Meet Our Ambassadors

Brian has been in the Financial Services Business since 2003, working with a diverse group of clients representing a slice of the Washington DC marketplace. As a native of the Washington area, he grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, attending high school in Bethesda. He founded The Haney Company with his father 7 years ago, to combine 2 generations of industry experience. With more than a decade of experience in Banking, Investments, Asset management and insurance, Brian's expertise and keen insights provide organizations, businesses and individuals with unique and innovative strategies to meet their insurance needs and financial goals. The marriage between his father’s association/non-profit expertise and his private industry background give the Haney Company a substantial edge in the marketplace. Brian recently launched his own Podcast, “That’s My Financial Guy,” to share valuable insights with a broader audience.

Brian is active in the industry and has received much recognition during his time. He was a SunTrust Bank EdgeMaster Conference Qualifier 2006, the West Financial Group New Agent of the year in 2008, MassMutual Life Insurance Company Rising Leader 2009, 2010, 2011, MassMutual Life Insurance Company Leaders Qualifier 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, MDRT Qualifier every year since 2009, MDRT Court of Table Qualifier since 2014, and a Top of the Table Qualifier for the last 3 years. Brian is also a NAIFA National Quality Award recipient each year since 2013. Brian was also named one of NAIFA’s prestigious 4 Under 40 in 2017, as well as their Diversity Champion in 2018. Brian was named to the Washington Business Journal’s 40 under 40 in 2019. He is an active Board member of NAIFA Greater Washington, currently serving as Immediate Past President.

Brian’s professional designations include:

• Certified Funds Specialist (CFS®)
• Certified in Long Term Care (CLTC®)
• Certified Family Business Specialist (CFBS®)
• Certified Income Specialist (CIS®)
• Life & Annuity Certified Professional (LACP®)

Brian was formerly a Private Banker & Investment Associate for SunTrust Investment Services, and a Licensed Banker at Wachovia bank where he began his career. Brian resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife and daughter. He is a 2002 Graduate of Indiana University.

Carina is a third-generation Nationwide Insurance agency owner.  Her agency is in the town she grew up in, Pottstown PA. Carina serves all types of clients with a variety of insurance and financial service products.  Carina started working in the agency in 2005 and she has owned the agency since 2013.  She currently serves in NAIFA as the PA state secretary, membership chair and LILI moderator.  Carina is married with two daughters Addison (8) and Juliette (4).  She is also the service unit manager for her school district for Girl Scouts which currently has 300 girl members K-12 and 200 adult volunteers.  In her free time, she loves to run and has a goal to run a marathon in every state!

Jeff Chernoff is a native of Tampa Bay who works in his family business. As a Financial Advisor at Insurance and Trust, Jeff focuses on providing package policies for individuals and families, life insurance, disability income, long term care, and investments. Jeff and his family take pride in his being a 3rd generation advisor serving businesses, families, and individuals.

Prior to his work in the insurance industry, Jeff worked in higher education at the University of North Dakota, Ferris State University, and Virginia Tech. He holds a Bachelors of Science from the University of Florida and a Masters Degree from the University of North Dakota.

Jeff is actively involved in several community organizations including as President of Instruments of Change a 501c3 non-profit, the Centre Club as the Vice Chair of their Board of Governors, the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce as Chair for their Education-Connection committee, and the National Association of Insurance of Financial Advisors (NAIFA) as a past President of their Tampa Chapter, IFAPAC Chair and current board member of the Florida State Chapter, and as a past President of the NAIFA Florida Education Foundation.

Jeff, his wife Cara, their son Joshua, and their dog Bailee reside in Tampa, FL

Corey Lee Anderson, DIA, is the DI GEEK.  He is the owner and founder specializing in Disability Insurance. His primary focus is helping advisors and their clients with reviewing and implementing insurance plans. He is a passionate, energetic, experienced agent who brings a different perspective on this business to his clients. 

Cheryl Canzanella, LUTCF is  the Past President of NAIFA-Northeast Flordia (formerly NAIFA-Jacksonville), she continues to serve her industry at the local, state and national level and was the recipient of the 2014 NAIFA-FL President’s Award. She is the Founding Past President of the Northeast Florida chapter of Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) and was honored as the 2014 WIFS National Member of the Year. Recognized for her personal and professional accomplishments within the community, she was named 2014 Jacksonville Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40. Her most recent commitment with Drug Free Duval is dedicated to creating the Employer/Workplace Committee under the North Florida Opioid Task Force.

