We have an exciting Symposium speaker line-up!
Agenda coming soon!
Please note the Agenda is a work-in-progress and will be updated as information becomes available.
Dr. Craig Lemoine | Director of Financial Planning Program
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Craig Lemoine is the director of the Financial Planning Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The UIUC financial planning program has just over 160 students and is known for innovative courses, electives and programming. Dr. Lemoine also serves as the editor of the Journal of Personal Finance and the Director of Academic Partnerships for the Finserv foundation.
Prior to joining the University of Illinois in 2017, Craig worked at The American College of Financial Services as a professor and the champion of their CFP program. Craig earned both his doctorate and undergraduate degrees from Texas Tech University and currently sit son their alumni advisory board. Craig has taught over 100,000 students in a number of review, certificate, undergraduate and undergraduate courses over his career. His hobbies include traveling, gardening and hanging out with his kiddos.
Strider Elass | Senior Economist
First Trust
Strider is Senior Economist and part of the First Trust Economics Team that Bloomberg has consistently ranked as one of the top forecasters of the U.S. economy over the past decade plus.
At First Trust, Strider is responsible for analyzing economic indicators, writing economic commentaries, and building content. In 2022, The First Trust Economic Team was rated the Most Accurate Economic Forecasters in the United States by Consensus Economics. The team also won multiple Gold Medals from Financial Advisor IQ in both 2020 and 2021 for Macro Commentary, overall content, and commentary and was also rated 2nd for Thought Leadership by Fuse Research. The First Trust Economics Team has been awarded the “Crystal Ball Award” by Zillow® in partnership with Pulsenomics over multiple years for accurate home price predictions. In 2017, First Trust’s thought leadership material was ranked as number one for most read and most shared by financial professionals with colleagues or clients in the “Top 10 Financial Providers for Thought Leadership Activity.” Strider was instrumental in researching for the book, It’s Not As Bad As You Think, published in 2009 by First Trust’s Chief Economist, Brian Wesbury. Strider’s contribution to the team’s success goes beyond his research responsibilities. He is also a highly sought-after speaker and regularly presents at broker and retail events across the country and abroad, sharing his expertise with a wide audience.
