Meet the GVA Team
Our breadth of knowledge and years of experience allow us to support the advisors in our network. A diverse background in both finance and technology allows us to help advisors succeed as independent practices.
The Great Valley Team
Our team of advisors has worked in every sector of the financial services industry.
Ryan C. Todd, CPA
Ryan graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy. He also spent part of his college career studying at The London School of Economics. Ryan started his career in the financial services industry working in New York City for a large investment bank, earning his Series 7, 63, 24, and 55 licenses currently held with LPL Financial.
As a Certified Public Accountant*, Ryan offers a unique perspective on nurturing relationships between advisors and potential CPA affiliates. Ryan is the Chief Compliance Officer and heads up the supervision responsibilities for Great Valley Advisor Group.
Ryan is an avid runner and has competed in 5 marathons including the Boston marathon. Ryan, his wife Tara and three kids live in Chester Springs PA.
*Great Valley Advisor Group and LPL do not provide tax advice or services. Please consult your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
James J. Spinelli, AIF®, MSF, MSIS
James J. Spinelli began his career in the technology & finance industries working in Philadelphia for Marsh & McLennan, and later for Comcast Corporation within their Finance department. While at Comcast, he was responsible for capital forecasting, relationship management, and their financial information systems.
James attended Penn State University where he received a BS in Information Systems, Minor in Information Technology, and a MS in Information Science (MSIS). In addition, James also holds a Masters of Science in Finance (MSF) from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. While at Penn State, he was also a member of the Nittany Lion’s Varsity baseball team.
James resides in Chester Springs, PA with his wife Devon and their children, Kieran, Saylor, and Scarlett. He enjoys everything “FinTech” and founded Peng-Win LLC to assist advisors with customized solutions.
In his spare time, James enjoys spending time with his family & friends either at the beach, on the golf course, fishing, or helping coach baseball. He is an active member in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities Program (RBI) and The Kyle Ambrogi Foundation.
Lee R. Johnson, Jr., CFA
Lee Johnson joined Great Valley Advisor Group in 2016. He has 14 years combined finance and investment advisory experience. Lee’s primary responsibility is to coordinate the Firm’s investment management process by building and managing a variety of customized models across the risk spectrum for clients and advisors. He focuses on bottom-up, fundamental analysis to screen and analyze best-in-class companies and managers.
Lee earned the CFA charter in 2006 and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Philadelphia. He earned an MBA with a concentration in Finance from The George Washington University, Washington, DC, where he was selected as a Business Academic All-American. Prior to his finance career, Lee served 8 years in the United States Navy where he earned the rank of Lieutenant and qualified as Engineer Officer and Officer of the Deck aboard a fast attack nuclear submarine. Lee also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, Schenectady, NY. Lee is an Eagle Scout.
Lee currently serves as a member of the East Pikeland Township Open Space Committee where he helps to preserve land in the community. He also coaches youth basketball in Phoenixville and has volunteered on many non-profit organizations in the Phoenixville area.
Lee resides in Kimberton, PA with his wife Victoria and three children, twins Brendan and Madeleine, and younger brother Ethan. In his spare time, Lee enjoys reading, sailing, scuba diving and running with a local running group. He has finished the Disney and Philadelphia Marathons, countless half marathons and seven Falmouth Road Race runs in Cape Cod, MA.
Bronwyn V. Dewey
Based in GVA’s office in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Bronwyn is a Magna Cum Laude graduate from Franklin and Marshall College. She successfully completed a Bachelor’s degree in Business with additional studies in Media Marketing.
As Director of Strategic Partnerships, Bronwyn is responsible for GVA’s onboarding initiative and advisor transitions. She facilitates advisor partnerships through discussion and project management.
Bronwyn currently resides in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. She is an avid fitness enthusiast and enjoys hot yoga, 5k races, and barre. In her spare time, she volunteers for local hospitals. Bronwyn holds her FINRA Series 7 license and Series 66 license.
