Speakers are listed in alphabetical order.
Kelly Adams, Harbor Light Planning
After acquiring eight years of experience in tax compliance and planning, Kelly Adams changed her focus to comprehensive financial planning after consistently seeing a need for this type of service among the clients she serviced. Kelly began practicing life-centered financial planning after completing the Success Program in 1998 offered through the Alliance of Comprehensive Planners (ACP). She spent over five years working with nationally recognized advisor, Bert Whitehead, JD, MBA, founder of Cambridge Advisors (now known as ACP) and President of Cambridge Connection, Inc., as an advisor and eventually partner. Kelly holds a BA from Michigan State University's College of Business. She has earned the professional designation of CFP® from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. Kelly has also earned the designation of Enrolled Agent from the Internal Revenue Service. Kelly is an active member and educator for ACP. She is a member of NAPFA, FPA, and NATP. Harbor Light Planning, LLC was founded in December of 2003 upon principles that place the utmost value on our clients financial goals and objectives. Kelly lives in Novi, Michigan with her daughter Alora and three loved pets.
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Mary Alpers, Alpers Financial Planning
Mary Alpers owned a tax preparation only practice since the mid 1990's before forming Alpers Financial Planning in 2004. Her background includes working as a system and procedures analyst in both the defense and pharmaceutical industry. Mary is an Enrolled Agent and completed an MBA in Corporate Finance from Golden Gate University. She obtained her CFP® designation in early 2006. Mary joined ACP in 2004 and recently served 3.5 years on the Board. Alpers Financial Planning is a multi planner practice recently located into a new office.
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William Bernstein, Efficient Frontier Advisors
William Bernstein is a neurologist and co-founder of Efficient Frontier Advisors, an investment management firm. He has written several titles on finance and economic history. He has produced three finance books: The Intelligent Asset Allocator, The Four Pillars of Investing, and The Investor’s Manifesto; and also two volumes of economic history: The Birth of Plenty and A Splendid Exchange. The former about the economic growth inflection of the early nineteenth century, and the latter a wide-angle look at the history of world trade. A third history book, Masters of the Word, from Grove/Atlantic Press, explores the effects of access to technology on human relations and politics.
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Irfan Bhabhrawala, Arbor Financial
Irfan Bhabhrawala is the owner of Arbor Financial in Ann Arbor, MI. He succeeded Savvas Giannakopoulos (early ACP member) as owner in 2015 after a multi-year transition. Irfan has been involved in financial planning for over 20 years, assisting numerous colleagues, family members, and friends with estate planning, investments, and taxes. Irfan also has real estate investment and management experience.
Irfan has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and is completing his CFP® coursework.
Prior to joining Arbor Financial, Irfan worked at the University of Michigan as an Associate Registrar, with management responsibilities in Student Business Intelligence/Reporting, Athletic Certification, Teaching Evaluations, Placement Examinations, Information Technology, Security, and Special Projects. Irfan also founded and ran Active Technology Solutions, a Consulting Company focused on enterprise software implementations. Prior to that, he worked in consulting roles for PeopleSoft (now Oracle) and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).
Irfan lives in Ann Arbor, MI with his wife and son. He enjoys tennis, skiing, guitar, and exploring the local music and food scene.
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Stephanie Bogan, Educe Consulting
Stephanie Bogan founded and was CEO of Quantuvis Consulting, a top financial services consulting firm, for nearly two decades before selling to Genworth Financial (Fortune 200) in 2008, where she joined the executive team. In 2012, she left Genworth for a year of travel abroad. Stephanie then joined United Capital Wealth Advisors as SVP Client Experience & Enterprise Development, helping deepen and scale the firm’s offering nationally. And then, without warning, in 2014 she left it all behind and moved to Costa Rica with her family. Here, Stephanie says, is where her real learning began. She pursued her avid interest in success, leadership, and behavioral and brain sciences seeking to understand what drove her, and her success. Along the way, Stephanie learned that each of us has unlimited potential, and that – regardless of circumstances – each of us determines our own limits.
