Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

Professor of Practice & Scholar in Residence, The American College of Financial Services

Steve Parrish is Professor of Practice and Scholar in Residence at The American College of Financial Services, where he previously served as Co-Director of the Retirement Income Center. He also served as Adjunct Professor of Estate Planning and Interim Director of Compliance and Risk Management at Drake University Law School. With more than 45 years of experience as an attorney, financial planner, educator, and industry executive, Parrish is widely recognized for his expertise in retirement, estate, and business succession planning.

He is a frequent author and commentator on financial and estate planning issues, serving as a contributor to Forbes.com, a contributing author to the 2024 e-textbook Retirement Plans and Retirement Planning, and co-author of the 10th edition of Tools & Techniques of Life Insurance Planning. His work has appeared in numerous professional publications, including the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, where he serves as Associate Editor. In 2023, he received the Kenneth Black Jr. Journal Author Award.

A sought-after speaker, Parrish regularly speaks for bar associations, estate planning councils, and financial services organizations nationwide. He also has served as an expert witness and has been quoted by leading media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, NPR, InvestmentNews, Money.com, U.S. News & World Report, and AARP The Magazine. Before entering academia, Parrish spent nearly two decades with Principal Financial Group, following leadership roles with AmerUs Life Insurance Company and a successful private practice as an attorney and financial planner in Atlanta. He earned his B.A., cum laude, from St. Olaf College and his J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law.

Alan S. Gassman, JD, LL.M., AEP®

Alan S. Gassman, JD, LL.M., AEP®

Gassman, Denicolo & Ketron, P.A.

Alan S. Gassman is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Trust Law and the founder of Gassman, Denicolo & Ketron, P.A., a Clearwater, Florida law firm serving high-net-worth families, business owners, and physicians in estate planning, trust design, taxation, asset protection, and business succession planning. With more than 35 years of experience, he advises clients on sophisticated estate, trust, tax, and wealth transfer strategies. He has served as an expert witness in estate planning, tax, and asset protection matters.

He also is a nationally recognized author and speaker, having written numerous books and hundreds of professional articles on estate planning, taxation, and asset protection topics. Gassman holds a J.D. and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida. He is a past President of the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council, has chaired numerous Florida Bar continuing education programs, and has served as an adjunct professor at Stetson University College of Law. He is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Estate Planning and Trust Law, an Accredited Estate Planner (AEP®), and a member of the Estate Planning Hall of Fame.

Kathleen W. Bilderback, JD, LL.M.

Kathleen W. Bilderback, JD, LL.M.

Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C.

Kathleen joined Sandberg Phoenix in 2024 as Counsel in the Business practice group. She specializes in estate, business and executive benefits planning, and estate and executive compensation planning with life insurance. Formerly, she was a member of the Advanced Markets Group of MetLife, where she provided training and advanced underwriting support for the top producers of MetLife and its subsidiaries. Prior to joining GenAmerica Financial (a MetLife company) in 1996, she was in private practice.

Kathleen is a nationally recognized speaker and author. She currently serves as National President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and serves on the Board of Directors of St. Louis Children’s Hospital Legacy Advisors. She is a member of The Business Insurance & Estate Planning Committee of the Association of Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU). Kathleen is a former adjunct professor in the LLM program at Washington University’s School of Law. She was formerly on the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and was selected as a Registered Player Financial Advisor for the National Football League Players Association. She has presented at AALU and the Top of the Table Meetings for the Million Dollar Roundtable, and she is an annual presenter at the Vistage Executive Summit.

Allen A. Hensley, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, AEP®

Allen A. Hensley, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, AEP®

Corporate Vice President, Advanced Agent Development Officer, New York Life

Allen Hensley is the Advanced Agent Development Officer for New York Life where he leads a team working with top financial service professionals and their clients to achieve financial goals and solve planning issues. He conducts national training events and speaks to groups on financial planning issues and strategies. For more than 25 years, Allen has worked with New York Life to protect and grow wealth for clients and their families. Allen is an Accredited Estate Planner, with a Master of Science in Financial Services from The American College and a BA from Western Kentucky University. He has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter®, Chartered Financial Consultant® designations and is a Registered Representative of NYLIFE Distributors LLC, (Member FINRA/SIPC).

Sarah Frances Trampe, MBA

Sarah Frances Trampe, MBA

Corporate Vice President, The Nautilus Group®/New York Life

Sarah Frances joined New York Life in 2010 and leads the Practice Management, Marketing, and Meetings team for The Nautilus Group®. Under her direction, the team drives strategic growth and professional development initiatives for agents and advisors across the organization.

The Practice Management program delivers high-impact coaching and consultative support to help agents and advisors succeed at every stage of their careers. With a focus on operational efficiency, strategic business planning, marketing execution, and team development, the program equips professionals with the tools and strategies to build sustainable, scalable, and client-centric practices.

She also leads company-wide marketing initiatives and advisor events and serves as the host of New York Life’s Advisor Symposium—a premier development and networking event designed to drive practice growth and foster connections among industry professionals.

Prior to joining New York Life, Sarah Frances held strategic marketing and communications roles with the National Academies of Science and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She holds an MBA in Marketing Management from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Science in International Trade and Finance from Louisiana State University.

New York Life Advisors

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2026 Advisor Symposium
Attendee Registration

November 4th 2:00-5:00 p.m. Eastern

What you’ll experience

Meet the experts

Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

Steve Parrish, JD, RICP®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®

The American College of Financial Services

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Alan S. Gassman, JD, LL.M., AEP®

Alan S. Gassman, JD, LL.M., AEP®

Gassman, Denicolo & Ketron, P.A.

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Kathleen W. Bilderback, JD, LL.M.

Kathleen W. Bilderback, JD, LL.M.

Sandberg Phoenix

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Meet your hosts

Allen A. Hensley, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, AEP®

Allen A. Hensley, CLU®, ChFC®, MSFS, AEP®

Corporate Vice President, Advanced Agent Development Officer, New York Life

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Sarah Frances Trampe, MBA

Sarah Frances Trampe, MBA

Corporate Vice President, The Nautilus Group®/New York Life

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The Advisor Symposium Resource Guide includes the program agenda, speaker bios, copies of the program slides, an outline of the case study discussion points, and other useful information for program attendees. Click the link below to download your copy.

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The Advisor Symposium has been filed for the following types of continuing education credit in all 50 states: CPE (accountants), CPE for IRS enrolled agents, CLE (attorneys), CFP (financial planners), and professional recertification credit for The American College designations. Click the link below to check the status of continuing education approval in your state. (Updated weekly.)

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