When Ryan Ballesteros¹ was studying Forensic Psychology at Walden University, he didn’t imagine a career helping protect families as a life insurance agent, much less becoming a Partner at New York Life. However, when his son’s mother was pregnant with their first child, Ballesteros saw the power of life insurance. His son’s grandfather passed away, leaving a death benefit to take care of his wife and six children. Ballesteros was able to pay off debt, start a savings account for his son and purchase life insurance for himself.

Steve Cain is a self-described “LTC insurance nerd” dedicated to being a lifelong learner and advocating for Main Street USA.

Stephen Kagawa, FSS, LUTCF, founder and CEO of The Pacific Bridge Companies (TPBC), has a vision—to help families protect what they love through TPBC’s platform, Aloha Financial Advisors. As Kagawa explains, “Aloha Financial Advisors is all about doing good and having advisors who are rooted in their vision of a better world driven by their core values.”

Loyal NAIFA Member Marty Peters has been a part of NAIFA (then NALU) since 1968 and is now serving the community he is a part of in Solana Beach and Del Mar, California. Peters started out his career while working on his master's degree, having a job offered to him that started him in the financial services industry, leading him to stop his Master's degree and focus on the position he was offered. He initially found a different job that had less than desirable actions against the benefits of the customers they were assisting and moved on from that position after a bit. He was then convinced by his family to investigate the life insurance business. After a bit of convincing and learning that his education was paid for by his father’s life insurance, Peters interviewed with a few companies and secured a position with one, starting his journey in the career.

Gilbert Mares, CEO of Gilbert A. Mares and Associates, is a loyal NAIFA member and past President of NAIFA's Los Angeles affiliate from 2003-2005.