Denise founded Divorce Strategies Group in 2014. Divorce Strategies Group was incepted because of her own ugly divorce in 2007. Denise desired to create a firm where others could have a better divorce experience, and to help other children not face the trauma her own child experienced.  She helps other walk through the divorce process in a dignified, confident manner.

Denise is a Certified Valuation Analyst® (CVA®), a Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF®),  a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®),  a Family and Child Custody Mediator and trained as a Collaborative Law Financial Expert.  Denise focuses on the areas of divorce finance, divorce tax, separate property tracing, executive compensation in divorce, pension plans, expert witness testimony as well as the emotional aspects of divorce.

Denise also founded French Financial Group in 2012. Prior to French Financial Group, Denise worked as a regional sales executive for large investment and insurance firms. She has over 22 years of experience in financial planning, investment positioning, and income strategies. She currently provides full-service financial planning, investment placement and insurance as an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR) under French Financial Group. Denise is also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC).

Nicole Cress joined Divorce Strategies Group in 2020 as Lead Analyst. As a “bonus mom” to her stepdaughter, she understands the importance of financial planning when it comes to the future security of your family.

Nicole has worked in matters relating to forensic accounting, litigation services, data analysis, and auditing for over thirteen years. Her analysis has been relied upon in fraud investigations, contract disputes, partnership valuations, and divorce resolutions.

Nicole is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She obtained her Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University.

When she isn’t saving the world one spreadsheet at a time, Nicole enjoys wine tastings with her husband and their two Great Danes, Dallas and Duncan.

Leah Hadley joined Divorce Strategies Group as a senior analyst. She spent seven years in equity research, most recently covering consumer durables and specialty retail stocks. She was responsible for building financial models, analyzing corporate strategy, and writing investment recommendations for institutional investors.

Leah is an Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC®), Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®), Mediator with 100+ hours of education in conflict resolution, Wealth Manager, Former Equity Research Analyst, and Master Analyst in Financial Forensics (MAFF®).

Scott is a Partner, Chief Operating Officer and Director of Valuations at Viking Advisory Group (“Viking”), a CFO Services & Management Consulting firm.  Viking has a strategic alliance with Divorce Strategies Group. Scott has performed company valuations on domestic and international companies. His valuations have been used in acquisitions, equity purchases, and divorce resolutions.  Scott has prior professional experience as a Chief Financial Officer for private companies and in corporate banking, real estate and mutual funds. His work roles include financial and transaction analysis, financial valuation, earnings projections, and relationship management. 

Scott has been accredited as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) by the National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts (NACVA). Scott earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin while completing the Business Honors program.  He earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from Rice University.

Melissa Adkins joined Divorce Strategies Group in 2018 as our Operations Manager. Working through her own divorce, with the help and counsel of Denise French, she became passionate about helping others during this difficult period of their lives.  Melissa’s own experience with early intervention mediation helped bring hope, reason, and cooperation during a time where she feared for her family’s financial wellbeing.  After her divorce, Melissa attended and graduated as a certified paralegal from University of Houston Law Center in early 2018. Melissa also previously worked as an administrative assistant at Merrill Lynch. Melissa fully understands the value in engaging highly-trained financial planners to navigate the ups and downs of life. Melissa is a single mother of 2 school age children and lives in The Woodlands, TX.