speakers

Derek Ashworth is an Associate Director in FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. The department protects investors by ensuring broker-dealer members of FINRA use communications that are fair, balanced and not misleading. Mr. Ashworth’s primary responsibility is managing staff members dedicated to the routine review of member firm communications. Mr. Ashworth also participates in the Department’s outreach efforts including serving as a panelist in prior FINRA conferences and presenting during selected FINRA Compliance Boot Camps. He has been with the Advertising Regulation Department for 24 years. Prior to joining FINRA, Mr. Ashworth was a program manager for a business and education partnership at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Previous to this role, he was a specialty banker and registered representative with First Union in West Palm Beach, FL. Mr. Ashworth received his Bachelor’s degree from Stetson University and completed his M.B.A. at Johns Hopkins University.

Rachel Biar serves as the Deputy State Treasurer for Savings Programs administering the Nebraska 529 Education Savings Program and providing oversight for the Enable Savings Program. She has had the privilege of serving in her position for over 20 years and is directly responsible for the administration, marketing, and oversight of the NEST 529 Education Savings Plans, which includes the NEST Direct College Savings Plan, NEST Advisor College Savings Plan, Bloomwell 529 Education Savings, and the State Farm 529 Savings Plan. In addition, she oversees and provides guidance for the Enable Savings Plan. The Nebraska State Treasurer serves as Program Trustee for both NEST 529 and Enable.

Rachel works directly with Union Bank & Trust which serves as Program Manager for NEST 529 and with Ascensus as Program Manager of Enable. She also collaborates with the Nebraska Investment Council in reviewing the investments within the plans.

As a resolute advocate for 529 plans, Rachel currently serves as Past Chair of the College Savings Plans Network (CSPN), is a member of the College Savings Foundation (CSF) and serves on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Municipal Fund Securities Advisory Group.

David Bell is Vice President of Vestwell and leads the 529 and ABLE programs.  Vestwell’s mission is to close the nation’s savings gap.

Prior to joining Vestwell, David was the Deputy Director of the Oregon Treasury Savings Network, a division of the Oregon State Treasury. The Network oversees the Oregon College Savings Plan, Oregon ABLE Savings Plan and OregonSaves.

In addition to working for Vestwell, David is an adjunct professor at Portland State University in the School of Business Administration. David received his bachelor’s degree in Business Communications at Point Loma University in San Diego and his MBA from Concordia University in Portland.

David is the chair of the Oregon Jump$tart Coalition and a founding board member of Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network.  David has lived and worked in Africa, Asia and Europe, but calls Oregon home with his wife and two daughters.

Travis Brickfield serves as the Director of the Mutual Fund, ETF, and 529 Product Specialists. In this role, Travis and his team are responsible for providing timely, product related guidance to Raymond James advisors. The team serve as generalists, cover all asset classes across the multiple product types, and strive to provide world class service. Travis has been with Raymond James since October of 2018 and has previously served as the Senior 529 Product Specialist.  He holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Central Florida. Travis was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area and is an Eagle Scout.

Mark Cain is currently serving as the Executive Director for my529, Utah’s educational
savings program. In this role, he leads the organization in strategic priorities and
administration. Including operations, investments, information technology, internal audit,
compliance and communications.
Prior to his role with my529, Mark served as Deputy Executive Director for Utah retirement
systems, where he was involved in all aspects of administration, pension systems, savings
plans, Investments, employer services, retirement planning, communications, project
management, human resources, internal audit & legal.
Mark has nearly 25 years of experience in leadership, public policy, and finance. He earned
a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Utah and an MBA from
Westminster College.
Mark is a dynamic leader and dedicated advocate in the world of educational savings. As
Executive Director of my529, he is committed to making education accessible for all.

www.chapleaulawgroup.com is a recognized expert in the field of Section 529 college savings plans and Section 529A disability savings plans.

