Nancy Zehr is a financial advisor at Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc. with 30 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has previously worked at firms including American Global Wealth Management, Imprint Wealth, Laidlaw & Company (UK), and Raymond James & Associates. Outside of her advisory role, she serves as secretary of a local nonprofit robotics foundation supporting a school district program and participates as a poll inspector and assistant clerk for elections in Martin County, Florida. Mesirow Financial Investment Management, Inc. provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment management and financial planning to a range of clients including private individuals, institutional investors, and government entities. The firm employs a structured investment process and offers access to proprietary and third-party investment products, including institutional real estate and private equity funds.

Samuel Audy is a financial advisor at Equity Services, Inc. with one year of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at several firms including National Life Group and The Tranel Financial Group. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved as an insurance agent with Lakeshore Financial Group and National Life. Equity Services, Inc., operating as ESI Financial Advisors, provides financial planning, consulting, and asset management services to individuals, corporations, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employer retirement plans. The firm offers multiple advisory platforms and utilizes a variety of third-party asset managers and model portfolios, combining long-term strategies with options for shorter-term trading.

Armando Martinez is a financial advisor at PNC Wealth Management with 13 years of industry experience. He holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and has worked at firms including Northern Trust Securities, Northern Trust Bank, and Zacks Investment Management. Martinez is based in Chicago, IL. PNC Wealth Management offers retail brokerage and advisory services through model-based programs, including an invitation-only, algorithm-driven digital investment platform for employees that uses mutual funds and ETFs with annual rebalancing.

Anne Cusick is a financial advisor at William Blair with 25 years of industry experience. She has been with William Blair & Company, L.L.C. since 2000 and holds a Series 66 designation. Based in Chicago, IL, she provides investment and wealth management services through the firm. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm employs an active, research-driven approach across equities, fixed income, and alternative strategies, providing proprietary models and access to private funds and co-investment opportunities.

Grove Mower is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors with 41 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked for Wayne Hummer Investments L.L.C. for 20 years before joining Hightower in 2018. In addition to his advisory work, he writes and publishes fiction books through Snafu Publications LLC. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse range of individual and institutional clients. The firm’s approach includes manager selection and multi-manager solutions, utilizing both affiliated and third-party managers, and offers services such as discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting.

Stephen Schneider is a financial advisor at Citigroup Global Markets with 22 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Merrill for 18 years before joining Citigroup in 2024. Schneider holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching online finance courses at Southern New Hampshire University. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across various wealth segments, offering multi-asset, multi-manager investment strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs. The firm combines large institutional scale with unique market roles, providing comprehensive advisory, execution, and custody services.

Susan Esses is a CFP® with over 43 years of industry experience, currently affiliated with Principal Financial Services. She has worked at Principal Securities Inc. since 2008. Principal Securities provides brokerage and registered investment advisory services to a diverse client base, including individual investors, retirement plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and active-duty U.S. military personnel. The firm offers direct advisory programs, financial planning, retirement plan consulting, and access to third-party money manager asset allocation and separately managed account solutions.

Charles Coulson is a financial advisor with CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, IL. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with CIBC Wood Gundy – CIBC Private Wealth since 2002, totaling 24 years of industry experience. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors provides investment and wealth advisory services to a diverse client base, including individuals, families, trusts, employee benefit plans, corporations, and investment companies. The firm employs a structured investment process involving an internal team, Relationship Managers, and committees to deliver customized portfolio management and comprehensive planning services, notable for its scale and focus on investment company clients.

Mark Mckevitt is a CFP® and CFA® charterholder with three years of industry experience. He is currently an advisor at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, where he has worked since 2016. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors delivers investment and wealth advisory services to a diverse clientele, including individuals, families, trusts, employee benefit plans, corporations, and investment companies. The firm combines internal investment teams and governance committees to create customized portfolios and offers a range of strategies including options hedges and structured notes, managing approximately $67.8 billion in assets.

Matthew Teich is a financial advisor at Cresset Asset Management, LLC with 23 years of industry experience. He holds the CFP® and CFA® designations and has worked at Cresset since 2017, with prior experience at J.P. Morgan Private Bank. Cresset Asset Management, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $71.9 billion in client assets for a diverse client base, including individuals, families, trusts, retirement plans, and charitable organizations. The firm focuses on diversified, asset-allocation-driven portfolio construction using both active and passive strategies and offers a range of services including portfolio management, financial planning, private fund advisory, and family office services.

