Michelle McBee

"The CSUF Program Helped Me Succeed"

Michelle McBee
California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, Main Street Fiduciary Services; National Certified Guardian (NCG), Center for Guardianship Certification; Member of Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC); Professional Fiduciary Advisory Board Member

Michelle McBee didn’t waste any time when she decided to become a fiduciary. She enrolled in CSUF’s Professional Fiduciary program and completed five online classes to earn both certificates in less than a year. With some additional studying and review, she passed the licensing exam, became a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, and launched Main Street Fiduciary Services.

“I had experience dealing with fiduciaries handling the affairs of members of my own family, and I felt I had the background, compassion and knowledge to do a good job, McBee says. “The CSUF program helped me succeed . . . I don’t think I would have had the confidence to start a fiduciary business without having had the CSUF classes and earning the certificate.”

McBee lives in Northern California and says being able to take the fiduciary classes online was a major benefit. “I liked the format the instructors used for the classes,” she explains. “And I loved the tech support. If I had problems getting connected, I could get help. Having access to the instructors was also great and meeting classmates online was beneficial, because I am now collaborating with some of them.”

Recently, McBee joined the advisory board for CSUF’s Professional Fiduciary Certificates. In this role, she assisted in a redesign of how the class material is presented – providing the viewpoint of a student and someone who is new to the field. She also is an associate member of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC).

“I’ve always been independent,” says McBee, who also does accounting software project work. Having her own fiduciary business allows her to continue to be independent. But she values her collaboration with other fiduciaries.

The issues fiduciaries face can be very challenging, complex and emotional because of the difficult situations their clients are facing. McBee finds that being able to work in a “collaborative role as opposed to a competitive role” with other fiduciaries provides support and allows her to find out what may have worked for them in similar situations. “It’s great to be able to bounce things off of them. I really appreciate the relationships I developed in the CSUF classes,” she says.