Mr. Chapleau provides consulting, counseling, representation, and training services to program managers, State agencies, non-profits, law firms, and individuals on a wide range of matters. His goal is to make the laws and regulations surrounding tax-advantaged college savings understandable so that stakeholders may take full advantage of these powerful financial tools.

Mr. Chapleau has advised clients for more than 20 years in connection with more than 50 State-run Investment Programs across 28 States. Mr. Chapleau is an active member of the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Committees of the College Savings Foundation and the College Savings Plans Network, which each educate the public on college savings plans. In addition, he is a speaker on, and moderator of, panel discussions at 529 and ABLE program conferences.

Mr. Chapleau leverages his extensive experience to (i) navigate clients through applicable tax, securities regulatory, and other legal issues; (ii) draft and negotiate required contracts; and (iii) prepare program descriptions and other marketing disclosures. He is the former President and General Counsel of Upromise Investments, one of the nation’s leading Section 529 college savings program managers. Upromise Investments was subsequently sold to Ascensus. Prior to Upromise Investments, Mark was a Senior Legal Counsel at Fidelity Investments.

Mr. Chapleau received a merit scholarship and graduated from Brooklyn Law School, and graduated from the University of Connecticut (BA in Political Science). Previously, he was a FINRA-licensed General Securities Representative (Series 7) and a General Securities Principal (Series 24). He is also a member of the Bar in both Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Kim DeDominicis is a portfolio manager of the target date strategies in the Multi-Asset Division. She also leads the U.S. College Savings Plan investment efforts. Kim is a vice president of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc., T. Rowe Price Trust Company, and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. 

Kim’s investment experience began in 1998. She was with T. Rowe Price from 1998 to 2001, beginning in the Equity Division, and returned in 2003. Prior to returning to T. Rowe Price, Kim was employed by Merrill Lynch as a summer M.B.A. intern in the equity derivatives strategy group. She also was employed by MetLife Investments in the corporate bond strategy group. 

Kim earned a B.S., magna cum laude, in mathematics, with a concentration in statistics, from Bucknell University and an M.B.A. from New York University, Stern School of Business.

Cassandra DiBenedetto is the Executive Director of California’s ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB). In this role, she oversees the state’s 529 college savings plan, ScholarShare 529, with $16.5 billion in assets and 450,000 accounts as of December 31, 2024. She also leads the California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS), the nation’s largest children’s savings account initiative, as well as the California Memorial Scholarship Program.

Before joining SIB, Cassandra served as Executive Director of the CalAccount Blue Ribbon Commission. There, she successfully launched a state-wide feasibility study on banking unbanked Californians, meeting critical legislative mandates.

With a solid foundation in public outreach, communications, and financial services, Cassandra is deeply motivated by her personal experiences with the challenges of affording higher education. Her passion drives her commitment to expanding opportunities for families to save for college and build financial security. Cassandra holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Sacramento State University.

Steve originally joined Edward Jones in 2017 as a Financial Advisor and is now part of the Managed Investments team, with responsibilities including onboarding of Mutual Fund and ETF strategies, leading and facilitating the Managed Investments
FA Council, data analysis, product partner relationships, interfacing with branch teams around product-related inquiries, and acting as a SME for 529 plans and Education Savings.
Steve was born in Lapeer, MI and graduated from Spring Arbor University with a degree in Secondary Education (Social Studies, French, and Economics). Prior to joining Edward Jones, Steve was a middle school and high school history teacher.
In the community, Steve serves by coaching youth football, basketball, and baseball. He lives in Lapeer, MI with his wife, Katie and four boys. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, and fishing.

Andrea Feirstein founded AKF Consulting Group in 2002 to address the growing need in the college savings marketplace for unbiased, expert advice on all aspects of 529 plan design and administration. Since then, she has expanded the firm’s focus to include ABLE plans as well as State-run Retirement Programs, and today she oversees the firm’s engagements on all these initiatives.  Bringing a multi-dimensional perspective to public administrators of tax-advantaged investment programs, Ms. Feirstein has advised upon a wide range of program development and operational issues, including fiduciary training, investment option design, administrative policies, marketing strategies and analysis, and consumer outreach.

