• Rob Cardinale, Managing Editor: Rob is the editor in charge of Forefield’s retirement materials. Rob has been working as an ERISA/benefits attorney since the mid-’80’s, first as counsel for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, and then in private practice. Rob has an undergraduate degree in finance from Notre Dame, a JD from Seton Hall School of Law, and a masters in tax from Boston University.
• Bill Davenport, President: Bill focuses on building great products for financial advisors, and working closely with Forefield’s editorial and technology teams to accomplish that goal. Bill’s background includes 20 years in the financial services industry, including 15 years leading information-based product development efforts serving investor relation officers, investment bankers, portfolio managers, analysts, traders, and financial advisors. Bill is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Stern School of Business (NYU), and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
• Tom Ewart, Editor: Tom specializes in consumer issues, and is responsible for the design of Forefield illustrations. Tom joined Forefield in 2000. Prior to that he was a regional manager and counselor at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern New England for 10 years. He also has extensive experience as a college financial aid counselor, and has worked as a branch manager of a savings bank. He is a graduate of Clark University.
• Mary Frakes, Senior Editor: Mary is responsible for Forefield’s coverage of investing topics (see Mary’s page, Speaking of Investing…). She developed online investor information services for a subsidiary of Reuters and was previously an Assistant Vice President for Communications Services for Fidelity Investments. As the founding editor of STAGES magazine and the STAGES® line of communications materials, she provided investing and financial planning information to employees of Fortune 500 companies. She is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.
• Lisa Hartman, Director, Editorial Department: Lisa joined Forefield in 1997 and is responsible for developing and updating FMA Advisor content. Lisa received her BA in accounting from Boston College and served several years as controller of a privately held company before receiving her JD from Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. She has practiced for several years as an attorney for a Boston law firm and more recently as a sole practitioner, concentrating in the area of estate planning.
• Dave Rando, Senior Editor: Dave is responsible for the life insurance and annuity materials in Forefield’s product lines. David has more than 20 years of experience in designing and marketing products in these lines, and has provided advanced marketing to a wide variety of financial services companies, including MetLife Financial Services and the Phoenix Companies. He has also served as a staff advisor for the Massachusetts Attorney General.
• Lisa Sloate, Senior Editor: Lisa is responsible for developing and maintaining all of Forefield’s education planning materials. Lisa also manages Forefield’s alert process. Before joining Forefield in 1997, Lisa worked as an associate at the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray and as an editor at Butterworth Legal Publishers. She also served a one-year term as a law clerk to a federal judge in Vermont. Lisa is a graduate of Boston College and Boston College Law School.
• Kathy Sutton, Director, Editorial Department: Kathy is responsible for developing and maintaining FMA Knowledge Trust and specializes in Social Security, Medicare, and life planning issues. Before joining Forefield in 1997, Kathy worked as a loan representative in the banking industry and taught writing at several universities. Kathy is a graduate of Hamilton College and earned her MA in English from the University of Virginia.
• Jim Walsh, VP Content and Editor in Chief: Jim leads Forefield’s editorial staff. Before joining Forefield in 1997, Jim worked at the Internal Revenue Service for ten years, including a one-year detail as Congressional Liaison for the IRS Boston Problem Resolution Office. In addition, Jim has served as Communication Consultant – New Products and Services, with John Hancock Retirement Services. Jim is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Boston and Suffolk University Law School.
