2025 FPA NorCal Conference

May 27 & 28 2025

Speakers & Sessions
listed alphabetically

Day 1

CFP®, CCIM

Rich Arzaga

The Real Estate Whisperer Financial Planning

Defer, reduce, or eliminate taxes on the sale of highly appreciated rental property: 5 methods

This program is tailored for professional advisors and their clients who own rental property, focusing on five proven tax strategies to mitigate or eliminate taxes on highly appreciated investment real estate. The presentation is a survey course covering advanced techniques: 1031 exchanges, 1031-721 exchanges, Opportunity Zones, Charitable Remainder Trusts, and tax-qualified oil and gas drilling. Each strategy addresses the challenges of managing significant capital gains and estate tax exposure associated with high-value properties. Through real-world case studies, attendees will gain actionable insights into preserving wealth and optimizing tax outcomes, making it an essential guide for those managing substantial real estate portfolios.

Ellevate Advisors

Becoming Succession Ready: the Journey Before the Destination

Succession Readiness isn’t just for advisors approaching retirement; it is the mindset required for both buyers and sellers preparing for a smooth transition! Knowing what your goals are now and for your ideal exit scenario is essential to success. Join Brooklyn Brock, a 3rd generation financial advisor, and exit coach to advisors themselves, in this interactive presentation. Together, we will identify common mental roadblocks that derail a transition, explore succession readiness prerequisites using a Retirement Readiness Assessment tool, and identify the right exit strategy to accomplish your unique goals. Any advisor at any age and stage of life and business will leave this presentation better prepared for an internal succession or M&A event!

CFP®, CEPA®, ChFC®, CKA®

Brooklyn Brock

CFP, CeFT

Jessi Chadd

Aspyre Wealth Partners

Advisor Wellbeing: How you take care of yourself in a caring profession

Financial planning is not just the hard numbers and facts. We pour into our clients in caring and thoughtful ways. This care towards clients while rewarding is also draining and if we aren’t careful, the thing we love most about our work becomes our greatest resentment. Join me in a session where we pour into you – the advisor – and teach you how to keep refilling your own “cup” so you can show up as the best advisor for your clients. I’ll be sharing tricks and tips for avoiding burnout in our profession and you will walk away with your own advisor wellbeing toolkit.

Merrill Lynch

Estate Tax Planning Ahead of the Sunset: Key Things to Remember Presentation Description

This session offers a comprehensive look at today’s gift and estate tax landscape, equipping you with the knowledge to guide clients through effective wealth transfer planning. We’ll examine current laws and exceptions to gifts that preserve exemption amounts, ensuring you’re up-to-date with the latest regulations. You’ll gain insights into key wealth transfer structures, including Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs), Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs), Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), and more, while understanding how to match these tools to your clients’ unique needs. Beyond the technical aspects, we’ll address practical considerations like utilizing the first spouse’s exemption, maintaining grantor trust status, transferring business interests, and leveraging Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) and buy-sell agreements. By the end of this session, you’ll be equipped to create tailored strategies for your clients, ensuring their wealth transfer plans are as efficient as they are effective.

J.D.

Sara Dorosti

BA in Rhetoric

Elizabeth Gebhardt

Medicare Advisor, Gebhardt Group, Inc.

Navigating Medicare: Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Benefits

Most people think Medicare is free, easy, and covers everything. As an advisor, you can help set more realistic expectations for your clients as they approach 65 and need to figure out all things Medicare. Understand how Medicare works, what it covers and doesn’t cover, and how the decisions you help them make may impact what they pay for healthcare.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation

How Charitable Planning Can Grow Your Practice

We are in the middle of the greatest wealth transition in history, and CFPs are in the perfect position to help their clients plan to make this successful. Join us for an evidence-based exploration of all of the ways that charitable planning can position you for success, including connecting with your clients on their values and visions for the future, creating and maintaining relationships with the next generation and establishing yourself as a highly skilled and proactive advisor. We’ll also review some of the most effective charitable planning tools that you can offer to your clients, including charitable uses of retirement assets, using donor advised funds to create family legacies and how lifetime income gifts can offer both charitable deductions and lifetime income.

