Loyal member Robin Landers, CLU^®, has been a member of NAIFA since 1984 and is based in Florida. She grew up in the business—her parents owned a brokerage agency—and vowed to never work in the insurance field. With a degree in advertising, and some challenging circumstances, she ultimately ended up joining her family in their insurance business. After working with her family for a few years, she received an offer to double her salary and returned to the TPA that had employed her as a sixteen-year-old file clerk. Years later, when her parents were ready to retire, she and a partner opened Landers-Stein & Associates, the next generation of that original agency’s legacy.

Brett Rettenmund is a career insurance professional with a heart for serving others. 

Rettenmund began his career at Aflac just after graduating from college. He was interested in becoming a financial planner and was encouraged to enter the insurance industry. His goal was to build a book of business and gain experience before transitioning to financial planning. He joined Aflac because of their dedication to helping their clients. “I've served Aflac for over 20 years, and I love the culture of the company.” He continues, “I love what we do to help people financially, at a time they need it most. That's why I would say I'm exceptionally happy in my profession.” 

Swapan Munshi, LACP, is a principal with Council Financial & Insurance Services in San Francisco and a member of NAIFA California. Born in the United States to parents who immigrated from India, Munshi grew up watching his father develop and maintain a successful financial services practice by building great relationships with his clients. But Munshi’s father never tried to bring him into the business. Instead, he encouraged him to chart his own path. Munshi found his purpose and initial career helping people through difficult times as a mental health care professional working with individuals in Veterans Administration hospitals and the state prison system.

Shane Grau is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of families and small business owners in his community.

Grau got into insurance and financial services at a young age. He moved from Mayetta, KS to Topeka in his early 20s and worked in sales for a short time. However, after losing his father to a heart attack and helping his mother form her financial plan after a terminal illness diagnosis, he realized the need for better financial literacy in his community. He highlights the difference between his prior career in sales and his current work in financial services. “I knew that I wanted to work for myself, or at least companies that represent what’s in the best interest of people they’re helping,” he explains. “I wanted to be a resource for friends, family members, and community in helping them through the same type of process that I dealt with, with my own parents.”

Patricia (Trish) May is a third-generation NAIFA member and the Young Advisor Team (YAT) Chair for NAIFA-PA. May and her sister, Carina Hatfield, followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather and now run Weigner Insurance.

As a child, May thought the world of insurance was boring. With her father in the office and her mother raising the children at home, on Take Your Child to Work Day, May chose to stay home and help her mother clean rather than spend time at her father’s office. However, May’s opinion changed in adulthood, as she realized the importance of insurance and financial planning. 

Mardi Woods is dedicated to promoting financial literacy in her community, from her work with youth organizations to her insurance and financial practice at New York Life. She is an Agent with New York Life Insurance Company and a Registered Representative with NYLIFE Securities LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), a Licensed Insurance Agency and a New York Life company.

Woods entered the insurance and financial services industry in 2018. After spending time in the corporate world and taking time to raise her family, Woods wanted to find a career she could retire from. She was looking into several options when a friend at New York Life encouraged her to apply.

Stephanie Tulley is all about helping others reach their full potential.

Tulley, like many, got into the insurance industry inadvertently, but she soon grew to love her work. Starting as a receptionist at a State Farm agency in 2015, she soon moved to sales, management, and consulting. Now, she manages one of the top State Farm agencies in the Tampa Bay area and runs her own consultancy agency, The Insurance Advisory, to edify other insurance professionals and help them move forward in their careers.

Martha Shanks has been a loyal member of NAIFA since the fall of 2019 and has been helping her clients with reverse mortgage loans at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation since 2018.

Martha started her career in real estate in 2005, continued her journey through many different positions, and is now 100% focused as a reverse mortgage planner. She has always had a desire to help people solve their financial problems, and her current role allows her to do just that. She loves helping her clients, typically people over the age of 60, to understand how a reverse mortgage works and how it can help them to live a better retirement with fewer financial worries.

For Danielle Humphreys, helping Americans protect their families is a way of life. 

Humphreys has been in the insurance field for over 15 years. She was introduced to the industry by her father, a lifelong State Farm agent, and started her career in his office. What started out as just a job quickly became her calling. “I just had this passion for making complex things simple,” she says. "It doesn't have to be overly complicated.”  

Allen R. Bruce, CLU, ChFC, is this year’s winner of the Lang Dixon Leadership and Excellence in Achieving Diversity Award. Bruce has been in the financial and insurance industry for 52 years and has been a loyal member of NAIFA since 1973. He was the first African American to complete a full term as president of the District of Columbia Life Underwriters Association (now NAIFA-Greater Washington, D.C.) and the first African American president of the Million Dollar Round Table Foundation.