Authors

Savingforcollege.com Editorial Team

The Savingforcollege.com Editorial Team consists of current and past contributors, including Mark Kantrowitz, Martha Kortiak Mert, Marc Suhr, and others listed on our Authors page. We have dozens of years of experience with 529 plans and college savings and have published hundreds of articles empowering families with the knowledge to save wisely for college.

Allison Kade

A graduate of Columbia University and a resident of New York, Allison is a freelance writer and editor. She has written about money for publications like Bloomberg, Forbes, The Today Show, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, TheStreet, Credit.com, Fox Business News and The Fiscal Times.

Brian Keaney

Brian Keaney is a father, a writer, and a long-time fan of 529 plans. He has been published in the Boston Sunday Globe, Forbes, and the Washington Post about a variety of topics.

Brynne Conroy

Brynne Conroy is a personal finance writer who has been covering college finance for over 12 years. Her work can be found on sites like Business Insider, Forbes, LendingTree, and USA Today. Her debut book was an Amazon #1 New Release across multiple categories, and she has been awarded a PEN America grant for her work in the field.

Chris Stack, Esq.

Managing Consultant, Savingforcollege.com

Chris Stack, Esq. Managing Consultant, Savingforcollege.com, is a nationally recognized 529 authority and experienced in educational finance. An attorney for over 30 years, licensed in New York & Pennsylvania, Chris has experience in finance, investments and law relating to tax- advantaged products, including Section 529, since it became federal law in 1996.

Emily Smith

Emily E. Smith is a journalist and content writer focused on finance and financial literacy. Her work has appeared in publications including The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Barron's, among many others.

Jeff White, CEPF

Jeff is a finance expert who has worked with individuals and businesses to better their financial situations. He's helped Fortune 500 companies, Inc's fastest-growing companies, and small businesses get the financing they need. Jeff has earned an MBA and JD and is a Certified Educator of Personal Finance (CEPF).

Jessica Sillers

Jessica Sillers is a content writer specializing in finance and parenting. Her work has appeared for various companies and publications, including Business Insider, Prudential, MSN.com, and many others.

Joe Messinger

CFP, ChFC, CLU

Joe Messinger, CFP, ChFC, CLU, is partner and director of college planning at Capstone Capital Wealth Partners. He created Capstone's College Pre Approval process that guides clients through a process that allows families to save the money they need, and eliminate the stress and anxiety that have around paying for college.

Katie Reierson

Katie is a former corporate finance and strategy professional with a passion for communication. After a successful career in finance, she transitioned to writing for businesses and brands. Since making this shift, Katie has dedicated herself to helping others find their voice and share their expertise. As a mother of three, she combines her professional insights with

Marc Suhr

Marc Suhr II is a Product Manager with Saving for College, where he works closely with 529 plan partners helping to connect them to families and advisors looking for resources. Marc has presented several webinars on how to save and pay for college, and edited and written numerous articles on Saving for College.

Mark Kantrowitz

Former Publisher and VP of Research

Mark Kantrowitz is a nationally-recognized expert on student financial aid, scholarships and student loans. His mission is to deliver practical information, advice and tools to students and their families so they can make informed decisions about planning and paying for college.

Martha Kortiak Mert

COO

Martha Kortiak Mert is COO of Saving for College, where she oversees partnerships, content creation, data management and web development. Over the past ten years, she has edited and written numerous articles that appear on Saving for College, spoken to members of the media about 529 plans, and presented several college savings webinars.

Matthew Toner

Director of Institutional Research

Matthew Toner is the director of institutional research at Savingforcollege.com. After obtaining his B.S. degree from the University of Florida and his J.D. from Florida State University, where he specialized in business law, Matthew went on to work as a financial advisor at Waddell & Reed. He holds his Series 7 and 66 licenses.

Rob Zodda

Rob Zodda is an experienced freelance writer specializing in personal finance and higher education. He creates content and copy that helps families, students, and young adults make smart money decisions, and feel more confident in reaching their financial goals. He’s written on topics including student loans, financial aid, investing, credit cards, and more.

Bethany McCamish

Bethany McCamish is a freelancer, teacher, and content creator for the His and Her FI blog and podcast. Her writing has been featured by multiple personal finance sites including Rockstar Finance, Women Who Money, and Money Middletons.

Brian Boswell

Brian has worked with 529's in many capacities since 2001. At Savingforcollege.com he is responsible for all things 529, including contributing content, quarterly rankings, and media relations.

Brian O'Connell

Brian O’Connell, a former Wall Street bond trader, is the author of two best-selling books, The 401k Millionaire and CNBC’s Creating Wealth. He also wrote the book Free Yourself from Student Loan Debt.

Brooke Napiwocki

CFP®, MBA

As a Financial Planner at Crescendo Wealth Management, LLC, Brooke Napiwocki has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, during which she has advised individuals, small businesses and institutional clients. She currently focuses her practice on partnering with professional women and their families.

Carrie Pallardy

Carrie Pallardy started her career in healthcare journalism, but she is now a full-time freelance writer and editor. Her work spans multiple subjects including education, real estate, healthcare, and travel. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dori Zinn

Dori Zinn is a personal finance journalist who enjoys helping people learn how to manage their money. Her work has been featured in Huffington Post, Wirecutter, The Week, Bankrate, MagnifyMoney, and other publications.

