Named 2024’s Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year for Efforts in DEI, Liz serves as Director of DEI and Servicios en Español and Financial Planner at Francis LLC. She uses her extensive experience as an international, bilingual educator to help advise participants through the often-confusing world of personal finance. In addition, Liz leads the firm’s DEI Committee and works to create a more inclusive, collaborative, and just workplace; one that supports minoritized individuals and offers opportunities for learning and growth that positively impact the Francis team and their clients.

Deanna Allison is Director, Benefits, Well-Being and Financial Programs for Bread Financial based in Columbus Ohio. She has been in the retirement industry for over 20 years. Allison has done both large plan administration and third-party administrator (TPA) work during her career. Her current role includes oversight for benefits involving participant behavior and the overall well-being for a global audience. Allison’s group has proudly created and shared its award-winning content and programs for more than 10 years. They’ve met directly with more than 6,000 associates delivering content on mental health, physical well-being and financial confidence.

Daniel Aronowitz is the President of Encore [formerly Euclid] Fiduciary, a leading fiduciary liability insurance underwriting company for America’s employee benefit plans. Dan has over 30 years of experience in the professional liability industry as a coverage lawyer and underwriter, and is a widely recognized fiduciary liability expert and thought leader and advocate for sponsors of employee benefit plans. He is the author of the Fid Guru Blog, the Fiduciary Liability Insurance Handbook, and the fiduciary liability insurance chapter of the Trustee Handbook published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University School of Law and has achieved the RPLU+ designation from the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

Andy Banducci is Senior Vice President, Retirement and Compensation Policy, ERISA Industry Committee. He leads ERIC’s efforts to develop and advocate for retirement, compensation and paid leave public policies priorities for ERIC member companies at the federal, state and local levels.

Prior to joining ERIC, Andy served as the Chief Policy Officer of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), where he advised the U.S. Senate-confirmed Director on all legislative and regulatory activities; oversaw the agency’s legislative affairs; and coordinated the agency’s external activities.

In addition to his agency experience, Andy has staffed three congressional committees on retirement, compensation, and labor policy. He has a J.D. at the University of Michigan Law School and undergraduate degrees from Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College.

Bridget Bearden is a Research and Development Strategist and member of the leadership team at the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). She helps to establish new strategic partnerships, expand membership, execute proprietary survey research, and contribute to EBRI’s in-person events. Her current research projects include EBRI’s biannual Spending in Retirement survey, and examining benefits that can improve women’s financial security, like on-demand pay, long-term care, and caregiving. She has nearly two decades of experience in developing research and thought leadership in retirement and investing. She has a Ph.D. and MS in Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts, an MBA in Finance from Suffolk University, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut.

Jason Chepenik currently serves as senior vice president of the Retirement + Wealth division. He is focused on providing fiduciary guidance to corporate retirement plans. Whether he’s advocating for stronger fiduciary responsibility, lending his financial knowledge to a local non-profit, or championing financial literacy for the next generation, Jason keeps a strong sense of “the why” within his work.

Jason is also the founder of the 4.01k Race for Financial Fitness helping to raise more than $1 million to support community based financial literacy programs. Jason has earned a degree in Management with a concentration in Finance from Tulane University.

Kim Cochrane, QPA, TGPC, is the Director of Client Services at HUB International Mid Atlantic LLC in Rockville, MD. She has over 25 years of experience, primarily in the consulting area of IRS, Department of Labor and ERISA regulations.
Kim focuses on corporate and non-profit retirement plans, including pension plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, profit sharing, cash balance and executive benefit plans. Kim’s day-to-day responsibilities include working with plan trustees on addressing their fiduciary responsibilities and working with individuals on managing their retirement accounts.
Kim holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and 65 securities registrations, life and health insurance licenses and is a credentialed and active member of The ARA (American Retirement Association), NAPA (The National Association of Plan Advisers) and WIPN.
At HUB, Kim is a Non-Profit Specialty Expert and has received numerous industry awards, including NAPA’s Top Woman Advisor, PLANADVISER’s Top Retirement Plan Adviser and PLANSPONSOR Adviser of the Year Finalist.
Prior to joining HUB in January 2022, she was the Director of Client Services with Raffa Retirement Services. She has spent over 20 years as a relationship manager and consultant at some of the biggest recordkeepers in the industry.

