When I was a delivery boy at my family’s drugstore, I learned a valuable lesson about inflation when customers tipped me 25 cents for an ice cream that I knew would cost a dollar. When my father told me to stash away my $2.50-an-hour wages and invest my first $1000 of earnings, I learned about the power of savings and investment.

Within seven years, my investments paid for two years of my education at Penn State. Moreover, I soon traded my geoscience major for finance, realizing that I was more drawn to the Wall Street Journal than to my science textbooks. After graduation and a stint in banking, I moved to my true home in Edward Jones, starting out near my hometown in Pennsylvania in 1994. Within four years, I was invited to start one of the first branch offices in England.

My six years in England also brought personal bonuses. I met my Roman-born wife, Emanuela, who managed to look beyond my failing grade in her Italian class, and we had our daughter, Grace. Now rooted in Cameron Park for 17 years, our family has grown to include Cristina, Max and Francesca. I also enjoy a wonderful extended family of clients and fellow Edward Jones financial advisors, many of whom are among the nearly 70 branch teams I have overseen as a regional leader since 2011.

My greatest pleasure is helping clients define and achieve financial goals that fit their circumstances and comfort zone. Regular strategy sessions help keep families’ financial strategy current.

To balance my work life, I love to travel with my family, mountain bike and hit the ski slopes. My fulfilling work with local nonprofits includes leading a major capital campaign for my church. It is a badly kept secret that my regular physical therapy sessions are necessary to keep up with my favorite hobbies.