In her 20-year career, Stephanie has authored The Power of Practice Management (Bloomberg Press), wrote a column for Financial Planning magazine, was named an Industry Influential, and is a highly sought after speaker, business strategist and executive coach. In addition to her coaching work, she is a recognized industry thought leader and consults to various corporations, boards, and private equity firms on trends and opportunities in the industry.
Known as a savvy, sassy, straight-shooter who tells it like it is, Stephanie has an uncanny ability to get at the heart of what’s really happening, quickly re-frame perceptions and share keen insights needed to inspire real change. Her passionate yet down-to-earth style, brings real-life stories, practice examples and a large dose of humor to her work. Stephanie is well known for business and coaching skills, and her ability to connect with top entrepreneurs and executives in ways that propel them to new heights. She shares with listeners what she’s learned about what really drives success, wealth and happiness – in life and in business – and how to overcome the hidden challenges, obstacles, and barriers that limit us all.
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Meredith Briggs, Taconic Advisors
Meredith is a Partner and Certified Financial Planner with Taconic Advisors, Inc. in Poughkeepsie, NY. A graduate of Duke University, she began her financial services career in 2005 as a product salesperson for a large annuity and insurance company but quickly realized that fee-only holistic financial advice was her passion.
In 2009 she became a CFP® and began working for a fee-only wealth management company in Richmond, VA. Soon thereafter, Meredith and her husband became proud parents of twins and decided to relocate to the Hudson Valley of New York to be closer to family. Upon relocating, Meredith worked for TIAA-CREF as one of their top ranked Wealth Management Advisors, servicing high-net-worth non-profit employees and executives. In 2015 she finally found her "dream job" joining forces with veteran ACP member, Chip Simon, and shortly thereafter becoming a Partner in the practice.
Outside of work, Meredith enjoys playing piano and singing with a local band. She also loves spending time outdoors, practicing yoga, jogging, and hiking.
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Brent Burns, Asset Dedication
Brent Burns is President and co-founder of Asset Dedication, LLC a turn-key asset management platform that helps bring scale to planning-centric financial advisors. Asset Dedication sprang out of an academic research project at the University of San Francisco Graduate School of Management in the mid-1990’s where Brent partnered with co-founder Professor Stephen Huxley to study the application immunized bond portfolios, typically used by pension funds, to deliver predictable cash flows in individual retirement portfolios. This project ultimately led Huxley and Burns to write the book Asset Dedication: How to Grow Wealthy with the Next Generation of Asset Allocation (McGraw-Hill, 2005). In addition to his role at Asset Dedication, Brent periodically teaches the Personal Finance and Business Analytics courses in the MBA and undergraduate programs at the University of San Francisco School of Management. Brent holds an MBA with honors from the University of San Francisco and a BS from the University of California, Berkeley. Brent is also a former world-class pole vaulter and was a member of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.
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Steve Byrne, Final Roadmap
Steve spent 30 years in the restaurant business, working his way up to owner of an award-winning French bistro for 17 years. This experience fostered his entrepreneurial spirit as well as dedication to all aspects of customer service. When his wife became committed to helping people become organized around possible incapacitation and end of life, Steve was intrigued. He saw an opportunity to help people with a topic that is difficult in all circumstances, but made exponentially worse by lack of preparation. As the chief operating officer of Final Roadmap Steve oversees all aspects of the business and manages key relationships with institutions and individual clients, including financial advisors, estate attorneys and employers.
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Kelly Clark, Bradford and Company, Inc.
Kelly Clark is a business consultant and training specialist with a proven background in education and business management. Having been personally selected and trained by W. Murray Bradford, she has worked closely with Bradford and Company, Inc., since 2000, as both instructor and Operations Manager. With a proven record as a speaker, Kelly is a recognized professional with over 1200 locally and nationally taught sessions on tax strategies for the self-employed. Over the past 20+ years, she has been involved in a variety of business and professional avocations, including: Chief Financial Officer for a midsize contracting company; Chief Operating Officer for a building developer; President of the Mt. Diablo Property Association; board member for both the East Bay Adjusters Association and Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International. She brings experience, integrity, knowledge, and results.