Kevin Crain is an accomplished and highly respected Retirement Services and Financial Wellness Expert with more than 40 years of experience in roles of progressively more significant influence and impact in the Retirement Services industry, driving strategic growth, enhancing client engagement, and delivering top-tier retirement research solutions. With broad leadership experience across all business areas, he is an influential adviser, board member, thought leader, industry events speaker, and public policy advocate in employee financial wellness, retirement savings, retirement public policy, employee benefits utilization trends, and longevity.

Kevin is currently the Executive Director of the Institutional Retirement Income Council, a Senior Advisor with McKinsey, a Senior Advisor with the Milken Institute, a Council Member with the Global Coalition on Aging Advisory Council, and a Visiting Executive for the Gerontological Society of America. He is also an Honorary Member of the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) and a Member of its Public Policy Committee.

Until August 2023, Kevin was with Bank of America Merrill Lynch for nearly 20 years in senior leadership positions in the Retirement Services sector, culminating in the role of Head of Retirement Research.

Monica De Agostino is an HR Leader with over 16 years of experience leading Benefits and Total Rewards. She has worked in industries where people and innovation are the keys to success. Monica believes in empowering individuals and fostering a sense of humanity and connection in the workplace. She has led MRIGlobal to win PLANSPONSOR’s 2022 Nonprofit DC Plan Sponsor of the Year and be a finalist in 2020 and 2021 Business Journal’s Healthiest Employer.

Growing up in South America, raised in multiple countries, and comfortable everywhere, Monica believes education transforms generations. Monica has a Bachelor’s in International Business and an MBA in Management. She holds Senior HR Professional Certifications from SHRM and HRCI Institutes.

Julie has worked in all areas of the retirement plan ecosystem over the course of her career, making her a well-rounded expert in navigating the complexities of the industry. Equipped with this unique perspective and expertise, she assists her clients in making informed decisions and mitigating risk while helping their employees plan for the retirement they deserve. Alongside her everyday duties, she serves on the company’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Advisory Council.

Julie has a Master of Business Administration degree from Babson College, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Communication degree from Bentley College. She is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary, AIF, and a Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA). Julie has her FINRA Series 65 license and Life, Accident and Health Insurance licenses from The Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Lisa Drake is a Retirement Plan Consultant based in SageView’s Florida office, working closely with plan sponsor clients on plan design, investment due diligence, monitoring and reporting as well as ERISA compliance to maximize fiduciary protection for employers. She specializes in driving positive retirement plan outcomes and developing long-standing client relationships.

Lisa has worked in institutional financial services for over 15 years, beginning her career at Charles Schwab. She worked as a financial adviser at Ameriprise Financial Services and later transitioned to a relationship manager role with CBIZ before moving on to FiduciaryFirst.

Lisa earned her Bachelor of Science in International Business and World Trade from the University of Buffalo and her MBA with a specialization in Human Resource Management from the University of Phoenix. She is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) and has earned her Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA) credential from the National Association of Plan Advisors. Lisa also holds the Certified Health Savings Adviser (CHSA) certification, helping provide a holistic consultative approach to employee benefits and retirement planning. 

Jodi has more than 25 years of experience with all aspects of employee benefits, with a particular focus on defined benefit plans and 401(k) plans. She is particularly adept at managing integrations after acquisitions, setting up new benefit platforms, pension plan lump sum windows and terminations, and advising qualified plan committees regarding their fiduciary duties. Jodi’s practice includes day-to-day compliance issues, such as assisting with implementation of new legislation and regulations, trouble-shooting when glitches arise in plan operations, and helping qualified plan committees monitor plan investments and plan vendors. She has experience with government entities as well as corporate clients. Her practice also includes the one-of-a-kind issues that arise in connection with M&A activity.  

Jodi is well-versed in the complexity and challenges raised by large controlled groups.  Clients appreciate Jodi’s ability to manage projects involving multiple plan vendors, often on a tight timetable. Her client service and responsiveness are unsurpassed. Jodi has been individually recognized by Chambers & Partners for Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation since 2019 and by Best Lawyers since 2017.

