---

Amy Bryant, J.D., CLU

Amy Bryant is a Director of Advanced Sales with Penn Mutual Life Insurance.
She has been advising financial professionals in the ultra-high-net-worth market for the better part of her 26 years in the financial services industry. Her disciplines focus on estate planning for business owners, executive compensation strategies and charitable solutions.

She received her Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, MN and was admitted to the Minnesota Bar Association in 1997. Although admitted to practice law, she is not a practicing attorney but rather acts as a consultant to assist with providing tailored solutions for clients’ life insurance needs. After law school, she earned her FINRA Series 7 & 66 and her Certified Life Underwriter degree from The American College in Pennsylvania.

---

Bradford Campbell

As partner at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Brad advises financial service providers and plan sponsors on ERISA Title I issues, including fiduciary conduct and prohibited transactions. A nationally-recognized figure in employer-sponsored retirement plans, he is the former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits and head of the Employee Benefits Security Administration. As ERISA's former “top cop” and primary federal regulator, Brad provides his clients with insight and knowledge across a broad range of ERISA-plan related issues. He also serves as an expert witness in ERISA litigation. Brad has been listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Persons in Defined Contribution by 401kWire and has been listed as one of the top 15 ERISA attorneys in the country by a poll of the National Association of Plan Advisors. In addition, he testified before three Congressional Committees regarding the effects of the Department of Labor fiduciary regulation.

---

Ana Medinaceli Canelos, CLTC

Ana Medinaceli Canelos has been a key member of John Hancock's Advanced Markets team since 2007. Preceding her time at John Hancock, she was a successful financial advisor at American Express and Citizens Bank. Her previous experience working directly with clients has helped anchor her understanding of the financial planning process.

Ana holds her Life and Health Insurance license, and has her Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law Exam) and Series 24 (General Securities Principal) licenses. She graduated cum laude from Wellesley College, where she studied International Relations with a minor in Economics.

• Wednesday, August 14, 2024

  9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: GS11 and Grand Prize Drawing — Special Needs Planning and Spendthrift Trusts

---

Michele Collins

Michele Collins is a Director with MassMutual’s Advanced Sales organization. Michele joined MassMutual in 2016, having spent the last 10 years in the Advanced Markets Department at MetLife.   

As a member of the Advanced Sales team, Michele provides estate, business, charitable, retirement, special needs and financial planning case assistance to MassMutual agents and financial planners. In addition, Michele provides product and sales tools support on advanced markets case work.

Michele is a graduate of the State University of New York, College at Geneseo, and the Syracuse University School of Continuing Education (Certificate in Human Resource Management). She received her JD from Suffolk University Law School in Boston. Michele has also been admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar.

Michele is a former member of the Board of Directors and the Past-President of the Boston Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP).  Michele is a volunteer with the Boston Bar Association’s M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program.  She is also an active volunteer with New England Donor Services (NEDS).

• Tuesday, August 13, 2024

  12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.: GS8 — Practice Management Networking: Sharing Tools for Success

---

Katherine Goldsmith, JD, CLU, ChFC, ChSNC

Katherine (“Kate”) Goldsmith currently serves as Assistant Vice President, Advanced Markets, for Western & Southern Financial Group and is a registered representative of W&S Brokerage Services, both headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to joining Western & Southern, Kate was Assistant Counsel for The Ohio National Life Insurance Company and its affiliated companies for 15+ years. Kate serves as Vice President and is on the Board of Directors of the Insurance Advertising Compliance Association (IAdCA) and is also a past President of the Association of Corporate Counsel Southwest Ohio (ACCSWO) chapter. She currently serves on LIMRA’s Advanced Sales Forum Committee.

Before becoming in-house counsel, Kate was in private practice as an associate with the Litigation Department of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, a Midwest law firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Kate’s birthplace. Kate graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and later a law degree from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. She holds FINRA Series 7 and 24 securities licenses, and the Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant and Chartered Special Needs Consultant professional designations from the American College of Financial Services. In addition, Kate has been active in various regulatory issues of concern to the insurance industry pursued by CEFLI, the ACLI, and LIMRA, among other industry groups. Kate has presented at national industry conferences hosted by CEFLI and IAdCA, as well as at national and local events for both consumers and agents sponsored by Western & Southern Financial Group and non-profit organizations. Kate has published numerous articles of interest for producers of Western & Southern Financial Group’s family of life companies and prides herself on being a problem solver.

• Monday, August 12, 2024

  4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.: GS4 — Possibility Thinking: The Slight Edge

---

Cliff Karthauser, CLU, ChFC, CLF

Cliff Karthauser spent 36 years of his professional career in Executive Leadership with the Principal Financial Group.  During his tenure Cliff’s organization was consistently recognized as one of Principal’s flagship firms.  With 25 Management Achievement Round Table (MART) qualifications, Cliff was honored more than any other field leader and received Principal’s top honor Grand Trophy four times.

As President of CPKEdge, Cliff now serves the Insurance and Financial Services Industry as a Leadership Consultant, Executive Coach and Speaker.  Cliff is sought after as a speaker for purpose-driven leadership, possibility thinking, motivation, and maximizing performance.  Cliff authored and released “Breaking the Tape” where he shares his inspiring message of overcoming obstacles through the life lessons and defining moments of his experience.

• Monday, August 12, 2024

  10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: GS2 — Finseca’s Washington Update: Regulations, Taxes, and Elections

---

Alex Kim

At Finseca, we advocate for the financial security profession, develop and grow its leaders, and promote the noble and necessary work our members do to provide financial and retirement security for the individuals, families, and businesses they serve.