In all, Ms. Feirstein has over 37 years’ experience in the municipal finance industry, including managing the proprietary 529 business for Citigroup Asset Management (now Legg Mason, an affiliate of Franklin Templeton). Previously she was an investment banker with Salomon Smith Barney’s Municipal Securities Division (1987 to 1999, now Citigroup), and she was a bond lawyer with Brown & Wood (1984 to 1987, now Sidley Austin LLP). 

Ms. Feirstein is active in the National Association of State Treasurers (“NAST”), where she currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Public Finance, a joint venture between the NAST Foundation and Pepperdine University, and for which she chairs the Executive Treasury Management Track. She is a current member of the NAST Corporate Affiliate Advisory Board, which she also chaired in 2013 and 2014. Ms. Feirstein has been a member of the MSRB Advisory Group on Municipal Fund Securities since its creation in 2018 through its suspension on September 30, 2022.  Additionally, she serves on the Boards of Directors of the New York City Industrial Development Agency and Build New York City, for which she chairs each entity’s Finance Committee.  Finally, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Randall’s Island Park Alliance, for which she serves as Treasurer and chairs the Finance Committee, having previously chaired the Audit Committee.

Ms. Feirstein graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the University of Virginia School of Law, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Tax Review.  She is an SEC-registered, MSRB-licensed Municipal Advisor Principal (Series 54) and a Municipal Advisor Representative (Series 50), and previously was a FINRA-licensed Registered Representative (Series 7), Municipal Securities Principal (Series 53), Municipal Securities Representative (Series 52), and Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63).   She is also a member of the New York Bar (retired).

Zach Gieske is the President of the Stable Value Investment Association (SVIA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing retirement security through education, advocacy, and industry leadership. Under his direction, SVIA has undertaken a comprehensive strategic review resulting in enhanced member engagement, streamlined operations, and a modernized digital infrastructure. Zach has played a central role in raising the profile of stable value as a key component of retirement plan design, working closely with policymakers, plan sponsors, and industry stakeholders to ensure the asset class is well understood and appropriately positioned in the retirement landscape.
With a background in information sciences and strategic communications, Zach brings a multidisciplinary approach to association leadership. His work has helped SVIA more effectively serve its members and respond to the evolving needs of the retirement investment community.
He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Amelia, and their daughter, Clementine. Outside of work, Zach can often be found cooking elevated toddler cuisine and exploring Baltimore’s best playgrounds.

Ira Gluck is the Vice President of FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. The department helps protect investors by ensuring members of FINRA use communications including social media, digital advertising and other marketing materials that are fair, balanced, and not misleading. Mr. Gluck oversees the department’s regulatory review programs and business operations, including the development of technology to facilitate the review of communications.  He also provides expertise and policy guidance to other FINRA departments concerning FINRA, SEC, MSRB and SIPC rules pertaining to communications with the public and oversees the development of new rules, published guidance, and interpretations regarding communications. Mr. Gluck’s previous positions within FINRA included leading the Emerging Regulatory Issues team as well as heading the Strategic Initiatives Group in FINRA’s Enforcement Department. He also served in various investigative and management roles in the Enforcement and Member Regulation Departments of NASD before its 2007 consolidation with NYSE Member Regulation, which resulted in the formation of FINRA. Mr. Gluck received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed both a master’s degree and M.B.A. at the University of California, Irvine.

Kevin Johnson is CEO of Secure Ideas, a consulting company dedicated to security testing and training. Kevin passionately advocates for cybersecurity through his work with Secure Ideas, and as a faculty member at IANS. During his over 30 years in the industry, Kevin acted as an instructor and author for the SANS institute. He also contributed to a number of open-source projects, including OWASP SamuraiWTF (a web pen-testing training environment), Laudanum (a collection of injectable web payloads) and Yokoso (an infrastructure fingerprinting project) and was the founder and lead of the BASE project for Snort. Kevin has also served as an expert witness in court cases involving cybersecurity. 