Rita is a Senior Vice President and a Senior Institutional Retirement Consultant with UBS since 1996. Rita has dedicated her career to equipping Plan Sponsors with best practices in meeting their Fiduciary responsibilities. Her focus integrates plan design consulting with employee education in building effective communication programs to increase overall plan participation. Rita serves as a partner to her clients and advocate in assisting them in maintaining the most competitive cost structures, formalization of investment committee meetings and decisions, and overall holistic management of all regulatory requirements. She is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) and a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS). Rita has a B.A. with a concentration in finance from the University of South Florida and an M.S. in business administration from the Stuart School of Business at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

Alvaro A. Galvis joined Merrill Lynch in 2002 and dedicates his time and experience to managing corporate benefit programs for small to mid-size corporations with defined contribution and defined benefit consulting needs. Alvaro is a partner with The MG Group at Merrill Lynch. His team of professionals combine their industry knowledge and capabilities with the global resources of Merrill Lynch to provide a full range of institutional consulting services and wealth management services to corporations, business owners, executives and their families.

Alvaro graduated from the Colombian Naval Academy and subsequently from Florida International University with degrees in International Business and Finance. Alvaro is a C(k)P Certified 401(k) Professional in good standing with The Retirement Advisor University in collaboration with UCLA Anderson School of Management Executive Education. Additionally, he holds the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor, the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor, and the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist professional designations, giving him in-depth insight into clients’ breadth of consulting and planning needs.

Ben advises clients on a broad range of employee benefits, federal tax, fiduciary, planning and controversy matters.

Ben’s employee benefits practice consists of advising employers on a wide range of issues, including: ERISA; health, welfare and retirement plans; compliance with state and federal laws and regulations; and executive compensation. In particular, he regularly advises plan committees, providing legal updates and fiduciary training. He recently advised a Fortune 500 public company on a large ($1 billion) annuity lift-out from a pension plan.

In addition, Ben has assisted clients in structuring settlements, asset sales, reorgs, and charitable donations. He has experience drafting estate planning documents, administering estates, and with probate matters. He also has advised boards of directors and the management of nonprofits. In addition to being a counselor to nonprofits, he has also served as an officer and/or director for tax-exempt organizations.

Before law school, Ben was a business manager at Capital One, where he developed strategy and analysis for its credit card and banking businesses.

Pam Hess is the Executive Director at the DCIIA Retirement Research Center. Previously, she was with Aon Hewitt and served as their Director of Retirement Research. Earlier in her career Pam worked on the investment side at Aon Hewitt and with other firms in the financial services industry, including Smith Barney. Pam received a bachelor’s degree in finance from The University of Illinois, at Chicago. She earned her master’s in business administration from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in accounting, finance and managerial & organizational behavior. Pam is also a CFA Charterholder since 2002. She is based in Charlotte, NC.

Shelly is a retirement plan expert with over 27 years of experience.  She provides consulting and fiduciary advisory services to non-profits, private and public corporations in focused areas such as, fiduciary governance, plan design, investment consulting, compliance, employee education and wellness. Shelly leads the World Investment Advisors team in Atlanta, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.

Shelly was named a 2024 Top 100 Retirement Plan Adviser by PLANADVISER and a Top Women All-Star in 2015-2023 by the National Association of Plan Advisors.

Viv Hunter Turner advises employer-sponsored welfare plans on employee benefit compliance issues under the Affordable Care Act, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), ERISA, and COBRA. Additionally, she counsels clients on implementing wellness programs that comply with applicable regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and the HIPAA wellness rules. Higher education institutions and affiliated organizations turn to Viv for a range of issues such as plan governance structure, contracts, wellness initiatives and providing benefits to both union and non-union populations. Other industries served include Fortune 50 mass media and retail, Fortune 100 entertainment and transportation, health insurance issuers, and the industrial engineering industry.

Mark Iwry served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury from 2009 to January 2017, and concurrently as the Treasury Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Retirement and Health Policy.  In this capacity, he was responsible, together with the Assistant Secretary of Labor, for overseeing the regulation of the nation’s private pension system. His portfolio included pensions/retirement (DB and DC plans, IRAs, etc.) and national savings policy; related tax policy and other tax and legal aspects; legislative and regulatory implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and other health policy; other employee benefits and compensation, and related legislative, policymaking, and rulemaking/regulatory responsibilities.

