PROSPERITAS FINANCIAL - Key Persons
Experience
Brooke Karren was born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley. Following graduation from Arizona State University with a bachelor's degree in Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Brooke knew she wanted to take her innovative skills and structure to a professional role that would allow her to grow as a leader.
Brooke has a natural skill to build relationships with our clients and works to plan, organize, and coordinate functions related to Prosperitas' on-going operation. She strives not only for results but invests great attention to detail in all her work to ensure clients are receiving the exceptional service that they deserve.
In her time away from the office, she enjoys spending quality time with her family and friends, working out, and seeing new places.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2022 - 03 - 24T16
Experience
In a day and age where the financial services industry is currently throwing around terms like "fiduciary" and "client's best interest", Christopher Ingram has spent over 22 years as an Investment Advisor Representative / Fiduciary and has built his entire career on the uncompromising commitment to provide financial advice and services where the primary focus is helping clients achieve their goals and financial success. Mr. Ingram spent the first 5 years of his career with PaineWebber, now UBS, and Morgan Stanley. In March of 2003, before it was popular to do so, Mr. Ingram left Morgan Stanley to start his own firm and become an independent financial advisor. With this, Ingram Financial Solutions was born, and Mr. Ingram spent the next 17 years servicing the needs of his clients. It was during this time that Mr. Ingram witnessed the evolution of the financial services industry and the needs of the clients the industry serves. As the brainchild of Prosperitas Financial, it was Mr. Ingram's vision of the future of financial services which brought together the four founding members. What was created has Mr. Ingram's fingerprints all over it. Just like it was 22+ years ago for Mr. Ingram, Prosperitas Financial is still driven by the same core values, an uncompromising commitment to do the right thing in order to make a profound and positive difference in the lives of our employees, clients, and the communities we serve.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Client Service Associate
Experience
Elizabeth Maddox was born and raised in Illinois and moved to Santa Clarita in 1987. She started her career in the financial industry in 2022 and is currently working as an assistant to Jerry Citarella. Elizabeth's professional background includes a wide range of management and people skills that will prove beneficial to clients with financial planning needs. When Elizabeth is not in the office, she enjoys spending quality time with her family, crafting, gardening, woodworking, and hiking with her dogs.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2022 - 10 - 18T15
Biography
Jennifer received a Bachelor of Arts degree at University of South Florida in Tampa. She spent 9 years on the charitable executive committee for Run for Her, which helped raise funding and awareness for ovarian cancer. After successfully creating a financially sound charitable organization, Cedar Sinai Hospital took over the reins of Run for Her.
She has also created patent pending financial technology to make it easier for clients to use their investments to purchase items by using a payment card or payment method. This streamlines the process for immediate use of securities to pay college expenses, retirement funding and client needs.
Brown Investment Management was designed to be a small boutique firm to cater to her client's needs and goals. The company has fiduciary responsibilities to each individual client. Although Brown Investment Management is bound by rules and regulations, they are more agile when it comes to investing with each individual in mind rather than an age-based design, so commonly seen.
Jennifer is happy to say that joining Prosperitas Financial, allows her to have the same boutique style firm. We share the same core goals, which is to help clients understand their full financial picture. We lead them down a path that is designed to reach their goals and uncover new ones along the way. Her motto is in-line with Prosperitas Financial, which is making sure we reach as many people as possible and teach them to pay themselves first and remove the financial stress from their shoulders.
In her time away from the office, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Some of her favorite outdoor activities include hiking and biking. Whether it is in her RV or crossing the globe, traveling is a passion of hers. She enjoys taking agility classes with her dog, Murphy. Her prior work experience in the entertainment industry lends to her love of movies and therefore, she is a member of Film Independent. Jennifer is proud to be a member and friend of the LGBT community.
Job Titles:
- CFP®, RICP®Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2023 - 02 - 10T17
Jeremy's mission is to help clients with their planning needs based on each person's individual overall needs and goals. He began financial planning after obtaining his B.A. from UCSB in 2012. Since then, Jeremy has become a Certified Financial Planner™ and acquired a Retirement Income Certified Professional® designation.
Jeremy followed in the footsteps of his father, who has been in the industry since before Jeremy was even born. He sometimes reminisces and laughs about the first time he gained experience in the industry when Jeremy's dad helped him guide his bar mitzvah money into investments.
When Jeremy began financial planning in 2013, he worked at AXA Equitable in the Retirement Benefits Group helping public school employees and their spouses. Although working at AXA Equitable was an important part of his career, he left to work with LA Wealth Management in 2019 before finding his home with Prosperitas Financial in 2023. With this change, Jeremy has become an independent advisor and has been able to overcome certain limitations regarding what he could offer clients. Abiding by his fiduciary obligation, Jeremy now feels that he can truly do what is in the best interest of each client.
