Team of industry stalwarts in the state will lead NAIFA’s New York chapter until state members select a new Board to take office in January.

The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has announced a Transition Team to serve as a temporary Board of Directors for NAIFA’s New York chapter. The team will ensure a transparent nomination and selection process for a new Board of Directors, to be elected by the membership of NAIFA-New York and to begin serving their full terms on January 1, 2021.

NAIFA’s Executive Committee selected the New York transition team based on each team member’s esteem, experience and relationships in the State of New York financial services industry and NAIFA. They will ensure stability and continuity for NAIFA members in the state.

Members of the transition team are:

• Peter C. Browne, LUTCF, who will serve as Chair Emeritus. Browne is President at Price Raffel & Browne in New York City as well as Past President of NAIFA-New York, Past Treasurer of NAIFA national and a recipient of the John Newton Russell Memorial Award, the industry’s highest honor. Browne is a former member of the Board of Trustees of The American College of Financial Services and a Past Trustee on the National Board of the Life Underwriter Training Council.
• Robert G. Gruber, CLU, ChFC, who will serve as Vice Chair. Gruber is Owner at Gruber Insurance & Financial Services in Buffalo, NY. Gruber is a Past President of NAIFA-New York and NAIFA-Buffalo.
• Robert A. Miller, MS, MA, who will serve as Finance Chair. Miller is Partner at Miller-Pomerantz in New York City and a Past President of NAIFA-New York and NAIFA national.
• James J. Prisco, JD, LACP, is President and COO at LifeMark Securities in Rochester, NY. Prisco is a Past President of NAIFA-Rochester and was formerly a Supervisor of Examiners with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
• Evelyn Gellar, LUTCF, RICP, CLTC, is a Partner with New York Life in Melville, NY. Gellar is a member of NAIFA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force and served as national President of Women in Insurance & Financial Services (WIFS).

“The NAIFA New York transition team includes some of the most honored and influential individuals in the insurance and financial services industry in the state of New York, and they are loyally dedicated to ensuring the success of NAIFA in New York,” said Lawrence J. Holzberg, LUTCF, LACP, NAIFA’s national Secretary and a member of NAIFA’s New York chapter. “These individuals understand that our strength is in our unity as one NAIFA and that their duty is to serve the best interests of the more than 1,100 NAIFA members in New York.”

NAIFA’s New York chapter formed in 1919 and has been part of the national association ever since. The chapter provides professional development, support and political advocacy for NAIFA members in communities across the state. NAIFA is the leading and most influential association for insurance and financial professionals in the United States, with active chapters in every state.

“NAIFA members in New York are in very good hands until they are able to select their own Board of Directors and install their own leadership in January,” said NAIFA President Cammie Scott, MSIE, ChHC, CLTC, LUTCF, REBC, RHU, SHRM-SCP, SPHR. “NAIFA’s top concern is providing our members with the top-notch advocacy, support and development they have come to expect from the leading association for insurance and financial professionals in the United States. We know now more than ever that together we can take on anything.”