J.D.

Liza Hanks

B.S. in Venture Management

Louis Helmonds

New Venture Visions Corporation

Attract Clients with Strategies that Substantially Increase Mortgage Interest Deductions

Home mortgage interest rates are currently at multi-year highs, resulting in increased payments for clients. Compounding this issue, the federal mortgage interest deduction limit of $750,000 significantly impacts owners of multi-million-dollar homes and most second-home owners, who often cannot deduct interest beyond this threshold. This training session explores a “Tax-Optimized Mortgage Debt Restructure” process, which can, in many cases, enable clients to deduct part or all of the excluded interest. For instance, clients with combined tax rates of 50% or higher, loan amounts of $1.5 million, and interest rates of 6% could realize annual, recurring tax savings exceeding $20,000 through this specialized restructuring approach.

Investments & Wealth Institute, Cerulli Associates, Raymond James

Building Services for HNW clients

As investable assets held by high-net-worth (HNW) households in the U.S. have increased by more than $23 trillion since 2011, firms have rapidly grown their service offerings aimed at this demographic. Greater than one-third (35%) of HNW individuals state that the reason they began a relationship with their primary advisory provider is related to either services or client experience offered. Additionally, Cerulli data shows that since 2017, every category of service offering has become more commonplace to meet enhanced client expectations and needs.

In this panel presentation, you will hear from the lead Cerulli researcher on HNW services, two practitioners delivering HNW services to their clients, and the CEO of the credentialing body for Certified Private Wealth Advisor professionals. From increasingly nuanced investment management services to more comprehensive and specialized planning services, every arena of high-end private wealth services will experience greater demand: Estate and tax planning, charitable planning, planning for closely held business owners, and the ability to navigate alternative investments on behalf of your clients are essential services for advisors. Wealth management firms buy, build or rent these service capabilities in various ways which shall be explored by the panel.

CAE

Sean Walters

BS: Economics and Finance

Chayce Horton

B.S., CFP®, CPWA, CIMA, ADPA, CDFA

Claudia Kane

BA

Carl P Kaufman

Osterweis Capital

Not All High Yield is Junk

Thanks to the outsized influence of Moody’s and S&P, many investors have a simplistic view of the bond market: investment grade is “safe” and high yield is “risky.” In this presentation, Carl Kaufman and John Sheehan, CFA, Portfolio Managers for the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund, will explain why they believe this view is fundamentally flawed. The distinction between the two segments is determined by an issuer’s agency rating, so they will begin by reviewing the principles behind ratings. They will then explain the limitations of using a single approach to define such a diverse and dynamic market, and they will explore how market inefficiencies allow savvy investors to construct high yield portfolios with risk profiles similar to investment grade portfolios. Carl and John will also discuss the structure of both market segments and examine the appropriate uses of each asset class in client portfolios. In their view, the allocation decisions are less clear than conventional wisdom suggests, as they have different strengths and risks.

Optimal AdvisorAI

Saving Financial Professional Time by integrating AI into daily practices

In this session, we showcase practical applications of AI in financial planning and advisory services. We demonstrate how offices can save 1-5 hours per week by highlighting real world use cases. After this session, our goal is advisors will be more open to leveraging AI to create stronger, more profitable practices. This presentation is more than just a talk; it’s a look into how AI is going to change the way a financial planning practice can operate. Key takeaways from the presentation: Real-World Use Cases: Gain practical insights with real-world examples, demonstrating how AI can be implemented into everyday workflows. Explore the power of AI to help you save time by providing comprehensive due-diligence reviews, from dissecting 50-page investment PDFs in seconds to summarizing complex financial data. Learn about the transformative impact of AI on client communication and engagement in a compliant manner and how it can help build deeper, more meaningful relationships. Why This Presentation? Educational Focus: The practical session is tailored to educate and empower financial advisors, equipping them with the knowledge to incorporate AI in their daily operations. Interactive and Engaging: Our style is conversational, ensuring a lively and engaging learning experience for all attendees.