Currently Mark is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and a Visiting Scholar at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a partner in the law firm of Covington & Burling and Of Counsel to the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, providing advice and assistance to plan sponsors, service providers, other major corporations, investment firms, financial institutions, trade associations, small businesses, and non-profits. He previously served as the Treasury Department’s Benefits Tax Counsel, Research Professor at Georgetown University, and a co-founder and Principal of the nonpartisan Retirement Security Project.

Michael Kozemchak, C(k)P, is Managing Director at Institutional Investment Consulting. Michael is the practice leader of IIC. He has 26 years of experience consulting on retirement plans, 20 of which has been with IIC.

Michael and IIC are regularly recognized by PLANSPONSOR and PLANADVISER as one of the nation’s leading retirement plan consulting firms having consulting engagements representing in excess of $150 billion dollars of plan assets. 

Michael has been a regular speaker at numerous industry conferences over the years, including those of PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, SHRM and SPARK.

Percy advises clients on a wide range of federal income tax, estate and gift tax, and employee benefits issues. He specializes in developing creative solutions to the challenges of providing benefits to a modern, dynamic workforce while maintaining compliance with applicable regulations, such as HIPAA.

At Stanford Law School, where he received his J.D., Percy served as the Senior Finance Editor of the Stanford Law Review and an Editor of the Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance. He also participated in the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, and completed a summer internship at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 

With over two decades in the financial services sector, Lauren K. Loehning is a respected Partner at Retirement Impact, where her client-first approach has earned her a reputation for excellence. As the Co-Founder of Moniwell, she leads a pioneering initiative blending psychology, science and technology to redefine financial well-being.

Lauren’s expertise, spanning financial planning, investment management and financial therapy, is bolstered by prestigious certifications, including Certified Financial Planner practitioner, Certified Investment Management Analyst, Certified in Financial Social Work, and Accredited Investment Fiduciary.

Lisa K. Loesel is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago office. Lisa focuses her practice on employee benefits matters, including the design, amendment and administration of 401(k), 403(b) and pension plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and employee stock ownership plans. She counsels privately and publicly held corporations regarding the employee benefits design and transition matters arising from corporate mergers, acquisitions and divestitures. She also advises clients regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Lisa also has experience counseling plan fiduciaries with respect to the claims and appeals procedures under ERISA.

John Lowell is a Partner and Consulting Actuary with October Three Consulting LLC. He was President of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries in 2018 and has represented the U.S. profession globally. Based in Atlanta, he has spent nearly the last 40 years assisting employers of all sizes and in most industries with the design, funding, administration, and compliance aspects of nearly all aspects of their employee rewards programs. In recent years, his focus has been on rebuilding employer-sponsored retirement programs so that employees are able to deal with our impending retirement crisis. In particular, his focus is on building programs that cater to the workforce of 2025 and beyond by making them flexible, personalized, and adaptable to an evolving diverse workforce while keeping the program costs stable and affordable during challenging times. His clients seek to attract and retain great employees by offering them what they are asking for today.

For nearly 30 years, Marcia Mantell has helped the country’s foremost financial services firms and advisors increase their knowledge of complex retirement concepts and regulations, then turn the technical into the tangible. Her remarkable ability to translate challenging retirement concepts into everyday language educates and motivates real people to take the right steps to achieve the retirement they desire.

Through her small business, Mantell Retirement Consulting, Inc., (est. 2005) Marcia develops innovative retirement income planning workshops and programs, fun and engaging retirement education programs and seminars, and writes extensively as a guest columnist and content creator and curator. She is considered a retirement industry go-to-person for Social Security and Medicare expert-level information.

Marcia Mantell earned the RMA, Retirement Management Advisor, designation with the first class of financial professionals in 2008.  She re-certified in 2015. Marcia also holds the NSSA, National Social Security Advisor, professional designation. She earned this accredited certification in 2017 to formalize her Social Security knowledge. In 2022, Marcia added a Health Insurance License to her professional development certifications.

Jacob M. Mattinson is a partner in McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago office. His practice focuses on employee benefits matters related to health and welfare plans, retirement plans, and executive compensation issues. He frequently counsels privately and publicly held corporations and tax-exempt entities on a variety of benefits and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) issues, including ERISA fiduciary issues, compliance with the Affordable Care Act and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), ERISA implications in corporate transactions, ERISA administrative claims and appeals, and executive compensation matters.

