Blueprint Team

Ted Shanahan is a Wealth Management Advisor with Blueprint Financial Group, an investment and business consulting group operating within Northwestern Mutual. Ted helps businesses, individuals, and families with a variety of financial objectives ranging from Risk Management, Wealth Accumulation, Retirement Solutions, and Comprehensive Financial Planning.

Ted has been in the financial services industry since 1987 and has spent the last 24 years with Northwestern Mutual. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Ted worked with Merrill Lynch as a Financial Consultant in both Albuquerque, New Mexico and McLean, Virginia. He holds a double B.A. in Economics and Sociology from the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, and a Masters of Business Administration from Chaminade University in Honolulu, Hawaii, which he received after serving in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer.

Ted has attained a myriad of industry licenses, including the Series 7, 8, 24, 63, 66 as well as licenses in Life, Health and Annuities. He is a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), the American Association of Life Underwriters (AALU), the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA), and the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). He earned the NAIFA Quality Award each year from 2012 through 2016, and he is ranked as one of the top 10 Wealth Management Advisors of the over 6500 advisors within Northwestern Mutual.

Ted lives in Reston, Virginia with his wife Brenda, a Dermatologist at Fair Oaks Skin Care, and has two adult children—a physician daughter living in Charlottesville, Virginia, and musician son living in Nashville, Tennessee. In Ted's free time, he enjoys tennis, skiing, and travel.

Danny Lee is a Wealth Management Advisor with Blueprint Financial Group. Danny assists businesses, individuals, and families with a variety of financial objectives ranging from Risk Management, Wealth Accumulation, Retirement Planning and Distribution Strategies that are part of a holistic comprehensive financial planning process.

Danny joined Northwestern Mutual in 2007 and has been in the financial services industry since 2005. Danny graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a B.A. in Communications. Danny holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designations.

Danny was born in Taipei, Taiwan. He moved to the United States when he was 3 years old and spent most of his childhood in Southern Maryland. Danny currently resides in Ashburn, Virginia and enjoys taking in live concerts and traveling when he can. He is also an avid tennis player, enjoys biking and trips to the dog park with his dog, Dozer.

After graduating from the University of Richmond in 1974, Don Creech began his career in financial services in 1975 and joined Northwestern Mutual in 1979. He earned the CLU® in 1989, ChFC® in 1990 and RICP® in 2014 all from the American College. In 2000, he received his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and in 2006 he received his CLTC® designation from the Corporation for Long-Term Care Certification. In 2020, Don received his Masters of Science in Financial Services with a Concentration in Retirement Planning from The American College of Financial Services.

Don and his team provide comprehensive fee-based financial planning services with a focus on retirement income planning because over the course of his career, he has found that one of people's greatest fears is running out of money in their old age. As a Wealth Management Adviser and with respect to Northwestern Mutual's advisory programs, he has a fiduciary responsibility to put your goals and needs first. Don is passionate about helping families plan for the emotional and financial impact of a long-term care event given that most people who live beyond age 65 will have a need at some point in their lives. He also assists companies and employers with long-term care planning for themselves and their employees.

Don lives in Henrico County, Virginia where he spends time with his family, friends and his two grandsons. In his spare time, he enjoys reading good books, sports, and travelling.

Alex Hurtado is an Advisor with Northwestern Mutual's Blueprint Financial Group. He joined Northwestern Mutual in 2004 and his focus is helping clients with their personal planning needs.

Alex works with individuals, families, and businesses with a variety of financial objectives ranging from Financial Planning, Risk Management, Wealth Accumulation, Education Funding, and Retirement Distribution Strategies.

Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Alex worked with AXA Advisors through their Retirement Benefits Group (RBG) in Falls Church, Virginia, where he provided financial education and wealth management services to educators in the 403(b) marketplace.

Alex holds a Bachelor's degree in Zoology and a Master's of Science in Management from the University of Florida and holds the Series 7 General Securities, Series 66 Uniform Securities, as well as Life and Health insurance licenses. Additionally, earning a Certificate in Financial Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Alex lives in Northern Virginia and in his free time enjoys participating in endurance sports, going to concerts, sporting events, and visiting family in Florida.

How can Alex help you?