CBDA

Craig Kirkpatrick

MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, CHFC, RHU, REBC, CASL

Michael Kitces

Kitces.com

TBD

Coming Soon!

Kitces.com

TBD

Coming Soon!

CPA/PFS, CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®, CWS®, BFA®, MSA

Jeffrey Levine

MD, CFP®

Carolyn McClanahan

Life Planning Partners, Inc.

How You Can Stop Performance Reporting

Most firms spend significant money and time producing quarterly investment reports for clients. This looks to the past and does not predict the future of the client’s portfolio. Unless your purpose is to tout investment returns, these provide little value to the client. At Life Planning Partners, Inc., we made a decision to quit performance reporting in 2017. It took some work to prepare clients and they have not missed the reports at all. Our time is now spent of providing what clients value most – real financial panning. Meetings are rarely about investments and are focused mainly on the clients life and financial goals. Dr. McClanahan will walk you through their process to prepare clients for no more performance reports. She will also share what they do provide to clients and how they efficiently cover projections, tax, estate, insurance, and investment planning.

Oliver Wyman

Decoding the LTCI Mandate: Actuarial Insights and Practical Strategies for Financial Planners

Long-term care insurance (LTCI) mandates are reshaping the financial landscape, offering both challenges and opportunities for financial planners. In this session, Stephanie Moench, actuarial lead for California’s exploration of a potential statewide LTC program, will break down the complexities of implementing a public LTC program, sharing insights into the range of program designs explored, the actuarial considerations underlying the program structure, and the potential impact on clients and advisors. Stephanie will also discuss opportunities for planners to use state exploration into public LTC programs to better serve clients, build trust, and integrate LTCI planning into their practice. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how to navigate the potential new requirements, help clients make informed decisions, and incorporate LTCI conversations into holistic financial planning.

FSA, MAAA

Stephanie Moench

CFP®, RMA®

Robert Joseph Powell, III.

Yahoo Finance

Navigating the Golden Years: Comprehensive Elder Planning Strategies for Financial Advisors

In an era of increasing longevity and complex financial landscapes, financial advisors play a critical role in guiding clients through the intricate journey of aging. This presentation will provide a comprehensive roadmap for developing holistic elder plans that address not just financial security, but the multifaceted challenges of aging. Participants will learn how to create nuanced, personalized strategies that protect clients’ financial and personal well-being, with a special focus on identifying and preventing elder financial abuse and exploitation.

Morningstar

Goals-Based Tax Strategies

In this engaging session, we’ll dive deep into the art and science of tax strategy planning, equipping you with the tools and techniques needed to serve your clients at the highest level. We’ll explore a comprehensive review of tax strategies—the “tools in the toolbox”—and how to assess your clients’ unique situations to select and explain the most effective solutions. From understanding the nuances of implementation to navigating real-world applications, this session is designed to make complex tax planning approachable and actionable. You’ll leave with a new framework for addressing individual client needs, practical strategies to boost your confidence in delivering results, and insights into the critical importance of showcasing your impact to your clients. Whether you’re looking to refine your approach or take your planning to the next level, this session will empower you to elevate your practice and truly “up your game” in delivering exceptional value to your clients.

BA - Business (Accounting), MBA - Finance, CPA

Sheryl Rowling

JD, MAE, AEP

Mark A Shiller

Certus Legal Group, Ltd.

How to Not Ruin Your Clients' Kids with Money

This presentation will explore the advisor’s role in facilitating positive generational wealth transfer – something that will be greatly needed during the coming decades’ massive transition of wealth. Our time together will not focus on this technique or that strategy. Rather, we will consider how we can work together to better our clients’ primary goals and assuage their greatest fears when it comes to their children or grandchildren – that the wealth they’ve created and we helped grow will end up ruining those they love the most.

Midland National/Midland Advisory

TBD

Coming Soon!

