David Nanigian is a CFP® professional with two years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Mount Ararat Financial Services LLC. His prior roles include positions with the CFP Board and academic appointments at San Diego State University and California State University, Fullerton. Mount Ararat Financial Services LLC focuses on financial planning, fund selection, and advisory services primarily for Armenian-American clients and provides a Fractional Chief Investment Officer service to other advisory firms. The firm emphasizes Strategic Asset Allocation based on Modern Portfolio Theory and operates mainly on a non-discretionary basis without taking custody of client assets.

Ethan Miller is a CFP® with nine years of industry experience and the sole advisor at Planning for Progress in Silver Spring, MD. His prior work includes roles at the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, and Jobs With Justice. He also serves as finance and operations director for IFPTE Local 70, a Washington, DC-based union, managing its financial operations on a part-time consulting basis. Planning for Progress serves middle- and upper-middle-income individuals and families, as well as small businesses, nonprofits, and employer plan sponsors. The firm offers comprehensive and project-based financial planning, investment management, and retirement plan consulting, using diversified, long-term asset allocation strategies tailored to clients’ goals and values.

Collin Toal is a financial advisor at RCS Financial Planning, LLC in Annapolis, MD, holding a Series 65 designation. He began his career at RCS Financial Planning in 2026 and has prior experience in the fitness industry. RCS Financial Planning offers portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, ongoing subscription planning, and pension consulting for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and retirement plans. The firm applies modern portfolio theory with evidence-based mutual funds and maintains individualized Investment Policy Statements to guide discretionary portfolio management.

Paula Pass is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with 13 years of industry experience. She is currently with Arkagos Advisors & Asset Management, Inc., where she has worked since 2021. Her prior experience includes roles at Brookstone Capital Management, Center Street Advisors, and Wells Fargo Clearing. Outside of her advisory role, she operates as an independent insurance agent specializing in fixed insurance products. Arkagos Advisors & Asset Management serves individual and high-net-worth clients by providing portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and access to private investments. The firm uses model-based allocations and a combination of technical, fundamental, and modern portfolio theory approaches tailored to client objectives, offering both discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management.

Tiffany Blackburn is a financial advisor at Arkagos Advisors & Asset Management, Inc., holding a Series 65 designation. She has been with Arkagos since 2024 and has experience working in related roles, including at Vector Wealth Strategies and Henmead Enterprises, Inc. Blackburn is also affiliated with George Mason University for the years 2023 to 2025. Arkagos Advisors and Asset Management serves individual and high-net-worth clients by offering portfolio management, comprehensive financial planning, and access to private investments. The firm uses model-based allocations combining technical, fundamental, and modern portfolio theory techniques tailored to clients’ objectives and risk tolerance, with a notable focus on private placement investments alongside traditional advisory services.

Frederick Hubach is a CFP® professional with six years of industry experience. He is currently with Generational Private Wealth, where he has worked since 2025. His prior experience includes roles at Belgrade Wealth Management LLC, Hemington Wealth Management, and Andersen. Generational Private Wealth serves high-net-worth individuals, trusts, retirement plans, and nonprofit entities, offering discretionary investment management and advanced financial planning. The firm emphasizes strategic asset allocation, diversification, and fundamental analysis, managing approximately $263 million across 49 client relationships.

David Bauer is a CFP® certificant at Cassilly Financial with two years of industry experience. He previously worked at Northwestern Mutual and has been with Cassilly Financial since 2021. Cassilly Financial serves individual clients, pension and profit-sharing plans, and charitable organizations, providing discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and pension consulting. The firm primarily manages accounts through model portfolios and third-party money managers, utilizing fundamental, cyclical, and modern portfolio theory in its investment approach.

John Coleman is a financial advisor at Piedmont Wealth Management with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. In addition to his role in financial advising, Coleman owns Commonwealth Business Services, a CPA and tax preparation firm. Piedmont Wealth Management is a fee-only financial planning and investment management firm serving trusts, foundations, pension plans, and corporate/household accounts. The firm offers personalized financial planning, discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, and consulting, with a focus on institutional and trust/corporate relationships and coordinated services through affiliated financial and accounting entities.

Michael Schwartz is a financial advisor with MZ Capital, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and over 23 years of industry experience. He has worked at MZ Capital Management since 2018 and previously held roles at Securities America Advisors, Inc., Securities America, Inc., and Master's Financial Associates. Outside of advising, he owns Home Instead Senior Care and serves as a regional leadership council member for Messiah College. MZ Capital Management provides discretionary asset management and financial planning services to individuals, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm employs a passive, asset-class allocation strategy using institutional funds with a buy-hold-rebalance approach and offers ongoing portfolio supervision, written planning reports, newsletters, and client seminars.

Ross Anderson is a CFP® with 18 years of industry experience and is currently with Craftwork Capital LLC, where he has worked since 2020. Prior to that, he spent six years at Motley Fool Wealth Management. Outside of financial services, he is the owner of Anderson Entertainment, a DJ services business he has operated since 2001. Craftwork Capital primarily serves individual and high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm offers financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and access to third-party digital platforms, utilizing model portfolios, separately managed accounts, and AI tools to support portfolio construction and ongoing management.