Kelly is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, spent a number of years as an owner and a consultant to small business, and she specializes in the design and implementation of transferable systems of operation to facilitate expansion.
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Frank Corrado, Blue Blaze Financial Advisors
I do not have a job! No, I am not unemployed, as I am the CEO & President of Blue Blaze Financial Advisors, LLC. However, I do not report to work, but rather am able to pursue my passion every day. That passion is embodied in our mission – “partnering with people to provide insight, clarity and direction to achieve an optimal life.”
I have an affinity for numbers and problem solving. Sudoku over a Crossword Puzzle - any day. Monopoly over Scrabble - no brainer. My comfort with mathematics during my early education years eventually led me to be a 1970 summa cum laude graduate from Boston College with a BS in Finance. Needing the structure of the numerical world, I tried my hand in the Accounting profession and became licensed as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) working in a large international accounting firm. With an unbelievable training in the understanding of financial statements, tax code, and internal control combined with a healthy dose of curiosity and problem solving skills, I entered the Wall Street financial arena.
After 20+ years of sharpening my skills at JP Morgan, I decided my calling in life was to utilize my skills and successful experiences to help others achieve their personal goals. Following many of the financial success factors I now recommend to clients, my financial situation allowed me to start my own business, obtain my CFP® designation, and establish awesome client relationships.
An optimal life? I think I am pretty close. Who needs a lower handicap?
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Michael Finke, The American College of Financial Services
Michael Finke, PhD, CFP®, is the dean and chief academic officer at The American College of Financial Services. Dr. Finke served as the editor of the Journal of Personal Finance and is a contributing editor to Research Magazine. He received a doctorate in consumer economics from the Ohio State University in 1998 and in finance from the University of Missouri in 2011. Dr. Finke was named to the 2013 and 2014 Investment Advisor IA25 list, and the 2012 Investment News Power 20, and received the Montgomery Warschauer best paper award from the Journal of Financial Planning in 2013 and 2014.
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Karen Folk, Bluestem Financial Advisors, LLC
Karen F. Folk, Ph.D., CFP® founded Folk Financial Planning in Urbana, Illinois in 1999 shortly after obtaining her CFP® license. She immediately joined the ACP and adopted the ACP system. Karen recently retired from Bluestem Financial Advisors, LLC, a multi-advisor practice she cofounded with Jacob Kuebler, CFP® in 2011.
Karen has her Ph.D. in Family and Consumption Economics from the University of Illinois. In her former career, she was involved in consumer education for over twenty years at Oklahoma State University, the University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin. Karen annually teaches a one week training course in the ACP Advisor Success Program. In 2015, she was awarded the Stewart Farnell Award for Exemplary ACP Coaching.
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Ed Fulbright, Fulbright Financial Consulting, PA
Ed Fulbright helps entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals successfully handle extraordinary business and personal changes by educating, guiding and inspiring them to increase their financial knowledge, their satisfaction with money, and alleviate the complexity of their finances.
He is a 20+ year veteran of the financial services industry and a CPA, holding the PFS designation. Today, as a Professional Money Coach, he offers professional speaking, coaching and life-long financial, tax and investment planning through a Comprehensive Financial & Life Planning Program. He works with teachers, professors, scientists, dentists, psychologists, computer technicians, attorneys, physicians, entrepreneurs and retirees of all kinds.
Ed takes you to the next level by challenging you to discover what you really want your life and money to stand for, helping you to understand "how much is enough," to achieve your goals and align your investments appropriately. He develops a plan that reflects who you truly are to obtain the peace of you mind you want and deserve.
Because money cuts across all areas of life, as a fee-only™ financial planner, he shares with you his honest, sincere and objective opinions regarding your finances. He also shares with you his 20+ year perspective on the details of your money. He helps you survive unexpected events and focus on the most important matters in your life, to ensure you are using your money efficiently and effectively.
