529 Conf: ABLE Implementation - Product, Marketing & Distribution Perspective

Paul Curley is Director of Savings Research at ISS Market Intelligence, where he oversees data, research, consulting and events on 529 savings plans, 529 prepaid plans and ABLE accounts for institutional clients. He is also the Editor of the 529 Dash e-newsletter and 529 Insiders website for advisors, accountants and estate planners.

Nathan Groff is the Chief Government Relations Officer for Intuition Solutions. Mr. Groff is a managing member and owner of Intuition College Savings Solutions, Intuition Able Solutions and Veritec Solutions.

A summary of Mr. Groff’s background is provided below:
• In 2015, Mr. Groff founded Intuition Able Solutions (IAS), the first full service 529 Able Solutions program manager in the country. IAS launched the first and second 529 Able plans respectively in April and June of 2016.
• In 2001, Mr. Groff and Thomas Reinheimer founded Veritec Solutions in response to a critical regulatory need faced by the State of Florida.
• Mr. Groff has extensive knowledge of the sub-prime and non-banked consumer through his management of a debt management company, a state guarantee agency and most recently Veritec Solutions.
• From 2001 through 2008 Nathan was also the Chief Executive Officer of Intuition’s Bill2Pay company which is the largest 3rd party payment processor in Florida. Bill2Pay currently processes over 750 million dollars of traditional and electronic remittances monthly for companies as diverse as Teco Energy and BrightHouse Networks.

Michael Morris, JD is the founder and Senior Strategic Advisor of National Disability Institute. He is a former legal counsel to the US Senate Subcommittee on Disability Policy and is a key architect of the ABLE Act. He serves as a subject matter expert on employment, economic advancement, financial inclusion and poverty reduction concerning youth and adults with disabilities to the FDIC, OCC, IRS, National Council on Disability, US Departments of Education and Health and Human Services and multiple state ABLE programs. He was the first Kennedy Foundation Public Policy Fellow and worked in the office of Senator Lowell Weicker (CT).
Mr. Morris is the co-founder of the Real Economic Impact Tour and Network which, since 2005, has assisted more than 2 million low-income individuals with disabilities access the Earned Income Tax Credit and receive more than $1.8 billion dollars in tax refunds. He received his undergraduate degree in political science with honors from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and his law degree from Emory University School of Law in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr. Morris co-authored two publications for the National Council on Disability: The State of 21st Century Long Term Services and Supports: Financing and Systems Reform for American with Disabilities (2005), and The State of 21st Century Financial Incentives for Americans with Disabilities (2008). In 2017, he co-authored the National Report on the Financial Capability of Adults with Disabilities, based on data analyzed from the FINRA Financial Investment Education Foundation. In 2015, 2017 and 2019, he co-authored reports on Banking Status and Financial Behaviors of Adults with Disabilities, based on data analyzed from the FDIC’s National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households.
In 2015, Mr. Morris helped establish the ABLE National Resource Center, a collaborative of 25 of the leading national nonprofit disability organizations. The Center’s website is the leading independent source of information about state ABLE programs and since 2017 has had over one million page per views (www.ablenrc.org).
In 2019, Mr. Morris established the Center for Disability-Inclusive Community Development (CDICD) to increase opportunity for partnerships between financial institutions and public and private agencies providing support and services to people with disabilities and their families. He is the moderator of the Center’s podcast series titled, “Keys to Financial Inclusion,” that provides insights and advice from leaders in the financial and disability communities on the importance of inclusive community development and effective strategies to build community partnerships.
In 2020 with the support of Wells Fargo Bank, he led a team at NDI that designed and launched the Financial Resilience Center that in collaboration with Association for Financial Counselors, Planners and Educators and Life Cents is supporting over 100 million people with disabilities and chronic health conditions with up to date information on resources to respond the health and financial challenges of Covid19 and access to financial counselors.

National Disability Institute (NDI), since its establishment 15 years ago, has emerged as one of the leading national nonprofit organizations dedicated to advancing financial inclusion and economic self-sufficiency for individuals across the spectrum of disabilities and their families (www.nationaldisabilityinstitute.org). The majority of NDI staff and Board of Directors have personal experience with disabilities as individuals, siblings, and parents. With public funders (US Departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services) and private support (JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Prudential, Citi Community Development and Kessler Foundation), NDI is implementing over 15 projects at national, state, and local levels that are improving financial capability and independence for people with disabilities through partnerships between the disability and financial communities. National Disability Institute has been engaged with the credit union community for over 12 years with diverse projects that have increased financial products and services, as well as employment, for people with disabilities.

David Bell is the Deputy Director of the Oregon Savings Network, a division of the Oregon State Treasury. He joined the Network in 2015 to help develop and launch the Oregon ABLE Savings Plan for people with disabilities. The Oregon Savings Network also oversees the Oregon College Savings Plan and the new state retirement program, OregonSaves. In addition to working for the Oregon Savings Network, David is an adjunct professor at Portland State University in the School of Business Administration.

Before joining the Oregon Savings Network, David was the Director of Operations for the Global Youth Empowerment division of Operation HOPE, an international nonprofit focused on financial empowerment and capacity building. David received his bachelor’s degree in Business Communications at Point Loma University in San Diego and his MBA from Concordia University in Portland.

David is the chair of the Oregon Jump$tart Coalition and a founding board member of Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network. David has lived and worked in Africa, Asia and Europe, but calls Oregon home with his wife and two daughters.

As Outreach Manager for Attainable, the Massachusetts ABLE Savings Plan, Mary coordinates educational outreach, strategic partnership- building, and marketing strategy to spread awareness of ABLE accounts and their benefits.

Dave Dominick is the marketing manager for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department’s savings programs, which include the PA ABLE Savings Program, the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program, and Keystone Scholars. He is responsible for the marketing and outreach of these programs which help Pennsylvanians build a better future through saving for education and disability-related expenses. Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Dave worked at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh. Dave is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and resides in Mechanicsburg with his wife, and two children