Joe Messinger, CFP®, ChFC, CLU, CCFC is on a mission to end the student loan crisis one family at a time. He created the innovative College Pre-Approval™ system and has trained thousands of advisors across the country on how to seamlessly guide families through the college-funding maze with confidence and ease. Messinger is a Co-Founder of College Aid Pro™, the award-winning FinTech solution that takes the hassle out of late-stage college planning. A proud graduate of Penn State University, he is also Partner and Director of College Planning at Capstone Wealth Partners, a fee-only RIA.

Oliver Schnusenberg was born in Germany, where he lived until 1989, when he moved to the U.S. In 1993, he received his B.S. degree in Hospitality Management from Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL. In 1995, he completed his MBA degree with a specification in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1999, he received his Ph.D. in Finance from Florida Atlantic University. In 2025, he completed the MSc program in Psychology and Neuroscience in Mental Health. Oliver is an Earle C. Traynham Professor of Finance at the University of North Florida. His work, which focuses primarily on Behavioral Finance, is published in a variety of journals, including the Journal of Financial Research, Energy Economics, and the Journal of Behavioral Finance. Oliver has co-authored the book entitled Closed-End Funds, Exchange-Traded Funds, and Hedge Funds. Oliver holds the CFT^TM, CFP® and BFA^TM designations as well as the Psychology in Financial Planning Specialist Badge. He is a certified life coach and certified in neuropsychotherapy. He teaches in the Finance and Financial Planning majors at UNF and is a member of the Financial Therapy Association and the Financial Planning Association. In 2024, Oliver founded Equilibria Evolution, which transforms client’s financial lives through life coaching and financial therapy. Oliver lives in Jacksonville with his wife Lynda and their dog Roxie. 

Catherine Moore is of counsel at Kembell Woods & Martinsen, LLP. She focuses on estate planning, trust and probate administration, business succession planning and mediation. Ms. Moore earned her J.D. degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City, a LL.M. in alternative dispute resolution from the University of Missouri – Columbia and LL.M. in taxation from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Ms. Moore currently serves as the chair of the Missouri ADR Committee and is a board member of the Ozarks Technical Community College Board of Trustees. She is admitted to practice law in Kansas,Missouri and Arkansas.

Mr. Pon is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist, and Accredited Estate Planner in Redwood Shores, CA.   

Mr. Pon has been practicing since 1986.  He provides the latest advanced tax and financial planning strategies to financial planners so they can be knowledgeable with their clients.

Mr. Pon received his BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley and MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Mr. Pon is a long time member of the Financial Planning Association and speaks frequently to the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Chapters.

Kerry Peabody, CLTC, CLU has specialized in LTC insurance for nearly 30 years. He's been an LTC medical underwriter, a national sales director, and has been in direct sales for more than 20 years. He partners with financial planners, attorneys, and other professionals to help their clients tackle the extended care problem. He lives in Maine, but works across the country. He is an instructor for the Certification for Long Term Care (CLTC) designation, a Past President of the Maine Estate Planning Council, a board member for a local Lifecare community, and a volunteer in the Vets2Vets program. 

Mr. Pon is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Public Accountant, Personal Financial Specialist, and Accredited Estate Planner in Redwood Shores, CA.   

Mr. Pon has been practicing since 1986.  He provides the latest advanced tax and financial planning strategies to financial planners so they can be knowledgeable with their clients.

Mr. Pon received his BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley and MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University in San Francisco.

Mr. Pon is a long time member of the Financial Planning Association and speaks frequently to the San Francisco and Silicon Valley Chapters.

Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Brian is a Certified Financial Planner™
specializing in the community of people moving between Canada and the U.S. His firm,
Transition Financial Advisors Inc., is a fee-only, comprehensive financial planning, investment
management and Canada-US tax planning and preparation firm. A dual Canada-US citizen,
Brian holds both the Canadian and US CFP designations, the Trust and Estate Practitioner
designation, the Canadian Investment Management designation and has been working with
Canada-US clients since January of 1997.