Daniel Schramm is a financial advisor with Goldman Sachs Wealth Services in Chicago, holding a Series 66 credential and two years of industry experience. Prior to his current role, he has worked at JPMorgan Chase and Gruber Law Offices among other positions. Goldman Sachs Wealth Services advises a diverse client base including individual investors, corporate participants, executives, plan sponsors, and institutional clients. The firm offers financial planning, portfolio management, and specialized services such as Private Family Office and Executive Wealth programs, utilizing strategic allocation models and proprietary research to tailor client solutions.

William Mctavish is an advisor at CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. in Chicago, IL, holding Series 65 and Series 63 licenses. He has over 24 years of industry experience, including 16 years with Peters & Co. Equities Inc. and 8 years at CIBC Wood Gundy – CIBC Private Wealth. CIBC Private Wealth Advisors serves a diverse client base, including individuals, families, trusts, employee benefit plans, corporations, and investment companies. The firm offers a range of services such as portfolio management, financial and estate planning, and coordinated Family Office services, utilizing both proprietary and external investment strategies supported by dedicated internal teams.

John Hundley is a financial advisor at Empower Advisory Group with 10 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66, Series 63, and Series 65 designations. His prior work includes positions at GWFS Equities and Morgan Stanley, among others. Empower Advisory Group provides financial planning and investment management primarily to employer-sponsored retirement plan sponsors and their participants, as well as to Empower Premier IRA and certain retail brokerage account holders, delivering services through an integrated model connected to Empower’s recordkeeping and administrative platforms.

Elinor Escamilla is a financial advisor at William Blair with 11 years of industry experience. She holds the CFA® and Series 63 designations and has worked at William Blair since 2019, following six years at Bard Associates Inc. Based in Chicago, IL, she provides investment management and wealth planning services. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division offers discretionary and non-discretionary investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pensions, and corporate clients. The firm follows an active, research-driven approach across multiple asset classes and provides access to proprietary models, third-party sub-managers, and private investment opportunities.

Carter O’Neil is a financial advisor at TIAA-CREF with three years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has previously worked at Vanguard Advisers, Inc. and Vanguard Marketing Corporation. TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services, LLC provides financial planning and discretionary managed account programs to individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, and small retirement plans, often serving clients with pre-existing employer retirement plan relationships. The firm offers both point-in-time planning services and ongoing portfolio management through a fiduciary advisory model.

Marta Mycyk is a financial advisor at Mercer Global Advisors Inc. with 29 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and has previously worked at Betterment and AssetMark Financial, Inc. Mercer Global Advisors serves a diverse client base including individuals, high-net-worth families, small business owners, corporate plan sponsors, foundations, and nonprofits. The firm employs a Modern Portfolio Theory-based investment approach emphasizing globally diversified, risk-appropriate portfolios with multi-factor tilts, offering a range of portfolio management and financial planning services.

Scott Schmidt is a financial advisor with Sanctuary Advisors, LLC in Chicago, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and 15 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at David A. Noyes & Company, Fifth Third Securities, and Meritus Capital Management. Outside of his advisory work, he is a partner at Schmidt and Lerner, LLC, a law firm where he dedicates time to reviewing legal work and providing advice. Sanctuary Advisors, LLC offers investment advisory and financial planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm supports a broad range of investment strategies managed by its network of over 400 independent advisers and employs multiple analytical approaches while acting as a fiduciary when agreements are in place.

Brian Respeliers is a CFA® charterholder with six years of industry experience. He is currently with Citigroup Global Markets in Chicago, having joined in 2026 after eight years at Northern Trust and three years at Legal and General Investment Management America. Citigroup Global Markets serves individual and institutional clients across multiple wealth segments, offering a broad range of investment advisory programs and execution services. The firm employs multi-asset, multi-manager strategies through discretionary and non-discretionary programs, supported by internal standards and oversight committees.

Matthew Kelly is a financial advisor at William Blair with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and previously worked at Nuveen Investments for two years before joining William Blair in 2018. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as the head lacrosse coach for the varsity team at Mount Carmel High School in Chicago. William Blair’s Private Wealth Management division provides investment management, financial planning, and wealth services to individuals, foundations, pension, and corporate clients. The firm employs active, research-driven management across multiple asset classes and offers proprietary models, third-party sub-advisory options, and access to private funds through its MB Investments Program.

Erin Murphy is a financial advisor at Hightower Advisors with one year of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Wintrust Wealth Services for eight years. Outside of finance, she founded and operated Black Cat Yoga, a yoga and wellness studio, where she was involved in teaching classes and managing business operations. Hightower Advisors provides investment advisory and planning services to a diverse client base including individuals, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm utilizes a multi-manager approach with access to affiliated and third-party managers, offering portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement consulting solutions.