NAFA Annuity Leadership Forum Speakers
Keynote Speakers
Paul Begala is a political commentator, a professor of public policy, an author and a political strategist. He is a commentator for CNN, where he is part of the political team that has won both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award. In addition to appearing on-air, Paul writes commentary for CNN, which is the world’s most-read news organization website. Over the years, he has also been a frequent guest on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and has authored six books about politics, several of which were New York Times bestsellers. In the 1990s, he helped his friend John F. Kennedy, Jr. launch the political magazine George and wrote the “Capitol Hillbilly” column.
Begala served in 1992 as a senior strategist for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign and as Counselor to the President in the White House, helping coordinate policy, politics and media. Before working for Pres. Clinton, Begala worked on Capitol Hill and advised campaigns across America. In 2012, he played a crucial role in the Obama-Biden re-election campaign. He has also done campaign work overseas, including in Israel, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Stephen F. Hayes is CEO and editor of The Dispatch, a conservative digital media company he started with Jonah Goldberg and Toby Stock in 2019. He is the author of two New York Times best sellers: The Connection: How al Qaeda’s Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America and Cheney: The Untold Story of America’s Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. Hayes is also currently an NBC News contributor and was part of CNN’s “Best Political Team on Television,” which won a Peabody Award for its coverage of the 2008 elections.
Hayes worked at The Weekly Standard magazine for nearly two decades, first as a reporter/writer and eventually as editor-in-chief. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Reason, National Review and many other publications. Hayes has written extensively about national politics, international affairs and the country’s current political leadership.
Pollsters
Margie Omero is a principal at the Democratic polling firm GBAO with more than 25 years of experience providing strategic advice and qualitative and quantitative research to candidates, organizations, and brands. In 2022, she worked on the two most competitive gubernatorial races in the country — Governors Tony Evers (WI) and Laura Kelly (KS) — and with the only Democratic Senate pickup, Senator John Fetterman (PA). She also worked with the DSCC to help re-elect Senators Patty Murray (WA) and Michael Bennet (CO).
Margie’s other clients have included AARP, AFL-CIO, The Center for American Progress, Third Way, Groundwork Collaborative, DCCC, DLCC, DNC, EMILY’s List, Planned Parenthood, NARAL, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Brady PAC. Her work has explored some of the country’s most challenging public opinion questions, such as race, abortion rights, immigration, economic policy, climate change, corporate accountability, voting and participation, guns, aid in dying, and the January 6th riots. Margie leads and moderates the monthly focus group series America in Focus for the New York Times Opinion Pages and co-leads the Navigator Research team, an ongoing regular investigation into public opinion of the country’s top issues.
Patrick Ruffini has advanced the digital and data-driven transformation of politics in numerous roles throughout the past 15 years, most recently as the co-founder of Echelon Insights, a next-generation polling, analytics, and intelligence firm. He did so to evolve the traditional ways that organizations collect information to drive strategy. Patrick leads the firm’s analytics and technology practices, helping a wide array of clients craft more persuasive messages, manage crises, and reach audiences more cost-effectively.
Patrick began his career as one of the country’s first political-digital practitioners, starting at the Republican National Committee in 2002. He managed grassroots technology and outreach for President George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign and returned to the RNC to run digital strategy in 2006. As the founder of Engage, a leading right-of-center digital agency, Patrick would apply these lessons learned at the Presidential level to political campaigns nationally and internationally, the advocacy and nonprofit worlds, the Fortune 50, and beyond. As a writer and public speaker, his insights on political, demographic, and technology trends are often highlighted by national media.
Featured Speakers
Gina Alsdorf has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, working on complex issues involving ERISA, employee benefit plans, banking, securities, annuities, privacy, and related tax law matters. Her past clients include trustees, plan committees, benefit plans, consultants, registered investment advisors, broker dealers, banks, insurance companies, third party administrators, and recordkeepers to ERISA and non-ERISA, qualified and nonqualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts.
For more than a decade prior to joining Carlton Fields she held various in-house counsel roles advising senior executives in all aspects of operations, product development, sales, and marketing for retirement investment platform providers. She has dealt with regulators including the SEC, DOL, IRS, state departments of insurance, OCC, and FINRA. In addition, Gina has past experience as a former investigator for the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the DOL. She draws on her first-hand experience to deliver strategic technical guidance, creative problem-solving, and practical business advice for her clients in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
Cliff Andrews has more than 20 years of political experience as a federal legislative strategist and advocate. He heads CapCity Advocates, LLC, a federal government relations business that he started in 2004. He offers extensive experience in legislative issues management and coalition management for trade associations and corporations. In particular, he consults with clients on advocacy plans, legislative and regulatory conferences and fly-ins, policy paper and testimony preparation, policy issue monitoring, grassroots and grasstops development, PAC strategy, and building strategic relationships with third-party groups.