On a more personal note, Jeremy is a huge outdoor and sport enthusiast, loves to travel, and loves his wife and dog.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2023 - 01 - 23T17
Experience
With approximately 30 years of experience in the financial services industry-as a representative, manager, trainer, presenter and business owner-Jerry R. Citarella, Registered Financial Consultant (RFC®) and Certified Financial Fiduciary (CFF®), continuously strives to help his clients achieve financial success. Through education and support, Jerry and his team develop deep relationships with clients. In fact, he has served many of his clients for over 20 years and some families over three generations. He provides retirement, estate, family and individual needs planning, as well as business owner services and executive benefits.
A key element of Jerry's practice is independence. Unlike advisors who are beholden to the products and interests of institutional firms, Jerry is free to serve his clients in the way he sees fit. That's because he's an independent advisor at an independent Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) Firm, Prosperitas Financial. This gives him more options and flexibility to serve his clients.
Jerry Citarella, Financial Advisor is grateful for the growth his business enjoys through the referrals of his network and valued clientele, and he is proud of the satisfaction that implies. Jerry and his team work hard to honor their commitments, accept responsibility for their actions, and appreciate being held accountable; they also expect the same of those they serve.
Apart from his financial career, Jerry also helps the community of Santa Clarita and its non-profit organizations in many ways. He has served on several boards and is on the advisory board of one of the community's largest and oldest organizations. His work on these boards and the support of the organizations' events have been impactful for the organizations and personally rewarding.
A strong proponent of financial education, Jerry wrote a book, hosted a radio show, and wrote a weekly newspaper column, all under the title "The Truth Helps" to help people navigate their way through the financial planning process. What's more, he has conducted educational seminars since 1992 and has frequently been asked to speak on a national level. He is always looking for opportunities to host or be a part of educational workshops that cover a variety of topics, especially relating to consumer protection. Jerry continually explores opportunities to benefit his clients and associates.
Jerry and his wife, JoJo, reside in Santa Clarita with their twin teen-aged girls.
Job Titles:
- CFP®, CDFA®Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2023 - 08 - 07T17
Jessica Saunders partnered with Prosperitas Financial to embark on a lifelong dream of blending her passion for wealth planning with empowering her clients to be financially and personally successful. It is here that she has the opportunity to collaborate with some of the best individuals and business owners to establish sound financial decisions. Together, they are laying the groundwork for a secure and prosperous future.
Jessica is a proud Alumni of California State University at Long Beach, where she earned her undergraduate degree with a double major in Finance and International Business with an emphasis in Spanish. While completing her degree, Jessica began her career in the wealth management industry and realized her purpose for helping people achieve their dreams.
In 2019, Jessica accomplished a significant milestone by earning the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and designation to be able to further work with her clients in achieving their goals and living an abundant life. This designation takes nearly 2 years to complete with only 23% held by women. To attain this recognition, applicants must meet stringent education and experience criteria, ensuring they possess the necessary expertise to guide their clients effectively. Throughout the entire planning process, she upholds the highest ethics, professional standards and financial planning fundamentals with her clients.
Throughout her entire career, Jessica has consistently delivered differentiation and a high touch service level through a comprehensive and holistic Wealth Planning approach. Her expertise in this field has led her to be sought after by over 500 business owners across the nation, whom she has advised and mentored, helping them build impactful practices and better serve their own clients.
In addition to her dedication to her clients, Jessica has actively engaged in giving back to the community. She has contributed her time and expertise to various nonprofit and community outreach programs, where she has served on boards and provided mentorship to high school and university students. Her involvement in business development and finance committees has further enriched her contribution to these organizations. Currently, Jessica is an active member of Junior Achievement of Southern Nevada, an organization with a mission to inspire and prepare young individuals for success in the global economy by promoting financial literacy, work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship. Through her unwavering commitment to excellence and community involvement, Jessica continues to make a positive impact on the lives of those she serves and the broader community.
Originally from Denver, Jessica was raised in Temecula, CA, and she has lived in Huntington Beach, Santa Monica, Austin, and Spain. In 2019, she settled in Las Vegas where she welcomed the arrival of her son, Kaleo in 2021. Fun fact: Kaleo means "the sound" or "the voice" in Hawaiian and he definitely lives up to his name. She enjoys traveling all over the world, Pilates, hiking, and spending time with her extensive family.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Client Service Associate
Experience
Katie Yudin was born and raised in the Santa Clarita Valley. She started her career in the financial services industry in 2014. Since then, she has worked alongside Christopher Ingram as executive assistant. Katie's professional experience and friendly nature have helped clients throughout the financial planning process with ease. When Katie is not in the office, she enjoys spending quality time with her family. She and her husband Mike have a wild dinosaur-loving son, Hudson and a baby girl on the way.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2023 - 02 - 27T19
The only true responsibility of a financial advisor is an unwavering commitment to serving their client's best interest. Mack Herrera is a recent graduate from the University of Santa Cruz, with two degrees: Business Management Economics and Philosophy. As a student of philosophy, Mack approaches each situation with the goal to discover and act on what he believes is the best course of action. Mack enjoys the process of logically deconstructing why something is the way it is, and acting on what is fundamentally the right thing to do moving forward.
