Rochelle came into the world of financial planning in a roundabout way, yet it’s no mystery about why it became her calling.

From an early age, Rochelle understood the value of a dollar. Born and raised just three blocks from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, Rochelle grew up with working class people, many of whom lived paycheck to paycheck and were likely in some form of debt. Her mother was a firm believer in unions and civil service who worked for New York City, and her father was a hard-working cab driver with his own NYC taxi medallion. Recognized for her book smarts in elementary school, Rochelle was placed in an accelerated academic program and graduated two years ahead of her class. By 20, she’d already earned a bachelor’s degree from City College of New York, and she earned her MA from DePaul University four years later.

Though the pressure was on to live up to “being that smart,” Rochelle took a different path, embarking on a career as an elementary school teacher. “I loved teaching and working with my students. I loved learning that there is no such thing as one-size-fits-all.” And while the shrinking population resulted in a lay off and no new prospects, her passion for education had taken its roots. Working at an advertising firm, she realized that helping clients solve problems was her greatest strength. When an opportunity dropped in her lap to train as a financial planner, she knew she was on the right path after all. “Suddenly I had an opportunity to fold everything together: education, helping people, and offering solutions to help people like my parents leverage their hard-earned dollars into greater financial security. Voila! I had found my calling.”

She became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) in 1987 and holds securities and insurance licenses in multiple states. She became an independent financial planner in 1992, working for notable companies such as IDS Financial Services (now Ameriprise), UNUM, and Ernst & Young where she focused on advising employees of the State of Florida regarding the changing pension system and employee options, as well as with employees at Pfizer, NYSUT, and Phillips Electronics.

Rochelle joined the team at Madison Planning's Westchester County office in 2006. In her role as Vice President, she continues to help individuals and families plan for the future, manage debt, handle complex family situations, and more. “I enjoy people, and people enjoy working with me because I understand and empathize with them. If someone is experiencing a financial issue, I may have experienced it myself or worked with someone who has. And I love to share real-world stories—they’re often the best way to illustrate a fact of life and provide perspective. The best part of my day is when someone tells me I’ve helped them feel understood and comfortable, and that I’m helping them take a step forward.”

Married to her high school sweetheart, Rochelle and her husband have three grown children and live in Westchester.

As Gary’s son, it’s easy to assume that he always knew he was destined to be part of the team at Madison Planning, but it wasn’t always clear to Andrew.

In high school, Andrew played football, and was the enthusiastic manager of the school business club which produced tee shirts and screen-printed clothing for school teams and events. He began his post high school education by attending Landmark College, a small college in South Vermont that features a highly innovative educational model. “The curriculum at Landmark changed everything for me,” says Andrew. “I learned a whole new way to learn—to ask the right questions, to really understand the content, and to solve problems in an entirely new way.” He earned his AA degree, made the Dean’s List, and went on to University of Denver where he earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing, focusing on finance and management.

But after graduating, Andrew still wasn’t ready to jump into working with his father. “By the time I graduated, I knew financial services and helping people was where I wanted to be. Not only did I love the pure financial aspects of it, but I’d seen first hand the impact Gary’s work had on his clients’ lives. But I wanted to learn more about the business first.” He joined Royal Alliance, Madison Planning’s broker-dealer, working in advisory services where he supported the firm’s independent advisors. The role taught him how to be a problem solver for the advisors and their clients. After two years, he’d earned the respect of both his colleagues and the advisors he served, and had learned the back office side of the business inside and out. Recognizing his growth and knowledge, Gary asked him to join the firm. “Madison Planning was growing fast, and Gary really needed my help, so the timing was perfect. I guess it was all part of the master plan.”

Today, Andrew supports Gary’s clients by providing policy analysis to ensure every policy is appropriate, and accurate, as well as tends to all areas of their financial planning. He is also working to meet the needs of the next generation of Madison Planning’s clients— the adult children of Gary’s existing clients. “I’m proud to say that we’re ‘a family helping families.’ I don’t know many people who get as much personal satisfaction out of providing support and solutions to their clients. I’m happy to be one of the few.”

When he’s not busy helping his clients with their financial planning needs, Andrew enjoys snowboarding, camping, hiking, and listening to great live music (jazz, blues, and classic rock top the list), and spending time with friends and family.

While Dean came into financial services later in his career, growing up in a prosperous Detroit in the 1950s gave him a great appreciation of financial planning and wealth management. “When Detroit began its decline, I watched what was happening to the families all around me,” says Dean. Having seen the devastation that can come from such a financial downfall, he values that the fact that the team at Madison Planning are able to help clients avoid a similar outcome.  “We do a good thing. A really good thing.”

Dean didn’t join the team until 2001, but he’s known Gary for decades, beginning when he became Gary’s third client back when Gary was just starting his business. At the time, Dean was moving from startup to startup, helping a series of promising companies in the medical field. After his last startup, Gary asked him to take over operations at Madison. “When it comes to personalities, Gary and I are polar opposites, which turned out to be a great match. The things I love to do are the things he hates to do, and visa versa. And because we’d known each other for so long already, we shared a rather brutal honesty with each other. That’s added up to a really good working relationship.”