And finally, he changes your perspective on money what money is and how it works. He empowers you to proactively the design the dream life you want to live and to deal with the financial changes which will inevitably occur in your life over the next five years, making sure you have a smooth, enjoyable drive on your Financial Freedom Highway.
His goal is give you the tools, knowledge, wisdom and inspiration to have the confidence that your goals are obtainable, and act as the primary resource for all of your financial needs.
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David Gardner, Confluence Financial Advisors
Dave Gardner, CFP®, EA has been a member of ACP since 2007. After several years of working with other financial planners, Dave opened his own comprehensive financial planning practice to help people realize their financial dreams.
He earned a BA in Political Economy from the University of California, a MS from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a CFP® certificate from the College of Financial Planning. Dave has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal online and quoted by Business Week and other financial publications. He has been the personal finance columnist for the Daily Camera and other newspapers since 2008 with over 150 columns published. A former president of ACP, Dave stays involved in the organization as well as with Rotary International and other organizations in his community. He coaches youth sports and volunteers in his sons’ schools. Dave lives in Boulder with his wife and three young boys, and is an avid trail runner, hiker, and skier.
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Frances Goldman, Frango Financial LLC
Fran Goldman, CFP®, is the owner and founder of Frango Financial LLC, an ACP-affiliated, fee-only financial planner firm in Washington DC. She became a financial planner in 2010 after a career in the US Federal government, a 2-year stint at the New Zealand Treasury, and the non-profit sector. Fran graduated from the University of Michigan and got her MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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Joel Hefner, Dimensional Fund Advisors
Joel Hefner is a vice president in Dimensional's Financial Advisor Services Group and responsible for the relationship with ACP. For 15 years, he spearheaded the firm's extensive financial advisor conference and seminar system. Joel currently oversees the network of Dimensional's lead advisor study groups while frequently speaking at industry and client events across the country. A former senior manager of a Big Five accounting firm, he was also the chief portfolio manager for a large fee-only advisory firm, managing more than $1 billion in client accounts. A CFA charterholder, Joel graduated with a BA in economics and political science from California State University, Chico, and an MA in economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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Clint Hinman, AmeriFunds
Clint Hinman is Fund Analyst and Loss Mitigation Manager at AmeriFunds. Clint has held executive positions for more than 18 years in the note buying business, managing the marketing, due diligence, underwriting, processing, funding, appraisal review, pricing, negotiation and post-closing processes.
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Stephen J. Huxley, Asset Dedication
Stephen Huxley is Chief Investment Strategist and Founding Partner of Asset Dedication, LLC. A recognized expert in finance, investing and economics, Steve has more than 35 years of experience researching and applying decision theory to real world problems. His prize-winning research in scheduling led to the development of the Asset Dedication approach, which applies a time and goals based approach to asset allocation. This work ultimately led to the book Asset Dedication: How to Grow Wealthy with the Next Generation of Asset Allocation (McGraw-Hill, 2005), which he co-authored with Brent Burns.
Steve is a tenured Professor of Decision Sciences at the University of San Francisco, where he has taught in the School of Business and Management since 1973. In 1988, he won the National Franz Edelman Award for Outstanding Achievement in Management Science, the highest award given by the profession, for his work in scheduling. He has also received university awards recognizing his achievements in research, teaching and service, and frequently publishes articles in academic journals and presents papers at international conferences. Steve holds a PhD in economics from the University of California at San Diego and an undergraduate degree in business and statistics from Ohio State University.
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Tim Jackson, Reverse Mortgage Funding
Tim has helped over 1,000 older Americans enhance their retirement security through the wise use of reverse mortgages. He is also a licensed CE instructor providing training and CE Credits for Realtors, CFP's, CPAs, & Insurance Agents.
In 2009 Tim wrote the first application for the HECM for purchase in the country. As Senior Educator for the Financial Advisor Channel at Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC he specializes in educating financial planners on appropriate strategies for the use of the new reverse mortgage.
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Nick Johnson, AmeriFunds
Nick Johnson is Vice President Sales at AmeriFunds. Nick has experience in distribution across a myriad of alternative investment offerings including non-traded real estate investment trusts, non-traded business development companies, interval funds and private placements.