Mack finds immense meaning in being of service to others, and with a keen interest in economics & finance, being a financial advisor is a dream job. Mack continuously offers himself to help his clients find the best possible way for them to achieve their financial goals through comprehensive financial planning. Driven by a desire to make a positive impact in his clients' lives, Mack creates, reviews, and adjusts comprehensive financial plans tailored to each individual family he serves based on their specific goals and their unique economic circumstances.
Honesty, integrity, and care for the well-being of his clients, are why Mack strives to develop deep relationships with his clients that are lifelong and multigenerational.
If Mack isn't in the office, he's probably training. While chess is his favorite pastime, weightlifting and running have become habitual. Mack has run a half marathon in Honolulu, the 2022 San Francisco Marathon (26.2), and has a dream to complete a 100 Mile Ultra. If he's not training, Mack is spending time with his family watching sports, eating food, or playing with their American Bulldog rescue, Spot.
Mark T. Petersen - CCO, Chief Compliance Officer, COO
Job Titles:
- CCO
- Chief Compliance Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Financial Advisor
Experience
As Chief Operating Officer at Prosperitas Financial, Mark Petersen leads the company's business operations with a focus on technology and marketing. As a child (who idolized MacGyver), Mark was the stereotypical engineer who was known to take items apart just to see how they worked.He has a unique talent of seeing things from a different perspective and he strives to make systems and processes more efficient and effective for the Prosperitas team.
Shortly after graduating with a bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of California at San Diego, Mark began his career in the Life and Health insurance industry. During his insurance career, he developed new innovative insurance benefits, helping to accelerate growth for the company while expanding benefits for consumers. With a passion for technology and marketing, Mark helped update and redesign some of the antiquated marketing material and eventually became an award winning graphic designer and the head of the marketing department.
Mark has been happily married for more than 15 years and has two sons and a daughter. A true family man, Mark enjoys traveling/camping with his family, coaching his kids sports teams, dirt biking, cycling, and playing video games with his kids (more so before they were able to beat him).
Mark is very excited about collaborating with his talented and dedicated colleagues to bring the best service and products to Prosperitas' wonderful clients.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor & Options Trading Specialist
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2022 - 08 - 03T01
Experience
Peter has more than 22 years of experience in the financial services business. He started his Wall Street career at AXA-Advisors in 1999, where he led his Woodland Hills branch as Vice President in Pension Maximization for college and K-12 educators. From there he joined Crowell, Weedon & Co., one of the leading independent money management firms on the West Coast at the time. Employing a conservative, long-term approach to investing and continuing to hone his skills in financial planning, customized retirement strategies, investment advice, securities services to stocks, bonds and mutual funds. From there, he spent over 12 years at Oppenheimer & Co., where he continued to practice and master his skills in the brokerage arena and income enhancement strategies.
Peter founded Shuper Wealth Management (SWM) in 2020 with the idea that providing fee-based, income enhancement strategies and actively managed portfolios is a healthier approach to weathering the storms that face the modern-day investor.
Peter is a former professional soccer player and very involved in youth sports, both with his children and volunteering as assistant coach for the College of the Canyons Men's Soccer team. He graduated from Pepperdine University and was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is a quasi-native Californian, having lived here since 1969.
Job Titles:
- Property & Casualty Broker
- Property & Casualty Broker Mpetersen332123 2022 - 11 - 16T17
Experience
Rafiq knew from a young age that he wanted to be a part of the financial industry and found his calling by working in insurance as a property and casualty agent. Over 15 years ago Rafiq started working with Allstate. From there he moved to Farmers Insurance but felt stuck offering only one product as insurance is not a one size fits all platform. That is when he decided to become an independent agent so he could offer his clientele more options and different coverages that would suit each of their needs. From home and auto insurance to business insurance and workers comp, Rafiq is able to find the right protections for each client in a climate with many risks and varying factors. Nobody wants to think about insurance coverages until they need them, which is often too late. Rafiq is able to explain and break down insurance so it does not seem so daunting. His knowledge, dedication and service to each client is the reason for his success in the industry.
