people are seen, supported, and able to fully live into who they are.

This is not separate from my work as a financial advisor. All of these pieces are integrated in my life, who I am, the passion I carry for a world where we all live authentic, vibrant lives.