Education: B.A. Business (Magna Cum Laude), Franklin and Marshall College
Michael J. Dedda, ChFC
Michael J. Dedda is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and has worked in the financial planning field for over 18 years. He is also a Registered Representative with LPL Financial.
Michael earned his B.A. in Finance from Villanova University and received his ChFC certification from the American College. Michael has established himself as a trusted advisor to businesses and individuals by creating relationships to foster better outcomes for business owners and employees.
Cheryl deRosa
Cheryl has extensive experience with cash management, product testing, product development and workforce training. Her main responsibilities include monitoring branch offices to ensure business is processed within FINRA & SEC guidelines. Cheryl provides training on policies, procedures and best practices to ensure business is processed smoothly. She performs periodic audits of business written by branch offices and for the RIA documenting her results.
Prior to joining our team, Cheryl spent several years in banking where she served as Vice President of Cash Management Operations leading teams that supported global sales and product suitability for Cash Managers at Fortune 500 companies. In addition, she managed a WorldLink Operation in Buffalo and US Dollar Pooling through London as well as controlled disbursements and wire transfer departments in Delaware and New York.
Cheryl has a Paralegal Certificate, a B.S. in Business and Accounting and has completed coursework toward her JD-MBA at Widener University. She holds a Certificate in Personal Nutrition, is certified as an Advanced Sports and Exercise Nutritional Advisor and is working toward a Certificate in Diet and Weight Loss.
Drew Nemeth
Drew is our registered Transitions Consultant with LPL. He responsible for streamlining and efficiently helping advisors transition their business over to the GVA and LPL platform. Drew has been involved on the operations side of the financial industry since graduating from Rider University. He started out at Fiserv Securities as a service representative before moving to Wells Fargo as a licensed operations specialist. He has been with LPL Financial since 2007. Drew has a robust understanding of the back office procedures and has helped transition many advisors to LPL.
In his spare time Drew enjoys spending time with his family, coaching his children’s sports teams and playing ice hockey.
Research Analyst
Robert S. Schmauk Jr.
Robert is a recent Cum Laude graduate from the Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and a Minor in Economics. Before joining Valor Asset Management in June of 2019, Robert completed internships with Great Valley Advisor Group and Doylestown Wealth Management.
As a research analyst for GVA/Valor, Robert contributes to the firm’s investment management decisions by researching and analyzing potential investments and monitoring the performance of Valor’s custom models.
Robert lives in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. As an avid runner Robert enjoys running 5K’s and half marathons and has completed the Disney Marathon. In his spare time Robert also enjoys playing tennis, hockey, and spending time with friends and family.
Team Lead
Tills
Works out 5 times a week and volunteers at her church on her days off. Cannot & will not switch from AOL to Gmail. Makes friends with everyone in line at the grocery store. Has one joke but can’t say it bc she starts to cry laughing before she gets the punchline.
Financial Analyst
Colton Pence
S. Jason Kell, AIF®
Jason serves as Director, Retirement Plan Specialist for GVA Retirement Consultants and partners with corporate and non-profit executives to improve and manage all facets of their retirement plans. He has provided independent advice and fiduciary guidance to corporate and non-profit employers since 2004. His entire 23 year career been exclusively focused on qualified and non-qualified retirement plans.
He assists plan sponsors in fulfilling their fiduciary duties and improving retirement plan outcomes through a focus on liability control, plan committee and employee education, cost reduction, vendor management and improvement of plan related operations.
As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary®, he possesses an extensive knowledge of the investment monitoring and management process. He is committed to being a lifelong student of the industry and pursuing positive outcomes through rigorous monitoring and service delivery to his clients.
Jason received his B.A. from the University of Delaware and enjoys coaching youth sports and spending time with his family.
Compliance Support Services
Bridget Garcia
Bridget helps support GVA’s compliance program. Her duties include the coordination of annual reviews, compliance testing, administering of policies and procedures, assisting in SEC exams, client onsite visits, the management of client communications and maintaining the compliance calendar.