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Jacob Kuebler, Bluestem Financial Advisors, LLC
Jake is president and senior financial advisor with Bluestem Financial Advisors in Champaign, IL. He has a BS in Agriculture and Consumer Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a MS in Family Studies and Human Services from Kansas State University. Both degrees were concentrated in Financial Planning. Additionally, he is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Enrolled Agent.
Bluestem is the result of a succession plan formed with Advisor Emeritus, Karen Folk. Executing their partnership in 2011, Jake and Karen grew the firm by tripling their client base and adding two full time advisors and a full time office manager over the proceeding five years. With Karen’s retirement in September 2016, Jake is continuing the vision of the firm to become the premier, comprehensive fee-only financial planning firm in the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois region.
Jake is a current Board Member of ACP and Instructor with the University of Illinois. He recently co-authored a paper on the Retainer Model, sponsored by ACP. He previously served as Chair of NAPFA Genesis.
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Jill MacNeil, LLiS
Jill’s competitive by nature, and is up for a challenge any day.
As part of LLIS’s Advisor Services team, Jill is the Long Term Care Insurance point person. She handles all variable case management for our clients, including life and annuities. Finding the right products for clients with special circumstances feeds her competitive drive.
Jill is a graduate of The University of South Florida with a business marketing degree. Her first job out of college was with Keith Maurer’s Fee For Service, Inc. After Fee For Service was purchased by GE Capital and Judith Maurer opened LLIS in 1998, Jill became one of LLIS’s first employees, and has managed just about every task possible during her tenure with LLIS.
For insurance purposes, Jill has her Series 6 and 63 licenses. For golf purposes, she’s got a mean drive. As a former collegiate and professional golfer, if you can’t find her at her desk at LLIS, you’ll find her on the links at one of Tampa’s best golf courses.
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Wendy Marsden, ProsperiTea Planning
Wendy Marsden, CPA, CFP®, RIA, MSA first started doing income taxes in 1992. In 2001, she opened Tea & Taxes as a CPA tax practice from a home office while she raised her children. Wendy developed a reputation as a thorough tax accountant who looked at the whole financial picture, often offering financial advising to her clients as well as tax preparation. In 2014, she added comprehensive financial planning services to her flourishing tax practice. After several years managing tax staff, in 2016 Wendy changed the company name to ProsperiTea Planning, became a registered investment advisor, moved the practice back home, and started transitioning to becoming a deeply integrated holistic financial advisor. She combines tax planning and preparation, comprehensive financial planning, and investment advising into one service offered under an annual retainer to a few dozen clients following the ACP model.
Wendy's graduate degree is from the Isenberg School of Management at UMass/Amherst. She participated in their prestigious two-year full-time MBA program, but took all her electives in Accounting and graduated with the Masters of Science in Accounting rather than the Masters of Business Administration. Over the years Wendy continued her education with independent coursework in financial planning. Honors include graduating first in her class with her MS in Accounting, passing both the CPA and CFP® exams on the first sitting, and winning the Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement. Wendy has a bachelor's degree in Physics & Astronomy, with a minor in Computer Science, from Mount Holyoke College, class of '86. She is a member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood. You can also find Wendy Marsden on LinkedIn.
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Judy McNary, Confluence Financial Advisors
Judy McNary, CFP® has been a member of ACP since 2007. Judy transitioned to financial planning after a successful career in high technology. She co-founded two software companies; highlights include being profiled by Entrepreneur Magazine and earning a ‘Best of COMDEX’ award for innovation. A poor experience with a financial advisor combined with a desire to help others led Judy to fee-only financial planning. She has a BA in Economics/Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Colorado, Boulder and an MS in Personal Financial Planning from the College of Financial Planning. Judy has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and contributes regularly to the newspaper as well as other financial publications. She was one of seven financial coaches selected after a nationwide search for The Invested Life, a reality series on personal finance produced by MSN Money. Judy is a mentor for students at the Leeds School of Business at CU, a PADI Scuba Instructor, and a long-time member of the scuba dive team for The Downtown Aquarium in Denver. Married for 34 years, she and her husband, Scott, have a daughter and twin sons. When not at work, she can be found (or not found) skiing, scuba diving, or traveling.
