2024 Faculty
Your 2024 Faculty
The Advocis Banff School has always been known for its amazing Faculty. Did you know that in the 68 year history of the Advocis Banff School that we've never paid any of these amazing folks?
They come out and speak of their own accord because they believe in the school, and they believe in supporting those Advisors who are willing to invest in themselves by attending.
This year's Faculty is another amazing lineup of experts. Get ready to learn and be inspired!
Rick Forchuk
Our 2024 Emcee
MBA, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C.
Distribution Consultant, Empire Life
Rick entered the financial services business in Edmonton as an advisor in 1971 after working in radio, television, and newspapers. He was an MDRT qualifier, and subsequently occupied such roles as sales manager, branch manager, National Director of Training, and Vice-President, Retail Distribution for Canada. His current role is as a Distribution Consultant for Empire Life after having spent several years as the VP, Distribution with that company. Rick is a regular contributor as a speaker to industry and non-industry events throughout Canada and the U.S. He lives in White Rock, BC, and still maintains a media presence with regular commentaries on radio in British Columbia. He has been married to Betty, a retired grief counselor and personal trainer, since 1967. They have two daughters and four grandchildren.
Brad Brain
B.A., CFP, R.F.P., CLU, CHS, CIM, TEP
President, Brad Brain Financial Planning Inc.
Brad Brain began his career as a financial planner in 1995. He has been an Advocis member for over 25 years. He is a Top of the Table member at the Million Dollar Round Table. He has been a featured speaker at financial advisor conferences across Canada and the USA, Australia, and Asia. Brad has helped to author the Certified Financial Planners qualifications exam, has appeared as an expert witness on poverty reduction strategies for the Parliament of Canada, and is the author of “Prosperity: Making Smart, Strategic Decisions about Money”.
Amina Deiab
Amina Deiab is the CEO of the Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) and a transformational leader with over twenty years of experience in the public and private sectors.
Amina has both served on and worked with boards of directors for a decade. Most recently as Founder of QED Inc, Amina advised boards, chairs and executive teams to build effective corporate governance practices as a bedrock of organizational success. She also previously served as President & CEO of the Safety Codes Council; in that role, Amina led a significant organizational transformation with a focus on transforming the organization to become a risk and outcomes-based regulator.
Prior to her role at the Safety Codes Council, Amina worked at the intersection of large scale economic development, strategy, energy policy and governance in a number of leadership roles in the Government of Alberta.
Amina spent the first 15 years of her career in the private sector focused on business development across Canada and the U.S. She has also founded her own companies involved in the residential construction sector. Amina holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute for Corporate Directors and has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy, specializing in Innovation, Science, and Energy Policy from Carleton University.
Dr. Bruce Empringham
Medical Underwriting Consultant
Dr Empringham graduated in Medicine from Queen's University and completed his family practice residency at McMaster University. After 4 years in North Bay Ontario, he took a job as assistant medical director at London Life in 1991. As the companies have grown, so has his role and until 2020 was responsible for life and living benefits medical underwriting and medical claims assessment. He remains active at Canada life in support of the chief underwriter team and on large case work.
Sara Gelgor
LLB, LLM, MBA, ICD.D, GCB.D, GPC.D, G.Dipl. SRS
Public Director, TFAAC Board
Sara is no stranger to Advocis. From 2003 to 2008 she held the staff position of Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and earned a strong reputation for her critical thinking and her ability to build strategic relationships, successfully leading a number of key initiatives, including Advocis’ intervention in a landmark Supreme Court of Canada constitutional law challenge.
She currently leads global human rights at RBC and is a member of RBC’s ESG strategy team. Her prior roles include leading regulatory compliance functions for banking, wealth management, and life and health insurance operations, and acting as global chief privacy officer at another large financial institution.
Sara is an experienced board director and has deep governance expertise, having served as a board member of 9 for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, including Toronto Hydro and the University of Toronto Governing Council Business Board. She successfully completed the Rotman Directors Education Program and holds the coveted ICD.D designation. Sara is a member of Governance Professionals Canada and is a faculty member of the GPC.D program, having collaborated in the design and launch of the designation program.
Sara obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and attended Queen’s University for Law School. She is a lawyer, and also holds a master’s degree in international law from Cambridge University and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Jamie Golombek
Jamie Golombek is Managing Director, Tax & Estate Planning with CIBC in Toronto. As a member of the CIBC Private Wealth team, Jamie works closely with advisors from across CIBC to support their clients and deliver integrated financial planning and strong advisory solutions. Jamie is quoted frequently in the national media as an expert on taxation, writes a weekly column called “Tax Expert” in the National Post, has appeared as a guest on BNN, CTV News, and The National and has been a regular personal finance guest on The Marilyn Denis Show.