Stacey MacPhetres is Senior Director of Education Finance at Bright Horizons, the nation’s leading provider of educational advisory services to organizations and families. At Bright Horizons, Ms. MacPhetres works with the team of experts developing, delivery and providing support in all aspect of education finance, financial wellness and student loan coaching. Stacey has devoted her 30+  year career to education finance. With extensive experience in financial aid administration at Emerson College and Elms College and as a consultant at Mt. Holyoke College, she has counseled thousands students and families through the college finance process. In addition, she spent more than a decade working as a vice president in education finance at JPMorgan Chase, where she was responsible for managing federal and private loan portfolios and financial literacy programs.

MacPhetres holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Marist College and a master’s degree in political communication and marketing from Emerson College. MacPhetres has been featured as an education finance and student loan expert in numerous news outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, NBC News, NerdWallet, Money, CNBC, Fortune, US News and World Report, USA Today, and Associated Press (AP) News. She is a frequent guest on the podcast, Getting In: A College Coach Conversation and presenter at national student loan and education finance industry conferences.

John Mitchell is the Director of College Savings and Deputy Chief Financial Product Officer at the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office. He and his team administer Bright Start and Bright Directions, the two Illinois 529 plans; Illinois First Steps, the Illinois statewide CSA program; and a range of statewide financial education programs. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son and is a tortured fan of the Chicago White Sox.

Abha Mohla is a Director in the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (MSRB) Market Regulation department where she supervises attorneys in the department and advises the Chief Regulatory and Policy Officer on legal and policy matters relating to the MSRB’s rulemaking, compliance support, and regulatory coordination initiatives. Abha also leads compliance and education initiatives at the MSRB, including serving as staff liaison on MSRB’s Compliance Advisory Group and Municipal Fund Securities Advisory Group. As staff liaison, she helps facilitate stakeholder engagement by steering both groups in providing input to MSRB and its Board of Directors on municipal market rules, market practices, and education related to municipal securities, including municipal fund securities.

Prior to joining MSRB, Abha spent seven years at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). During her tenure at FINRA, Abha served as an Enforcement Counsel advising examination staff and analysts and handling disposition of matters involving a wide range of securities industry violations. Abha also held the position of Associate Principal Analyst in FINRA’s Market Regulation Department where she focused on cross-market surveillance reviews and investigations for the U.S. equity market regulated by FINRA. Prior to joining FINRA, Abha practiced securities law at Snyder Kearney, LLC where she focused on the representation of broker-dealers in connection with their due diligence of public and private securities offerings, with a concentration on non-exchange traded real estate investment trusts.

Abha earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a J.D.

LaKesha Page is the Director of College Savings and ABLE TN for the State of Tennessee Treasury Department. 
The TNStars College Savings 529 Program was launched in 2012, and ABLE TN was launched in 2016 under the leadership of Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr.  TNStars is designed to give Tennessee families high quality investment options at a low cost to help them put aside money for qualified higher education expenses. One of the nation’s first Achieving a Better Life Experience programs to launch, ABLE TN has provided a valuable resource to help individuals with disabilities save to pay for qualified expenses.

As the Deputy State Treasurer for Consumer Programs, Julie leads Pennsylvania Treasury’s Bureaus of Savings Programs and Unclaimed Property. Savings programs include PA ABLE, PA 529 College and Career Savings Program, and Keystone Scholars, a leading state-wide children’s savings account (CSA) program which automatically invests $100 at birth for every Pennsylvania child’s postsecondary education. Julie also serves as an advisor to the State Treasurer on financial wellness and inclusion.