Lisa Pendley is a CFP® professional with 17 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at 8th Street Investments, LLC since 2008. She works out of Alexandria, VA, and is part of a two-advisor team at the firm. 8th Street Investments provides discretionary portfolio management and standalone financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm employs fundamental analysis and tailored asset-allocation strategies, combining long-term holdings with active trading and derivative instruments within discretionary mandates.

Charles Harris is a financial advisor with First Georgetown Securities, Inc. in Alexandria, VA, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and over 45 years of industry experience. He has been with First Georgetown Securities since 1982. Outside of finance, he produced and stars in a YouTube TV pilot titled "Becoming Van Vlack," a project unrelated to his advisory work. First Georgetown Securities provides discretionary managed-account services primarily to individual and high-net-worth clients, using growth, growth-and-income, and income strategies. The firm emphasizes tactical asset allocation informed by fundamental and technical analysis and regularly monitors accounts to manage risk.

Taro Taguchi is a financial advisor at MZ Capital, LLC with 9 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with MZ Capital Management since 2015. MZ Capital Management provides discretionary asset management and financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm emphasizes a passive, asset-class allocation approach using institutional funds within a buy‑hold‑and‑rebalance framework, managing accounts primarily on a discretionary basis with individualized investment policy statements.

Raymond Hobson is a CFP® with over 31 years of industry experience. He is currently with HF Advisory Group, LLC, where he has worked since 2020. His prior experience includes roles at the Institute For Wealth Management LLC, Institute for Wealth Advisors, and Broker Dealer Financial Services Corp. Outside of advisory work, he is involved in independent insurance sales. HF Advisory Group provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities. The firm utilizes modern portfolio theory and combines long- and short-term trading strategies, serving roughly 402 client relationships with approximately $250 million in discretionary assets under management.

Michael Shea is a CFA® charterholder with 17 years of industry experience. He has been with 8th Street Investments, LLC since 2008, serving as one of two advisors at the firm in Alexandria, VA. 8th Street Investments provides discretionary portfolio management and standalone financial planning to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm manages approximately $171.7 million for about 55 clients, employing a fundamental analysis-based investment process with tailored asset-allocation strategies and incorporating active trading tools and derivatives within discretionary mandates.

Brian Scanlon is a financial advisor at Capstone, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Archstone Capital, LLC and Height Analytics, LLC, among others. In addition to his advisory role, Scanlon serves as Director of Institutional Sales at Capstone, focusing on policy research and access to related events. Capstone serves institutional investors such as mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity firms, and long-only managers by providing policy analysis, regulatory due diligence, and written research products. The firm emphasizes vetted, impersonal research and advisory services without managing client assets, delivering comprehensive reports and deep-dive due diligence for clients globally.

Stephen James is a CFP® professional with 39 years of industry experience. He is currently with Severn Financial Advisors, LLC, where he has worked since 2009, and has prior experience at Commonwealth Financial Network and Cambridge Investment Research Advisors. Severn Financial Advisors, LLC provides financial planning and consulting services to individuals, families, businesses, trusts, and estates, focusing on tailored written or verbal plans developed through a detailed fact-finding process using third-party planning tools. The firm offers fixed-fee and hourly planning engagements and does not provide discretionary asset management or custody of client assets.

Christopher Lane is a financial advisor at McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at the University of Maryland and Bullis School. McGinn Penninger Investment Management provides discretionary portfolio management primarily for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, focusing on a long-term, large-cap value equity strategy with fundamental analysis and contrarian purchases. The firm also serves as sub-adviser to the Union Street Partners Value Fund and offers tailored portfolio management across individual accounts and the fund.

Ed Leads a team revolutionizing financial planning for federal employees. Valor Wealth Partners is a veteran-owned business with an office in Washington, D.C. and serving clients virtually in 19 states. With over 25 years of experience providing financial planning guidance, Ed has helped hundreds of families navigate complex and emotional dilemmas. He combines decades of experience with personalized strategies to help clients meet their needs. By simplifying his comprehensive analysis into down-to-earth terms, he is able to help clients understand their situation and take positive actions. Helping people with their financial goals is a deeply personal mission for Ed. Early struggles with money led him to pursue a meaningful career guiding people through the financial planning process. As a Certified Financial Planner, Ed follows the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. The complex knowledge required to obtain and maintain this professional designation helps Ed develop extensive financial plans that hardworking people deserve. Ed’s devotion to the community is evident in the numerous charitable associations where he volunteers his time. He’s currently a captain for a team of cyclists in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge and is a two-time marathoner for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He attributes his core values of integrity and attention to detail to his service with the U.S. Marines. We invite you to see our passion and knowledge on how your federal benefits can be maximized at our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FinancialPlanning4Feds

Daniel Messeca is a CFP® with 15 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Craftwork Capital LLC since 2020. Prior to this, he worked at Motley Fool Wealth Management, LLC for six years. He is also the co-founder and Director of Finance at Blue Crab Brewing Company, Inc., a manufacturing business he has been involved with since 2015. Craftwork Capital primarily serves individual and high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and employer-sponsored retirement plans. The firm offers financial planning and discretionary portfolio management, utilizing model portfolios, separately managed accounts, and digital wealth platforms while employing borrowing, derivatives, and AI tools in its investment approach.