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Bridget Sullivan Mermel, Sullivan Mermel, Inc.
Bridget Sullivan Mermel, CFP®, CPA opened a tax practice in 1997. After joining ACP in 2007, she started her financial planning practice in 2008. She contributes to Money.com and is currently writing a book titled, More Money, More Meaning. Bridget earned a BA in Accounting and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Masters in Liberal Arts from DePaul University in Chicago. Her interests include tennis, music, and reading. She lives and works in Chicago with her husband, Mike and their dog, Maverick.
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Lori Neidel, Law Office of Lori J. Neidel
Lori Neidel is the principal of the Law Office of Lori J. Neidel and head of Adviser Compliance Services, serving the independent Registered Investment Advisor's legal and compliance needs. Lori has a wide range of industry experience and perspective. She was previously the Missouri Securities Division's Chief of Enforcement, where she led the division's staff of examiners and investigators. For five years she served as vice chair of the Board of Trustees of the Missouri State Employees Retirement System, an $8 billion public pension fund covering 55,000 retirees, where she was involved in a vast array of matters with institutional investing. After establishing her own law practice to focus on serving the needs of the financial industry, she founded Adviser Compliance Services which is solely dedicated to providing outsourced chief compliance officer services to small and mid-size independent RIA firms.
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Ken Nopar, American Endowment Foundation (AEF)
Ken Nopar is a senior philanthropic advisor to the American Endowment Foundation (AEF), one of the country’s largest independent donor-advised fund sponsors. After managing his family’s 100-year-old business for 20 years and working in the philanthropic advisory field, Ken has become one of the country’s leading charitable planning advocates; encouraging wealth, legal, and tax advisors to discuss their clients’ charitable plans. He has been quoted in and has written columns for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Planning, Financial Advisor, Think Advisor, Accounting Today, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Planned Giving Today, and other publications.
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Robert Roy Reed, Partnership Financial LLC
Dr. Reed, PhD, CFP®, is a partner at Partnership Financial LLC in Columbus, Ohio. He has been a financial planner for 16 years and is a founding member of ACP. Dr. Reed taught cultural anthropology at the Ohio State University. He has a PhD from Indiana University and is a Fulbright Fellow.
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Ken Robinson, Practical Financial Planning
Kenneth F. Robinson, JD, CFP® has provided fee-only financial guidance to individuals and families for more than 15 years. The owner of Practical Financial Planning, Inc., Ken also provides keynote speeches and seminars on personal finance through his company Financial Self-Confidence. He worked as a lawyer in private practice, and then as a property/casualty risk manager in local government before founding his practice. Ken is the author of several books including Don't Make a Budget: Why it's So Hard to Save Money and What to Do About It. He also wrote, produced and directed a critically acclaimed rap music video on dealing with bear markets. A frequent contributor to Cleveland's The Plain Dealer, Ken has been quoted in Money and Kiplinger's Personal Finance, and his work on financial planning has appeared in the journal Science. He is the co-author, with Jake Kuebler, of the white paper, “The Financial Planners’ Retainer: A Reflection of Real Value,” and serves on ACP’s Board and on NAPFA’s Ethics Committee.
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John Scherer, Trinity Financial Planning, LLC
John Scherer, CFP®, founded Trinity Financial Planning and joined ACP in 2001. He has served on and chaired the ACP Board of Directors and also chaired the ACP Annual Conference.
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Greg Severinghaus, Markel
Greg Severinghaus, ARM, ASLI, MBA is Marketing Manager and Senior Underwriter in Investment Advisor Professional Liability for Markel Specialty Commercial. He has seven years in the insurance industry and ten years in the financial industry. Greg has an MBA from the College of William & Mary and a BA in Economics from the University of Puget Sound.
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Chip Simon, Taconic Advisors, Inc.
