2022 SFN Dads Virtual Conference Speakers

2022 SFN Dads Virtual Conference
Speakers

Carter Abel

Carter is the Executive Director for GiGi’s Playhouse Nashville. GiGi’s Playhouse Nashville provides free educational and therapeutic programs to individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community. Working with an international network of 50+ locations around North America and growing, our mission is to change the way the world sees Down syndrome and send a global message of acceptance for all.

Carter joined the staff at GiGi’s in the summer of 2019 as the organization’s first Executive Director. An Arkansas native, he focused his undergraduate and graduate studies at Belmont and Lipscomb on nonprofit business and fundraising with the intention of helping nonprofit organizations become more sustainable and effective in fulfilling their missions. Before joining GiGi’s, he served in a variety of consulting and staff roles in nonprofits for over a decade. He and his wife Carly are the proud parents of Lila, Asher, and Micah–who has Down syndrome–and the impact of GiGi’s programming on him as a parent participant drives him to want to provide more of those same opportunities to families across middle Tennessee.

Lenn Boston

Lenn Boston of Kalamazoo, MI, is a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, real estate agent, and father of four, including a daughter with Angelman Syndrome. He is also a board member of Parent To Parent a national non-profit dedicated to serving parents raising children with special healthcare needs. Lenn is also a SFN Mentor Father and featured in episode #185 of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast.

Joe Butler

Joe and his wife Jen are parents of three children, Clara, Hanna and Micah, who has multiple special needs. Their journey as special needs parents helped them find a new life in Arkansas. Joe and Jen formed Ability Tree, a not for profit organization that helps parents of special needs kids. Ability tree provides a safe nurturing environment for special needs kids so parents can get a badly needed rest.

Mary Anne Ehlert

Mary Anne Ehlert, CFP®, is the CEO & Founder of Ehlert Financial Group, Inc,—a business driven to help individual and families develop both short and long term financial strategies to help them find peace of mind. Prior to creating Ehlert Financial Group in 1990, Mary Anne spent 20 years in senior management positions within the banking industry, including Deutsche Credit Corp, Heller Financial and Citicorp.

Over the years, she found that many individuals and families were receiving transactional advice, rather than overall planning, and thus she set about to become a true personal advisor to her clients. The mission to become that overall resource to her clients has driven the overall purpose and strategy of the firm.

In addition, over the years, she also found herself focusing on families like her own; her sister, Marcia, helped her understand that families with special needs must plan differently. Since that time, she has focused a division of her practice on working with families with special needs. Protected Tomorrows, the special needs division, helps families plan a safe and fulfilling life for their loved ones with special needs or who are aging. She communicates her knowledge at family and financial conferences; she also delivers important information to television and radio audiences, appearing on such shows as WGN-AM’s “The Steve Cochran Show” and Chicago’s ABC7 News. She has been featured in such publications and Internet sites as the Chicago Sun-Times, Bloomberg.com, Investment News and Financial Advisor.

Ehlert serves as a member of the Board of Directors of many organizations providing services to children and adults with special needs including Vice-Chair of the National Disability Institute in Washington, DC; and Illinois Special Olympics. She is a member of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill, ARC of Illinois, and the National Council on Aging. She has been honored for her contributions to the Lake County Advocacy Conference for Persons with Disabilities.

She has recently completed her book, entitled “The Gift I Was Given: The Journey of a Caregiver Through the Stages of What Now?, Why Me?, and Ah Ha!”

In February 2017, Mary Anne co-authored with Linda Ellis Eastman on a book titled “Madam President How to Think and Act Like a Leader”.

Mary Anne Ehlert is President & Founder of Protected Tomorrows, Inc. Protected Tomorrows, Inc. is not a Registered Investment Advisor and does not engage in offering financial or legal advice.

Hattie Fleming

Hattie recently received her doctorate in occupational therapy. Her capstone project was on developing caregiver coaching based pediatric OT services in underserved communities abroad. As a result of the experiences she had during her program development and research, she has become extremely passionate about empowering parents to support their own child’s therapeutic goals. She is also committed to continuing to learn how to provide culturally responsive services for all families. She hopes to use the knowledge gained through her program to continue providing OT for children and families that experience restricted access to services.

