Nathan James always knew he wanted to make a career helping people, so when a friend introduced him to NAIFA-AK Past President Nathan McKay, he knew he had found the right place. Two years later, he is creating customized strategies to help individuals and families reach their retirement goals as a New York Life Insurance Co. agent. 

In 2007, Julianne Hertel, LACP, was looking for a new career. She talked with several professionals to explore her options but found the perfect fit with New York Life. Now, she helps protect Main Street Americans with comprehensive insurance and financial planning. 

Angela White is committed to recruiting diverse talent into the insurance and financial services industry and making sure they have the resources they need to succeed.

Getting Started

After several years in sales, White took a job recruiting agents and fell in love with the industry. She’s motivated by a genuine drive to connect with people and have meaningful conversations. She seeks out underrepresented talent—women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals—and finds ways to set them up for success.

Since he started his insurance and financial services career in 2006, Matt Georgopulos, LACP, has done it all—underwriting, futures trading, rock band management, and more.  Now, he specializes in helping families find the right home, auto, and life insurance. 

For HealthMarkets insurance agent Scott Gulledge, it’s all about problem-solving. He knows that health insurance is one of the biggest expenses for families and business owners and he works every day to find the best price for the coverage his clients need. 

When Ryan Mulholland was young, his father told him that he should sell insurance. But it would take years of hard work—and no small amount of serendipity—for him to begin his career as an insurance agent. Now in his second year as a State Farm agent, he loves his work because he helps protect families every day. 

As a college student, Christine Pikutis-Musuneggi, CPRC, CLTC, LACP, planned to study architecture. Her plans changed, however, when her family inherited a third-generation business and needed a financial planner to work with insurance agents, attorneys, accountants, and the other professionals required to run a business. So, Pikutis-Musuneggi changed her major to business management and became a financial planner. 

On July 20, NAIFA participated in the #GettingMillennialsInsured Twitter chat hosted by LIMRA and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). The chat was an informative and insightful discussion with LIMRA, ACLI, NAIFA partner Life Happens, and Life Happens President & CEO Faisa Stafford.

Participants discussed: 

• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer attitudes toward life insurance 
• How to increase awareness of the need for life insurance 
• How to dispel misconceptions about life insurance 
• How to increase access to life insurance 

Lifetime Financial Group Owner Jay Meneely has been a loyal NAIFA member since 1983. Now, his whole team benefits from NAIFA membership. 

Education First

Lifetime was founded on giving financial education workshops. As Meneely says, “We're an educational firm that specializes in the delivery of financial products.” Meneely and his team work with employers to educate employees about their group benefits.

In 2012, Nicholas Limongelli went into the family business and joined Northeast Financial Network. Now the Director of Insurance Brokerage, Limongelli helps his clients find the right disability insurance coverage and serves as a resource for other financial advisors who sell disability insurance.