Personal Financial Planning Faculty

Glenn J. Downing

Glenn J. Downing received his MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1984 with a finance concentration, and has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner since 2006. Glenn has been working full-time in the financial services industry since 1997 at NL Financial Alliance, a general agency of National Life of Vermont, in Coral Gables. His practice encompasses all the areas studied in CFP® certification: insurance; retirement; investment; taxation; and estate planning. In addition to his personal practice, he is an experienced instructor, having been teaching CFP® certification courses since 2006. He is an active member of the Miami chapter of the Financial Planning Association.

Brian J. Mora

Brian J. Mora is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor with a BA in Finance & Management from Montclair State University. Brian has been a personal financial advisor & district manager with Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. the nation's largest financial planning firm with most CFP® professionals, and is currently the Field Vice President for Ameriprise Financial Services Inc. in Ft. Lauderdale. Brian oversees a team of 45 Financial Advisors who focus on comprehensive financial planning and the core areas of the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Board of Standards. He has run a training program teaching financial advisors for the last 7 years, has presented over 200 seminars on the topic of financial planning, has been interviewed for and quoted in the Sun Sentinel and Orlando Sentinel and is a member of the Broward Financial Planning Association.

Ellen R. Siegel, CFP®, ChFC, CLU, CSA

Ellen R. Siegel is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Chartered Financial Consultant, a Chartered Life Underwriter and a Certified Senior Advisor. She has been a comprehensive financial planner and investment advisor since 1997 and owns Ellen R. Siegel & Associates, a fee-based financial planning firm near South Miami. A financial planner for two decades and a financial educator for three, Siegel is a frequent lecturer for the Financial Planning Association and various civic groups and serves on the committee creating the questions for the credentialing exam for the CFP® certification, as well as the job analysis task force for the national CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Board of Standards.

Eric A. Smith, MA, CFP®, CLU®, ChFC®, CRPC

Eric A. Smith is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor with an MA degree from Ball State University. Eric has been in the financial services industry since 1986, and has an independent practice in Miramar, Florida that addresses client needs for investments, life and health insurance, personal income tax preparation, mortgage loans, retirement issues, and estate conservation strategies. He has been on the Adjunct Faculty for the College for Financial Planning and Florida Atlantic University and has taught CFP Educational Program courses since 1994. Eric's article, "Low-Income Housing Tax Credits" appears in the May 2000 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning.

Stephen A. Taylor, J.D., CFP®

Stephen A. Taylor is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and practicing attorney in Miami. His firm, Stephen A. Taylor, P.L., provides services in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Estates and Corporate law. Stephen has a sub-specialty in Special Needs and Medicaid planning in his practice. He received his B.B.A. in accounting from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia and his J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law. Stephen has written and spoken numerous times on Estate Planning, is a founder of The South Florida Pooled Trust, and is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys.