The Committee on Governance of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) has nominated Andrew J. Rinn, JD, CFP, CLU, ChFC, Assistant Vice President-Advanced Strategies with Sammons Financial in West Des Moines, Iowa, to be NAIFA’s 2027 Secretary. Rinn, who currently serves on NAIFA’s National Professional Development Committee and Political Action Committee, is a NAIFA-National Trustee and member of the FSP Foundation Board. He has been a NAIFA member since 2000. He previously served as the Chapter President of the Des Moines Society of Financial Service Professionals and was the President Elect of the National Board for the Society of Financial Service Professionals at the time of FSP’s merger with NAIFA. As incoming NAIFA Secretary, Rinn would be in line to serve as President-Elect in 2028 and President in 2029.
The Committee has also nominated NAIFA Board of Trustee candidates Thomas F. Palmeri, LUTCF, a Financial Services Representative and Investment Advisor with Forest Hills Financial Group in East Islip, N.Y., to serve a two-year term; Joshua O’Gara, CLU, ChFC, CFP, Partner and Co-Founder at Prism Benefits, PBC, in Woburn, Mass., to serve a complete two-year term after serving as an appointed Trustee this year; and Mark J. Hanna, CLU, ChFC, AIF, President of Hanna Insurance & Financial Solutions Inc. in Walnut Creek, Calif., to serve the final year of the four-year term currently held by Barbara Pietrangelo, CFP, CLU, ChFC.
Paul R. Dougherty, LUTCF, FSS, LACP, an Agent with State Farm in Hyattsville, Md., is nominated to continue to serve as NAIFA’s National Treasurer. He has been a member since 1999 and is a NAIFA-National Past President and past member of Life Happens Board of Directors.
Returning to serve as Trustees in 2027 are Kathleen W. Bilderback, JD, LLM, AEP, an attorney at Sandberg, Phoenix and von Gontard, P.C. in Clayton, Mo.; Jesse Dogillo, CFP, CLU, ChFC, AEP, Founder of Bay Area Financial Advisers in Sunnyvale, Calif.; Kathleen E. Owings, LACP, Principal and Financial Advisor at Westbilt Financial Group in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and Adam Sachs, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CLTC, AIF, a Financial Advisor with Centinel Financial Group, LLC in Needham Heights, Mass.
John W. Wheeler Jr., CFP, CLU, ChFC, CRPC, LUTCF, LACP, CLTC, CPFA, Executive Senior Partner of Totus Wealth Management in Montgomery, Texas, will be NAIFA’s 2027 President. Carina Hatfield, LUTCF, CLCS, LACP, agency owner of Weigner Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. in Pottstown, Penn., will be President-Elect. Both Wheeler and Hatfield have served the association in multiple roles including national Trustee and specialty committee roles throughout their leadership tenures.
Christopher L. Gandy, LACP, Founder of Midwest Legacy Group in Lisle, Ill., will serve as Immediate Past President beginning January 1, 2027.
The NAIFA Governance Committee consists of 12 NAIFA members and is chaired by NAIFA Past President Tom Cothron, LUTCF, FSCP, of Ocala, Fla., a member since 1981.
ABOUT NAIFA: Founded in 1890, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is the preeminent association for financial service professionals in the United States of America. NAIFA members, in every Congressional district and every state house, subscribe to a strong Code of Ethics and represent a full spectrum of practice specialties to promote financial security for all Americans. Complimented by its professional development and consumer divisions, the Society of Financial Service Professionals, and Life Happens, the association delivers value through advocacy, service, and education.