Chip Simon is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor, CFP® and founder of Taconic Advisors, a fee-only financial planning firm with offices in Poughkeepsie, New York. He has taken a new partner, Meredith Briggs, CFP®, into his practice during the last year and they have been working diligently on practice upgrades and adaptations to set the stage for future growth. Chip received a BA from Colgate University in 1974 and holds a graduate degree in accounting from New York University. He was trained in accounting and finance at KPMG Peat Marwick in New York City and had over 10 years of financial management experience before entering the field of personal financial planning. Within ACP, Chip is a member of the Falcon study group, and he happily offers guidance to any advisors who seek to use the financial review/paid first appointment format. He chaired ACP's Board of Directors during 2008. Chip lives in New York's beautiful Hudson Valley and is a 13-year ACP member. He sits on the board of his local Community Foundation. He and his wife Karen (a happily retired ex-CPA) were honored in 2016 with the Community Spirit Award by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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Jerry Skapyak, LLiS
Developing retirement income solutions. When fee-only advisors want an expert at retirement funding risk management solutions, Jerry is the one they turn to. That’s why LLIS brought his family and him to sunny Florida in 2008.
Jerry spent a number of years climbing the ranks of two top-rated insurance companies, Zurich Life Insurance Company and Western-Southern Financial Group, before joining LLIS. During his ascent, he handled product development, intelligence analysis, and advisor services.
Jerry’s 20 years in this industry analyzing, studying, and researching annuity products have made him the go-to guy for advisors with clients seeking to ensure they don’t outlive their savings. He is licensed for life and health insurance products and -- even more important than his product knowledge -- Jerry knows people. He is skilled at assessing clients’ needs and the benefits most important to them, then tailoring the right product to fit their unique circumstances.
He’s logistical, a problem-solver, a successful leader, and a sought-after speaker. But what he does best: relax poolside with his wife and three kids, manning the BBQ and running the back yard games.
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Jon Talton, The Seattle Times
Jon Talton is the economics columnist for The Seattle Times. He also writes the commentary blog, Rogue Columnist (www.roguecolumnist.com). For 30 years, Jon has covered business and finance, specializing in banking, urban economies, energy, real estate, and economics and public policy. He has been a columnist for the Arizona Republic, Charlotte Observer and Rocky Mountain News, and his columns have appeared in newspapers throughout North America, including The New York Times and other news services. Jon also served as business editor for the Dayton Daily News, Rocky Mountain News, Cincinnati Enquirer and Charlotte Observer. In Dayton, he was part of a team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service, for the nation’s first computer-assisted report on worker safety. In Charlotte, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers honored the business section as one of the nation’s best. Jon is the author of 11 novels, including the David Mapstone mysteries and the Cincinnati Casebooks, and one non-fiction history of Phoenix. His latest novel is High Country Nocturne.
Jon was a Knight Western Fellow in Journalism at the University of Southern California and a community fellow at the Morrison Institute at Arizona State University. Before journalism, he worked four years as an ambulance medic in the inner city of Phoenix. He was also an instructor in theater at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. A fourth-generation Arizonan, Jon was educated at Arizona State University and Miami University of Ohio.
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Bob Veres, Inside Information
Bob Veres is editor and publisher of the Inside Information interactive guide to trends and innovations in the profession, and contributing editor and columnist for Financial Planning magazine. Over his 30-year career in the financial services world, Bob has worked as editor of Financial Planning magazine; as a contributing editor to the Journal of Financial Planning; as a columnist and editor-at-large of Investment Advisor magazine; and as editor of Morningstar’s advisor website, MorningstarAdvisor.com. In addition, he is a sought-out speaker for many of the planning world’s most important professional conferences, and he co-produces the Insider’s Forum conference for independent financial advisory firms.
As a journalist, Bob has won several national awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Award from the American Business Media group, considered the most prestigious editorial honor in the field of specialized journalism, and the Azbee Award of Excellence from the American Society of Business Press Editors. He has been named one of the most influential people in the financial planning profession by Investment Advisor magazine and Financial Planning magazine, was granted the Special Achievement Award for service to the profession by the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, and the Heart of Financial Planning Distinguished Service Award from the Denver-based Financial Planning Association.
