Our Team
The Wealthspan Financial Partners team comprises an impressive group of industry experts, world-renowned aging scientists, top-notch technology developers, and an unmatched advisory board in our industry.
The Executive Finance Team
Kirk Ashburn
Kirk Ashburn is a highly trained professional with over 15 years of experience in the financial industry. He has successfully guided individuals and families in Illinois and across the nation to transform their saving strategies and future planning for generations to come.
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Kirk specializes in retirement income planning, focusing on educating clients to meet their immediate financial needs while achieving their long-term goals. He helps them avoid common retirement-planning pitfalls, enabling them to enjoy a lifetime of financial freedom. His comprehensive approach instills confidence in his clients, ensuring they feel secure in their financial affairs now and throughout their retirement journey.
Jeff Stukey
Jeff brings over 23 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily in executive roles where he has trained hundreds of financial advisors nationwide to enhance their planning strategies and client service. His deep understanding of financial planning and the various products available empowers clients to achieve their desired outcomes.
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As the leader of the business development team at a start-up registered investment advisory firm, Jeff spearheaded an extraordinary growth trajectory, expanding the firm's managed assets from under $100 million to over $4 billion in just five years. This remarkable achievement earned the firm a place on the Inc. 5000 list for five consecutive years, with one year highlighting it as the 10th fastest-growing company in the country.
The Scientists
Dr. S. Jay Olshansky
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Dr. S. Jay Olshansky earned his PhD in Sociology from the University of Chicago in 1984. He currently serves as a Professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a Research Associate at both the Center on Aging at the University of Chicago and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additionally, he is the Chief Scientist at Lapetus Solutions, Inc.
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Dr. Olshansky's research focuses on estimating the upper limits of human longevity and exploring the health and public policy implications of individual and population aging. His work includes forecasting population size, survival rates, and age structure, as well as investigating scientific strategies to slow aging in humans, a concept he refers to as "The Longevity Dividend." He also examines the global repercussions of the re-emergence of infectious and parasitic diseases.
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He is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Federation for Aging Research and has received several prestigious awards, including the Donald P. Kent Award from the Gerontological Society of America and the Irving S. Wright Award from the American Federation for Aging Research in 2016. Dr. Olshansky was also named a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging, recognizing his contributions to the field.
Dr. Karl Ricanek, Jr.
Dr. Karl received his PhD in Electrical Engineering in 1999, where he developed a novel compact representation for face recognition based on anthropometry. He began his research career with a groundbreaking paper published in Artificial Intelligence in 1990, focusing on the use of Genetic Algorithms for music composition.
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Currently, he serves as a Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the I3S Institute & Face Aging Group at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His institute is dedicated to advancing technology in machine learning, computer vision, deep learning, embedded systems, and software development.
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As the Chief AI Scientist, Karl leads both the AI team and the Data team, which has collectively published over 100 peer-reviewed articles in AI, machine learning, and computer vision. He holds multiple patents in facial analytics, showcasing his innovative contributions to the field.
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In addition to his research, Karl is actively involved in the standards community, focusing on AI algorithm bias and AI ethics to promote responsible AI development.
Dr. Steven Austad
Dr. Steven Austad received his PhD in Biology from Purdue University and is a distinguished professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His academic journey began with an undergraduate degree in English Literature from UCLA, but he took a hiatus from academia for several years. During this time, he drove a taxi cab in New York City, worked as a newspaper reporter, and even trained large cats for television and movies.
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His interest in science, sparked by his experience in animal training, led him to return to academia to formally study animal behavior. Currently, he serves as the Director of the UAB Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in Basic Biology of Aging, the Scientific Director of the American Federation for Aging Research, and is a member of the External Advisory Committee of the Mayo Clinic Kogod Center of Aging.
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Dr. Austad is a prolific author, having written more than 200 scientific articles and over 150 newspaper columns on various scientific topics. His book, Why We Age: What Science Is Discovering About the Body’s Journey Through Life, has been translated into eight languages, further extending his impact on the field of aging research.
Advisory Board
Gary Bennett
Gary is the Executive Chair and CEO of North Star, a portfolio investment company. Previously, he served as the Executive Chair and CEO of Seguros Monterrey New York Life Insurance in Mexico, where he was also a member of the Audit, Investment, and Reinsurance Committees at Seguros Monterrey New York Life & Medical Insurance Company.
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With over 39 years of experience, Gary is a seasoned leader in the financial services sector. He has successfully established, led, and strengthened companies in insurance, pensions, and health across 12 countries, including Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, India, Taiwan, China, the USA, and Mexico.
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Gary offers valuable counsel based on his extensive operational, regulatory, and strategic insights, complemented by strong practical experience across diverse geographies and businesses.
Dr. Michael Hodin
Michael is the CEO of the Global Coalition on Aging, the leading business voice advocating for aging policy and strategy, focused on reshaping how global leaders approach and prepare for the significant demographic shift of population aging in the 21st century. He is also a Managing Partner at High Lantern Group, a strategic communications firm.
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Before founding the Global Coalition on Aging and High Lantern Group, Mike spent 30 years as a senior executive at Pfizer, Inc., where he established and led the company's International Public Affairs and Public Policy operations. Prior to his tenure at Pfizer, Mike served as Legislative Assistant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and was a Visiting Scholar at the Brookings Institution, focusing on U.S. Foreign Economic Policy.
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Mike is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow from 2010 to 2012. He holds board positions with several organizations, including the Foreign Policy Association, the Business Council for International Understanding, The NYC Blood Center, the American Skin Association, the American Society on Aging, Harris Manchester College at Oxford University, Emigrant Savings Bank, and the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for Population Ageing.
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He earned his BA, cum laude, from Cornell University, an M.Sc. in International Relations from The London School of Economics and Political Science, and both an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University.
Technology
Benjamin Barbour
Ben holds a Master’s degree in Computer Science and Information Systems from the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he also serves as a part-time Lecturer in the Computer Science Department.
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His expertise in key research areas, including biometrics, computer vision, and machine learning, is essential to Wealthspan Financial Partners' product development.
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Ben’s experience encompasses production-level monolithic and microservice-based REST APIs, complete system architecture and design, as well as SQL and NoSQL databases, all while adhering to modern security regulations. He has a strong focus on cloud-based security and privacy, including compliance with HIPAA and GDPR, optimization, and reliability.
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He is proficient in programming languages such as C/C++, C#, and Python, among others.