Kara Vance is a CFP® and Series 65 professional with 15 years of experience in financial advisory services. She has been with Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. since 2016. Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. is a fee-only, hourly financial planning firm that serves individuals, families, businesses, trusts, charities, and retirement plans. The firm provides project-based advice on various financial topics and emphasizes diversified exposure through no-load mutual funds and ETFs, asset allocation, and periodic rebalancing, without offering ongoing portfolio management or discretionary authority.

Gregory Davis is a CFP® with 11 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at Clearwater Capital Partners. He has been with Clearwater since 2015. Outside of his advisory role, he is a passive investor in a thoroughbred horse racing LLC and acts as a life insurance agent, evaluating and placing policies when needed for clients. Clearwater Capital Partners provides family office services, private wealth management, institutional advisory, and retirement plan advising. The firm serves individual, high-net-worth, and institutional clients using a variety of investment approaches, including fundamental, quantitative, and options strategies.

Terri Rau is a financial advisor at Midwest Professional Planners, Ltd. with 18 years of industry experience. She holds the ChFC® designation and Series 66 license. Rau has worked primarily with Midwest Professional Planners in various capacities since 2013 and was also associated with APW Capital, Inc. She is involved in pro bono financial planning guidance through the Financial Planning Association and participates in divorce financial planning workshops and consulting. Midwest Professional Planners is an SEC-registered advisory firm serving individuals, businesses, retirement plans, and charities with approximately $649 million in assets under management. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, retirement coaching, and specialized services including divorce planning, utilizing quantitative methods and a combination of individual securities and ETFs in their investment approach.

Bryson Cioni is a financial advisor at Midwest Professional Planners, Ltd. He holds a Series 65 designation and has approximately one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Midwest Professional Planners, Cioni worked at Amcor and attended Iowa State University. Midwest Professional Planners is an SEC-registered advisory firm serving individuals, businesses, retirement plans, and charities, with about $649 million in assets under management. The firm offers comprehensive financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and specialized services such as divorce planning and retirement coaching, utilizing quantitative methods and a combination of individual securities and low-cost ETFs.

John Chapman is a financial advisor at Clearwater Capital Partners with 41 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Clearwater Capital Partners since 2006. Chapman is a partial owner of Clearwater Capital Insurance Services, LLC, which provides non-variable life, long-term care, and disability insurance sales, and he is also a business owner of Clearwater Capital Consulting, LLC, offering select tax services. Clearwater Capital Partners serves high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional clients, providing family office and private wealth management, institutional advisory, retirement plan advisory, and wrap-fee investment programs. The firm manages most advisory accounts on a discretionary basis and incorporates fundamental, technical, quantitative, and thematic analysis in portfolio management.

Michael Heatwole is a CFP® with 13 years of industry experience, currently serving as an advisor at The Dala Group, LLC since 2018. He previously worked at Waddell & Reed, Inc for six years. Outside of his advisory role, he serves on the advisory board of The Salvation Army in Elgin, IL, and is vice-president of a local networking organization, BNI. The Dala Group serves individual and high-net-worth clients with portfolio management and financial consulting, including retirement, estate, tax, and charitable planning. The firm employs a mix of fundamental, quantitative, and qualitative analysis to develop diversified asset-allocation strategies using a variety of investment vehicles tailored to client objectives and risk tolerance.

Anna Thornburg is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor at Model Wealth, Inc. in Wheaton, IL, with four years of industry experience. Prior to joining Model Wealth in 2021, she worked at Covenant Classical School and Church of the Resurrection. Model Wealth, Inc. is a virtual, fee-only financial planning and wealth management firm serving individuals, families, estates, trusts, and small businesses. The firm uses a broadly passive investment approach with cost-effective, tax-aware implementation, combining robo-managed strategies, direct indexing, and discretionary portfolio management.

Scott Graziano is a financial advisor with Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc., holding a Series 65 credential and one year of industry experience. He has worked at J.W. Cole Advisors, Inc. and J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. Prior to his advisory roles, he has held various positions outside the financial industry. Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc. serves retail investors, including both non–high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and educational workshops. The firm uses proprietary model portfolios across a range of risk profiles and typically operates with discretionary trading authority.

Shawn Cook is a financial advisor with USAdvisors Wealth Management, LLC, holding a Series 66 license and bringing 12 years of industry experience. He has worked at multiple firms including Securities America, Inc. and Questar Asset Management. Outside of advisory work, he has served as past president and board member of the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce and owns businesses in insurance and consulting. USAdvisors Wealth Management, LLC offers discretionary portfolio management and financial planning to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm utilizes a combination of fundamental analysis, asset allocation, and model portfolios developed with third-party providers, managing accounts on a discretionary basis with regular suitability reviews.

Brent Fields is a CFP® professional with 28 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been with Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc. since 2007 and has also worked at LPL Financial and Cetera Wealth Services, LLC. Total Clarity Wealth Management is a multi-advisor firm that serves individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, corporations, and employer 401(k) plan sponsors. The firm provides comprehensive financial planning and discretionary portfolio management using a variety of investment programs and asset types, with custody primarily through Schwab and LPL.