Rafiq was born and raised in New York and is an avid NY Giants and Yankees fan. Rafiq was a college soccer player and still loves the game. He moved to California in 2012 after getting engaged to his now, wife. Together they have 2 daughters who keep him on his toes and enjoy soccer and dance. Rafiq enjoys working out, going on hikes with his family and being around family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor
- Financial Advisor Mpetersen332123 2023 - 04 - 24T16
Experience
Rian Denich has been local to the Santa Clarita Valley since the early 2000's. Early on in his life Rian knew that he wanted to do meaningful work, the thought of helping others has always been his biggest sources of motivation, and he is passionate about finance. For these reasons he knew that he wanted to pursue a career as a financial advisor.
During his college years Rian attended California State University Northridge where he earned honors degrees in both Business Administration and Finance with an emphasis in Financial Planning. During his time at CSUN, Rian sat on the student board as the VP of Finance for the Business Honors Program and volunteered two hours a week to tutor other business students. Shortly after leaving CSUN, he was awarded first place for Project of the Year in the Small Business Institute's Business Consulting category for one of his capstone courses.
In his own practice, Rian specializes in comprehensive financial planning which allows him to relate the assets he manages to his client's individual circumstances and create unique strategies that help clients reach their many life goals. In his opinion a financial plan is incomplete without conversations around investments, retirement, insurance, education, tax, and estate planning. Under Prosperitas, he has access to strategic partners that specialize in these areas, and he is able to bring them in to the conversation when needed. Rian firmly believes that nobody plans to fail, but rather people fail to plan.
Job Titles:
- Financial Professional
- Financial Professional Mpetersen332123 2022 - 11 - 30T21
Biography
Rick Weiss is recognized in the financial services industry for his dedication and experience in creating financial strategies for his individual and business clients. His goal and commitment is to create value for his clients through quality service and professional knowledge.
Rick began his career in the insurance industry in 1966 as an insurance consultant and soon his responsibilities expanded into management. He worked with policyholders, actuaries, underwriters, administration providers and State & Federal Agencies. As a District Sales Manager he was responsible for five sales teams encompassing one hundred sales people. He maintained and developed ongoing programs for his staff. Rick also taught Market Development and Selling Skills at Los Angeles City College and participated in the creation of the USC Mentor program for MBA students.
Rick was a Registered Representative with Crown Capital Securities, L.P. and provided full service financial consulting through Weiss Financial Group in Encino, California. He represents CPA firms by providing financial services to their individual and corporate clients.
Rick has been recognized numerous times by financial institutions for his outstanding achievements. He is active in the Underwriters Association and Financial Planning Association. He is also a life and qualifying member of the Million Dollar Round Table.
Job Titles:
- College Planning Expert
- College Planning Specialist
- Founder and CEO of College Assurity
Experience
SchlickArt - Photography and Video Services for the Santa Clarita Valley and Los Angeles Areas
Rudy Herrera is the founder and CEO of College Assurity. He graduated from California State University, Northridge with a bachelor's degree in Finance, Real Estate, and a minor in Communications. He began his career in finance working for Pepsi Co. and Shearson Lehman before moving to Mortgage Banking Firm Countrywide. He then proceeded to represent high net-worth investors at Capital Gold.
In 2005, Rudy founded a club softball organization that helped nearly 200 athletes attend 4-year universities on athletic and merit scholarships. This is where he found a passion for helping student-athletes realize and achieve their collegiate goals. From there, College Assurity was born.
Rudy has mastered comprehending students educational and career goals for the future and will work with them to pick the right school. In addition, he takes their budget into consideration and will help you understand qualifying for financial aid. He encourages students and parents to plan and to plan early. It is, however, never too late to begin planning.
Rudy is a father of four children (1 daughter and 3 sons) - all of which are out of the house and successful on their own endeavors. His American Bulldog, Spot, and Labrador Retriever, Skyy, keep him busy at home. Rudy supports local Non-Profits (Soroptimist, Boys & Girls Club) and enjoys cycling and training for triathlons. He has completed a 70.3-mile Ironman course, and once cycled over 300 miles and climbed 33,000 feet in a King of the Mountain race.
Experience
Born and raised in Southern California, Stephanie graduated with a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from California State University, Los Angeles.
She moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 1995 and worked in the medical imaging industry for 20 years, while serving on 2 local non-profit booster clubs.
She started her career in the financial industry in 2016 and is now currently an assistant with Prosperitas Financial Services.
Stephanie's professional background includes client services in a variety of business fields.
She has excelled in making meaningful client relations and displaying both her organizational skills and strong attention to detail through her work.
When not in the office, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her 2 daughters, her family and friends.
She also likes traveling, family game nights, cooking, and watching Survivor.