Cooper Sinclair

BA, CLSC

Brian Trouette

Trouette Insurance Agency, LLC

The CA Sustainable Insurance Strategy

Since the 2017 Sonoma County Fires in CA, the insurance industry has moved toward decreased availability of coverage and runaway cost increases. We will discuss the continuum of issues that have contributed to the mounting crisis in CA and strategies for an advisor to assist their clients in navigating insurance options along with advice on how to avoid cancellations.
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Cooper Sinclair

Strategy Leader at Midland Advisory, Midland National/Midland Advisory

Cooper Sinclair is Vice President of Strategy at Midland Advisory, a unit focused on the RIA marketplace at Midland National Life. His core position functions include establishing and growing sales and distribution opportunities and identifying and executing initiatives that build the advisory annuity business at Midland National within Sammons Financial Group. Prior to leading the strategic efforts at Midland Advisory, Sinclair led the national RIA strategy for Prudential Financial. As one of a small number of insurance executives with experience in both RIA strategy creation and successful RIA sales execution, Sinclair has broad sales and distribution experience. At Prudential, he built the company’s RIA wholesaling team and broker-of-record desk, guided the development of their RIA-specific web experience, and consulted with product manufacturing and marketing to develop variable and fixed index annuity solutions for the advisory space. Prior to Prudential, Sinclair held similar RIA leadership roles at Lincoln Financial Group and Jefferson National (now Nationwide). He began his focus on the RIA market at AEGON/Transamerica’s Advisor Resources Division, and has been in the financial services industry since 2000. Sinclair took part in the Committee of Annuity Insurers successful initiative to obtain non-taxable treatment for advisory fees extracted from non-qualified annuities, by way of IRS PLRs issued in the summer of 2019. Sinclair has an undergraduate degree from Hanover College, and holds the Series 7, 66, and 26 FINRA registrations. He resides in Louisville, KY, along with his wife Andrea, and their four sons.

Robert Joseph Powell, III, CFP®, RMA®

Podcast Host, Decoding Retirement, Yahoo Finance

Robert Powell, CFP®, RMA®, is an award-winning financial journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as MarketWatch.com, USA Today, TheStreet.com, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Investor’s Business Daily and AARP. He serves as the editor and publisher of TheStreet’s Retirement Daily and the Investments & Wealth Institute’s Retirement Management Journal.

Powell is also the host of Decoding Retirement on Yahoo Finance.

He’s a co-founder of finStream.tv and an instructor in the Financial Planning Association’s Online Elder Planning Specialist certificate program.

Powell was a 2022 Robert N. Butler–Jack Rosenthal Age Boom Academy Journalist Fellow and won the 2021 Radio Television Digital News Association and the National Endowment for Financial Education Excellence in Personal Finance Reporting Award.

Michael Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, CHFC, RHU, REBC, CASL

Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com

Michael E. Kitces, MSFS, MTAX, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, RHU, REBC, CASL is the Chief Financial Planning Nerd at Kitces.com, dedicated to advancing knowledge in financial planning and helping to make financial advisors better and more successful.

In addition, he is the Head of Planning Strategy at Buckingham Wealth Partners, the co-founder of the XY Planning Network, AdvicePay, New Planner Recruiting, fpPathfinder, and FA BeanCounters, the former Practitioner Editor of the Journal of Financial Planning, the host of the Financial Advisor Success podcast, and the publisher of the popular financial planning industry blog Nerd’s Eye View.

In 2010, Michael was recognized with one of the FPA’s “Heart of Financial Planning” awards for his dedication and work in advancing the profession.