As Madison’s Operations Manager, Dean is responsible “keeping the lights on and the doors open.” Of course, in the world of financial services, that translates into much more than simply paying the electric bill. From maintaining securities and insurance licenses in each state, tracking and submitting the firm’s regulatory filings, overseeing compliance and bookkeeping, to maintaining the firm’s IT systems, Dean has his hands full. “Our business has quadrupled since I came on board a decade ago, and our team has grown a lot as well. Keeping it all running brings me new challenges every day, but working with people I know and like makes it all worthwhile.”  

Dean holds a degree in engineering from the University of Michigan, and he is securities registered.

While Ben has known Gary literally his whole life, he never saw himself working in his father’s business. In college, he began studying broadcast communication, then switched majors, and then switched again. But nothing really connected with him in the right way. Even after earning a degree in Marketing Management from Pace University, he was unsettled. When he pursued a career as a police officer and that also didn’t work out, he realized where he’d been headed all along. “Long ago, someone told me ‘when a door doesn’t open for you, it’s best not to push it open.’ I realized my own ‘open door’ had been there all along.”

Ben had worked with his dad on and off through college, but took the real plunge when he joined Madison full time in 2008. He’s never looked back. “I’d already invested a lot of myself into the business, and I’d always viewed the people here as my family—and not just because of my dad, but because of the whole team. What could be better than working with people you’ve known and cared about most of your life?”

In the beginning, Ben put his marketing degree to work, focusing primarily on marketing and communications, but over the years, his responsibilities have evolved to include a growing amount of operations planning. “Increasing our efficiency is important, especially as the firm grows.” And managing growth is vital as the firm completes its transition to a multi-generational business. “Our goal is to do a great job for every one of our clients—including our established clients, as well as their own children and grandchildren. It’s my job to be sure that continues to happen over the long term.”

What Ben loves most about the work Madison does is that every client seems to truly appreciate what the team does to help. “I used to think financial services was about making and losing money, but it’s so much more than that. When I know we’ve helped someone retire early or take that vacation they’ve always dreamed of, I see that it’s really about improving people’s lives and creating a better future. That’s a pretty great feeling.”

When he isn't working, Ben enjoys watching sports, reading about Presidential history, and spending time with his wife, Kathleen, their misbehaved beagle, Snoopy, and their newborn son Dylan!

When Nina finished an 18-month program in business administration back in 2003, she had no idea her next step would put her on a path toward her dream job. “I originally wanted to be a chef, but when I decided to take a more practical path, I was pretty sure I’d find myself number crunching in a job that didn’t bring me a whole lot of fulfillment.”

That all changed when Nina replied to a job posting at her college for Madison Planning Group and came on board to do what she’d expected: crunching numbers. But when an assistant position opened up 10 months later, a door opened. She was soon managing Gary’s schedule—and she began learning about new business management.

“Gary has always been there to guide me and help me find my path,” says Nina. “The fact is, everybody who’s here is here because of Gary and the fact that he treats us like family. We all joke around with each other, but we also have high respect for each other, and we know we all have each others’ backs.”  That sense of family has had a huge impact on her career. “Gary pushed me to be where I am today, and now I’m studying for the Life and Health Insurance exam.” It’s one more ‘next step’ in what’s become Nina’s dream career at Madison Planning Group. Currently Director of New Business, she is responsible for new and existing business for all advisors, processing applications, and servicing existing accounts and policies. Once she has her new license, she’ll be taking on life insurance responsibilities for the firm.

That’s a far cry from number crunching, and Nina couldn’t be happier.

Nina Occhino-Melito is not registered with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.

When Saber moved from Morocco to the US as a young boy, the difference in living standards between the two countries was shocking. In Morocco, so many families lived in poverty. In the US, even those without wealth enjoyed a level of luxury he’d never seen. “That stark contrast made me wonder, ‘What caused some people to be financially secure? And what caused others not to be secure?’” He set a goal to find the answers by learning everything he could about finance.

As a student at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY, Saber focused on finance and earned a bachelor’s degree in business management. After graduation, he researched the best way to break into the world of finance, and discovered that being sponsored by a company was step one toward a securities license. “I knocked on a lot of doors, but I ended up hitting dead ends.” That’s when Saber reached out to Gary. “I’d known Gary for a few years through his service work in my own community. He was always a great guy—very easy to talk to—and I knew he was in finance. Of course, being Gary, he welcomed me with open arms.” Gary invited Saber to spend time in the office to learn about the business, and soon after offered to sponsor him. With the help of Gary and Andrew Federico, Saber earned his Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, and he officially joined Madison Planning Group in October 2016.

In college, Saber learned the difference between good companies and bad companies, and he studied the nuts and bolts of finance and economics. Working with Gary has helped him bring all those pieces of the puzzle together and make sense of it all. Even more, in his role as a planning specialist, Saber has been able to realize his childhood dream of helping people make choices that lead to financial security. “My long-term goal is to follow in Gary’s footsteps and become the kind of financial advisor who has a powerful and positive impact on my clients’ lives. When I see the postcards from Gary’s clients thanking him for all he’s done for them, I know I’m in the right place and on the right path.”