Prior to her current role, Julie spent more than 15 years in international development, focused on financial inclusion and impact measurement. She is passionate about building financial security and economic opportunity, believing that appropriately designed financial services have the ability to change lives by providing dignity, opportunity and financial empowerment. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern Methodist University, Julie started her career as a CPA at KPMG in Chicago, IL and subsequently received her MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Connect with her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliepeachey/

Maya has over 16 years of experience in the Stable Value industry. She has served as Head of Stable Value Wrap at Pacific Life since 2022 and was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Stable Value Investment Association in 2023. In her current role, Maya leads Pacific Life’s Stable Value team, overseeing go-to-market strategy, product and market development, and distribution. She collaborates closely with Stable Value Investment Managers to deliver Stable Value solutions for retirement plan participants and education savings account holders.

Since entering the industry in 2009, Maya has held a range of positions at firms including Galliard Capital Management and Prudential Financial. She joined Pacific Life in 2018.

Richard Polimeni is Head of Education Savings Programs for Bank of America. Bank of America is one of the largest distributors of advised 529 plans to consumers with $19 billion in 529 college savings assets. Bank of America, through its Merrill Financial Advisors, offers 21 advisor-sold 529 programs and Maine’s NextGen 529 direct plan through its Merrill Edge online investing platform.
Richard serves on the MSRB’s Advisory Group for 529 and ABLE plans and he is a former Chair of the College Savings Foundation (CSF), a leading nonprofit helping American families save for higher education. Previously, he served in several leadership roles on the CSF Executive Committee, including Vice Chair and Secretary. Additionally, Richard has contributed to the organization over the years as Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, the Conference Committee, and the Media Committee.
Richard has frequently been quoted in articles related to education savings and legislative issues. He has also appeared on various TV and radio programs, including such programs as Fox Business Radio (Saving Your Money), Yahoo! Finance TV, Money Sense Radio, Business for Breakfast, Real Wealth Radio, and CBS (Mottek on Money), among others.
During his almost 40-year career in the financial services industry, Richard has held various sales, marketing, operational, and management positions supporting retirement and education savings products.
Prior to joining Bank of America in 2002, Richard spent 15 years with Smith Barney/Citigroup where he launched two of the country’s first 529 college savings programs for the states of Colorado (Scholars Choice in 1999) and Illinois (Bright Start in 2000). He also spent several years managing various retirement investment products.
Richard is Series 7, 63, 66 and 53 registered (Municipal Securities Principal) and earned a degree in Business Management from Brookdale College.

Julie has been with MEFA since 2007 and is a nationally recognized subject matter expert on planning, saving, and paying for college. She leads the College Planning Team providing assistance to families, colleges, K-12 schools, and community-based organizations. Prior to joining MEFA, Julie worked for the College Board, Nellie Mae, and American Express, and was the Director of Financial Aid at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She holds degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge.

Luis Sierra is a vice president for Marquette Associates with 14 years of investment experience and works from Marquette’s Baltimore office. He joined the firm in 2017 and is a member of the diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, sustainable investing group, and nonprofit services group. Luis serves as the investment consultant on several client relationships with a focus on public funds and nonprofit clients.

Prior to joining Marquette, Luis worked as an investment counselor at Fisher Investments. Previously, he worked as an operations administrator at Efficient Advisors.

Luis holds a B.S. in finance and international business from Drexel University and an M.B.A. in international business and an M.S. in finance from Temple University’s Fox School of Business. Luis is a CFA^® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Baltimore. He serves as treasurer and board member of JANE (Jewels Advancing, Nurturing, and Empowering), Inc.

Ben is a Vice President and Stable Value Portfolio Manager at GSAM, responsible for construction and management of stable value portfolios. He is tasked with being the Stable Value Strategy Lead for the business, providing oversight for the stable value and wrapped fixed income platform, coordination of external manager and wrap credit review, and collaboration on new business strategy. He is a member of the Stable Value Wrap Contract Strategy team. Previously, Ben was a member of the Client Middle Office team within Goldman Sachs from 2010-2013. Prior to joining the firm, Ben was an Assistant Manager within the Alternative Investment Services team at BNY Mellon, and part of the Business Development team within DerivSERV at the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. Ben earned his BBA from Baruch College in 2006.

