During the recent Child Crisis Arizona Lunch for Love—which raised more than $850,000 for the organizations in just one hour—board member and business leader Trevor Wilde, MBA, AIF, addressed the crowd of more than 400 guests at the Arizona Biltmore, sharing his personal adoption story and how it transformed his life.
After the event, we had a chance to sit down with Wilde to learn a little more about his journey.
Can you share some details from the speech that moved so many at the event?
I shared that story of a cold winter 1977 in Portland, Oregon. At just 15 years old, a young girl—really just a child herself—found herself in a desperate situation, homeless, without a support system, and pregnant. At the same time, a young couple has just moved to Portland in search of a fresh start. As fate would have it, their paths connected as they both found themselves with an organization much like Child Crisis Arizona. The child who was born was me, the oldest of four kids, three of whom are adopted. I would not be where I am today—a husband to my amazing wife, Meghan, and a father to four (FOUR!) wonderful daughters—without organizations like Child Crisis Arizona.
Though you were born in Portland, Scottsdale has been home much of your life?
From the second my feet hit the hot summer asphalt, jumping barefoot out of my family’s moving truck in 1982, Arizona, mostly Scottsdale, has been home. I graduated from Horizon High School in 1995 and then attended the University of Arizona, where I studied business and finance. After getting my start in the financial industry, in 2003 founded Wilde Wealth Management Group with my father, Bill.
What is Wilde Wealth Management Group?
Through our offices across Scottsdale, Tempe, Glendale, Payson, Sedona, and Tucson, we offer comprehensive retirement, investment, real estate, insurance, legal and tax planning services all under one roof.
And you were just named the No. 1 Wealth Manager in Arizona? Did that come as a surprise?
I am eternally humbled to be included on Barron’s annual list of top 1,200 advisors nationwide for the 15th consecutive year, and especially honored to be named as No. 1 overall in Arizona. It is a testament to our team, company culture, and of course our amazing clients across Arizona and beyond.
In addition to Child Crisis Arizona, how else are you involved in the community?
I am also on the board for Junior Achievement of Arizona and through our firm, I lead our Wilde for Arizona community outreach program, which sponsors local youth programs, organizes fundraising events for nonprofits, provides volunteer opportunities, and simply donates to causes near and dear to the teams’ hearts.
As a Scottsdale resident from way back, what were three of your favorite local haunts back in the day?
There’s so much of Scottsdale to love, so this is tough. My favorite spots back in the day were probably Old Town Scottsdale and watching the sunset from the McDowell Mountain range. And while outside of Scottsdale itself, back then and now I love watching the Suns at their arena or cheering on the Cardinals on their home field.
What is something readers would be surprised to know about you?
The Wilde house is a house divided, but in a really great way. I graduated from the University of Arizona, were I played football under coach Dick Tomey, but my wife, Meghan, graduated from Arizona State. That makes this time of year a big one for us with the Territorial Bowl next week for the last time in the PAC-12!
Trevor Wilde with Child Crisis Arizona Vice President of Resource Development & Communications Justin Duran at the Lunch for Love