Ellen Chang

Ellen Chang is a freelance journalist who is based in Houston and writes articles for TheStreet and U.S. News & World Report. Chang focuses her articles on stocks, entrepreneurs, personal finance, energy and cybersecurity.

Erica Gellerman

Erica Gellerman is a CPA, MBA, personal finance writer, and founder of The Worth Project: a weekly money newsletter you actually want to read. Her work has been featured on Forbes, Money, Business Insider, The Everygirl, The Everymom, and Lifehacker.

Jennifer Calonia

Jennifer Calonia is a Los Angeles-based personal finance writer whose goal is to help readers get excited about improving their financial health. Her work has been featured in publications such as Forbes, The Huffington Post, MSN Money, Yahoo Finance and Business Insider.

Joe Arns

Joe Arns is a freelance writer and investment professional. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Joen Kinnan

Joen Kinnan began her career as a secondary school English teacher in Ohio and Michigan. After moving to the Chicago area, she became a writer and later department head for Marquis Who’s Who, a publisher of biographies. Subsequently, she served as a senior associate with William M. Young & Associates, where she developed and delivered workshops around the country.

Jolene Latimer

Jolene Latimer has her Master's in Specialized Journalism and writes about finances, sports and lifestyle for a variety of publications.

Jordi Lippe-McGraw

Jordi Lippe-McGraw is personal finance writer focused on student loan debt. Her work on this topic and other lifestyle content has been featured in the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Student Loan Hero, TODAY, Conde Nast Traveler and more.

Joseph Hurley

CPA, Founder

Joe Hurley launched Savingforcollege.com in 1999 while working as a tax CPA in Rochester, New York. He wrote and self-published the book 'The Best Way to Save for College--A Complete Guide to 529 Plans', now in its eleventh edition with over 100,000 copies sold.

Karin McKie

Karin McKie is an MFA writer and a professional educator. She’s a regular contributor to Third Coast Review, EDGE Media Network and CircusTalk. She writes about education, public relations and marketing, as well as the scholastic aspects of culture.

Kat Tretina

Kat Tretina is a personal finance writer based in Orlando. With a master's degree in communications, her work has been featured in publications like Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Money Magazine, and many more.

Kathryn Flynn

Kathryn is a former Editor-in-Chief at Savingforcollege.com and is a subject matter expert on 529 plans. Since joining the team in 2014, she created content to help families and financial professionals understand the best ways to save for education. She has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune and other well-known media outlets.

Keith Bernhardt

Vice President of College Planning at Fidelity Investments

Keith Bernhardt is Vice President of College Planning at Fidelity Investments, providing financial products and guidance to help families plan for savings and investment goals throughout their lives. In his role, Keith oversees Fidelity's college savings and planning business.

Kristen Kuchar

Managing Editor

Kristen Kuchar is Managing Editor and Content Strategist for Savingforcollege.com. She has covered personal finance issues with a focus on student loans and college savings for the last decade for a wide variety of publications. Kristen is passionate about creating content that eases the stress of paying for college and managing student loans. She graduated from Colum

Kristine Schaffer

Kristine Schaffer is the Enrollment Research Specialist at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA, where she analyzes and reports on topics related to admissions, retention, and financial aid.

Lulu Curiel

Founder and CEO of Ivy Advisors

Lulu Curiel is the Founder and CEO of Ivy Advisors, a leading Admissions Consulting company that helps people with their application process for college and graduate school. Lulu has helped over hundreds of people construct their application strategies and gain admissions to their respective dream schools.

Lyle Solomon

Principal Attorney at Oak View Law Group

Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View L

Mikhail Zinshteyn

Mikhail Zinshteyn is a higher education reporter based in Los Angeles. Most recently, he covered community colleges for California-based newsroom EdSource. His work has also appeared in The Hechinger Report, The Atlantic, FiveThirtyEight and other outlets.

Miranda Marquit

Miranda Marquit has been covering finance-related topics, including paying for college, for more than 10 years. She has contributed to numerous publications, including Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, NPR, Yahoo! Finance, and FOX Business.

Nick Mann

Nick is a blogger, freelance writer and digital media enthusiast. He has been writing professionally for nearly a decade and specializes in business, finance, marketing and tech. He's also passionate about helping people save money and live debt free.

Paul Sisolak

Paul Sisolak is a freelance journalist and writer whose personal finance articles on saving money, getting out of debt, improving credit and a host of other topics have appeared in the Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Student Loan Hero, Chime Bank, and the Nasdaq blog, among others.

Richard Pallardy

Richard Pallardy is a writer with 14 years of experience, most recently as a research editor and blogger with the Encyclopedia Britannica. He is interested in the natural world, culture, aesthetics, and criticism.

Vince Sullivan

529 College Savings Plan Consultant

Vince Sullivan functions as principal consultant, lead presenter, and subject matter expert on 529 plans for 529NOW, LLC. Prior to founding 529 NOW in 2016 to promote the 529 story and industry, he worked at CollegeInvest, the State Plan Administrator for Colorado.

Zina Kumok

Zina Kumok is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance. A former reporter, she has covered murder trials, the Final Four and everything in between. She has been featured in Lifehacker, DailyWorth and Time.