As a native Floridian, Cheryl enjoys spending time at the beach, playing flag football, running and volunteering. She can often be heard cheering and/or possibly weeping for her beloved Miami Dolphins & Jacksonville Jaguars.
 

Gaffar Chowdhury has been in the financial services industry for the last 15 years working with high-income earning individuals and closely held businesses. He spent his career sharpening and practicing his skills under three of the top financial services firms on the Fortune 250 list. Gaffar launched District Wealth Strategies with a heightened focus on client service and an intention to disrupt the traditional approach to personal and business financial strategies. His team's vision is to help clients mitigate taxes, build and protect generational wealth, and make financial conversations more approachable.

Gaffar was born in Bangladesh and has lived in the DC area for over 30 years. He is the current President of the National Association of Insurance - Greater Washington DC Chapter, a board member of the Society of Financial Services Professionals - DC Chapter and a past board member/longstanding advocate of the Women's Bar Association Foundation of DC. He received his undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business. Since his undergraduate studies, Gaffar has developed a passion for charitable giving and helping others make a lasting impact through philanthropic planning. In 2021, he received the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, CAP® Designation from the American College and now actively helps clients with planned giving strategies. Gaffar is also the proud recipient of the Advisor Today's 4 Under 40 Greater Washington, D.C. Chapter Award.

When he is not busy being an entrepreneur and helping clients fulfill their dreams, he enjoys traveling the globe with his wife, Brooke and spending time with family and close friends. When he is not in the office and not traveling, you can find him at a local group boxing and fitness studio!

Registered Representative of Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS). OSJ: 11350 McCormick Road, Executive Plaza III, Suite 202, Hunt Valley, MD 21031, (667) 318-0801. Securities products offered through PAS, member FINRA, SIPC. Financial Representative of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America® (Guardian), New York, NY. PAS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guardian. District Wealth Strategies is not an affiliate or subsidiary of PAS or Guardian. CA Insurance License #0L79740. 1National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is endorsed by but not affiliated with Guardian or its subsidiaries. Members must pay an annual fee. 2023-149125 Exp 1/25

John D. Richardson has been providing sound financial advice to his clients since 2005.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Spanish from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  In 2015, he earned the Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designation through the American College and uses this specialization to advise his clients on a variety of financial matters including retirement planning, investment planning, and risk management.  In 2018, he earned the Life and Annuity Certified Professional (LACP®) designation through the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and uses this specialization to advise his clients on the optimal ways to use life insurance and annuity solutions within a comprehensive financial plan. The primary focus of John’s business is helping successful people align their financial decisions with their values.

John began his career with Boundbrook Advisors (a dba of Peachtree Planning of Tennessee in 2015), after working as a financial consultant with another financial services company for over ten years.  John believes in the importance of protecting the promises he makes his clients, and for that reason he is a very active member of NAIFA, the premier organization for financial professionals committed to the highest ethical standards in comprehensive financial planning.

In 2018, John was the recipient of the NAIFA Young Advisor of the Year (YAT) Leader of the Year award which recognizes the top financial professional in the nation, based on service to his clients, his community, and his fellow financial professionals.  This award often reflects the financial professional who fellow financial advisors would turn to for advice. 

Within NAIFA, John has served in several leadership roles at the local, state, and national levels.  He currently serves at the state level as the President of NAIFA-Tennessee and at the national level as the NAIFA National Young Advisor Team (YAT) Committee Chairman.  John’s favorite NAIFA activities include his participation in the Leadership in Life Institute (LILI) and his twice a year trips to Washington D.C. to lobby on behalf of his clients regarding regulations that could negatively impact their financial well-being. 

John is a natural attractor and connector of people.  Prior to his career in the financial services industry, he was a traveling live events promoter and advisor for nationally syndicated talk radio host Dave Ramsey’s company, The Lampo Group.  As a financial representative with Peachtree Planning, in 2017 John was the recipient of the Peachtree Planning Manpower Award which recognized his successful leadership in the areas of new financial advisor recruitment and career development.

The two-character building experiences that John credits most for developing him into the person he is today include the five summers he sold books and Bibles door-to-door with Thomas Nelson Publishers, while he was in college, and the time he invested as a youth in obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.