Bridget has nearly 10 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to her relationship with GVA, she worked for seven years at Macquarie, a global financial services firm that provides banking, financial advisory and asset management services to institutional, corporate and retail clients and counterparties around the world. Bridget started her career there in operations support before transitioning to the firm’s private equity group as a client service associate for their internal private placement/investor solutions team. She then transitioned to the firm’s central compliance team, where she advised and supported business-aligned compliance units, managed broker dealer and swap dealer licensing and registrations, developed policies and procedures, performed annual branch reviews and prepared executive committee reporting.
Bridget earned a B.A.in History from New York University and her JD from New York Law School. She has obtained the following FINRA licenses: Series 7 and 63.
Bridget enjoys spending time with her husband and dog and exploring local wineries and breweries.
Bridget provides compliance consulting services to Great Valley Advisor Group through a separate and unaffiliated entity.
Compliance Support Services
Mark De Angelis
Mark is a senior member of our compliance group and is an active participant on our firm’s Compliance Committee. In addition to serving as a Chief Compliance Officer to our clients, Mark works with a wide variety of clients to ensure their compliance program is implemented, maintained and monitored.
Mark has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining CCS, Mark was a senior compliance manager with Capital One supporting their 401k Services and Digital Guidance & Advice programs. Mark also held multiple positions with Morgan Stanley including CCO for their Global Investment Solutions UIT series. During his career, Mark has served as a FINRA analyst in both the Advertising Regulation and Market Regulation divisions where he managed numerous regulatory investigations.
Mark earned a B.S. in Political Science from Towson University in Maryland. He has obtained the following FINRA licenses: Series 7, 9, 10, 24, 66 and 87.
In his spare time away from CCS, Mark enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. He also enjoys golfing, kayaking and volunteer work.
Client Services Associate
Kristin Harris
Kristin Harris is responsible for the processing of all back office details with a focus on insurance. Kristin assists with opening accounts and is a direct contact for client requests and issues.
In her spare time, Kristin loves spending time with family and friends. She enjoys traveling and going to the beach.
Operations Manager
Meghan Geary
Meghan Geary has been with the company since 2009. Meghan assists with marketing initiatives, is our vendor contact, handles much of our accounting responsibilities and is responsible for all other office functions and projects. Prior to working for Great Valley Advisor Group, Meghan held project management roles with Stewart Management Company, Citigroup and also worked for 8 years at Columbia Management Group in Boston, MA in the National Accounts group.
In her spare time, Meghan loves to spend time with her husband and daughters. She enjoys going to the beach, skiing and taking family trips.
Client Services Associate
Joanne Harrison
Bio coming soon…
Alan E. Peters, CLU, ChFC
Alan E. Peters is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) with over 44 years of experience in the insurance, pension, and financial consulting business. He is a Registered Representative and Registered Principal with LPL Financial,Member FINRA/SIPC.
Alan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Finance from Parsons College, and a Master’s of Science in Management and a Master of Science in Financial Services from the American College. He is a member of The Financial Planning Association, The Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, and The Society of Financial Service Professionals, where he served as Chair of the Society’s Retirement Counseling Section for 10 years. Alan served as an adjunct professor of Personal Finance at Wilmington College and was a frequent guest speaker on WDEL’s financial talk radio, where he answers tax*, estate planning, and investment related questions.
Alan and his wife Claudia enjoy playing golf, traveling and spending time with their grandchildren. Alan volunteers for local organizations including the Chadds Ford Historical Society and is a lector at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Church.
*Great Valley Advisor Group and LPL do not provide tax advice or services. Please consult your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
Michael Martin
Michael Martin, Wealth Consultant, is a Registered Representative with LPL Financial and currently a member of Great Valley Advisor Group. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and currently holds Series 7 and 63 securities registrations with LPL Financial. Great Valley Advisor Group is a financial planning firm providing a wide range of professional and personalized planning services. Financial Planning is offered through Great Valley Advisor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.