Jeffrey Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®, CWS®, BFA®, MSA

Lead Financial Planning Nerd, Kitces.com

Jeffrey Levine, CPA/PFS, CFP®, ChFC®, RICP®, CWS®, BFA®, MSA is the Lead Financial Planning Nerd for Kitces.com and the Chief Planning Officer at Buckingham Wealth Partners. In 2022, Jeffrey received ThinkAdvisor’s Luminaries award for Education and Thought Leadership. Other industry recognitions include being named to Investment Advisor Magazine’s IA25 in 2021 for being one of the top 25 “VIPs Pushing Advisors Forward,” which followed being named to the same list in 2020 as one of the top 25 voices to turn to during uncertain times. Also in 2020, Jeffrey was named by Financial Advisor Magazine as a Young Advisor to Watch. He is a past recipient of the Standing Ovation award, presented by the AICPA Financial Planning Division for “exemplary professional achievement in personal financial planning services,” and is a member of the 2017 class of 40 Under 40 by InvestmentNews, which recognizes “accomplishment, contribution to the financial advice industry, leadership and promise for the future.” Previously, Jeffrey served as Ed Slott and Company’s Chief Retirement Strategist, where his ability to simplify the complex laws that govern individual retirement accounts, combined with his unique blend of humor and tax planning, was first recognized. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @CPAPlanner, where he is known to break down the latest tax updates in GIF-filled tweets storms, and via his personal website, www.FullyVestedAdvice.com.

Brian Trouette, BA, CLSC

Managing Member, Trouette Insurance Agency, LLC

Brian founded Trouette Insurance Agency in 1998 with a mission of providing a disciplined, analytical approach to insurance for high-net-worth individuals and families.

Brian’s specialty is providing detailed analyses to fully understand clients’ coverage needs. Careful analysis of the client’s risk profile and the specific language of policies can make the difference between being covered for a loss and a financial disaster.

Brian grew up working for his family’s custom home construction business, doing work as a carpenter and plumber. Brian also worked in his father’s insurance agency as a licensed agent. Brian’s construction and insurance experience combine to create the unique perspective that he uses in property and casualty risk management.
Brian is an active member of his community. For over a decade, he was an advocate in the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program for children in the foster care system.

Currently, he serves as an assistant scout master for BSA Troop 603 and is the team lead for the Greater Arizona FPA Professional Development Team.
Brian lives in Carefree, AZ with his wife, Angela (25 years!) , 2 children, 4 dogs, and an unknown number of Quail and rabbits that use the bird bath in the Trouette’s front yard.

Jessi Chadd, CFP® CeFT

Chief Wealth Officer, Aspyre Wealth Partners

As a Principal and Chief Wealth Officer at Aspyre Wealth Partners in Overland Park KS, Jessi Chadd, CFP® CeFT® is given a lot of opportunities to do what she genuinely loves…help people.

She enjoys being the person that you can call upon for an ear to listen or for a plan to effectively maneuver through your situation, including an empty nest, retirement, or the loss of a spouse. To make life count, Jessi loves to bake and entertain family and friends. She and her husband enjoy fostering a healthy lifestyle, watching movies together, and traveling as much as possible.

Ask her about her golden retriever, Walter, and orange tabby cat, Todd — but only if you want to see pictures.

Louis Helmonds, B.S. in Venture Management

CEO, New Venture Visions Corporation

Louis Helmonds has built a distinguished entrepreneurial career spanning over 25 years, marked by three successful exits from technology-based service companies. He brings extensive expertise in the lending industry, having developed innovative solutions for top-tier banks that cater to high-income, complex financial clients.

As the CEO and founder of New Venture Visions (NVV), Louis leveraged his industry experience and CFP training to establish the first Virtual Family Office service company of its kind. NVV specializes in aligning real estate-related debt with the clients’ broader tax and financial plans. Under his leadership, the company has developed proprietary, cloud-based applications and processes that streamline collaboration, complex underwriting, and the integration of debt and tax strategies to deliver its services efficiently and accurately.

Over the years as part of NVV’s team, Louis has collaborated closely with partners and executives from national accounting and financial advisory firms delivering tailored, tax-optimized debt restructuring solutions that consistently help partnering firms meet and often exceed the client’s objectives.

Louis also often participates as a trainer to various industry firms and participates as an instructor for CalCPA, CFP Board, and NASBA.

Brooklyn Brock, CFP®, CEPA®, ChFC®, CKA®

Founder, Ellevate Advisors

Brooklyn Brock is a 3rd generation financial advisor and founder of Ellevate Advisors LLC, a fee-only RIA, specializing in Financial Planning and Exit Planning for advisors themselves. Throughout her career, she found advisors rarely do retirement planning for themselves like they do for their clients, which drove her to launch her own RIA to serve advisors exclusively.