John and his wife, Dr. Kelly W. Richardson, DPT, live in Nashville, TN.  John enjoys giving back to his community, and currently serves in leadership roles within several organizations including the Boy Scouts of America, Davidson County Election Commission, his church, and various other organizations.

In his leisure time, John enjoys playing strategy table top board games with his friends, attending standup and improv comedy shows, traveling to fun and exciting destinations with his wife Kelly, and talking to strangers with the hope of making new friends. 

Kate joined Randy R. Kilgore & Company in 2009. She strives to help people and businesses succeed. Through a relationship-based approach, Kate designs personal financial strategies for individuals and employee benefit packages for businesses.  Her mission is to develop quality relationships with clients by providing strategies designed around their goals and objectives for the future. Kate is a registered representative and investment advisor representative of Ameritas Investment Corporation (AIC.)

Kate recently received the FSCP designation, Financial Services Certified Professional, furthering and deepening her understanding of the financial services landscape. This designation gives Kate additional skills in helping her clients prepare for the future.

 Kate began honing her relationship skills in New York City in Public Relations. She spent two years working for Estee Lauder and five years working for Victoria's Secret Beauty as Public Relations Manager. She was responsible for securing media placements for all Victoria's Secret Beauty products as well as planning events. While she loved the bright lights and the big city, she missed her home state of Colorado. She is thrilled to partner with her Dad, Randy, to design and implement valuable strategies for their clients.

In addition to working with her Dad, Kate is also highly involved in her community. She served 3 terms on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of Denver, and is currently a board member for her regional neighborhood organization - The Platt Park People's Association. She is also a board member of Newborn Hope - an organization providing education and resources to Colorado babies affected by prematurity. She is proud to serve as a Membership Chair for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), her industry organization. While not working, or giving back to the community, she enjoys hiking, skiing, playing tennis and cheering for the Denver Broncos. Kate and her husband Matt have 2 children, Reed and Darcy. 

Blake Gillies is the Director of The DI Concierge, an affiliate of United Wealth Advisors Group, LLC. He formerly held the title of Brokerage Manager for The DI Center from 2011-2018, serving predominately the Louisiana & Mississippi markets. Blake is a 2010 graduate of Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama with a B.S. in Business Administration. During his college tenure at both Huntingdon College and Enterprise-Ozark Community College, Blake was a five-time baseball Letterman.

In 2010, Blake accepted an internship with Ameritas Investment Corp. (AIC) and Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. His internship was comprised of working diligently with the Senior Vice President of Strategic Alliances, including a six-month tour of the various AIC Broker/Dealer departments throughout the country. Blake is an actively involved member of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA), serving at the Local, State and National levels. He has served as Greater New Orleans President, a NAIFA-Louisiana Board Member & is also on the National YAT Committee. He has been acknowledged for this service to NAIFA by being honored in 2016 as the New Member of the Year for NAIFA Greater New Orleans & Louisiana. Blake & his family are also involved in the K’s for Kids Foundation, which supports the New Orleans Miracle League.

Blake married Brooke in January 2018. They reside in Ponchatoula, Louisiana. His hobbies include hunting, fishing & spending time with ever-growing number of pets. His Dad, Keith, is a NAIFA National Past President.

Stephen Good has a deep commitment to helping people reach achievements they didn’t think possible — and after almost 20 years of work in financial services, he has his own list of impressive accomplishments: He is a multiple time personal production and management conference qualifier with Prudential, MassMutual and Guardian. He was one of the youngest local presidents in the 130-year history of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), he is a past President for the State of Washington, and currently serves as a National Trustee for the association. In 2012, he was named MVP of the Western Region as well as the top regional director for MassMutual Financial Group in Life Sales. He led the country in total life sales for 3 of 4 years in the role. Stephen is a graduate of NAIFA’s Leadership and Life Institute, as well as the Leadership Miami program.

Currently a financial planner for MassMutual South Florida, Stephen recently moved back to Florida and resides in Parkland with his wife, Merrilee, and daughters Courtney, 7, and Madison, 5. The University of Miami graduate served on numerous non-profit boards, and looks forward to continuing his involvement in his new community.

The financial services industry covers a wide spectrum of subject matter and the biggest asset that Josh brings to his clients is his depth of experience and knowledge in a variety of industry segments. Combined with his deep desire to help his clients, regardless of their financial status, and seeing an increasing financial burden being placed on everyday working Americans, Josh founded O’Gara Financial Group in 2017 with the primary goal being to serve small businesses and their employees.