He received his B.Com. from McGill University, earned his CPA designation in Ontario and qualified as a U.S. CPA in Illinois. He has also obtained his Certified Financial Planning (CFP) and Chartered Life Underwriting (CLU) designations.
In 2023, Jamie was named a CPA Ontario Fellow. The FCPA is the highest distinction that can be bestowed upon a CPA who brings distinction to themselves and to their profession through leadership and achievement in their professional, community and/or personal lives.
Ian Green
Ian Green, Dip PFS, is the founder of a family-owned financial planning firm, Green Financial, in South West London. He was first licensed to advise in the UK in 1995 meaning 2024 marks his 29th anniversary as an independent financial planner.
Through multiple full cycles of global growth and recession and almost constant regulatory change, whatever the economic conditions and whether commission or fees, selling products or delivering services, he’s helped more than 2,000 people and families over almost 10,000 meetings, to:
- Create and stick to a lifetime financial plan
- retire with dignity and comfort
- leave a meaningful legacy
And at the same time, seen his business income and profit rise every year, while still making sure he has time for himself, his family and causes close to his heart.
His leadership in the profession includes regular speaking engagements around the world, serving as MDRT President in the pandemic year of 2021, chairing MDRT’s Top of the Table Board and authoring a book published in multiple languages and 5 different alphabets. He has previously held positions as trustee on the Personal Finance Society Charitable Foundation and on the board of directors of the Life Insurance Association.
When not being a financial planner, he can be found being a Dad to Mia and Max, a husband to Melissa, in the gym, on his bike or walking in the park.
Kelly Gustafson
Financial services Industry Consultant, Etc Projects
Kelly Gustafson is a trailblazer and a solution wizard in the Canadian financial services industry. She uses her 25 years of experience to fiercely champion independent financial advisors and their business needs. She gets to the heart of advisor pain points and advocates for digital innovation and operational efficiency that supports compliance and provides exceptional client experiences – the things that help you do better business. She is a go-getter who never gives up on achieving your goals and solving your challenges, and always looks forward to doing great things alongside great advisors.
Kelly loves working with people who are committed to making a difference in their own lives and in their communities. When she is not busy helping her clients, she enjoys the simple pleasures of life on her farm in Saskatchewan, where she grows fresh veggies, rips around the fields in her side-by-side, and spends time with her family, friends, and many animals.
Michael Kerr
Funny Business Speaker on Inspiring Workplace Cultures & Humor in the Workplace
Michael Kerr is a Hall of Fame speaker who travels the world researching, writing, and speaking about inspiring workplace cultures, inspiring leaders, and organizations that leverage their humor resources to drive outrageous results!
Michael’s Inspiring Workplaces blog has been listed as one of the Top-30 workplace blogs in the world.
He is also the author of nine books, including, “The Humor Advantage: Why Some Businesses Are Laughing All the Way to the Bank,” “The Jerk-Free Workplace” and the soon-to-be-released, “Small Moments, Big Outcomes: How Leaders Create Cultures That Drive Extraordinary Results.”
Michael lives in spectacular Canmore, Alberta, so yes, for those of you old enough to remember, he is another Mike from Canmore!
Tony Lee
Tony Lee is the Assistant Vice President of Tax, Retirement and Estate Planning for the Western Region of Canada. As a member of the Manulife Team, Tony works closely with Manulife insurance advisors to support their high-net-worth clients to deliver integrated insurance and tax planning solutions.
Tony joined Manulife Financial in 2022 after spending over 15 years in public practice where he specialized in tax and business succession planning for high-net-worth clients. Prior to joining Manulife, Tony was a Senior Tax Manager at a large Canadian Bank on their Wealth Management team.
Tony is a member of the CPA Canada, CPA British Columbia, and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. Tony has recently completed his Masters of Law in Tax Law from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Richard Moxley
Credit Mentor and Author, The Credit Game
Richard is 6’1, tall, blond, very pale and loves long romantic walks on the beach. He is also passionate about removing the mysteries of the credit score. His mission is to help Canadians know how to play the Credit Game to WIN and have some fun along the way. Some of his accreditations are:
- Best-selling author and has a new book out called, The Credit Game
- Featured on The Morning Show, Globe and Mail, CBC market report, Sirius XM Radio, and National News
- Financial Literacy Leader of the year 2015/2016
- Runs a full-time business removing errors and fraud from credit reports
Richard Moxley is married, has five children, and lives in Calgary, AB.