Hattie is also an avid world traveler having traveled to more than 20 countries and she speak three languages. She lives in San Diego and some of her favorite things to do when not traveling are taking her dog, Honey Bear, to the beach, doing yoga outdoors, hiking, and camping.

Dr. Al Freedman

Dr. Al Freedman, a licensed psychologist, has provided child, adolescent, adult and family psychotherapy, as well as consultation to schools, health care organizations, rare disease advocacy organizations, and biopharmaceutical companies for over 20 years. He specializes in working with children, adolescents, and families, and has a special interest in families affected by disability and complex medical conditions. Dr. Freedman has written and spoken widely on the topic of caring for children with special health care and educational needs. He has served as a Consulting Psychologist at Westtown School, Delaware Valley Friends School, BAYADA Home Health Care, and Novartis Gene Therapies. He is a member of many professional organizations including the American Psychological Association, the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology, and the Pennsylvania Psychological Association.

Rich Gathro

Dr. Richard Gathro’s personal mission is that of an arts & education traveler, serving across the globe to advance “the good, the true and the beautiful,” and investing in the emerging generations. His philosophy is that life is about relationships, and that all else is just details. Rich encourages people and organizations to join together in building bridges of friendship that carry the weight of Truth.

Dr. Gathro has spent 45 years in higher education leadership, including as a chief enrollment officer, psychology professor, public policy program director, and Dean. He holds degrees in history, theology, psychology and education. Current board/trustee service includes The Seattle School of Psychology, The Culture Connection (L.A.) and the Hodos Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia. Civic activity has included service on county, state and national boards, and as an election poll officer. While running the Washington, D.C. campuses of Nyack College and Pepperdine University he founded the Institute for Public Service & Policy Development.

Rich and his wife, Kathrine, currently reside in St. Petersburg, Florida and have been married for 40 years. They have two children, William and Katarina. The Gathros enjoy biking, swimming, baseball, tours of historic sites, film, music, the theatre, international travel, and debating politics. Kathy is an experienced educator and a businesswoman, and Rich’s partner and advisor in all things. Together, they have owned a media business and a nonprofit consulting business, and have been active with the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

David Hirsch

David is the father of five adult children, ages 25-32, founder of the 21st Century Dads Foundation (2015) and Illinois Fatherhood Initiative (1997), host of the popular SFN Dad To Dad Podcast, and author of the book: 21st Century Dads: A Father’s Journey To Break The Cycle Of Father Absence.

He also gave a TEDx Talk entitled Why We Need To Break The Cycle Of Father Absence, which has been viewed more than 30K times. He is also a Senior Vice President with UBS Financial Services in Chicago and has been financial advisor for 36 years. He’s also completed three endurance bicycle rides, known as the Dads Honor Rides: DHR 2015 Santa Monica to Chicago (2,300+ miles), DHR 2016 Boston to Chicago (1,400 miles) and DHR 2017 Around Lake Michigan (950+ miles).

When he’s not advocating for father involvement or advising clients about their investments, he enjoys: underwater photography, reading and adventure sports, including more recently Ironman Florida.

Pete Hixson

Most people want to experience more potential in their lives and work, but are often held back by obstacles within and around them. I help people and organizations navigate change and overcome challenges so they will move forward and grow. I have experience in all aspects of organizational leadership from community collaboration, vision casting, communicating, team building, financial stewardship, and event planning.

Jeff Katz

An award-winning Fortune 500 team builder, Sean Farrell’s professional skills include the development of national sales teams for the healthcare companies he serves. Serving as the VP for Sales and Strategy, he came to RDx BioScience after tenures at Sagenex Labs, where he led the diagnostics division of Townsend Treatment Centers, and Addiction Labs, where he launched a national brand and sales team for American Addiction Centers. At LabCorp, Sean’s teams earned back-to-back #1 national rankings, a first for the world’s largest laboratory. Before LabCorp, Sean led a national team for HospiScript Services, and co-founded CyberMarket, a partner of America Online and early pioneer in internet marketing.

Sean is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, and he admits he can be a loud fan when the Vols are playing.

Sean, his wife Jenee, and sons Sam and Joshua have lived in Franklin since 2016. The entire family is grateful for the programs at GiGi’s Playhouse, where 12-year old Sam especially enjoys classes in music and cooking. Jenee has been active in GiGi’s Gala Committee, and Sean previously served on the Board of Directions for the Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads. Sean is also a SFN Mentor Father and was featured in episode #59 of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast.

