By Jenny Jurica

Photography by David Teran

Twenty-five years ago, Angela Holliday never expected to be doing what she’s doing now. When she began her career as a sales assistant for Frost Bank, her intellect, tenacity, and passion for helping people made her a standout and boosted Holliday up the corporate ladder, propelling her into a leadership position in a mostly male-dominated industry.

Holliday, who has lived in San Antonio for the past 30 years and heads up a team of advisors, as well as oversees compliance and operations at Frost, is enthusiastic about financial wellness. She is an active participant in Frost Bank’s “Opt for Optimism” initiative that opens up a dialogue about money and planning and puts an optimistic spin on the topic.

“There are so many opportunities for communities that are underserved–women, people of color, who don’t understand basic financial principles. We’re taking a focus on that and teaching people that wealth is relative…building over time. You can have financial success based on your goals,” said Holliday.

But Holliday doesn’t have to be on the clock at Frost to lend a hand to people (specifically women) who need financial advice.

“I was hiking last weekend, and there were some ladies behind me talking about taking money out of their savings to pay credit card bills. I stopped them and said, ‘You will not do that! There are other options,’” said Holliday.

“They followed me to the car, and I gave them my card. When the ladies walked away, I could tell that they had so much more confidence,” she remembered.

“I love to be able to help people find a sense of security and to be able to sleep at night. It’s not about a big dollar amount or a certain type of account. We’re here to help everyone,” she said.

Another passion of Holliday’s is her 22-year-old son, Matthew. Holliday, who has been a single mother for the entirety of her son’s life, learned quickly the importance of “getting her house
in order” and making sure that she was saving money for his eventual college.

“I wanted him to be able to have all of the opportunities and not ever have to do without because he was from a single-parent home, so I worked extra hard to make sure that he could do anything he wanted.”

Holliday’s hard work certainly paid off, as Matthew recently graduated from college (a year early).

“He’s an inspiration. He has so much admiration for me, and I always seek to make him proud,” added Holliday.