Josh began his career in financial services in 2006 as a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual. In this role, he gained experience working with both individuals and businesses to help them with their insurance planning needs.

In 2007 he moved to First American Insurance, an insurance brokerage firm, where he gained extensive expertise with individual life insurance, disability insurance, long term care insurance and annuities, typically working on well over 300 cases per year. Josh became an expert in being an “advisor to advisors” helping to design effective insurance solutions for clients across the country. He wrote extensively on the subject and was publish in industry magazines such as “Broker’s World”, “Advisor Today” and “Insurance News”.

During his time with First American, he also worked hard to further his financial education. His “always be learning” attitude lead him to earn the Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations from the American College as well as the Certified Financial Planner designation from the CFP Board.In 2015 Josh was offered an opportunity to work for one of the country’s largest insurance companies, MassMutual, to help them build out their distribution amongst independent agents. While working in their Boston office, CFG Brokerage Network, Josh was involved in complex business and estate planning cases and was one of the top Brokerage Directors in the country for Long Term Care insurance.

After being back working with a large insurance company, in 2016 Josh decided to pursue an opportunity to develop his own agency with Colonial Life. Josh's significant background working with individuals proved invaluable to working in the benefits market and taking an individualized, tailored approach to every client. By taking a client centered approach, other opportunities to help businesses arose outside of worksite benefits. Josh founded OFG to take a more holistic view and change the way employers and their employees perceive their benefit plans.

Josh grew up in Dorchester, and his wife Julie in Watertown, so they have strong connections in the Boston area. They currently live in Woburn with their son Declan and Boston Terrier-Frenchie mix, Frankie. For rest and fun, they usually escape north to the lakes of New Hampshire and can be found doing anything that gets them outdoors.

Living in beautiful Eaglemont Golf Course with my wife, Amy, and our two babies, JJ & Joey, you will often find us socializing with friends, working out intensely at the gym, golfing, and relaxing on the beach in Maui where we got engaged and eventually married.

Ryan began his business in financial services 8 years ago going door-to-door, 6 days per week, 80 hours per week selling cancer insurance. After two years and achieving top 5% nationally in sales among thousands of agents, he noticed many other needs clients had and joined a Guardian agency working with clients on financial planning. Today, Ryan spends part of his time coaching other advisors and agents how to structure & implement Disability Income as well as coaching clients individually. In the past year he introduced a web series on LinkedIn “Millennial Money Matters” to help people consider many aspects of financial planning, philosophy, and to be a voice for the up and coming in the industry.

As part of the Rochester, MN and Sioux Falls, SD Wealth Management team, Rob helps clients grow, protect, and preserve their wealth.  Rob’s experience working with complex investment and insurance strategies complement the team’s ability to meet the diverse needs of clients.  Rob assists clients in integrating their investment and tax strategies, helping them achieve their long-term goals in a tax efficient manner through financial planning and investment advisory services.

Rob’s experience working with individuals and families involves asset and risk management for various life stages including accumulation, utilization, and estate planning.  Specific work includes investing, retirement planning, income planning, life/health/disability/long term care/property and casualty insurance planning. 

In addition to asset management, work with nonprofits and  business owners has focused on tax deferral solutions including qualified retirement plans and executive bonus strategies, as well as funding buy/sell agreements and protecting against loss of key employees. 

Ashleigh started in the insurance and financial industry in 2007 where she was a wholesaler of variable annuities and mutual funds. Since then she has taken a different direction into the world of Insurance Marketing. Ashleigh has created marketing plans for some of the largest carriers and companies in the industry. After seeing what she could do for agents and how she could help them grow their business, Ashleigh went into the niche of agent marketing. Her knowledge of insurance products, consumer emotions and agent marketing delivers effective results and reduces internal complexity while gaining consistent agent marketing momentum. Ashleigh authors for many industry publications, hosts women in insurance and financial services webinars, promotes national and local events, is a past President for WIFS Denver, is a 3 time Pearl Circle of Excellence Award, 2017 WIFS National Board Director of Marketing, 2018 NAIFA YAT Ambassador, 2019 Woman of the Year Nominee and Program Chair for NAIFA-Denver.  On top of career driven accomplishments and roles, she is her daughters American Heritage Girls Troop Leader, Class Parent, and a philanthropist with many local charities. She is married to Tyler has a 5 year old daughter (Kinleigh) and 2 dogs. An English Cream Golden Retriever (Remy) and a Bernese Mountain Dog (Bear).