Duncan Keya

Duncan Keya of Nairobi, Kenya, is the father of four children and works as a Designated Migration Officer at the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi. He and his wife, Faith, have been married for 6 years and are the proud parents of four children including Luka (5), who has Autism and Khalayi (2) who has Albinism. Duncan also leads the SFN Nairobi Dads Meetup Group, is a SFN Mentor Father and was featured in episode #201 of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast.

Paul Koza

Paul is a retired senior sales director at Amgen, a biotechnology firm he worked at for 17 years.

He and his wife Maureen have four boys, including triplets, two of which have Autism.

He has also been actively involved with Special Olympics for 30 years and on the board of the Center For Enriche

Randy Lewis

Peace Corps volunteer, Arthur Murray dance instructor, Ernst and Young partner, Fortune 50 senior executive and best-selling author. Before retiring in 2013 as Senior Vice President, he led Walgreens’ logistics division for sixteen years as the chain grew from 1,500 to 8,000 stores with the most advanced logistics network in its industry.

Randy remains active in business and maintains an active speaking schedule about the advantages of hiring those with disabilities.

After retiring from Walgreens, Randy founded the NOGWOG Disability Initiative. The non-profit organization is dedicated to the expansion of hiring the disabled by Fortune 500 companies based upon the Walgreens experience. The Initiative is funded wholly by speaker fees and royalties from Randy’s best-selling book, No Greatness Without Goodness.

Randy bet his career that he could create an inclusive workplace at one of America’s biggest corporations where people with disabilities could not just succeed, but thrive. No Greatness Without Goodness is the powerful story of a corporate executive who, after watching the world through the eyes of his own child with autism, Austin, realized that we all have a greater responsibility to make the world a better place for everyone, including those with disabilities.

As the Senior Vice President of Walgreens, Randy has created thousands of full-time jobs for people with disabilities.

Randy and his wife Kay have three children including a son, Austin, who has Autism and was non verbal for 10 years. Austin works full time at Myers and drives himself an hour each way to work and back.

Wayne Messmer

Creator of The Spirit of a Champion Private Mentor Program, a 1:1 Personal Improvement Program for motivated individuals in a professional services business who are looking to reignite their leadership and communication skills.

Known as “America’s Voice of Victory,” I inspire audiences through keynote speaking centered on resilience, perseverance, and forgiveness. My success stems from my upbringing but emerged from setback. With sharp focus on motivating others, I share my story through words and music.

Raised on Chicago’s Southwest side, my parents modeled the standard of how to live, laugh, and love. I mirrored their behavior, shaped my personality through lasting friendships, and built my professional image from those who inspired me. I work tirelessly to pass on my lessons learned so others can build their image and reach their goals.

My voice, the power of words, and the inspiration of song carried me across several thresholds. I was the PA announcer and soloist for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Sting Soccer Team. For 13 seasons I was the Anthem soloist for the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. My rendition of the U.S. and Canadian National Anthems at the 1991 NHL All-Star Game still reigns as one of the most memorable singing performances. Perhaps my most cherished moment was singing before two games during the 2016 World Series in front of hometown Chicago fans at Wrigley Field.

Success did not come without setback. An incident left my voice and my life in the balance. Through perseverance, I regained strength to survive and thrive. I captured my story in my best-selling book, The Voice of Victory.

My passion for people, gift for singing, and drive to motivate led me to become a founding partner of the 4-time Cup Champion Chicago Wolves. I co-founded Wayne Messmer & Associates where I presented over 700 financial retirement seminars. I also host the Wayne Messmer Radio Show.

I am a Certified Speaking Professional, a member of the National Speakers Association, NSA-IL and SAG/AFTRA. Proudly, I hold a PhD in Psychology from La Salle University and an a Masters degree from Loyola University Chicago, a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, Honorary Doctorates from my alma mater, Illinois Wesleyan and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Joe Mantegna

Joe Mantegna is an Emmy Award winning American actor who has more than 100 Broadway, TV and film credits to his name, including voicing the character of Fat Tony in the TV show Simpsons and for playing the role of agent David Rossi in the TV series Criminal Minds the last 13 seasons.

