The DWC Leadership Team

Keith is one of the founders of DWC  - The 401(k) Experts. He has over 35 years of experience, nearly 22 of which have been devoted to molding DWC into the firm it is today. Before focusing exclusively on ERISA consulting at DWC, Keith honed his skills at several top firms including Coopers & Lybrand, LLP and Hewitt. Keith was named one of the top five consultants in Pension Management Magazine.

Keith has immeasurable practical expertise leading companies in the employee benefits industry. A well-known author of "The Defined Contribution Handbook" and keynote industry speaker, Keith is known for his entertaining and direct presentation style. Today, he continues to share his enthusiasm as an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, teaching Executive Compensation and Taxation of Employee Benefits. Keith earned his Master of Business Administration at Auburn University and Bachelor of Science in Economics at the University of Minnesota.

Adam is a nationally known author and speaker with 30 years of experience in the retirement plan industry. As a partner at DWC, Adam is known for designing customized plans for clients and assessing benefit programs in relation to mergers and acquisitions. He also consults with plan fiduciaries to help them establish and document prudent practices as required by ERISA. 

Adam is actively involved with the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) where he serves as a member of the Leadership Council. He is also Immediate Past President and a long-serving former member of the Government Affairs Committee. He also served a 3-year term on the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities.

Adam's articles have been published in The Journal of Pension Benefits, The Journal of Financial Services Professionals, Plan Consultant Magazine and The 403(b) Advisor. He has provided testimony to the ERISA Advisory Council and co-authored several comment letters and proposals to the Treasury Department and Congress.

Jen has more than 15 years of experience in the retirement plan industry focusing on plan design through collaboration clients and advisors. As a partner at DWC, Jen looks for opportunities to implement and enhance retirement plan programs in ways that support the plan sponsor’s business and savings goals while creating meaningful savings opportunities for participants.

She is passionate about playing an active role in the retirement plan industry and has held several leadership roles within the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), including her current role on the Leadership Council where she leads the Millennial Task Force for next-generation engagement. She has also served as the Co-Chair of the ASPPA National Conference, Co-Chair of the ASPPA Regional Conferences, and volunteered on ad-hoc Retirement Plan Academy committees.

Jen has served as a speaker for numerous groups and also published articles in The Journal of Pension Benefits and Plan Consultant Magazine. Dedicated to her community, Jen serves as a sustainer for the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach where she held several board positions during her tenure. She is a LEAD Hampton Roads graduate and has participated in College of William & Mary Alumni events. She was recently recognized by Inside Business as a Top 40 Under 40 honoree .

Tianna has been involved in the retirement plan industry since her graduation from Virginia Wesleyan University. Her experience includes non-discrimination testing, contribution calculations, participant distributions, preparation of government forms, plan conversions, and plan terminations. Tianna enjoys the problem-solving aspect of the industry while acting as a resource to her clients.

Being an active member of her local community is one of her biggest enjoyments outside of her career. Tianna has held several positions in her local Junior League Chapter, Downtown 100 Committee, and works closely with her Alma Mater to assist current students. Most recently, Tianna was awarded the 2017 Millennial on the Move through Coastal Virginia Business Magazine for her contributions to the community and her career.

Doug has over 25 years of experience working in the retirement plan industry. Doug began in the industry as an investment advisor assisting plan sponsors with the selection of service providers, fiduciary best practices, on-going plan maintenance, and educating plan participants.  As his career evolved, Doug transitioned to educating investment advisors on those same best practices and works with investment advisors in building a successful retirement plan practice.

Known for his collaborative approach, Doug uses his expertise to help investment advisors with plan design, plan analysis and vendor selection. As a provider/vendor specialist, he has been instrumental in helping colleagues solve client challenges through easy to understand solutions.

Joe joined DWC in 2018 as our in-house actuary, bringing 30+ years of industry experience to the firm and its clients. His role as Director of Actuarial Services is to streamline defined benefit plan processes, and ensure accuracy and effective communication to our partners and clients.

Joe has worked with both national and regional actuarial firms providing actuarial consulting and administration to plans of all sizes and complexities.  He was first exposed to cash balance plans early in his career, and has helped to design and implement hundreds of new cash balance plans over the last decade. Joe is very involved in volunteering for the actuarial profession. He currently serves as President of the American Retirement Association. Joe also is a Past Chair of the Actuarial Foundation and a Past President of both the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and The American Society of Enrolled Actuaries (ASEA).

Lori has nearly 20 years of experience working in the retirement plan industry. She works closely with financial advisors and clients to design and implement plans that meet their goals and objectives.