• Discovering and reviewing financial goals and objectives
• Conducting annual client reviews
• Reviewing portfolios and providing market and economic updates
• Providing feedback and analysis on financial planning and performance reporting

Harry grew up in Arlington, Virginia as 9th generation Arlingtonian. While attending the University of Virginia from 1972 to 1976, graduating With Distinction in 1976, Harry played baseball and was the Captain of the 1976 UVA baseball team. He turned down an opportunity to sign a professional baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals upon graduation from high school, opting instead to attend the University of Virginia on a football-baseball scholarship. After one year of playing both, he devoted 100% of his time on the athletic field to pursuing his dream of playing professional baseball. Disappointed in not being drafted when his playing eligibility ended, Harry began a career as a Special Agent in the summer of 1976 with Northwestern Mutual.

He has spent the past 43+ years with Northwestern Mutual and has served the company in various capacities of leadership. In 1989-1990 he served as President of the Special Agents, Inc. and in 2004-2005 he served as President of the Association of Agents where he served as Chairman of the 2005 Northwestern Mutual Annual Meeting and introduced former President George Herbert Walker Bush at that meeting.

Harry resides in McLean, Va. and is the proud father of three sons and three granddaughters. He is a member of the McLean Little League Hall of Fame for his contributions to that program and is a life and qualifying Member of the Million Dollar Round Table. He was also inducted into the Washington-Lee High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019. He has qualified for the industry's Million Dollar Round Table Top of the Table honors on multiple occasions. In 2015, Harry won the Northern Virginia Senior Amateur Golf Tournament.

Will Cropper joined Blueprint Financial Group in the fall of 2014. Previously he had been with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Currently Will works as a Private Wealth Advisor, where he specializes in comprehensive financial planning for multi-generational families and closely held business owners to help them create financial security for themselves, their families and their employees.

Will currently holds his Series 7 and 66 securities registrations as well as his life, health, long-term-care and annuities insurance licenses. In 2017, he received his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification from the CFP® Board and he received his CLTC® designation from the Corporation for Long-Term Care. Will earned the RICP® in 2016, CLU® in 2018, ChFC® in 2018 and WMCP® in 2021 all from the American College of Financial Services. In 2020, Will received his Master of Science in Financial Services with a Concentration in Retirement Planning from The American College of Financial Services.

Prior to his time in the financial services industry, Will attended Hampden-Sydney College where he graduated in 2011 earning his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in History. While at Hampden-Sydney College, he was an active member of the Kappa Alpha Order, Ducks Unlimited and was a founding member of the Academic Success House. He has previously served on the Young Alumni Committee and as the 2011 Class Agent.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Heather, and their children, Sutton and Willie. Will currently serves on the board of directors for Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia. Through his involvement with the board Will serves as the co-chair for the Fund Development Committee as well as the Corporate Chair for the Make-A-Wish Walk for Wishes. Prior to his time with Make-A-Wish he spent time serving on the board for the Massey Cancer Center's Massey Alliance from August 2014-July 2015. In his work with the Massey Alliance, he served as the head of sponsorship for the Richmond Winter Gala. He also spent time serving as the head of logistics and 3rd party events for the Richmond Winter Gala. In 2012 Will helped start what became an annual bowling league for the Massey Alliance called "Rolling For The Cure". However, in 2016 the bowling league changed its name to "Strikes for Heroes" and partnered with Connor's Heroes Foundation in support of the fight against childhood cancer.

Sam Hargrave is a Private Wealth Advisor with Northwestern Mutual’s Blueprint Financial Group and joined the practice in 2011. Sam works closely alongside clients and team members to develop, implement, and monitor the financial planning process we provide to individuals, families, and business owners.

Sam is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional focusing on the needs of our clients within the personal financial planning realm. This includes Cash Flow Planning, Retirement Planning, Retirement Distribution Strategies, Risk Planning, Education Funding and Investment Management.

Graduating in 2010, Sam earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a concentration in Financial Planning from Virginia Tech. To further his education and professional development, he went on to obtain his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional certification as well as his Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation. Additionally, Sam holds the FINRA Series 6, 7, and 63 registrations along with the Life & Health Insurance licenses in the state of Virginia.

Residing in Arlington, VA, Sam enjoys playing golf as much as possible and attending sporting events for the Hokies, Capitals, and Nationals.

Chris Kapsak joined Blueprint in the fall of 2017. Chris graduated from James Madison University in 2016 earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. While at JMU, Chris played on their Division I Varsity Men's Golf Team and served as a captain his senior year.

Chris currently holds his Series 7 and 66 licenses and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional designation. Chris also has a master's degree in Retirement Income Planning through the American College of Financial Services. He has also obtained the following financial planning designations from the American College of Financial Services: CLU® ChFC® RICP® CAP® WMCP®.

