Thomas Sowers is a CFP®-credentialed financial advisor with six years of industry experience. He is currently with Kestra Advisory and has prior experience at Dimensional Fund Advisors. Outside of his advisory role, he also works as an independent contractor dog walker. Kestra Advisory Services provides investment advisory and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base, including institutional and individual clients, offering services such as fiduciary consulting, plan design, and employee education. The firm manages approximately $79.8 billion in assets and serves large institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds.

Michael Bish is a CFP® with 21 years of industry experience currently serving as a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services. His prior experience includes roles at Merrill Lynch, BB&T Securities, and Bank of America. Truist Advisory Services offers investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to a diverse client base that includes individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm combines traditional research with AI-enabled tools and provides ongoing reporting and consultations while leveraging its affiliated financial relationships.

Traci Diblasio is a CFP® professional with 25 years of industry experience. She is currently with First Citizens Investor Services, Inc., where she has worked since 2018. Her prior experience includes roles at Wells Fargo Clearing, Wachovia Bank, N.A., Key Investment Services LLC, and KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. First Citizens Investor Services, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and corporate entities. The firm offers portfolio management, wrap programs, model portfolios, an automated Guided Investing platform, and Tax Aware services, emphasizing IAR-led assessments and diverse analytical approaches to asset allocation.

Peter Gebre is a financial advisor at Guardian Life with 17 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has previously worked at OneAmerica Securities and Voya Financial Partners. Gebre is based in Charlotte, NC. Guardian Life, through its subsidiary Park Avenue Securities LLC, offers brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals, corporate and retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm provides a range of financial planning, consulting, and discretionary management solutions, combining proprietary and third-party investment platforms.

Paul Brown is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) in Matthews, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and 19 years of industry experience. He has been affiliated with Eagle Strategies since 2013 and also operates Parker Financial Group, LLC and Parker Financial and Insurance Solutions, which sell New York Life products and broker non-registered insurance products. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse client base, including individual investors and institutional retirement plans, providing financial planning, investment management, and advisory services. The firm emphasizes tailored recommendations and manages the majority of its assets on a non-discretionary basis within an integrated New York Life affiliate structure.

Griffin Kasemeyer is a financial advisor at Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC with four years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has worked at firms including LPL Financial and T. Rowe Price. Kasemeyer provides administrative support to Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services in addition to his advisory role. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services is an SEC-registered enterprise advisory firm serving individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans through a large network of advisors. The firm offers financial planning, asset management, and specialized consulting, employing a strategic investment approach that combines passive and active management guided by an internal Investment Committee.

Daniel Holloway is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with 12 years of industry experience, currently with Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. in Charlotte, NC. He has been associated with various entities within the Bankers Life organization since 2009. Outside of advisory work, he is a partner in a fitness franchise in Pittsburgh, PA, involved in operations and business activities. Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. primarily serves mass-affluent and high-net-worth individuals through discretionary portfolio management, investment consulting, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to develop tailored investment strategies aligned with clients’ goals and risk tolerances.

Brenda Yard is a financial advisor with Truist Advisory Services in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and having 28 years of industry experience. She has worked extensively within Truist and its predecessor entities since 1999, including Bb&T Securities and Investment Services. Truist Advisory Services offers investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a multi-manager approach using the Envestnet platform, combines traditional research with AI tools, and delivers ongoing client reviews and reporting.

Jason Minsky is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with 24 years of industry experience. His background includes roles at Ameriprise, Charles Schwab, and LPL Financial. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as certain retail brokerage clients. The firm’s services integrate with Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms and focus on long-term portfolio returns and client savings rates.

Jennifer James is a CFP® and Series 66-registered advisor with 12 years of industry experience. She is currently with Truist Advisory Services and has previously worked at Wells Fargo Clearing. Jennifer has been with Truist since 2018, including time at Suntrust Advisory Services and Suntrust Investment Services. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a combination of traditional research and AI-enabled tools to support client portfolios and offers a range of fiduciary services, including partnerships with Envestnet Retirement Solutions.

Joseph Burns is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services in Charlotte, NC. He has worked at SunTrust Advisory Services since 2016 and has longstanding experience with SunTrust Bank dating back to 2010. His earlier career includes roles at Banc of America Investment Services, Inc. and Wells Fargo Clearing. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting, financial planning, portfolio management, and retirement plan services to a diverse client base that includes individuals, corporations, plan sponsors, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a range of tools, including AI-enabled research, to support its investment oversight and utilizes the Envestnet platform for manager selection and ongoing client reviews.