Lori is a former recipient of the American Institute of CPAS Women to Watch Emerging Leaders Award. She is currently President of the Salt Lake Chapter of the Western Pension & Benefits Council, ad hoc committee member for the ASPPA Retirement Plan Academy, and has served on the Retirement Plan Fundamentals Certificate Taskforce. She is a former member of the Utah Valley University Alumni Board, including a one-year term as the Vice President of Finance and Development, and a former member of the Utah Valley University Gift Planning Advisory Board.

Having worked in various roles in the employee benefit industry throughout her career, Ellen finds that working with her clients to design a successful retirement plan is the most satisfying. It is the perfect nexus of compliance nerd while still having the opportunity to build relationships with our clients and partners.

Ricky began his career in retirement plans after graduating from Old Dominion University and strives to be a trusted, valued adviser to his clients on a daily basis. He enjoys leveraging the right combination of plan design and compliance knowledge to help business owners navigate the complex world of defined contribution plans.

During his time at DWC, Ben has worked with participant distributions, plan documents, Forms 5500 and many more aspects of our business. He greatly enjoys the problem-solving aspects involved in ensuring that each plan matches a client’s unique needs, and is happy to be able to provide this service as a retirement plan consultant.

Steven has been working in the retirement plan industry for over 20 years, gaining experience in many different aspects of retirement plan administration including operations, compliance testing, annual 5500 reporting, plan document preparation, and plan amendments.

Steven most enjoys working with new clients and providing them with any guidance they may need in understanding the various IRS regulations and plan provisions that relate to their retirement plan.

Patrick began working in the retirement industry in 2016 after graduating from Georgia State University. His greatest joy as plan consultant is having the ability to use his strengths in math to tackle unique scenarios while being able to assist a plan sponsor or participant move closer to achieving their retirement goal. The ever-changing world of the retirement industry keeps him driven to learn more and presents a great opportunity for career growth.

We are deeply saddened to pass along the news that on Friday, July 6th, 2018 we lost our long-time friend and colleague Karla Bomgardner after a lengthy battle with cancer. Karla, who always had a kind word to offer, was well-liked by her co-workers, and we often received glowing feedback from clients and industry partners about how much they enjoyed working with her.  She was committed to taking care of her clients and was never too busy to help a colleague. More importantly, though, Karla loved her family more than anything and there was no hiding how proud she was of her three children.

We laughed together; we cried together; and we shared family stories together.  We will miss Karla very much.

Amber originally started in the industry in 2003 and returned in 2019 after taking time off to focus on family. She enjoys being back in this ever-evolving field as part of DWC’s distributions team. Her high-level attention to detail and communication skills allow her build and support relationships with sponsors and advisors while working to ensure the needs of our clients are being met. She loves being a part of a fast-paced organization that is continually challenging the status quo in the industry.

Jaime’s background in public accounting, specifically the auditing of retirement plans, brought a unique perspective when she joined DWC as a retirement plan consultant. After working as a consultant for a brief time, she transitioned to become DWC’s controller. The experience she gained as a consultant, coupled with her in-depth accounting knowledge made this new role a perfect fit. She loves being able to provide support to DWC’s team and working with DWC’s clients and vendors.

Kay-Ann is an Educator and an Associate Actuary with over 15 years of experience in retirement benefits consulting. She enjoys breaking down complicated problems and calculations into simple steps for her clients.

She is a Caribbean girl whose calling and purpose in life are to encourage and support people.  Obsessed with variety and learning is one way she describes herself. Blogging, volunteering, and teaching are only but a few of her interests outside of pensions. 

It breaks her heart to see how many of us are ill-prepared for retirement. To increase retirement readiness, she believes starts with education.

Haden never expected to be working in the retirement plan industry, but DWC was a comfortable fit for him. As a former high school math teacher, he enjoys teaching sponsors and advisors about the ins and outs of their retirement plans. He appreciates the depth and breadth of knowledge there is to learn about plans and shares that with his clients. One of his favorite components of compliance work is doing calculations for plans. The complex math and (nearly) definitive answers makes the work he does very satisfying.

Shae was introduced to the retirement plan industry in 2012 and has gained experience in many aspects of plan administration. Specifically, she enjoys preparing strategic contribution allocations and fostering relationships with clients while serving as a technical resource. Above all, Shae takes pride in helping plan sponsors achieve their goals and meet their retirement plan needs. 

The continuously evolving industry provides many new and exciting challenges creating learning opportunities that keep Shae energized in her current position. When she isn’t working, Shae is passionate about giving back to her community as a member of the Junior-League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach.

Natalie has spent more than 10 years in the financial industry, working in a variety of areas including banking, loans, home mortgages, and more.  Her most recent role in an advisor’s office where she was a sales assistant broadened her experience even more, making her step into DWC’s distributions team a natural fit.  She enjoys the complexities of retirement plans and building strong communication with clients.