Brian has written many articles, been quoted in numerous newspapers and journals and spoken
on Canada-US financial planning matters. Brian, has published two bestselling books entitled
“The Canadian in America: Real-life tax and financial insights into moving and living in the US”
(3rd Edition) and “The American in Canada: Real-life tax and financial insights into moving and
living in the US (2nd Edition).” In addition to having personal experience with his own Canada-
US moves, Brian assists the community by speaking on financial matters, doing pro bono budget
counseling, financial planning and tax work.

Gretchen Halpin is a strategic visionary with over 25 years of leadership and marketing experience. In her work with financial professionals and teams, Gretchen's primary focus is to accelerate and guide organizational growth in a positive, sustainable way. From successful entrepreneur to jack-of-all-trades strategic consultant, Gretchen's career path and journey to success have been guided by one true passion: to help people create the life and business they want, even when that means challenging the status quo.

Gretchen specializes in pioneering strategy and growth initiatives that drive success across every aspect of a business — from vision and objectives, to marketing and business development, to the overall client experience. Her top priority is to ensure that all decisions and initiatives are aligned with the mission and values of the firms in which she works. Gretchen has helped firms achieve success by elevating their brand identity and story to internal and external audiences, seizing new business opportunities, driving organizational change and translating strategy into action across all levels of the business.

But her ability to morph big-picture ideas into action and results goes beyond her current focus; it derives from her experience as the driving force behind several successful business ventures, including Soothe Your Senses, an organic aromatherapy product line she launched in 2001. What started as a passion for health and wellness expanded into an international spa brand — with retail distribution in 30 U.S. states and five countries — that grew 250-percent annually for eight years. 

As a co-founder of Beyond AUM, Gretchen and her team created and implemented a growth, marketing and technology plan that led an RIA firm to grow from $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) to more than $5 billion in AUM in five years. Under her leadership, Beyond AUM continues to assist firms, big and small, to reach their goals. Gretchen believes in working directly with advisors and their teams in order to cultivate a deep understanding of the importance and impact of their service and help support their client relationships. These experiences drive Beyond AUM's passion to see the RIA industry continue to thrive into the future. 

Under the direction of Gretchen and her fellow co-founder, Beyond AUM's marketing strategy was recognized by My Perfect Client and Masters in Accounting, and the team led the development of a personal finance blog that was named a Top 50 Financial Advisor Blog by Michael Kitces in 2014 and 2015. Gretchen has been a featured speaker at numerous industry events and conferences, hosted by leading organizations such as eMoney, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and Financial Advisor Magazine.

Dana Anspach, CFP®, RMA®, is the founder and CEO of Sensible Money, LLC, a firm specializing in retirement income planning for a national clientele. For three years, Sensible Money ranked on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing privately owned companies in the U.S. and has made Investment News Best Places to Work for two years in a row.

She is the author of How to Plan for the Perfect Retirement, a lecture series on The Great Courses, and Control Your Retirement Destiny, available on Amazon. 

Brett Danko, CFP® has worked in the financial services industry for over 25 years and is a featured nationwide lecturer on matters of personal finance. He is regularly called upon by the financial services industry to provide financial planning training to top-tier financial advisors and to consult on complex planning issues affecting their clients.

Brett is a dynamic speaker with the ability to deliver complex information to professionals and clients in an easily understandable way. He teaches the required CFP® Certification Education Courses (Financial Planning, Insurance, Investments, Income Tax, Retirement, Estate and Capstone) and CFP® Board Certification Examination Prep Courses throughout the United States. He also provides classroom continuing education to industry professionals and regularly teaches the CFP® Ethics course. Brett is a frequent speaker at key client events where he presents on emerging and hot topics in the financial planning arena.

In addition, Brett has his own RIA with over 30 financial advisors across the country that manages over $2 billion dollars. Brett is also a volunteer consultant for various organizations. In that capacity, he helps the organizations clients address their complex financial planning situations.

Brett grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He lives in Newtown, PA with his two children, one cat and one dog.