Joe and his wife Irene have two adult daughters, Gia and older sister Mia, who has Autism.

Steve Mogul

Steve is a senior wealth advisor with Miramar. Capital LLC, in Northbrook, IL. He and his wife, Robyn, are the proud parents of two girls who both have Smith-Magenis Syndrome (AKA: SMS), a very rare developmental disorder. Steve also sits on two boards for Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

Damion Navarro

Damion started working in the environmental business at the age of 19. In 1999 he opened his own business, NES Environmental, which has had exponential growth since it began. In October 2020, he purchased a 5-acre farm and intended to use it for his business’ storage needs. However, God planted a seed in his life for the farm to take a different course. Inspired by his son, Carter who was born with Down syndrome, Navarro Farm was born as a place to grow for individuals with special needs. In March of 2021, the transformation began and proceeded at an incredible pace. The barn and farmhouse were gutted inside and out, eighty–four raised planter beds were built for vegetables, a fruit orchard was planted, a grape vineyard was established, beehives installed for harvesting honey and improving crop production, a custom chicken coop was built to house forty chickens, and a goat barn which houses six Nigerian dwarf goats. All of the Farm’s goods are sold in their very own mobile farm stand, Carter’s Corner. In July of 2021, while seeing the increased interest and more so the immediate need in the community, Navarro Farm opened to provide programming for the special needs community. With just less than 9 months in operation, Navarro Farm has served nearly 100 individuals with specials needs and looks to more than double that number in its second season.

Damion lives in Frankfort, Illinois with his wife Sherri and their three children, Autumn, Carter, and Selah.

Kevin Phillips

Kevin Phillips was born and raised in Florida and, throughout his life, has also lived in North Carolina, Connecticut, Hungary, and now Wisconsin. He is a graduate of Tennessee Temple University where he majored in History. Kevin and his wife Joy have celebrated 34 years of marriage and have two daughters: Christiana, an alumna of Taylor University, and Briana, a high school graduate with Down syndrome who is planning to attend Shepherds College in the fall of 2022.

Prior to joining our team, the Phillips served as missionaries with the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism for eleven years; seven of those in Hungary.

Kevin enjoys spending time with family, fishing, running, and watching sports.

Sarah Putt, MA, OTR/L

My name is Sarah Putt and I am a licensed and certified occupational therapist.

I am the founder and clinical director of a private practice in Los Angeles, California and have over 12 years experience as an OT. My company specializes in therapy interventions in the home environment and typically works with children from birth to 3 years of age.

I am the host and creator of OT 4 Lyfe, a podcast and website dedicated to sharing the amazing field of occupational therapy. I also co-host two other occupational therapy podcasts, The OT Roundtable and The Real OTs of Early Intervention. It is my hope that I can connect and inspire OT practitioners, students, and people interested in occupational therapy across the globe.

I am an avid world traveler, scuba diver, craft beer enthusiast, and mom to an amazing one year old girl named Abigail, with baby number 2 coming July 2022. Having worked in early intervention and now becoming a parent myself, my perspective and lens for helping children and families has shifted as I have gained a deeper appreciation for what it is really like to be a parent.

Jarell Roach

Jarell, his wife Kinesha, and four children are natives of Nebraska. Presently, he serves a 19 year combat veteran with the Air National Guard and missionary with Youth for Christ; ministering both locally & in South American countries. Jarell can be heard encouraging others daily on 100.7 KGBI, one of the premiere Christian music radio stations in the midwest, as well having shared more than 4000 presentations in churches, schools, jails, corporate America and more. He is the founder of Hopehood. Currently, he and his team host speaking and standup comedy workshops to empower the communicator from within each participant served.

Rooster Rossiter

Kim “Rooster” Rossiter serves as the President of the Ainsley’s Angels of America and as a special advisor to many other adaptive sports organizations across the country. He and Lori, his wife of over 20 years, hail from Lake Charles, Louisiana, and are parents to Briley, Kamden, and the late namesake for Ainsley’s Angels, Ainsley.

A retired United States Marine, he attended Marine Corps Boot Camp upon completion of high school in 1994 and served for over 24 years in North Carolina, Washington DC, Virginia, California, Okinawa, Africa, Korea, Norway, and is a veteran of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM.

