Steven H. Bontempi, Esq.

Steven H. Bontempi is the founder of Strategic Financial Services, an insurance and financial firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. His knowledge and experience span a wide range of financial products and services focusing on the accumulation and preservation of assets and wealth. He is recognized nationally as a financial resource to businesses and individuals.  A graduate of the University of Hartford, Mr. Bontempi earned his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Seton Hall University School of Law and studied for his Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.) at Case Western Reserve University.  He is also an instructor at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia teaching the subjects of CFP® Fundamentals, Estate Planning and Risk Management and Insurance. 

“Mr. Bontempi has a passion for teaching.  You can tell he just loves it.  He is a talented speaker who really knows the textbook material and has the real life experiences to add to the lectures.”

“Relates well with the students in the class and does a good job of bringing “real world” lessons into a textbook world.” Insurance is a tough class to teach as some of the details are very dry, but Steven does an excellent job of keeping every one engaged and getting the most out of his lectures.”

Marta L. Shen, JD, CPA, CFP®, AIF®

Marta Shen is a Principal with Spring Street Financial.  A native of Buenose Aires, Argentina, Marta is the newest member of our instructor team. Prior to Spring Street Financial, she served as a Senior Financial Advisor with American Express. Her career began at a CPA firm, while attending St. John's Law School in New York. Marta relocated to Atlanta and began with American Express Financial Advisors just prior to the 1996 Olympics. She has also served as a claims attorney with AIG - American International Group.  Marta brings a unique blend of experience, education and skills to the classroom. She teaches Income Tax Planning. 

Anthony N. Freeman, CFP® 

Anthony Freeman is a First Vice President in Investments at UBS Financial Services.  Prior to UBS, Anthony was with Morgan Stanley for nine years where he managed

client assets in excess of $85 million.  He is a graduate of Oglethorpe University

for his BA and successfully completed the Oglethorpe Financial Planner Program. 

He completed his MBA at Georgia State in 2009.  Anthony teaches Fundamentals of Financial Planning.

"Anthony did a great job of painting a visual picture of the concepts and making

the class interesting." 

"He was always available to ask questions about concepts that I found challenging.  Great teaching style - he kept everything interesting!"

Dianne Martin, CFP®, MA, MBA

Dianne is a partner in The Marin Group, Inc. and a successful graduate of the

Oglethorpe Financial Planner Program. Dianne teaches the Retirement and

Employee Benefits Planning course.

“Diane was extremely good at providing additional examples that helped

me learn the material and prepare for the test.  She followed up on questions from

students if she did not know and shared answers at the following class.  She helped

us understand the priority of the material for the Board exam and for actual practice.  

Diane was encouraging to all students.”

“Diane gave real world examples with problems, where it was appropriate, to drive the points.  This made it easier to comprehend the topic being discussed, especially considering that certain areas were relatively dry.  She always made the students aware of key concepts that were important to both preparing for the Board exam, as well as what was relevant to the field of financial planning in general.”

John McCarthy, CFP®

John McCarthy is first vice president and senior investment consultant for Scott & Stringfellow, the investment division of BBT. John completed the Senior Investment Consulting Program at the University of Chicago and worked at Robert W. Baird & Co, J.C. Bradford and Morgan Stanley prior to joining the team at Scott & Stringfellow.

John is a graduate of the Oglethorpe Financial Planner Program.  John teaches Fundamentals of Financial Planning and Investment Planning.

“Great knowledge on the subject matter and a no nonsense style of teaching it.”

“He is extremely helpful and willing to go above and beyond to make sure the students understand the material and to pass the Board exam.”

“John’s materials are easy to follow, and he is prepared for class.  Everything we need to know is in the binder which makes it much easier to follow the lecture and understand the material during the class.  It allows John to explain the information or subject without the students having to scramble to figure out where they are in the binder.”

LaToya Parker, CFP®

LaToya Parker is President of Infinity Financial, LLC. She is a graduate of Georgia State

University and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with over 10 years experience in

the insurance and financial services industry.  LaToya is an active member of the

Financial Planning Association. She teaches Insurance Planning and Risk Management. 

Jeff Purdon, CFP®, MBA

Jeff Purdon is first vice president and senior investment consultant for Scott & Stringfellow, the investment arm of BB&T.   Formerly with William R. Baird & Co., Jeff earned his MBA from A.B Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. He is a recent graduate of the Oglethorpe Financial Planner Program and brings current knowledge of the CFP® Exam to the classroom. Jeff teaches Investment Planning and Capstone.

“I thought Jeff was outstanding in teaching the class.  I enjoyed every night we had with him.  His sense of humor made a lot of dull subjects interesting, and his real world

application of the material really helped me to understand things better.”

“I appreciate Jeff’s interest in teaching his students and his unique style.  I also appreciate the fact that he is always willing to stay late and answer questions as well as giving insights into his own experience in the business.”

“He went above and beyond to help students understand the material to pass the module and the Board exam.”

Henry Spil, CPA, CFP®, MS

Henry Spil is the owner of Magellan Tax Consultants, a CPA firm providing tax and

financial planning services to clients.  Henry earned his BBA, Accounting from Emory University; and his MS in Taxation from Florida International University in Miami.  Henry teaches Income Tax Planning and Estate Planning.

" Excellent knowledge of material and good presentation"

"Henry Spil is able to convey real world situations to students based on his extensive

background in the field."

"He genuinely wanted us to understand the material so that we can help our clients as opposed to helping us just pass the board exam."

Jennie Stipick, CFP®

Jennie Stipick is a Financial Advisor at Edward Jones.  She began her career there in 2009 after a 23 year career in the staffing industry.  Jennie is the newest member of our instructor team.  Prior to Edward Jones, she served as Vice President, Major Accounts for both Talagy and TRC Staffing.  She also worked for United Way at both the local and national level leading major donor programs for more than five years.  She earned her bachelor's degree from Louisiana State University in Business Management and recently completed Oglethorpe University's Professional Financial Planner Program.  Jennie brings extensive experience in business and training to the classroom. 

She teaches Fundamentals.