Our Team John E. Keefe, CLU, CEBS - President Laurie L. Howland - Vice President, Client Services Kathy L. Hemingway - Vice President, Operations Debra Riess, Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor JOHN E. KEEFE, CLU, CEBS President John began his financial services career over forty years ago when he became the youngest member of the Chicago Security Traders Association while working at William H. Tegtmeyer & Company in the over-the-counter securities markets. John took a short break to return to Stanford University to complete his degree in history and to serve a tour of duty as an officer in the U. S. Coast Guard. Upon re-entering the financial services industry, John: Served personal and business clients in insurance, employee benefits and investment management Managed several insurance and employee benefit offices Served as a Vice President of Financial Guardian, Inc. for eight years Served as Vice President of Keenan & Associates, Inc. for four years In 1989, when John formed Keefe & Associates, Inc., he made his transition to wealth management and qualified retirement plan investments, capitalizing on a lifetime of financial services employment. Since 1989 he has focused exclusively on wealth management, qualified retirement plan investments, and employee benefits. His exposure to large corporate clients, as well as his ability to develop strong multi-generational personal client relationships, creates a unique broad-based background that is well suited for serving clients as their Personal Chief Financial Officer. John led the team that developed a proprietary wealth management program named Continuum Wealth Management™ to provide clients with: Personal comprehensive financial planning and education Insurance risk-management Investment management A centerpiece of Continuum is a proprietary software program designed to provide the data and analysis required to assist each client prepare for and transition to a safe retirement and financial independence, while maintaining their desired lifestyle. In addition to his Stanford degree, John also is a Chartered Life Underwriter (“CLU”) and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (“CEBS”). He is licensed in several states for Life, Disability, Variable Life/Variable Annuity and Long-Term Care Insurance Products, including the California Partnership Long-Term Care Insurance Program. John has completed the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD”) licensing requirements for Series 6 (Mutual Funds & Variable Annuity Representative), Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 24 (General Securities Principal), Series 63 (Uniform State Securities Law Exam) and Series 65 (Uniform Investment Advisor Law Exam). He is a Registered Representative of Investment Architects, Inc., a NASD Broker/Dealer and an Advisory Associate of Resource Investment Architects, Inc., a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Registered Investment Advisor. Top LAURIE L. HOWLAND Vice President, Client Services Laurie began her career as an entrepreneur, successfully building and maintaining her own Home Service business for 16 years. Her career then moved to the responsibilities of a financial auditor for a local chain of restaurants. Laurie has been with Keefe & Associates, Inc. for 15 years, during which time she has broadened her scope and increased her sphere of responsibilities. She has had the privilege of growing with the business and its clients. Laurie is responsible for all client services and vendor interface for Keefe & Associates, Inc. Laurie was instrumental in developing the Keefe & Associates, Inc. Continuum Wealth Management process and is now ensuring that it grows with the business and the clients. In addition, Laurie provides the financial oversight for Keefe & Associates, Inc. Laurie brings her superb communication skills, developed over the years of small business ownership and work with Keefe & Associates, Inc. clients, to her now prime responsibility of client services and communication. Laurie’s excellent service and her relationship building skills are a value-add to both business and clients. Laurie is the main interface between Keefe & Associates, Inc. and its major vendor affiliates; Fidelity Institutional, the Russell Investment Group, Pacific Life, John Hancock, Genworth Financial, Prudential/ American Skandia, and ING Security Life. She has a broad working knowledge of these vendor organizations and how to efficiently interface with them for optimum results. Laurie looks forward to maintaining her personal and long-standing dedication to Keefe & Associates, Inc. and its clients. Top KATHY L. HEMINGWAY Vice President, Operations Kathy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physical Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University. In addition, she holds a Master of Science degree in Biomechanics from the University of Arizona and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from Santa Clara University. Like her schooling, Kathy has experience in many areas. Before entering the high tech arena where she worked for over 25 years, Kathy taught and coached at the University of Arizona and Northern Illinois University. She then spent 18 years at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space serving in various management positions: Manager of spacecraft propulsion subsystems Manager of Customer/Spacecraft/Ground System Control Interface Chief Systems Engineer for a commercial spacecraft Program Manager for commercial spacecraft Spacecraft manager for a low-earth orbit constellation program Director of the site-wide Program Management and Quality division Kathy completed her high tech career in a program management capacity for several telecommunications programs at Cisco Systems, Inc. Kathy first began her relationship with Keefe & Associates, Inc. as a client. She later joined the Technical Advisory Team established to re-engineer the Continuum Wealth Management Service. Kathy assumed her current, full-time role after retirement from Cisco Systems. Kathy comes to Keefe & Associates, Inc. with a variety of skills including leadership, organizational development, process development, program management, subcontract negotiations and management, financial management and personnel mentoring. Kathy has successfully worked with all types of individuals from military commanders and company presidents to teachers, engineers, technicians, technical writers, financial officers, and janitorial staff. Kathy brings all these skills together to provide the operational leadership for Keefe & Associates, Inc. Top DEBRA RIESS Partner, Abacus Bookkeeping Consultants Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor Debra began her teaching career as a QuickBooks Instructor in 2003, working with the Small Business Administration (SBA). Prior to teaching for the SBA , Debra assisted several start up companies with the implementation of QuickBooks to efficiently manage their finances. As an owner/partner in Abacus Bookkeeping Consultants, Debra teaches and maintains QuickBooks for several businesses in the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area of California. Debra quickly identified her love of teaching and her skill in bringing business owners to the full appreciation of tracking their company finances through the QuickBooks software. Her teaching skills led Abacus Bookkeeping to develop and implement classes for small business owners and employees to help them grasp the fundamentals of QuickBooks accounting as it applies to their businesses. Debra brought her knowledge and teaching resources to her current partnership with Keefe & Associates, Inc. She has developed a comprehensive, three-session training program for each Keefe & Associates, Inc. client to ensure that each client reaches the skill level they desire to track and manage their assets, liabilities, income and expenses. She was instrumental in the creation of the Guide to Tracking a Successful Family Business, a QuickBooks guide for individual clients and couples seeking to manage their family finances as a business. As a Certified QuickBooks Pro and Quicken Advisor, Debra is also available to Keefe & Associates, Inc. clients as an independent contractor, on a fee for service basis, for any bookkeeping and QuickBooks services beyond the Continuum Wealth Management Service. Debra is excited about her partnership with Keefe & Associates, Inc. and the opportunity to work with Continuum Wealth Management clients to provide real, additional value toward their goal of achieving financial independence. Top Back to About Us