Co-host of the “Together, We Shall” podcast, join us weekly for a little conversational dance!

Brian Rubin

Brian is the father of three adult children, including a 38 year old son with autism who limits his law practice to serving the legal & “future planning” needs of his fellow Illinois families of children & adults with special needs. In 2010, upon graduation from Law School, Brian’s other son, Benjamin, a/k/a “little/big brother”, joined the firm, with offices in Chicago, Skokie, and Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

* Past Chairman, State of Illinois DHS Statewide Advisory Council on Developmental Disabilities

* Past Chairman, State of Illinois Autism Task Force

* Former Commissioner, State of Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission

* Former Member, State of Illinois Disabilities Services Advisory Committee (Olmstead Committee)

* Former Member, State of Illinois DHS’ Office of Inspector General Quality Care Board

* Past President, The Arc of Illinois

* Former Member, Board of Directors of DayOne PACT, Inc.

* Member, Board of Directors of Clearbrook

* Former Member & Past Chairman, Board of Directors of SLSF (Foundation for Northwest Suburban Special Recreation Association)

* Former Member, Board of Directors of Keshet

* Former Member, Board of Directors of Northpointe Achievement Centre

* Founding Chairman, Board of Trustees of Foundation for Special Ed. District of Lake County

* Instructor for IICLE (Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education), ISBA (Illinois State Benji Association), & ABA (American Bar Association).

* Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

* Past President, Special Needs Alliance, the national, membership by invitation only, non-profit association of experienced Special Needs Planning Attorneys

* Was Charter Member of Academy of Special Needs Planners

* Former Member, Special Needs Law Steering Committee of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys

Specialties: Legal and future planning for my fellow Illinois families of children & adults with special needs (intellectual disabilities, developmental disabilities, and/or mental illness)

Warren Rustand

Warren Rustand of Tucson, AZ, is the father of seven, grandfather of 19, a serial entrepreneur, former White House Fellow, former NBA player, past CEO of the World President’s Organization, Co-Founder & Dean of the Entrepreneurs Organization’s Leadership Academy, International Chairman emeritus of L3, a leadership organization, frequent speaker and more recently, an author.

Warren and his wife, Carson, have been married for 57 years. They have six biological children including son, Scott, who was diagnosed with Autism. They also fostered William Whitehorse, who has become a very accomplished Native American artist.

From a young age, Warren demonstrated a unique level of determination for achievement and commitment to excellence. From some formative experiences growing up and being selected as a White House Fellow, Warren has also developed a keen sense for making use of the 86,400 seconds from every day.

One of the secrets to Carson and Warren’s success is their intentionality to communicate with one another and amongst family members. Their family motto is ‘we do hard things.’ Another key aspect of their success is the use of and implementation of family vision and mission statements.

In addition to having an extraordinary business experience, Warren has also been very deliberate about mentoring others through Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) to name two organizations.

More recently, Warren authored the book The Leader Within Us; Mindset, Principals & Tools For Life By Design, published by Forbes.

He is also SFN Dad Podcast #142 & #143

Tom Studer

Tom is President and founder of Symmetry Benefit Solutions, which started in 2015. He has 40+ years of Employee Benefits experience where he has been helping working Americans save money. During that time, he kept seeing employees not able to save for their American Dream of buying a home, educating their children, and retiring with dignity.

Tom is also a husband and father including a daughter with Autism. He and his family make their home in Lawrenceville, GA.

Dr. Ruslan Vasyutin

Dr. Ruslan Vasyutin, up until recently, lived and worked in Kiev, Ukraine.

He has had a successful career in the insurance industry, is founder of MASTER GOAL, an executive coaching & training company and is founder and president of DCP Help, a non-profit, whose mission is to provide comprehensive support to families with children with Cerebral Palsy and other organic disorders of the nervous system.

Here is a brief summary of his academic credentials:

– Zaporizhzhya State University (Ukraine)

– Pace University (NY, USA)

– ORKLA Brand School (Oslo, Norway)

– Russian Academy of Education (Ph.D., Moscow, Russia)

– Kyiv State Economic University (Ukraine)

Ruslan and his wife, Olga, have been married for 10 years and are the proud parents of Alice (9) who has severe Cerebral Palsy and is unable to walk, or talk.