Alex leads the development of Finseca’s federal and state policy efforts to support the organization’s mission and strategy - managing policy setting working groups, develop policy solutions, analyze relevant marketplace, legislative, and regulatory developments to identify impacts on the profession and their clients.

Prior to joining Finseca, Alex spent over two decades working in the life insurance industry – Adv Markets and Compliance director at a life insurance agency, Adv. Case Design at a boutique financial planning shop specializing in wealth and business planning for family offices and businesses, and as an attorney in the Adv Markets team for a life insurance carrier.

• Tuesday, August 13, 2024

  12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.: GS8 — Practice Management Networking: Sharing Tools for Success

---

Thea Marasa-Scafidi, CFS, CES, MFin

Thea started her career in financial services in 2011 with Bank of America. She joined Lincoln Financial Distributors in 2013 as part of their annuities team. She worked her way through the home office before joining the Advanced Sales team at Lincoln in 2016. Thea joined Global Atlantic as the VP of Advanced Markets in March 2023 and became Head of Advanced Markets at GA in October 2023.

Her focus is practical planning with annuities for clients with complex needs – translating the sometimes-confusing world of retirement insurance into something that financial professionals and their clients can feel confident in as they plan for the next phase of life. Ensuring that clients retire with dignity and without unwelcomed financial surprises is always her goal.

Thea holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and a Master of Finance from Penn State University. She holds Series 6 and 63, and Life and Health licenses.

• Tuesday, August 13, 2024

  10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.: GS7 — Ebb & Flow of Estate Tax Planning; Helping the Mass Affluent After Sunset

---

Tim McFarland, J.D.

Tim helps member firms execute sophisticated advanced wealth transfer plans by consulting with clients and centers of influence and discussing legal strategies. He also keeps members up to date on the life insurance industry at large. Tim has been an estate planning attorney for over 30 years and has over 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry designing creative, innovative and tax-efficient estate and insurance plans to meet clients’ complex needs and desires. He’s an accomplished public speaker and has spoken at numerous life insurance industry meetings in the U.S. and Canada. Before joining PartnersFinancial, Tim was a founding principal of ABM LLP, an advanced markets consulting firm. He was also associate counsel and assistant vice president with John Hancock Life Insurance Company for 10 years. At ABM and John Hancock, Tim provided estate and business planning consultation to life insurance professionals, attorneys, CPAs and other advisors. He’s consulted on cases for clients with estates ranging from a few million dollars to a billion dollars. Before entering the insurance industry, Tim was in private practice in Boston specializing in tax and estate planning. He earned his bachelor’s in economics from Cornell and his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University.

• Wednesday, August 14, 2024

  8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.: GS10 — The Making of a Sturdy Hull – Advanced Sales Department Company Practices Survey Results

---

Deborah A. Miner, JD, CFP, CLU, ChFC, RICP

Deborah A. Miner, JD, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, RICP®, is a Director on the National Sales Consulting team at Delaware Life Marketing. She has been in the industry for several decades, serving as Editorial Director of the Tax and Financial Planning Group at The National Underwriter Company for 20+ years and overseeing the publication of 50+ tax and financial planning publications, including Tax Facts. She spent the years since in advanced sales departments of various carriers and spent several years teaching the Retirement Planning & Employee Benefits graduate course in The American College of Financial Services’ MSFP degree program.

---

Michael Niemerg, FSA, MAAA

Michael Niemerg, FSA MAAA, is Principal and Director, Data Science and Analytics at Milliman IntelliScript. In this role, he leads a team of actuaries and data scientists responsible for developing predictive models used in applications across the life and health insurance industries. His primary focus is on underwriting and leveraging data science to utilize emerging data sources.

 

• Wednesday, August 14, 2024

  9:45 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: GS11 and Grand Prize Drawing — Special Needs Planning and Spendthrift Trusts

---

Kelly Piacenti, MA, CHSNC

Kelly Piacenti is responsible for MassMutual’s SpecialCare program which includes nearly 500 financial professionals across the country who have received extensive training in special needs planning. She also oversees partnerships between MassMutual and some of the largest special needs national non-profit organizations. Kelly serves on United Cerebral Palsy’s National Board of Directors, and on The Academy of Special Needs Planners’ Advisory Board and The American College Center for Special Needs. She was the mother of a child with special needs for 19 years, and possesses the knowledge, insight, and empathy to act as a resource for families facing similar challenges.

---

Nicholas P. Sargen, Ph.D.

Nick Sargen is an international economist turned global money manager. He has been involved in international financial markets since the early 1970s, when he began his career at the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He subsequently worked on Wall Street for 25 years, holding senior positions with Morgan Guaranty Trust (VP- International Economics Department), Salomon Brothers Inc. (Director of Bond Market Research), Prudential Insurance (CIO for Global Fixed Income Advisors) and J.P. Morgan Private Bank (Chief Investment Strategist). In 2003 he became Chief Investment Officer for the Western & Southern Financial Group and its affiliate, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. Nick subsequently served as Chief Economist from 2014 until 2019. He currently is an economic consultant to Fort Washington.

Sargen has written extensively on international financial markets. He has authored three books: Global Shocks, Investing in the Trump Era, and JPMorgan’s Fall and Revival. Sargen is also a regular contributor to THEHILL and forbes.com. He appeared frequently on business television programs throughout his career on Wall Street and was a regular panelist on Louis Rukeyser’s Wall Street Week. He was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and received a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.A. and PhD in Economics from Stanford University. He is also affiliated with the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.