Suzanne Carawan is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), the premier professional home for agents and advisors. She has more than a decade of experience working in fast-growth tech companies in social networking, events, CRM, and virtualization. She is passionate about establishing and growing technology companies globally and leverages her social and high-tech digital marketing background to provide insightful commentary to audiences worldwide. 

Suzanne holds an MBA in management of global information and high-tech marketing from the Kogod School of Business at American University and an MPH in international health economics and social marketing and research design from Tulane University. She also received her BA in philosophy with minors in biology and government and politics from the University of Maryland. 

Andrew Holt is the Government Relations and Grassroots Manager at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). NAIFA works on behalf of its members to promote a favorable regulative environment, provide professional education services, and ensure ethical professional conduct for insurance and financial advisors.

Andrew spent several years of his career in the political arena, getting his start as an intern for a senate race in South Carolina, where he found his passion for connecting voters with elected officials. This eventually led to his current position at NAIFA, where he influences public and elected officials on legislative priorities, engages volunteers in grassroots efforts, and leads grassroots lobbying efforts at the state level. 

Chris Gandy is the Founder of Midwest Legacy Group LLC, a boutique concierge insurance group for executives, professional athletes, physicians, business owners, and entrepreneurs. It focuses on the client's interests in wealth accumulation, wealth preservation, retirement strategies, insurance, asset protection, and investments.

Chris played professionally for the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and in L'Hermaine, France, after playing for the Fighting Illini at the University of Illinois. After the NBA, Chris worked as a Representative for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, the APEX Consulting Group LLC, and was the Senior Vice President of Sales at MassMutual Chicago.

Chris Gandy is the Founder of Midwest Legacy Group LLC, a boutique concierge insurance group for executives, professional athletes, physicians, business owners, and entrepreneurs. It focuses on the client's interests in the areas of wealth accumulation, wealth preservation, retirement strategies, insurance, asset protection, and investments.

Chris played professionally for the Chicago Bulls, the San Antonio Spurs, and in L'Hermaine, France after playing for the Fighting Illini at the University of Illinois. After the NBA, Chris worked as a Representative for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network, the APEX Consulting Group LLC, and was the Senior Vice President of Sales at MassMutual Chicago.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) is proud to announce its participation in The American College of Financial Services' sixteenth annual Conference of African American Financial Professionals. The event is being held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. this week and is attended by many NAIFA members and association partners.

NAIFA is a benefactor this year and provided a scholarship to Mitrick "TJ" Johnson, a rising senior at Alabama A&M University. The HBCU institution is a traditional 1890 land grant university established the same year as NAIFA and greatly expanded the efforts of its 1879 founder, Dr. William Hooper Councill, into creating a sustainable institution focused on teaching, research, and public service. 

Caleb Guilliams is the Founder and CEO of BetterWealth, a company that helps people gain control over their money today while maximizing their future wealth potential. At an early age, Caleb read every financial book he could get his hands on. Now, he’s one of the youngest leaders in the industry and is quickly becoming “the new face of finance.” Caleb is the Author of The AND Asset, hosts the BetterWealth podcast, and is on a mission to impact as many lives as possible.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and WebCE have completed an educational partnership agreement to supply NAIFA members with online CE-based education for insurance and financial advisors. The offering is comprehensive and spans pre-licensing exam preparation for insurance and securities exams through company-mandated training for workplace training and firm element. NAIFA will enable its members to attain continuing education for licensure, certifications, and designations through the partnership.

Ameritas held its Pathways conference this week in Denver, Colorado. Randy Clark, Senior Director of Membership Outreach & Engagement, and Beth Helberg, Director of Partner Marketing, attended from NAIFA staff to support the event. Thanks to Ameritas, we were able to organize a group photo of some of our many NAIFA members who are part of Ameritas. NAIFA members were ecstatic to have the opportunity to unite together for the first time in over a year to show their pride in belonging to their beloved professional association.

The National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) is the exclusive trade association solely dedicated to fixed annuities. NAFA has brought together industry leaders to spread awareness via the Coalitions for Annuity Awareness in celebration of Annuity Awareness Month. The Coalition is comprised of industry associations that serve consumers by educating them about annuity products. NAIFA recognizes the importance of NAFA’s mission to spread awareness on annuities, making the partnership between our two organizations a natural fit. NAIFA, like NAFA, understands the role annuities play in today’s market. The significance these products have on Americans in an environment that has enabled people to live healthier, longer lives are invaluable. NAFA has worked tirelessly for more than a decade to have the month of June be well-recognized and respected as an Annuity Awareness month, a vision that is now materialized via the Coalition of Annuity Awareness.

Vanessa Bucklin is a financial advisor based in Conrad, MT, that has built her flourishing practice using a three-pronged approach of trust in self, trust in the process of building relationships, and trust in paying it forward for future advisors.