In 1979, Michael Gaeta, CLU®, LUTCF®, LACP, knew he needed to make a change. He had been managing restaurants since he was 16 years old but needed a career with more stability and a higher income. That's when he joined Prudential, starting with life insurance and eventually working his way up to financial advising. 

Aflac District Coordinator Terry Anderson's interest in the insurance industry started with a snowmobile accident that reinforced for him a fundamental truth about insurance—when people get hurt or sick, they still need money to pay the bills. Two years later, Anderson was talking with a customer in his store who was an Aflac agent. She told him that, when someone gets hurt or sick, Aflac pays the claim quickly and Anderson asked himself, “Why didn’t I know about this after my accident?” From that conversation, he decided to start his career in insurance.

When Melissa Snively graduated from college, she began working as a national consultant for her University of Florida sorority. The job required long and strenuous hours, though, so she wanted to find a new opportunity. She had a friend who worked for State Farm who suggested she join the company. In 1994, she started as an underwriter, then became an agent before opening her own State Farm agency in 2001. 

Rith Nou always knew she wanted to make a career helping people. A Cambodian refugee, Nou learned English from volunteers who came to her school to read to her, and she used that knowledge to help her family and community communicate and navigate the American financial system. 

Greg Ayers, CLTC, RICP, is a New York Life Insurance Company agent and advisor committed to serving Main Street USA through education and political advocacy.

Getting Started 

Ayers got a later start in his insurance and financial services career than most. He has always been interested in finance and had two career paths to choose from when he graduated from college. He was offered a financial services position, but it was an intimidating prospect. At the same time, he received a job offer for a banking position. He chose the banking job. While he gained valuable experience, he eventually got discouraged because of the lack of opportunity for upward movement. When he started looking for other options, he found his true passion as an insurance agent.

Raydania Peña got her first taste of financial literacy when her family immigrated from the Dominican Republic to the United States. Her mother didn’t speak English, so Peña translated bank documents for her. The more she learned, the more she wanted to use her knowledge and skills to help others in her community navigate their finances, too. But she didn’t plan to build a career in insurance and financial services. In fact, she dismissed the idea the first two times it came across her path. The third time, however, she decided to give it a try and became an agent with New York Life Insurance Company.

NAIFA-OK Vice President of Advocacy Chad Tredway, LUTCF^®, FSCP^®, always knew he wanted to be in the financial services industry. He studied actuarial science in college but found his true calling working with customers directly, learning their stories, and helping them as they mapped out their financial futures. After several years as an agent, he was appointed as a district manager. Now, he uses his years of experience as an agent to mentor and train agents.

Rick Lam has spent his career helping his clients plan for their financial futures and mentoring the next generation of insurance and financial professionals. Just after college, Lam became a claims adjuster with State Farm. After seven years of learning about the insurance world, he spent over 12 years as an agent before taking his current position as a sales leader in 2012. 

Peg Fraser began her career in insurance and financial services selling health insurance part-time, but she soon found the same question coming up again and again from her clients. They asked if she could help with other types of insurance and financial planning. She wanted to do more. So, when she got the opportunity to work with COUNTRY Financial in 2008, she embraced the challenge. She got licensed and “careered” with COUNTRY, joining an elite group of financial service professionals within the company, just four years later.

NAIFA-MO President Craig Wright, MBA, CFP®, ChFC®, has been a loyal NAIFA member since 2014. A NAIFA Quality Award winner, Wright has dedicated his career to serving the individuals, families, and small businesses that make up Main Street USA.