In the past, Cliff served as the Director of Government Relations for Butera & Andrews, a Washington D.C. law firm, and at one time was a staffer for Senator Harry Reid. He also worked in the financial services sector for Equitable and New York Life, where he secured investments and insurance for small businesses and families.
Kristina Belnap is the Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer at SILAC. She has a comprehensive background in security and IT operations and provides critical oversight, leadership, and direction to ensure robust security frameworks and compliance adherence. Kristina’s career includes a notable role in running security and IT compliance for the first legal online gaming company in the U.S. and as CISO at HealthEquity.
A key figure in shaping the cybersecurity landscape, Kristina is a founder and board member of the Women in Cyber Security (WiCyS) Utah Affiliate, and a member of the advisory board for Women in Tech. Her leadership extends beyond her corporate roles, as she actively participates in community and professional groups, further demonstrating her dedication to the field of cybersecurity and her influence as a thought leader and mentor.
Marc Cadin is the CEO and chief visionary of Finseca, an organization dedicated to helping people protect and enhance their financial well-being — for themselves, their families, and their businesses resulting in financial security for all.
Previously, Marc was the CEO of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU). During his tenure, he implemented an ambitious strategic plan that modernized the organization, facilitating mergers with the General Agents and Managers Association (GAMA International), Finseca NY (state advocacy deal), Forum 400 (an elite life insurance producer group), and NAILBA (brokerage). By joining forces, Marc and Finseca aim to represent the entire financial security profession and serve millions of people effectively.
Trish Carreiro is an experienced cybersecurity and privacy litigator who advises clients on privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. As a certified information privacy professional (CIPP/US), certified information privacy manager (CIPM) and fellow in information privacy (FIP), she specializes in privacy and cybersecurity program management in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, insurance and financial services.
Trish provides proactive risk management for new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, website technologies and digital advertising. She tailors her advice to her clients’ specific legal needs and risk tolerance, serving as outside privacy and cybersecurity counsel to companies of all sizes. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small universities and healthcare startups. Trish has been advising clients and publishing thought leadership for nearly a decade, and her insights have been featured in various publications.
Wayne Chopus is president and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), the leading association for the entire supply chain of insured retirement strategies. Upon joining IRI in 2019, Wayne initiated a reorganization to amplify the association’s longstanding strengths and position it to take on new challenges. Under his leadership, IRI has advanced several critical advocacy objectives, including two major retirement security laws and a significant consumer protection regulation for financial advice professionals.
Before IRI, Wayne rose to be a respected retirement income industry executive over nearly three decades with Prudential Financial and The Hartford, two of the nation’s major life insurance companies. He held executive leadership positions in sales, strategy, and business intelligence. He employed this experience to lead teams using data and technology to drive new business opportunities. He is widely recognized for his expertise in annuity product distribution and broker-dealer engagement.
Chuck DiVencenzo is the President and CEO of NAFA, overseeing the association’s efforts to promote and expand the utilization of fixed and fixed index annuity products through independent distribution. His work on advocacy at the state and federal levels, thought leadership, consumer education efforts and commitment to industry best practices have aided product acceptance and industry growth.
Prior to joining NAFA, Chuck was vice president at Allianz Life of North America, where he served as a national spokesperson on topics including taxation, retirement, social security, asset protection and other relevant issues. He also worked closely with the actuarial, sales and legal departments to develop content and product, and to deliver thought leadership to wholesalers and distribution partners. Formerly, he served as the COO/CMO of Paradigm Capital Management and senior vice president in Hartford Life’s Investment Products Division. Chuck has also held positions in academia, practiced tax and ERISA law, and began his career as a consultant with Ernst & Young.
Jillian Froment is executive vice president and general counsel at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) where she is responsible for merging and optimizing general counsel and policy development into ACLI strategy that supports the life insurance industry, ACLI members, and the consumers and communities they serve. Jillian is a member of the executive management team and oversees a professional team of lawyers, actuaries and policy experts. A former insurance commissioner, she understands regulators’ perspectives and provides industry leaders with thoughtful insights and trusted counsel on emerging issues in insurance and industry innovation.
During her time leading the Ohio Department of Insurance, Jillian fostered a competitive and stable marketplace for 1,600 total insurers and 270,000 agents and agencies. Through active engagement and leadership in national organizations, she has shaped national and international regulatory models and standards on issues such as cyber security, big data, accelerated underwriting, artificial intelligence, rebating, pandemic impacts, and best interest standard of conduct for agents and insurers.
Roy Goodart leads the product management team at iPipeline for life and data. In this role, he plays a critical role in product management, pricing and strategy to advance iPipeline’s integrated end-to-end solutions. Roy was instrumental in bringing to market the industry’s first web-based agency management system and the first commercially available multi-carrier e-delivery platform, of which he is the co-inventor of a software patent that is currently owned by iPipeline.
