Gary is responsible for developing our investment strategies.  He is the primary contact for all asset allocation, strategy, and specific securities related questions.  Gary has obtained the FINRA Series 7, 63, & 65 securities licenses.   

Gary began his career in the financial industry with A.G. Edwards where he gained valuable experience with the securities markets.  In 2004 Gary teamed up with his high-school and college mate, Scott, and has since broadened the scope of service offered by the team.  Gary is a native Coloradan and graduate of Colorado State University where he majored in Accounting.  He has served on the deacon board for the past 6 years of his local church and is very involved coaching youth sports.  Gary and his wonderful wife Andrea are proud parents of Noah, Madeline, Cal, and Walker.

Ted is responsible for developing our financial planning strategies.  He is the primary contact for all financial planning questions.  Ted has earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation, and has obtained the FINRA Series 7, 63, 66 & 9/10 securities licenses. 

Ted began his professional career with S.E.I. Investments (Oaks, PA) where he spent two years before heading west to Colorado.  He signed on with Northwestern Mutual in December 2004 where he served as Associate Director of Network Office Supervision until July 2006 when he joined Scott Sparks and Team.  He graduated with a B.S. in Finance from Penn State University where he captained the Varsity Men's Lacrosse team.  Born and Raised in Philadelphia PA, Ted is the youngest of 3 brothers.  In his spare time you'll find him coaching youth lacrosse and hiking the Rockies with his amazing wife Emily, and toddling son Gabriel.

Pete is responsible for managing our investment strategies.  He is the primary contact for all investment related transaction and general account inquiries. Pete has earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and has obtained the FINRA Series 7, 63 & 66 securities licenses.

Pete’s initial career was as an officer in the U.S. Navy. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis his first station was aboard the USS Fox (CG-33) in San Diego. There he led working divisions in charge of weapon systems and navigation while making two deployments to the Persian Gulf – one of which was in support of Operation Desert Storm. Upon departure from Fox, Pete went to Newport, RI to serve as an instructor at the Surface Warfare Officer’s School. Although traveling the world by sea was great fun, Pete decided to leave the Navy after meeting his beautiful wife Kathy. Having spent his whole life on the water (raised in New York) it was only natural to move to Denver. While here, Pete spent two years working in retirement plan services for Merrill Lynch, and ten years in various roles helping clients at Charles Schwab manage their investments. Pete and Kathy have three children and a dog, are very involved with community and youth sports, and find time to go backpacking and skiing whenever possible.

Chris is responsible for managing our financial planning process.  He has earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and has obtained the FINRA Series 7 & 66 securities licenses.

Chris developed an interest in financial planning while studying at Virginia Tech.  Upon graduating with a B.S. in Financial Management, Chris was recruited by The Washington Group of Northwestern Mutual where he stayed for two and a half years in the Fairfax, Virginia office; first as a Financial Representative, eventually becoming part of a wealth management and financial planning practice.  In April of 2009, he made the decision to join Scott Sparks’ team, fulfilling a dream of moving to Colorado.  Born and raised in Northern Virginia just outside of Washington DC, Chris now finds himself a resident of Boulder not far from his only sibling, his older sister.  In his spare time you will find Chris instructing for high performance driving schools on race circuits around the country or spending his weekends in the mountains.

Lauren co-manages our insurance underwriting process.  She also may be contacted regarding insurance service needs.  Lauren holds a Colorado State Insurance License for Life & Health.

Lauren joined our team in 2011.  She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelors of Arts in English. Lauren has a strong affection for Northwestern Mutual stemming from her father’s life-long career as a financial representative in Des Moines, Iowa where he is the Managing Partner.  She recently moved to the Denver area with her husband who is a student at Denver Seminary. In her spare time, she loves to cook and read classic literature.