Sam has been with the UBS Retirement Plan Consulting Group since 2007 working with employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b) and nonqualified deferred compensation. Sam brings a human element to helping participants become financially aware of their short and long-term investment goals. He specializes in working with plan sponsors to design and implement targeted employee education and communication campaigns that empower plan participants of all age groups, whether they’re just starting their savings or nearing retirement.

With a passion for assisting clients in all things benefits and Health & Welfare, Greg is a key player on Sentinel’s leadership team. Having called Sentinel home for more than 13 years, he is driven by a desire to help people day in and day out.

Greg brings a unique view of benefits to the table, having curated a diverse background in health and welfare, insurance consulting and retirement. By helping firms create strong education game plans, his expertise enhances the value of their offerings and empowers employees to feel confident in what is offered to them. Greg has a Bachelor of Science – Business Administration, Finance from the University of Connecticut; has Life, Accident and Health Insurance licenses in The Commonwealth of Massachusetts; and is PPACA Certified.

George Sepsakos is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered who represents clients on a broad range of ERISA, federal tax and securities law matters. His practice is primarily focused on issues related to Title I of ERISA, including fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction issues.  George’s practice includes:

• Regularly defending plan trustees, fiduciaries, and service providers in investigations and enforcement proceedings brought by the Department of Labor.
• Representing clients in front of the Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seeking advisory opinions, prohibited transaction exemptions, no action letters, and other guidance.
• Counseling banks, broker-dealers, recordkeepers, investment managers and advisers and other financial services companies on the structuring and marketing of retirement plan services and products.
• Advising clients on compliance with DOL’s final regulation defining the term “fiduciary.”
• Regularly counseling large employers and plan committees to develop processes and best practices regarding plan investments, including the acquisition and management of employer securities, and plan governance matters.
• Conducting reviews and internal audits of plan governance and administrative practices.

With over 30 years of advising plan participants under her belt, Kelli Send has extensive financial wellness knowledge and oversees the firm’s financial wellness team. She is responsible for curriculum design and delivery, as well as the firm’s money coaching services. Under her leadership, the financial wellness team has won 15 Eddy Awards for excellence in retirement plan participant education programs.

Kelli is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional (CFP) and has her Series 65 license and ERISA Fiduciary certification. She has a B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Adult Education from Carroll University.

As a Managing Director for Strategic Retirement Partners, Phil Senderowitz is responsible for servicing clients, as well as growing the firm’s practice in the Central Florida market. He is a specialist in investment due diligence processes, fiduciary best practices, and provider benchmarking. Phil also provides extensive experience in delivering customized employee education services to help promote more positive retirement outcomes. Phil is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and a Certified Financial Planner professional.

Brent Sheppard is Partner, Financial Adviser and Director of Corporate Retirement Plan Consulting at Cadence Financial Management. Brent has earned the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist, Retirement Income Certified Professional, and Accredited Investment Fiduciary designations. He helps companies design and manage innovative retirement benefit plans, financial wellness programs and customized executive services. What he is most proud of is seeing his clients, their organizations, and their employees achieving their financial goals. Brent is frequently invited to speak at industry conferences such as those hosted by PLANSPONSOR, SPARK Institute and SHRM. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware and has his Series 7, 63, and 66 securities licenses.

Phil Sherman, CFP, is the Senior Retirement Plan Consultant of Deschutes Investment Consulting in Portland, OR. He was originally drawn to the retirement plan industry after years of working in the wealth management field, where his interactions shed light on the lack of financial literacy. This inspired him to shift his focus to retirement plans and their participants. By working with retirement plans, he realized he could have a direct impact on education through workplace benefits and help employees better handle their money and make choices today that will have a lasting impact for tomorrow.

Joe is one of the founding members of the group that originally formed Francis in 2004. He currently leads the firm’s marketing and business development efforts and is continually looking for ways to create value for organizations and their employees. Before his time at Francis, he served as chief financial officer of a Wisconsin printing operation, allowing him to bring a valuable perspective to his plan sponsors and prospective development efforts. Joe is a member of both the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Metro Milwaukee Society for Human Resource Management and serves on the board of directors of Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals.