Ellevate Advisors was named the Best Financial Planning and Exit Coaching Firm for Advisors in the 2024 World Finance Awards. Brooklyn was awarded the “Rising Star of the Year” in the 2023 Wealthies. She travels across the nation as a speaker, sharing her passion for helping advisors themselves.

Sara Dorosti, J.D.

Director - Wealth Strategist, Merrill Lynch

Sara Dorosti earned her BA at UC Berkeley and her JD at Berkeley Law. She practiced
as an estate planning attorney at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman before joining Merrill Lynch as a Wealth Strategist. Her expertise is in the areas of estate, tax, and business succession planning. Sara is also currently an adjunct professor at Berkeley Law, where she teaches Trust & Wills. She is fluent in German, Farsi and Danish.

Mark Shiller, JD, MAE, AEP

Attorney, Certus Legal Group, Ltd.

Mark is the author of How to Not Ruin Your Kids with Money, published in 2024, which is an outgrowth of his work with individuals, couples and families throughout the country who seek to have positive generational transitions of wealth. He motivates those he works with and interacts with to leverage and identify a family’s personal, financial and moral capital to inform and direct positive, people-first planning goals and outcomes – with success measured not in taxes avoided or wealth accumulated, but in supporting and mentoring productive “Next Gens.”

Mark has served as a faculty member of the National Trust School of the American Bankers Association, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School. He is a sought-after speaker, consistently receiving high marks for his ability to engage professional and general audiences on complicated technical and personal topics alike. In addition, given Mark’s 20-year plus career as a professional improv comedian and the developer of “other-centered improv,” audiences have noted his ability to connect deeply with his audiences while also adding humor and levity to even the driest topics.

Sheryl Rowling, BA - Business (Accounting), MBA - Finance, CPA

Editorial Director, Financial Advice, Morningstar

Sheryl Rowling is Morningstar’s Editorial Director, Financial Advice. In this role, Rowling writes and speaks as a subject-matter expert on tax-efficient investing, portfolio management, and advisor practice management. She previously was the founder and principal of Rowling & Associates as well as the founder and president of Total Rebalance Expert, a tax-efficient portfolio management solution.

Rowling has over 40 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has been named one of the nation’s top 250 financial advisors by Worth magazine and was named one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. In December 2016, InvestmentNews named her to its list of 20 Icons & Innovators.

Rowling holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in business administration in finance from San Diego State University. She is the author of the books Tax and Wealth Strategies for Family Businesses (CCH, 2006) and Your Financial Travel Guide To Life (Lulu, 2017). She is a retired Certified Public Accountant and Personal Financial Specialist.

Carl Kaufman, BA

Co-CEO, Co-President, CIO, Fixed Income, Osterweis Capital

Carl serves in several key roles for the firm. He has managed the Osterweis Strategic Income Fund since its inception and serves as the Managing Director of Fixed Income, as well as a lead Portfolio Manager for the Osterweis Growth & Income Fund.  Additionally, in his role as Co-President & Co-CEO he oversees key investment matters and is an integral part of the firm’s Management Committee.

He joined Osterweis Capital Management in 2002, after nearly 24 years at Robertson Stephens and Merrill Lynch.

Carl graduated from Harvard University and attended New York University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Outside his professional endeavors, he enjoys playing classical piano and actively contributes to the community as a member of the Board of Trustees for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, supporting the arts and enhancing the cultural fabric of the SF Bay Area. Additionally, he enjoys playing golf, an activity that continually challenges his patience and precision.

Claudia Kane, B.A. Queen's University, Belfast, CFP®, CPWA, CIMA, ADPA, CDFA

Financial Advisor, Raymond James

Claudia Kane currently serves as 2024 President for the Board of Directors of the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) the premier membership organization for Certified Financial Planner® professionals and those who support the financial services profession.

She has been a financial advisor since 1985, when she started her career with Merrill Lynch. She has been an independent advisor with Raymond James Financial Services since 2011, with offices in Roseville. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and studied at the Wharton School and the Booth School for her CIMA® and CPWA® credentials.