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Brittany von Czoernig, eMoney
Brittany has been with eMoney Advisor since 2014 and quickly earned a reputation of a multi-faceted contributor with the drive to help advisors. While working on eMoney’s live training team she traveled to large RIA offices to help streamline their planning process and help them scale their business practices by using eMoney as the backbone. By working with many advisors over the years, Brittany understands what advisors and planners need to make it easier to provide great advice to more clients.
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Robert Walsh, Lighthouse Financial Advisors
Robert Walsh founded Lighthouse Financial Advisors (LFA) in May of 1999. He holds the designations of CPA, CFP® and PFS. Robert earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from St. Francis College in Loretto, PA, as well as a certificate in financial planning from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, CO. To his list of accomplishments, he worked as a Floor Trader for a New York Stock Exchange Specialist firm. Robert has more than 20 years’ industry experience in finance, tax and public accounting. He is a member of the AICPA, NAPFA, FPA, and the New Jersey State Society of CPAs. Robert is also a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, earning this certification from The College of Financial Planning in November, 2010.
Robert was a founding member of ACP and served a three-year term on the Board of Directors from July 1, 2004 until June 30, 2007, acting as the Chairman for 2005/2006. He continues to be a mentor for new advisors and actively participates in the continuing education curriculum of the ACP.
Robert was named as a 2008 TOP ADVISOR by Reuters Advice Point. He has been a guest on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” and NBC’s “Wall Street Week.” In addition, he has been quoted in various leading financial publications. Living true to his own advice, he frequently attends seminars and conferences for his own professional development. A leader in the financial community, Robert makes several speaking engagements each year to promote fee-only planning and his latest entrepreneurial endeavor, Mastermind Your Ideal Inc., a coaching organization that enables members to envision and create their ideal lives. He is also a dedicated philanthropist and volunteers with many public and private causes. Robert resides in Fair Haven with his wife Nancy, a Human Resources consultant and his son Robert B. Walsh III. During his leisure time, Robert enjoys reading, travel, fishing, golfing and spending time with his family.
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Bert Whitehead, Cambridge Connection, Inc.
Bert Whitehead, JD, MBA is President at Cambridge Connection, Inc. and founder of ACP. He is admitted to practice in the United States Tax Court, Federal District Court, and Michigan Courts. Bert is a member of NAPFA, FPA, and NATP, as well as a member of the State Bar of Michigan. Recognized as a leading authority on financial planning, Bert has been a regular speaker at industry conferences and is often quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Investment News, and many others. Publications include "Why Smart People Do Stupid Things with Money: Overcoming Financial Dysfunction" and "Deduct It! Deduct It! Charitable Donation Tracker."
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Lindsay Wright, eMoney
Lindsay started at eMoney Advisor in 2014 with a drive to learn more about the industry as a whole. She quickly became passionate about financial planning and started taking classes in the field. Lindsay has successfully passed her CFP® Exam and is working on the experience portion of her designation. She is also finishing up her Masters of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Financial and Tax Planning at San Diego State University. Being a Financial Planning Analyst, Lindsay works both internally and externally to assist with modeling a large variety of in-depth planning scenarios.
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Dan Yeoman, Asset Dedication
As the Director of Operations at Asset Dedication, Dan manages and implements systems that enhance the client experience and provide Asset Dedication with scale. He is also responsible for overseeing the onboarding of new clients and the firm’s day-to-day operations.
Prior to merging his financial services web development firm, AdvsiorShip, with Asset Dedication, Dan was an independent technology and business consultant for boutique management consulting firms and startups. Before that, he was a summer associate at Disney’s in-house investment banking advisory and strategy consulting team where he analyzed M&A opportunities and strategic growth initiatives including the $4.6 billion dollar acquisition of Marvel Comics.
Dan earned his BS in business administration with a concentration in finance from Babson College.
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