Raul Valdes-Perez is co-founder/CEO of OnlyBoth, provider of BenchMine.com, which rethinks and automates performance-benchmarking with proprietary AI, enabling unprecedented transparency. He was co-founder/CEO of enterprise-search company Vivisimo, acquired by IBM. At Vivisimo he was a regional E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year. He received seven NSF research grants and published 50 journal articles and book chapters in computer, natural and social science. His computer science PhD is from Carnegie Mellon, where his adviser was Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon, and he then joined its faculty. Raul authored Advice is for Winners: How to Get Advice for Better Decisions in Life and Work.

Julie Varga is Senior Vice President, Product and Investment Specialist for Morningstar Retirement. She works with a team of investment, client service, and sales professionals to develop business and client strategy in the defined contribution plan sponsor marketplace and provide expertise on managed account services and target-date products.

In her previous role as Vice President of Product Management, Varga was responsible for the various target-date options available at Morningstar Retirement, in particular development of the target-date CIT and custom target-date models.

Prior to that, Varga was the Director of Account Management, responsible for managing strategic client relationships for the retirement solutions group. She focused on broadening key relationships, developing customized solutions for clients and strategic planning based on the needs of the marketplace.

Varga’s first role at Morningstar was as lead project manager for Morningstar® Retirement Manager^SM, responsible for building out Morningstar’s managed accounts accumulation and in-retirement services.

Varga holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics from the University of Michigan.

Marcia S. Wagner is the founder of The Wagner Law Group, one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded law firms specializing in ERISA, employee benefits and executive compensation, and has practiced employee benefits law for over 38 years. Wagner is an authority on qualified and non-qualified plans, fiduciary issues, deferred compensation and welfare benefit arrangements, with experience in plan design and drafting, compliance, tax planning and consultation on all aspects of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She also serves as an expert witness in ERISA litigation. Wagner has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors for the American Benefits Council, as well as a Member to the Board of Governors of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. She has written hundreds of articles and 27 books. She is a highly sought after lecturer, is widely quoted in financial journals and has been a guest on Fox, CNN, Bloomberg and NBC.

Allison Wardlaw is the Director of Plan Development and Compliance and has been with the State of Michigan for 13 years. During that time, she has served in several leadership roles. Allison is experienced with the challenges of leadership in the Office of Retirement Services, balancing the changing needs of its customers with the fiduciary responsibility of managing public trust resources. Allison holds an undergraduate degree from Eastern Michigan University and a master’s degree in public administration from Western Michigan University. In addition, she holds a CEBS certification from IFEBP as well as a CRC designation from InFRE.

As a 25-year industry veteran, Chuck has devoted his professional life to enhancing the financial well-being of institutional and individual clients. As the Finspire, LLC Chief Executive Officer and Senior Consultant, Chuck provides oversight of the firm and is a lead consultant for many of the firm’s corporate retirement plans and high-net worth individual clients. Chuck is also an Adjunct Professor at Northwestern’s School of Continuing Studies where he has been teaching the Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits course since 2005.

Prior to co-founding Finspire, LLC, Chuck served as a Managing Director and Senior Lead Consultant with Sheridan Road Advisors, LLC for 10 years, and with Bank Leumi for the 8 years prior. Chuck is continually working to strengthen his industry knowledge and expertise. Chuck is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS), A Certified 401(k) Specialist (C(k)P), an Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) and an Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF). He earned his B.S. in Finance from DePaul University and his Masters in Business Administration from the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University.

Rosie Zaklad is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered and co-leader of the firm’s tax practice. Her day-to-day practice involves the design, implementation and ongoing administration of retirement plans, including defined benefit, defined contribution, and tax-deferred annuity plans. She focuses on tax-qualified plan compliance issues, including Internal Revenue Service audits, rulings, and corrections. Rosie has extensive experience assisting plan sponsors in navigating the plan termination process, including preparing employee communications, obtaining agency approvals, and responding to post-termination audits. She has also represented clients in responding to Department of Labor and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation inquiries, investigations, and audits.

During her tenure at Groom, Rosie has counseled clients on a wide range of retirement plan issues in connection with corporate transactions and spinoffs, including distributions, plan loans, company stock, record retention, and treatment of transferring employees. She has also advised on tax and ERISA issues in connection with the post-merger integration of retirement plans.