Chris Stack, Esq. Managing Consultant, Savingforcollege.com, is a nationally recognized 529 authority and experienced in educational finance. An attorney for over 30 years, licensed in New York & Pennsylvania, Chris has experience in finance, investments and law relating to tax- advantaged products, including Section 529, since it became federal law in 1996.
As a partner at a major New York law firm, he advocated to his state clients the benefits of 529 programs and beginning in 1997 served as the principal or participating author for a number of states’ legislation establishing 529 programs, as well as amending various state statutes. He has been credited for actively and successfully initiating, advocating and assisting in the 2022 federal tax law changes allowing for “leftover” 529 funds to be transferred to a Roth IRA. He’s also assisted several states and plan managers implement their 529 investment plans that now service over $20B in assets.
Since 2001, Chris has been providing consulting and educational services while affiliated with SavingforCollege.com. He is intimately familiar with the provisions of Section 529 itself, as well as the various state laws and programs. Currently, Chris advises and consults with sponsoring state agencies, program managers and investment companies, and presents nationally to financial advisors, accountants, attorneys and actual investors on 529 plans.
Current and past clients of Chris include Allianz, American Century, BlackRock, Columbia Threadneedle, Dreyfus, Fidelity, Fisher Investments, John Hancock, Goldman Sachs AM, Legg Mason, MFS, PIMCO, Voya, Wells Fargo Funds as well as Morgan Stanley, Raymond James, Charles Schwab and several other broker-dealers and several state agencies sponsoring 529 plans.
Chris is a graduate of Fordham College and Fordham University School of Law, located in New York City. He has participated as an investor in various 529 plans since 1997 as owner of several 529 accounts.
Savingforcollege.com is widely acknowledged as the leading independent authority and resource on Section 529 and the various 529 programs and hosts a website that is the most often cited source of comprehensive information on 529 plans and developments concerning the industry.

William Thompson is an experienced executive and strategic advisor with deep expertise in 529 plan administration, fintech transformation, and digital modernization. As Deputy Executive Director of the Florida Prepaid College Board, he led the development of, and $15B transition to, a scalable, AI-enabled SaaS records administration platform built on Salesforce. His work bridges the public and private sectors, with a focus on enhancing customer experience, streamlining operations, and fostering value-driven decision-making. William brings a forward-looking perspective to the intersection of education savings, technology, and policy, with a focus on how platforms, financial behavior, and AI are reshaping the future of 529 programs.

Dan is an Advanced Planning Consultant at Commonwealth Financial Network. In this role he works with financial advisors to develop and implement sophisticated planning strategies to meet unique client objectives.  He specializes in education/529 planning, estate planning, and social security planning. Prior to joining Commonwealth, Dan worked as an associate attorney at Killeen Law Office, LLC, and Alves|Santos, P.C. He attended the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth and the University of Massachusetts School of Law. When not at work, Dan enjoys playing golf and basketball, learning guitar, and binge-watching TV shows.

Ryan White is senior director of 529 product management and subject matter expert for IRC Section 529 products at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. In this role, he is responsible for product management, development and oversight, as well as sales and marketing support for the Future Scholar 529 Advisor-sold, and Direct-sold plans. He joined one of Columbia Threadneedle Investments’ legacy firms in 2012 and has been worked in the financial services community since 2010, having previously held various positions with Fifth Third Bank and Fifth Third Securities. Ryan received a B.A. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds the Series 7, 6, 52, 53 and 63 licenses with FINRA. In addition, he is a CFPTM professional, and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst designation, administered by the Investments & Wealth Institute®, and taught in association with the Yale School of Management.