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. 

Chris Gandy, NAIFA Trustee, and CEO/Founder of Midwest Legacy Group, is also in attendance at the event along with his sponsor company and NAIFA partner, OneAmerica. Gandy and Johnson were able to meet at the event and connect with several additional NAIFA members. 

NAIFA's 2025 Strategic Plan includes both a focus on DEI initiatives, as well as an emphasis to support programs that develop the next generation of financial security professionals. Supporting the CAAFP Student Scholarship Benefactor sponsorship offered a win-win-win situation for NAIFA, The American College of Financial Services, and a college student that will soon enter the workforce.

Other NAIFA members that we heard were in attendance include former Trustee, Delvin Joyce, and current WIFS President, Darlene Flagg. We are now busy connecting TJ Johnson to more NAIFA members in his state chapter as one of the benefits of his scholarship included a student membership to NAIFA. In addition to inviting TJ's soon-to-be alma mater of Alabama A&M to participate in the upcoming Future Leaders program, NAIFA has also furthered its commitment to developing the next generation of advisors through its recent sponsorship of the Gamma Iota Sigma annual conference that will be held in September in Charlotte, North Carolina.

If you're a NAIFA member and interested in getting to know TJ, getting involved with next-generation advisors, and/or supporting our Future Leaders program, please contact us.