Anastasios Marros is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies (NY Life) in Charlotte, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and four years of industry experience. He has worked at multiple firms including Wells Fargo and New York Life Insurance Company. Outside of his advisory role, he owns and operates CLT Wrist, LLC, a business involved in buying and selling luxury watches. Eagle Strategies serves a diverse client base including individual investors, defined contribution and defined benefit plans, and corporate clients. The firm offers financial planning, investment management, and retirement-plan advisory services, primarily providing non-discretionary asset management through a broad network of affiliated advisers.

Elizabeth Skettino is a CFA® credentialed financial advisor with nine years of industry experience. She is currently with Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc., having previously worked at Cullinan Associates, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities. Wells Fargo Investment Institute provides manager research, global investment strategy, securities research, asset allocation analysis, and model-portfolio services to Wells Fargo affiliates and unaffiliated financial institutions. The firm delivers non-discretionary, impersonal model portfolios constructed through specialized divisions focused on rigorous research and evaluation.

Grant Palmer IV is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience. He currently works at Mariner and previously held positions at Waypoint Wealth Management, The Vanguard Group, Inc., and Buckingham Strategic Wealth. He also has background experience associated with Virginia Tech, including the Tennis Center and the university itself. Mariner serves a diverse client base including individuals, pension plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and private funds. The firm offers investment management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, tax services, and family office capabilities, utilizing customized portfolios overseen by an Investment Committee and supported by extensive in‑house research and third‑party managers.

Christine Neese is a financial advisor with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 29 years of industry experience. Her prior work includes roles at LPL Financial, Cetera Advisor Networks, and Carroll Financial Associates. She provides administrative support to Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services as part of her professional activities. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise advisory firm serving individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans through a large network of advisors. The firm employs a strategic investment approach that combines passive and active management, supported by an internal Investment Committee and research targeting factor premiums, and offers a broad range of financial planning, asset management, and specialized consulting services.

Anthony Gummo is a financial advisor at PNC Wealth Management in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 66 designation with 19 years of industry experience. He has been with PNC Investments since 2015. PNC Wealth Management provides retail brokerage and advisory services through several model-based programs, including the Portfolio Solutions Strategist Digital Offering, an invitation-only employee pilot that uses algorithmically selected risk bands and discretionary model accounts managed by PNC or third-party strategists.

William Mcclanahan is a CFP® with seven years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Guardian Life and Park Avenue Securities. His prior experience includes roles at Valic Financial Advisors and TIAA. Park Avenue Securities LLC, a subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, provides brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals, corporations, retirement plan sponsors, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm offers a combination of advisor-led discretionary management and model-based strategies, along with access to proprietary and third-party advisory solutions.

John Welch Sr. is a CFP®, ChFC®, and Series 63 credentialed advisor with 44 years of industry experience. He is currently with Equity Services, Inc. and National Life Group, having also worked at SagePoint Financial from 2014 to 2020. Welch participates in community activities as a volunteer finance committee member for Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church. Equity Services, Inc., operating as ESI Financial Advisors, provides financial planning, consulting, and asset management services to a broad clientele including individuals, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm offers multiple advisory platforms that combine long-term strategies with options for shorter-term trading, utilizing third-party asset managers and model portfolios.

Jacob Brock is a financial advisor with Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and four years of industry experience. Prior to his advisory role, he worked at Papa Johns Inc. for five years. He is also an insurance agent with Bankers Life and Casualty, Inc., where he sells life insurance, annuities, long-term care, and senior insurance products including Medicare supplements and Medicare Advantage programs. Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. provides discretionary portfolio management and investment consulting primarily to mass-affluent and high-net-worth individuals. The firm focuses on customized asset allocation, tax efficiency, and a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to guide investment decisions.

Kate Lawson is a financial advisor with TIAA-CREF in Charlotte, NC, holding a Series 66 designation and 11 years of industry experience. She previously worked at Nuveen Asset Management and Nuveen Securities from 2020 to 2023. Lawson serves as a board member of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Charlotte Chapter, helping to promote alumni events and raise funds for scholarships. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC’s Advice & Planning Services division provides financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, and small retirement plans, often serving clients with existing TIAA-administered employer retirement plans. The firm separates one-time planning from ongoing portfolio management and acts as adviser to a donor-advised fund, operating within a vertically integrated structure that includes affiliated funds.