John Natale
John is the Head of the Tax, Retirement & Estate Planning Services, Wealth team at Manulife. He and his team of professionals provide case level support on tax, retirement and estate planning matters to advisors across the country.
John joined Manulife in 2001 having previously worked as a tax specialist with a national accounting firm and practiced law with a private law firm. He has experience with estate and retirement planning strategies, trusts and a wide variety of general tax matters including personal and corporate taxation, and investment related topics generally.
He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and seminars and has appeared as a guest expert on industry podcasts and BNNTV. John has published numerous articles on tax and estate planning and is the co-editor of “Canadian Taxation of Life Insurance”.
He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of British Columbia. John was called to the Ontario Bar in 1998. He has obtained his CSC certificate and completed the CICA In-Depth Tax Course. John has an Elder Planning Counselor (EPC) and a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation and is a member of the Ontario Bar Association and the Canadian Tax Foundation.
Lori Power
Lori Power is the founder of MP Benefits Inc., a published author, a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), a Certified Facilitation Leader, holds the Queen’s University certificate for “Workplace Mental Health Leadership”, and is the 2022 winner of the EBN Excellence in Benefits Award.
She is a member of Advocis, CALU, CGIB, and Financial Therapy Association.
She has been featured on the Corporate Connections Speaker’s series, Global News, CBC, the HR Reporter, Smokin’ Bulls podcast, the Advisor Advantage, Benefits Genius, BCC Drive Time, Every Other Wednesday, hosted a weekly SHifT zoomcast, which has been re-deployed a SHifT Succession Planning podcast.
Lori has been engaged in the Disney Institute for Business Learning since 2019 and achieved accreditation in Leadership | Quality Service | Employee Engagement, as well as “Leadership Excellence” and “Coaching for Peak Performance” certifications.
Her true-crime book, “They'll Never Know” highlights the psychological relationship between people and insurance.
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Molly Reynolds
Molly leads the privacy practice group at Torys. Her practice focuses on digital innovation, cyber-security, data protection and ethics, and privacy litigation. She regularly advises clients on privacy law compliance in their businesses and in the context of commercial transactions, as well as on data security best practices, breach response, regulatory investigations, and privacy class action defence. She represents clients in administrative proceedings under access to information, anti-spam, and privacy legislation, as well as in the context of civil litigation. Her dual call allows her to provide advice on personal information handling and marketing regimes that reflect and comply with Canadian and American privacy legislation.
Abe Toews
Abe is a Chartered Financial Consultant with Beyond Wealth Consulting in Regina specializing in business transition and exit planning. He has been associated with Beyond Wealth since January 2012. Before that he was the President of his own firm, StoneCreek Financial Group started in 1999 after a 15 year career in corporate management with Mutual Life of Canada and Great-West Life. He ended his management career as the Regional Director for South Saskatchewan with Great-West Life.
He holds the CLU, CFP, CH.F.C., CHS and ICD.D designations.
Abe is a Past Chair of The Financial Advisors Association of Canada and he has been a member of Advocis since 1981 and strongly believes in the value of membership and networking.
Abe is the Past Chair of the Board for The Caring Place in Regina, Past President of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce, the Wascana Country Club in Regina and has also served on the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Board. He currently serves on the Canadian National Christian Foundation Board – a Donor Advised Fund in Ottawa.
He has been married to Dorothy for 53 years, they have 2 children and 2 adult grandchildren. They have followed their grandchildren all over North America to watch them play volleyball, basketball & rugby. He enjoys travel, golf and cooking classes in Italy and France.
Jason Watt
Industry Educator
Jason Watt is a consultant in the financial services education sector. Prior to that, he spent 17 years at Business Career College. Before that he served in the Canadian Armed Forces. He has taught at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre and the Canadian Forces Peace Support Training Centre. Jason has also served overseas on four operations with the Canadian Armed Forces. He is the principal author of the course texts in the BCC financial planning curriculum.
Jason is active in his community and serves on the boards of the South Alberta Light Horse Regimental Association, McLeod Community League, and two committees of the Financial Planning Association of Canada. He provides volunteer financial coaching services to program participants at the Centre to End all Sexual Exploitation and the Norwood Child and Family Resource Centre. He is working to bring a pro bono financial planning model to Canada. He sits on the Financial Advisor/Financial Planner Stakeholder Advisory Committee for the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.