Prior to joining iPipeline, Roy was the Chief of Product and Customer Success for Paperless Solutions Group, Inc. and served as a consultant for Prospect9, where he was hired as a change agent to evaluate product and marketing practices and recommend key strategies. He held positions of increasing responsibility with Aplifi, InsureSocket, and Agency Works, all of which were acquired by iPipeline. Roy is a contributor and advisor for InsurTech Express, and has served on the e-Delivery Technology Committee for Life Brokerage Technology Committee (LBTC), Life Insurance Direct Marketing Association (LIMDMA).
Gissou Gotlieb is chief compliance officer at TruChoice Financial Group, LLC. An accomplished compliance and supervision leader, she has more than 20 years of management experience at major securities, asset management and insurance firms.
Analytical and decisive, Gissou is skilled in providing innovative and balanced solutions for effective risk management. She has routinely demonstrated success in developing compliance and supervisory processes and procedures, creating strategy, and implementing projects within budget and time constraints. She is also adept in navigating through highly matrixed organizations and delivering high performance teams.
Scott M. Kosnoff, a partner at Fagre Drinker, is a trusted advisor for insurance clients seeking to capitalize on opportunities and address regulatory and legal issues related to artificial intelligence, big data and algorithms. He helps his clients stay on top of emerging standards and regulations that will govern AI, a rapidly evolving field. As part of his work, Scott helps clients implement a risk management framework and minimize their regulatory, litigation and reputational exposure.
Scott also works with the firm’s data consulting subsidiary, using firsthand knowledge of evolving regulatory standards to help insurers assess their algorithms for unintended discrimination. His expertise is sought after by regulators, and he has briefed the nation’s top insurance regulators on multiple occasions regarding AI, including in closed-door sessions.
Emily Kresowik is assistant general counsel at EquiTrust Life Insurance Company. Upon graduation from the University of Iowa College of Law in 2005, Emily began her legal career at the Iowa Insurance Division. During her time at the IID, she represented the Division in administrative proceedings involving insurance producers, registered representatives and investment advisers. She also coordinated with law enforcement related to criminal cases and Ponzi schemes and assisted with several MAWG exams.
After nearly nine years with the Division, Emily transitioned to the “dark side,” first as compliance advisor at an insurance-owned broker dealer and then as senior counsel at a large annuity carrier. Emily joined the EquiTrust team in November 2019.
Tony Lengeling joined American Equity in January 2019 as vice president and chief compliance officer, a role in which he leads all compliance-related functions. Following his 2003 graduation from Drake University with J.D. and MBA degrees, Tony worked at Aviva Life and Annuity in legal and anti-fraud roles and at Principal Financial Group where he led life insurance product development and implementation.
Tony is a member of the Iowa Bar Association, industry groups and the board of a local non-profit. In addition to his J.D. and MBA,, Tony holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Iowa.
Dr. Scott Miller iis Assistant Professor and Director of the Project on Democracy & Capitalism at the Miller Center of Public Affairs. He is also Assistant Professor at the Darden School of Business. After receiving his Ph.D. in Economic History at UVA, Dr. Miller completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the International Center for Finance at the Yale School of Management.
He has written more than 20 case studies on financial crises and economic development, has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, and is the author/editor of two forthcoming books, Can Democracy and Capitalism Be Reconciled? (with Sidney M. Milkis, Oxford University Press, end of 2024) and “Minerva Triumphant!”: Crisis, Independence, and the Rise of American Economic Power (University of Chicago Press, early 2025). His recent paper with Bob Bruner and Vaska Atta-Darkua titled “Investor Reactions to Legislative Liberalization and the Run-up in British Share Prices, 1844 to 1845” won the Georges Gallais-Hamonno Research Prize in Historical Finance.
Rocky Robbins is the chief compliance officer and corporate counsel at Brokers International. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, during which he has held various corporate legal and compliance positions.
Additionally, he possesses a deep understanding of the complex regulatory environment that financial professionals must navigate and is dedicated to offering practical solutions to help them mitigate risks.
Tom Roberts has more than 25 years of experience in advising insurance and annuity providers, banks, and other financial institutions on ERISA fiduciary and related legal matters involving retirement product and service offerings.
Tom has a broad and deep background in the retirement services industry, having spent much of his career prior to joining Groom as in-house counsel to a major annuity and recordkeeping services provider. Tom has played a key role in helping to shape the regulatory landscape through written comments and testimony and has held leadership positions in a number of industry trade associations. He is a frequent speaker on the ERISA-related developments and other regulatory changes that affect retirement services providers.
Jim Wintering is a Special Counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. His work focuses on Commission rulemakings, orders, and notices, self-regulatory organization rule filings, and counseling other divisions and offices at the SEC on broker-dealer regulatory issues. Jim joined the SEC in 2021.