As a member of the Blueprint team, Chris works closely with clients to find out what matters most to them and their families. He works through the development, implementation, and monitoring of clients’ financial plans with the end goal of creating unparalleled long-term value to their financial wellness.

Outside of Blueprint, Chris is a board member for the Griffin Wilder Clark Foundation which helps raise college tuition funds for deserving high school student-athletes. Outside of work, he enjoys playing golf, exercising, and spending time with his family in the Richmond area.

Nick Hammelman is a founding member of Blueprint Financial Group. He has been affiliated with Northwestern Mutual since 1994. Nick's area of expertise is in business planning, where he assists organizations and businesses owners with succession planning, executive benefits programs and qualified retirement plan solutions. He holds a B.B.A. in Finance from James Madison University and received his Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Georgetown University. Nick holds the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional certification and has been a member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) since 2005.

Nick and his family currently reside in Richmond, VA. Although born in Washington state, he views himself as a Virginian, and being in Richmond allows him to feed his love of history throughout the Old Dominion. Beyond the occasional travel destination, or fishing trip, their family enjoys relaxation time at Buggs Island Lake.

Ross Berge is the Director of Retirement Plan Services for Blueprint Financial Group. He has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2009 and his expertise is in Qualified Retirement Plans.

Ross is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP^®) and works with our business clients to provide retirement plan management, investment fiduciary support and performance monitoring, plan design assistance, fee benchmarking, employee education, and retirement income preparation services.

Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, Ross provided retirement planning services to educators and staff of public schools, colleges, universities, and nonprofit employees.

Ross received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Mary Washington and holds the Series 7 General Securities, Series 63 Uniform Securities, and Life and Health insurance licenses. He earned the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS^®) designation from the College for Financial Planning and received a Certificate in Financial Planning from Georgetown University's School of Continuing Studies before passing the CFP^® exam. Additionally, Ross is a credentialed member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA).

Jessica Holte is a Retirement Plan Specialist for Blueprint Financial. She has worked for Northwestern Mutual since 2012, most recently as a Financial Advisor.

When her family relocated to Washington, DC in 2019, Jessica merged her personal practice with Blueprint Financial Group to better serve clients long term and pivot her focus to serving Blueprint’s Qualified Retirement Plans. She now works closely with our business clients to provide retirement plan management, investment fiduciary support and performance monitoring, plan design assistance, fee benchmarking, employee education, and retirement income preparation services.

Jessica was raised in the Peach State of Georgia and attended the University of West Georgia on a full cross-country athletic scholarship. In addition to her commitment to helping our clients achieve their financial goals, she is passionate about serving at her church and volunteering in the community. In her spare time, Jessica enjoys traveling with her husband Ryan, her son Harvey (born 2017) and daughter Harper (born 2019), horseback riding, outdoor activities with the family, reading, antiquing, and enjoying the countless events and museums in the DC area.

Mehreen Hasan is a Retirement Plan Operations Manager at Northwestern Mutual.

Mehreen joined the company in 2015. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Communications from Salisbury University. Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual, she began working for Ameriprise Financial Services in the investment management/financial analysis field and obtained her Series 7 General Securities license. At Northwestern Mutual, she was able to obtain her Life and Health insurance licenses which gave her the ability to focus on overall financial planning for the client. She also passed her Series 63 Exam which qualifies her to be fully licensed within Northwestern Mutual Investment Services. She received her Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®) designation in 2018 which has allowed her to gain further knowledge in the field.

As a Retirement Plan Operations Manager, she leads a small team within Blueprint Financial. Mehreen has a strong focus on primarily Defined Contribution plans while servicing and consulting multiple Businesses and providing Retirement Plans Analysis within the 401(k) and investment management space. She is involved in client management, benchmarking analysis, investment performance reporting, investment education and financial consultation to clients.

Mehreen lives close to Rockville, MD and enjoys the outdoors in her free time along with baking and yoga. She particularly enjoys baking birthday cakes for her close friends and family.

Adonis “A.D.” Hembrick provides advisory services to our business clients with retirement plan management, investment fiduciary support, performance monitoring, plan design assistance, fee benchmarking, and employee education.

A.D. has more than 20 years of financial services experience, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and holds the ChFC® and RICP® designations.

A.D. graduated from the Ohio State University and completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan Ross Business School.

He enjoys travel, biking, classic jazz and literature, and community volunteering activities.

Adonis “A.D.” Hembrick provides advisory services to our business clients with retirement plan management, investment fiduciary support, performance monitoring, plan design assistance, fee benchmarking, and employee education.

A.D. has more than 20 years of financial services experience, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and holds the ChFC® and RICP® designations.