Camille has been involved in the insurance industry since 2003 and is an advisor in the Naperville area. She is part of a team of professionals including her father and cousin.  As a graduate of Benedictine University, she actively uses her background in Psychology and Business to build strong lifelong client relationships.  She also does consulting work with other insurance professionals to help structure their practice, increase productivity, and identify staffing needs.

Camille is proud to part of a multi-generational financial services practice focused on meeting the needs of small business owners, families, and individuals in her community. Helping her clients understand their financial goals, and how to achieve them is integral to her practice. With education and understanding, she helps guide her clients on their financial path. She is passionate about working with women and young professionals to help them achieve their financial goals.

Camille has been an active member of her professional association since 2004, including serving on the state board. She is currently the incoming state president of NAIFA Illinois. She regularly attends educational conferences to gain more skill and knowledge to keep up with all current industry trends; all of which she uses to help make sure her clients receive the best advice possible.

Camille is a competitive indoor and open water long distance swimmer, and master scuba diver.  She is passionate about travel, scuba diving, and adventure. She lives with her husband in Plainfield, IL.

Prior to working with Principal and Watson Wealth Management, Pete C. Watson graduated with honors and a double degree in Psychology and Accounting at the University of Houston '13.  He continued his education by obtaining a Master's in Accountancy and he is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.  Pete had over 2 years of experience with a Big Four accounting firm, emphasizing in public and private company audits, and mergers and acquisitions due diligence.  Pete holds his FINRA Series 7 & 66 securities registrations.

Mark Acre, LUTCF, President of OneSource, started his company in 2007.  Mark is licensed in Property and Casualty, Life and Health insurance.  Mark grew up in Poplar Bluff, MO and moved to Springfield where he attended Missouri State University and received his Bachelor of Arts.  Mark serves on the Board of Directors for NAIFA, helps with the MDA, Special Olympics, and the Care to Learn program.  Mark is passionate about making OneSource the elite agency to work for and to obtain insurance through in our industry.

I am a 2003 Graduate of Georgia Southern University in Business Administration.  After graduation, I entered outside sales and started a mortgage company in Atlanta. In 2006, I was recruited into the financial services industry and moved to Birmingham where I was mentored by my father-in-law for 8 years. Ultimately, I started my own firm, Perpetual Lifestyle Planning, and that brings us up to now.

For me, this work is about so much more than the numbers on a page. As people come to me with financial issues, I believe I’m in a position to help people in all aspects of their lives. But I also feel it’s important to make a positive impact beyond that. I want my clients to feel confident, secure, and excited for what’s next.

I hold a Series 7, 66, and many state life and health licenses, and has a certificate in Financial Planning from Kaplan University. In 2017, I created an inspirational podcast called Living Life on Purpose and partnered with Andrew Wells of Executive Lion, a coaching and consulting company that has a mission to create a community of executives that encourage and inspire each other through their struggles and successes that lead to a positive work-life balance.

My wife and I have been blessed with two daughters. I stay active in the community and serve on the Board of NAIFA Birmingham as Past President and the State Board of NAIFA Alabama as Immediate Past President. I was the Outreach Coordinator for Church of the Highland’s Grandview Campus in 2017, Financial Hub Leader from 2016-2017, and serve as a greeter, small group leader, and on the Legacy Team. I serve as a Trusted Advisor for Farm for Hope and am on the Board of The Just People Project, Ady's Army, and the Advisory Board of Planet Fundraiser. I have served on the National MS Society’s Advisory Council and was a part of the Leadership Class of 2012.

Additionally, I am part of a leadership group that meets regularly with Congressman Gary Palmer and I travel to Washington annually to meet with members of Congress on behalf of my industry and clients with NAIFA. I have received many awards in the Financial Services Industry including being named one of NAIFA Birmingham’s Top Advisors under 40 in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. I was named one of NAIFA Alabama’s Top Advisors in 2018. I have a passion for mentoring and am working with many young people to help them grow in life and business. I enjoy spending time with my family, exercising, outdoor activities, golf, the beach, lake, college football and serving others.

Thank you for considering putting your trust in me. I’d love to hear more about your goals and make a plan for how we can work together to achieve them.