Claudia is a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) professional, and works in divorce financial planning with her Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® (CDFA®) designation. She previously served on the Board of the Investments and Wealth Institute (formerly IMCA) and has served in a variety of community leadership positions, currently serving as Past President for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of El Dorado County.

Stephanie Moench, FSA, MAAA

Principal, Oliver Wyman

Stephanie is a Principal with the Actuarial Practice of Oliver Wyman and co-leads their Long-Term Care Practice. She has 14 years of experience as an LTC consultant, specializing in both traditional LTC and combination LTC products. Stephanie has supported a wide range of clients in the areas of pricing, assumption development, actuarial modeling, in-force management, mergers and acquisitions, and public programs. She led the Oliver Wyman team that supported the state of California in exploring a potential statewide LTC insurance program.

Rich Arzaga, CFP®, CCIM

Founder & CEO, The Real Estate Whisperer Financial Planning

Rich Arzaga is a dedicated advocate for investors who own directly held real estate investments, an asset class often overlooked by financial advisors. With a focus on comprehensive financial planning, Rich also provides valuable guidance on various real estate matters, including real estate cash flow modeling, buy-sell-hold decisions, 1031 exchanges, tax-advantaged strategies, inherited properties, and other challenges investors may face.

As the Founder and CEO of The Real Estate Whisperer Financial Planning, an advice-only firm, Rich brings a wealth of expertise. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), and a Registered Investment Advisor. Finding a dually credentialed professional like Rich, with both CFP® and CCIM designations, is exceptionally rare in the financial planning landscape. His clientele includes real estate investors of varying experience levels, business owners, and affluent families.

Rich’s reputation extends beyond his role as a financial advisor. He is an honored instructor and adjunct professor in the UC Berkeley Personal Financial Planning program and the UC Santa Cruz Silicon Valley Extension. Additionally, he has been featured twice at the esteemed Commonwealth Club of San Francisco and has earned a place among Worth Magazine’s Top 250 Wealth Advisors in the Nation. Rich’s real estate strategies have been showcased in prominent publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, Investor’s Business Daily, The Journal of Financial Planning, The Journal of Accountancy, Real Estate Business, REALTOR® Magazine Kiplinger Retirement Newsletter, and other business and finance magazines.

Elizabeth Gebhardt, BA in Rhetoric from UC Berkeley

Medicare Advisor, Gebhardt Group, Inc.

Beth’s journey from medical systems to financial advising reflects her unwavering commitment to helping others navigate the complexities of Medicare. Having blazed trails in field sales and management within California’s early Medicare plans, she understands firsthand the challenges of healthcare insurance.

Beth spent 8 years at PacifiCare Health Systems in field sales and sales management for Secure Horizons, one of California’s first Medicare Advantage plans. She was part of the team responsible for starting up Secure Horizons in all Bay Area counties as well as the Central Valley and Sacramento area.

She then pivoted to become a licensed financial advisor at Smith Barney until she retired from corporate life to be a full-time mom and active community volunteer.

Realizing the incredible need to help people figure out the current Medicare maze, Beth returned to her roots to launch Gebhardt Group Medicare Solutions. She focuses on educating people who are approaching 65 on all things Medicare: how it works, how much it costs, understanding enrollment periods and when they can sign up, etc.

Beth’s goal is to cut through the noise, help clients understand their choices, and make the best decision for their specific situation.

Originally from San Diego, Beth moved to Northern California to attend UC Berkeley where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetoric.

Chayce Horton, BS: Economics and Finance

Senior Analyst, Cerulli Associates

Chayce is a member of the Wealth Management team at Cerulli and leads research in the areas of private banks and trust companies as well as the overall HNW/UHNW advisory market. Chayce also supports strategic consulting projects in the wealth management space and contributes to The Cerulli Edge series.

Liza Hanks, J.D.