A.D. graduated from the Ohio State University and completed his graduate studies at the University of Michigan Ross Business School.

He enjoys travel, biking, classic jazz and literature, and community volunteering activities.

Ngan received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Health Services Administration from University of Central Florida. After working in healthcare field for five years, she joined Blueprint Financial Group in 2021 as a Retirement Plan Operations Associate. She is responsible for administrative support to the retirement plan team. She focuses on client relationship management, investment performance reporting, benchmarking reporting, client accounts maintenance, and advisor support.

Ngan currently resides in Centreville, VA. She loves traveling around the world to explore different food and cultures. She is passionate in cooking Asian noodle soups and making desserts.

Prior to joining Northwestern Mutual in the summer of 2014, Zee worked for Blisk Financial Group as the Director of Client Services. With over 10 years in the financial services industry experience, Zee works closely with advisors and clients to prepare financial plans and develop recommendations. She is also involved in the processes and procedures related to management and enhancing the client relationship.

She was born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, and came to the United States to further her education. Zee received her BA degree from Strayer University with a focus in marketing. Zee is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and holds her Series 7, and 63 licenses along with her Life & Health Insurance license in the State of Virginia. She has also obtained the Retirement Income Certification designations from the American College of Financial Services.

Outside of work, she enjoys fishing, gardening, and traveling with her husband Jason and son Erik. She loves being close to the ocean and that’s why she moved to Chesapeake, VA in 2020.

Blake is the Director of Operations with Northwestern Mutual’s Blueprint Financial Group and re-joined the practice in 2020. Blake started his Northwestern Mutual career in September 2006 as an Associate Wealth Management Advisor with Ted Shanahan. From 2010 until 2020, Blake held various roles, within Northwestern Mutual including client service, advisor support, and practice management. Prior to his time with Northwestern Mutual, he was a Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Virginia Tech, an Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Georgetown University and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designations. He is Life & Health, Series 7, and Series 66 licensed.

Blake currently resides in Alexandria, VA with his wife and two kids. Outside of work, he enjoys doing home renovations, volunteering for various organizations, and playing hockey.

Prior to joining Blueprint Financial Group in 2018, Tom spent 8 years working within the Northwestern Mutual system for Pioneer Financial, a highly successful financial planning group in New York City. With Blueprint, Tom works closely with our advisors and representatives to analyze the financial situations of our clients and prepare financial plans.

Tom currently holds his Series 7 and 63 securities licenses, as well as the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designations. Tom was born and raised on Long Island, and attended the University of Connecticut, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in finance and a minor in psychology.

In his spare time, Tom writes about mixed martial arts, and currently resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his wife Meg and their delightful cats, Frankie and Harry.

Robert graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011 with a B.S. in Economics.  Robert joined Northwestern Mutual in 2013 and has held various agency roles in Investment Operations and Supervision.  Robert holds various professional licenses including the Series 7, 66, 9, 10, and  has his Certified In Long Term Care (CLTC) designation.

Robert resides in Richmond with his wife Allison, a physician at Virginia Women’s Center, and Boston Terrier Louie. In Robert’s free time he enjoys golfing, bowling, spikeball, reading, consumer technology, and cooking.

Carrington joined Blueprint in the fall of 2021. Carrington graduated from the University of Virginia in 2010 earning her Bachelor of Arts in Art History with a minor in Studio Art. She originally joined Northwestern Mutual in 2013 and held various positions with the company before spending four years working for a financial planning software company.

As a member of the Blueprint team, Carrington works closely with advisors and clients to prepare financial plans and develop recommendations.

Carrington currently holds her Series 7 license and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional designation.

Currently, Carrington is a board member for the Cabell Family Society, which is a historical society with a mission of fostering family ties and preserving original family graveyards.

Outside of work, she enjoys being outdoors, live music, and spending time with her friends and family in the Richmond area.

Jana has been with Northwestern Mutual since 2007. She holds a Life & Health insurance license as well as Series 6 & 63 and Series 7 licenses. In 2013, she earned her CLTC designation. Her focus is on servicing clients’ life, disability and long-term care accounts and on guiding clients through the underwriting process.

Jana was born and raised in the Czech Republic. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. She resides in Reston, VA.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, spending time with her friends and volunteering for Veterans Moving Forward, a nonprofit organization that raises and provides service dogs for veterans with physical and/or mental health challenges.

A Richmond native, Kelly Page Blincoe is a graduate of Virginia Tech and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration. After a varied career including theater costume production, wedding coordinator, and over a decade as an operations specialist and training coordinator for a national retail store, she began with Northwestern Mutual in 2010 and joined Blueprint in 2014. She is fully licensed in life, health, and long-term care.