Aaron Walker

Aaron and his wife Robin have been married for 40 years, have two adult daughters and live in the Nashville Metropolitan area.

Businessman and Life Coach, Aaron Walker, has inspired many through his leadership, mentorship, and consistent pursuit of excellence. He enjoys helping others and believes experience is a great teacher. 40 years of entrepreneurship and marriage have given Aaron a wealth of experience. Aaron continues to reach new heights and broaden his perspective of the terrain by examining his experiences and growing from them.

For more than two decades and counting, Aaron has taken classes from and has been coached personally by his friend, financial guru, Dave Ramsey. Spiritual mentors David Landrith and Bob Warren have impacted his spiritual life beyond measure. Two other disciplined mastermind groups, 48 Days led by friend Dan Miller and The Torch have played a role in his understanding of how to live a significant and successful life. Aaron incorporates education and learning opportunities into his daily routine, remaining informed of the latest tools and trends available.

It only took a few years as a partner with David Patton Construction LLC for Aaron to help take the business from doing one to two projects per year to a multi-million dollar company, voted number one builder for three consecutive years by Nashville’s House & Home & Garden Magazine’s People’s Choice Awards. He sold his retail business to Cash America USA, a Fortune 500 company. In addition to being the owner of eight lucrative businesses, Aaron participates in civic endeavors.

Through his participation in personal accountability groups, Aaron mentors individuals weekly now and has for over five years. The Eagles Group, a collection of Nashville’s most respected leaders met weekly for over a decade. At his local church, Aaron is an active member, team leader, Deacon, and teacher.

Catherine Whitcher

Better Special Education Results. Less IEP Stress. More Teamwork and Less Conflict between Parents, Teachers, and Schools.

For over 20 years, Catherine Whitcher, M.Ed has been sitting at IEP tables helping parents, teachers, and teams create IEPs that work! Inspired by her brother with Down syndrome, she became a special education teacher with Masters degree and five teaching certificates. She was determined to change the special needs community from the inside of her classroom. After just a few years of teaching, Catherine was in high demand for special education consulting and speaking. She left the classroom and dedicated herself to changing special education by helping hundreds of families every year. When districts experienced her collaborative, common sense approach to solving even the toughest problems, they soon started hiring Catherine to help their special education teams “from the inside”.

As an International speaker and Founder of online training programs; The Master IEP Coach® Mentorship + Network, Catherine serves thousands of parents & teams, from around the world. She’s determined to change the special education experience for everyone who sits at an IEP table. She’s always ready to jump into all the hot topics, sticky conversations and share the solutions that are needed for all children to be prepared for further education, employment and independent living.

Catherine both travels the country and works virtually. She LOVES to guide and empower every member of the IEP team to be a leader. She uses proven strategies and real world experiences to bring NEW special education solutions to the table.

Rob Wrubel

At Cascade Investment Group, Rob works with individuals, nonprofit organizations and businesses on financial planning including asset management and asset protection, special-needs planning, wealth transfer and retirement plans. Rob has been a CFP® professional since 2007 and was recently awarded the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) designation from fi360. Rob serves as Vice President of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation Board of Directors. He recently finished his term of service with the Cheyenne Village Board of Directors where he acted as Board President. Rob has served on the Board of Directors of the Colorado Springs Down Syndrome Association, as President of the Board of Directors for CASA of the Pikes Peak Region, on the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board of Southern Colorado as Treasurer, the Board of the Colorado Fund for People with Disabilities and The Children’s Hospital at Memorial Hospital’s Parent Advisory Committee. He has had the great pleasure to be involved in the successful completion of a capital campaign to restore the Pikes Peak Library’s historic Carnegie Library.

Rob is a 19-year resident of Colorado Springs, Colorado and a father of three. In his leisure time, Rob enjoys hiking, running trails and other outdoor activities. Rob graduated from Wesleyan University where he earned his BA and MA. He is also a 1999 graduate of the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute.

Rob is also the author of: Financial Freedom for Special Needs Families-9 Building Blocks to Preserve Benefits, Reduce Stress and Create a Fulfilling Financial Future. He also authored the book:Protect Your Family – Life Insurance Basic for Special-Needs Families.

2022 SFN Dads Virtual Conference Speakers