Director, Gift Planning, Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Liza Hanks is the Director of Gift Planning at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Prior to joining SVCF, she was an estate planning attorney specializing in estate planning, trust administration and probate law for more than 20 years. She is also the author of “Every Californian’s Guide to Estate Planning” and “The Trustee’s Legal Companion.” A graduate of Stanford Law School, she enjoys helping professional advisors make charitable planning a key part of their work with clients.

Sean Walters, CAE

CEO, Investments & Wealth Institute

Sean Walters is the Chief Executive Officer of the Investments & Wealth Institute®, a global leader in professional development and certification for the financial advice profession. Since 2010, Sean has been pivotal in protecting and advancing the Institute’s non-profit mission to be the leading educational community of financial professionals, dedicated to elevating investment and wealth management client outcomes. He has been active in shaping education and standards within the financial advisor profession since 1997, and has worked in senior leadership roles for member-based, non-profit organizations since 1992.

Sean holds a deep belief in the power of education and the necessity of rigorous ethical standards, which is reflected in the Institute’s commitment to fostering professionalism among its members.

Sean leads a team of 50 staff and 150+ volunteers who collaborate to deliver the following programs and services to more than 21,000 members in 46 countries.

Award-winning Publications: The Journal of Investment Consulting, Retirement Management Journal, and Investments & Wealth Review

Investments & Wealth Academy: Learning Experience Platform offering a wide range of online certificate programs, short courses, micro-courses, and an on-demand library of content and continuing education.

Conferences & Events: Investments & Wealth Experience, Investments & Wealth Masters Forum, and Investments & Wealth Focus Series of one day intensive workshops.

Accredited certifications: Advanced certifications for investment, wealth and retirement management practitioners are offered in collaboration with executive education partners like the Chicago Booth School of Business and Yale School of Management. These certifications ensure that certificants meet the evolving needs of their clients at the highest levels of competency and ethics.

Craig Kirkpatrick, CBDA

Co-Founder, Optimal AdvisorAI

Craig Kirkpatrick is a 30-year veteran of the Financial Services Industry and has worked directly with Financial Advisors during his career. He co-founded Optimal AdvisorAI to educate financial advisors on the use of AI technology to save time, enhance client connections and drive growth.

Craig has trained over 1,000 Financial Professionals on how to use AI in their daily practices. His efforts, backed by 1,500+ hours and over 7,500 interactions with AI models, have been well received within the financial community due to his practical application in advisor practices. Craig’s presentation will include demonstrations on how advisors are using AI to save time.

Prior to Optimal AdvisorAI, Craig co-founded two alternative mutual fund companies and served as a consultant to asset management firms and investment advisors, emphasizing innovation in the sector.

Additionally, Craig contributes as an advisory board member to the U.C. Berkeley Extension Personal Financial Planning program, influencing the development of future financial advisors. His interests also include blockchain technology and asset tokenization, for which he has earned certifications. A University of California, Berkeley alum, Craig holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance, further solidifying his expertise and commitment to the financial advisory field.

Carolyn McClanahan, M.D., CFP®

Founder, Life Planning Partners, Inc.

Dr. Carolyn McClanahan began her career as a physician after earning her undergraduate degree at Mississippi University for Women and completing medical school at the University of Mississippi. She specialized in Family Medicine at the Medical College of Virginia and worked in private practice, emergency medicine, and academia, teaching at the University of Florida in Jacksonville. Over time, she developed an interest in financial planning after realizing traditional financial advisors focused primarily on portfolio management rather than addressing broader financial needs. Motivated to fill this gap, she pursued the CFP® curriculum at the University of North Florida, ultimately transitioning her career to financial life planning, where she could integrate her medical expertise with financial decision-making.

Today, Dr. McClanahan is a leader in financial life planning, helping individuals and professionals navigate the intersection of health and financial issues, including health care costs, chronic illness, and end-of-life planning. She writes for Investopedia, Forbes, and CNBC, and her insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and on platforms such as NPR and CNBC. An active member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and other professional organizations, she also serves on the CNBC and Investopedia Financial Advisor Councils. In 2024, she was honored with the Alexandra Armstrong Lifetime Achievement Award by Investment News for her impactful work bridging medicine and finance.