Kelly is an active member at her church, a distance swimmer, a lover of college football (Go Hokies!), and a voracious reader. Kelly enjoys volunteering her time with various Richmond theater groups, assisting the costume director with her church’s annual Broadway-style Christmas production, helping with the church children’s choir, and working with several area children’s organizations. When she can find a few hours to spare she is usually at the gym, trying new recipes on unsuspecting friends, or teaching her niece and nephew how to best their father at board games.

Vic has been with Blueprint Financial Group since late 2016. Vic holds a VA insurance license in Health, Life, and Annuities. Her focus is on the insurance side of the practice. She helps clients with servicing existing insurance policies and helps guide clients through the life, disability, and long-term care underwriting process.

She is a George Mason University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a concentration in Industries and Organizations. She currently resides in Alexandria, Virginia. In her spare time, she enjoys taking care of dogs, starting new art projects, and playing video games with friends.

Lisa joined Northwestern Mutual ’s Reston office in 2016 as an Associate Financial Representative in Marketing and Client Services. She has a strong background in business as a former business owner and partner. Lisa holds a VA license in Health, Life and Annuities. She serves as the executive assistant to Edward Shanahan as well as oversees our team’s technology and marketing departments. Lisa is our client liaison specialist, assisting in scheduling appointments and connecting clients with the appropriate team member. A native of VA she enjoys time with her family, sports, travel and working with charities.

Heather Rennie joined Blueprint Financial Group in 2018. Heather gained several years of experience with Northwestern Mutual and financial marketing when she worked with The Todd Organization from 1998-2005, as Director of Marketing in the corporate market with qualified and nonqualified plans. Heather is responsible for organizing and implementing client events as well as supporting the team to identify new markets and maintaining current client relations. She has her Life, Health, and Annuities License.

Heather graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History. Heather's time outside of the office is spent raising her two children and volunteering in various ways at their school. She enjoys practicing yoga, hiking, and traveling.

A graduate of Wilkes University in Pennsylvania, Mary Ann began her career with Northwestern Mutual in 1978 and joined Don’s team in 1999. She divides her time daily between the Network Office where she is the Contract and License Coordinator and Don’s office where she provides support to clients needing assistance with their insurance policies. Mary Ann enjoys walking, hiking and square dancing.

Joy joined Northwestern Mutual’s Reston office in 2021 as a Client Service Representative. She is responsible for connecting clients with our financial representatives and provides support for the team. Since then, she has obtained her Life & Health and Annuities License for TN. Previously, Joy spent 20 years working for Kay Jewelers, serving the greater DC metro area.

Joy was born and partly raised in the Philippines before migrating to the US in 1995. Joy graduated from University of Maryland College Park with a Bachelor of Science degree in both Business Management and Marketing.

Joy currently resides in Murfreesboro, TN with her husband, and 2 children. Joy and her family try to visit a new country every other year. She is also passionate about sharing her love for Zumba with others.

Jason Yuhase joined Blueprint Financial Group in the summer of 2022. Prior to Blueprint Financial Group, Jason served as a financial planner for a firm in Raleigh, North Carolina for over a decade. From 2002 through 2006, Jason served as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the United States Marine Corps.  

Jason graduated from Campbell University in 2009, earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with focuses in financial planning, trust, wealth, and investment management.  

Jason currently holds his Series 7 and 66 licenses and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional designation. As a member of the Blueprint Financial Group team, Jason works closely in the development, implementation, and monitoring of clients’ financial plans.  

Jason and his wife Holly are the proud parents of four beautiful children.  Jason enjoys coaching his children's baseball teams and is an avid fisherman. You can often find him in the mountains of North Carolina chasing trout.  

Kathleen “Kat” Tillman is a Financial Planning Associate for Blueprint Financial. She has worked for Northwestern Mutual since 2021. Kathleen graduated from Strayer University with an MBA in Finance in 2015 after getting her Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 2008. Kathleen has 20 years of experience in the finance industry, with 15 years in the investment field.

As a member of Blueprint, Kat works closely with advisors to prepare financial plans and offer recommendations. Kat holds her Series 7 and 66 license and the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional designation.

Kat is a troop leader within her local Girl Scout unit, and when she’s not doing that, she can be found reading a book or finally trying to finish that “almost finished” crochet project. She lives in Richmond with her husband Tyler, her son Alex (2012), her daughter Evie (2015), and their boxer Otto.