Lydia Newby is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience currently serving at Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. She has been with the firm since 2017 and previously worked at Marsh USA Inc. from 2012 to 2017. Timothy Financial Counsel, Inc. is a fee-only, hourly financial planning firm that serves individuals, families, businesses, trusts, charities, and retirement plans. The firm emphasizes advisory and implementation coaching through a structured planning menu and prefers diversified investments such as no-load mutual funds and ETFs, operating without discretionary authority over client assets.

Robert Lyman is a financial advisor at Sequoia Wealth Management, LLC, with 42 years of industry experience. He holds the ChFC® designation and Series 63 and 65 licenses. Prior to joining Sequoia Wealth Management in 2014, he worked at LPL Financial LLC starting in 2009. He serves on the board of directors for Friends of Shalom for Uganda, a community and charitable organization. Sequoia Wealth Management provides asset management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, and employer retirement plans. The firm utilizes a combination of quantitative optimization, third-party research, and manager selection to tailor portfolios and offers both discretionary management and implementation of third-party strategist models.

Patrick Gierke is a financial advisor with Acrylic Financial, Inc. in Crystal Lake, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 33 years of industry experience. He has worked at Acrylic Financial since 2019 and previously at Brooklight Place Securities, Inc. and The Leaders Group Inc. Outside of his advisory role, Gierke owns Revolutionary Financial, a fixed insurance sales business. Acrylic Financial, Inc. provides portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, other investment advisers, corporations, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm offers tailored investment programs combining asset-allocation frameworks with active momentum and technical analysis, and manages discretionary and non-discretionary accounts, including a private hedge fund.

John La Spisa is a CFP® at Vermillion Financial Advisors, Inc. with two years of industry experience. His background includes multiple roles at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Vermillion Financial Advisors. Vermillion Financial Advisors serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, business entities, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations, providing financial planning and investment advisory services. The firm emphasizes structured communications and education through a range of planning disciplines, model and customized portfolios, and participant education tied to plan assets.

James Bellinger is a financial advisor with RCM Wealth Advisors in Itasca, IL, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and bringing 23 years of industry experience. He has been with RCM Wealth Advisors since 2014 and also serves as president of Better Business Planning, Inc., an employee benefit sales firm he has been involved with since 1977. RCM Wealth Advisors is a multi-advisor SEC-registered firm managing approximately $324 million for about 530 clients. The firm serves individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, and corporate clients, offering portfolio management and a range of Managed Asset Portfolios with an investment process supported by a weekly Investment Policy Committee.

Kathleen Panek Rickerson is a financial advisor with Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc., holding a Series 66 designation and six years of industry experience. She has worked with Total Clarity Wealth Management and LPL Financial since 2018. Outside of financial advising, she has been involved with BabySnApps since 2013. Total Clarity Wealth Management is a multi-advisor wealth management and financial planning firm serving individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employer retirement plans. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management, financial and retirement planning, 401(k) advisory, and donor-advised fund services, utilizing a range of investment strategies from conservative wrap programs to more active approaches for qualified investors.

Terrence Cicero is a CFP® credentialed financial advisor with 18 years of industry experience. He has been with DHJJ Financial Advisors and DigioVine, Hnilo, Jordan & Johnson, Ltd. since 2007. DHJJ Financial Advisors is an SEC-registered firm managing approximately $543.5 million across eight advisors, serving both individual and high-net-worth clients with portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement plan services. The firm offers integrated tax preparation and accounting services through an affiliated CPA firm and typically manages accounts on a discretionary basis using a range of investment vehicles.

John Davis is a financial advisor with Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc., holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 29 years of industry experience. He has been affiliated with both Chicago Investment Advisory Council and J.W. Cole Financial, Inc. since the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as a board member of the Sunset Harbour Yacht Club and is a racecar driving instructor at Blackhawk Farms Raceway. Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc. serves retail clients, including both non‑high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and educational workshops through a team of five advisors. The firm employs proprietary model portfolios with discretionary trading authority and manages approximately 1,100 client relationships.

Ronny Mark is a financial advisor with Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc., holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and having 13 years of industry experience. He has worked at Uhlmann Price Securities since 2013 and is president of Price Futures Group, where he oversees hedging activities. Mark is also involved in risk management related to client trading and positions at Price Futures Group. Chicago Investment Advisory Council, Inc. serves both individual and high-net-worth retail investors, providing portfolio management, financial planning, and educational workshops. The firm employs proprietary model portfolios and manages approximately 1,100 client relationships with a team of five advisors.

Sean Poquette is a financial advisor with Leelyn Smith, LLC, holding a Series 66 designation and having two years of industry experience. He previously worked at The State Bank of Geneva for six years before joining Leelyn Smith and LPL Financial. Poquette is a licensed notary in Illinois. Leelyn Smith, LLC provides discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services to individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, business entities, and trusts. The firm employs model-based and individualized allocations across a range of investment vehicles and utilizes multiple third-party platforms and technologies to support client portfolio management.