About Us
An Ally for Your Financial Future
Kurtis Barnett
Kurtis Barnett is a Series 65 Agent with a Life Insurance and Health Insurance licenses. He has worked in the insurance industry from a young age, although was officially licensed in 2004.
Kurtis has a natural want to help people, and enjoys the study of financial planning. He always does what’s best for clients. He’s often praised for asking important questions that, according to most clients, they’ve never been asked before.
Kurtis is an honest, driven, hard-working, by his own admission “workaholic.” When not working, however, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Mary, traveling, and also has martial arts as a hobby.
Kurtis is the proud son of Dean & Jean Barnett. He has two sisters, Kayla & Karen, all of whom still live in his hometown in Iowa, where he visits them several times per year.
Mary Barnett
Mary is an Event Coordinator, and is also in charge of marketing and client relations. She has a number of responsibilities: Planning out the calendar year, creating marketing for clients and prospects, planning events, booking appointments, and more. She also enjoys that the job allows her to spend more time with Kurtis, her husband.
Mary is hard-working, dependable, caring, highly organized, and an animal lover.
When not working, Mary volunteers at a no-kill animal shelter, does DIY projects, or simply spends time with her pets and Kurtis.
Jessica Castle
Jessica holds the title of Supervisor of Client Relations with the Financial Alliance. Her responsibilities include overseeing new business transactions and client service requests for all lines of business, as well as supervising and training other employees on new business processing and client services.
Jessica gets a lot of enjoyment out of helping clients navigate complicated paperwork and transactions, making the process easier for them. She also enjoys helping her fellow employees succeed. She's compassionate, tenacious, funny, and smart.
When not working, she spends her time playing board games, hiking, or reading. Jessica lives in Tucson, Arizona with her husband, Bryce. She has two cats named MacReady and Bullet.
Lukas Ablingis
Lukas Ablingis is a Servicing Agent with the Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions. He’s licensed in life insurance and annuities, and meets with clients for annual reviews and client reviews, advising with the intent of finding the best course of action to suit their respective goals. Behind the scenes, he performs analyses of clients' annuity and life statements, striving to ensure clients are getting the best value from their safe money. He also helps Kurtis with tax strategies, aiming to help clients lose less to taxes over the course of their lives. Lukas’ favorite thing about his job is building strong relationships with clients: Many of them share invaluable wisdom that he’s found he can apply to his own life, which has accelerated his personal and professional growth.
Lukas graduated from CSULB in 2019 with a Bachelor's Degree in Finance. Since then, he has added to his resume by earning a license in life insurance and annuities. He worked for a number of corporations before coming here, but always felt that he was replaceable: not able to tell whether his work had any positive impact on the company. Working here, he’s been able to see firsthand how much his involvement contributes to the company on a day-to-day basis. Lukas previously worked in an accounting position at Norms Corporate, where his main focus was reconciliation. The attention to detail required for that position prepared him for the next-level analysis he currently performs daily with the Financial Alliance.
Lukas is hard-working, creative, and confident. He radiates positive energy with a purpose. In his spare time, he’s always loved playing basketball. His other main passion is music; he plays the guitar and recently learned the piano, too. Lukas also, of course, loves spending quality time with his girlfriend, Sarah, and their dog (an American Bully named Ozzy), whether it’s a trip to the beach, a walk in the park, or just relaxing together at home after a hard day's work. Lukas and Sarah are expecting their first child in September 2026.
Kristina Ponomareva
Kristina Ponomareva is an Investment Advisor Representative with The Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions. She is responsible for analyzing the performance of clients' brokerage accounts, finding suitable strategies, and reallocating clients' accounts based on their needs and goals. She also helps with client services and new business requests. At The Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions, we deeply care about each and every client and about finding the specific options right for them; Kristina enjoys helping clients navigate their financial decisions, handling paperwork, and providing the best customer service she can. She is a very hard-working person who does whatever it takes to succeed.
Kristina graduated from California State University, Long Beach in May 2025 with a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics with a concentration in Finance, with Summa Cum Laude honors. She previously worked at the Bickerstaff Athletic Center as a mathematics and finance tutor for student-athletes. She also played NCAA D1 golf for 4 years at CSULB and won the Long Beach Amateur City Championship in 2022 with a record-breaking score. When not helping retirees, Kristina loves spending time with her boyfriend. They like to go on hikes and walks and visit coffee shops.
Ignacio Cervantes
Ignacio Cervantes is a client serving agent with the Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions. He holds a life agent license, working closely with Kurtis during meetings to ensure clients feel supported, informed, and confident in their financial future. Here at Financial Alliance, everyone works together to deliver the best customer service we can. Kurtis Barnett's experience, mixed with the knowledge and strong work ethic of every employee, comes together to form a phenomenal team. Ignacio has always had a passion for helping others, so the opportunity to help people protect the money they’ve worked so hard to save is very fulfilling for him.
Ignacio played college soccer in Southern Vermont before turning to working in journalism, and volunteered as a soccer coach multiple times through college. He studied journalism at Cal State Long Beach from 2020 to 2022, and worked as a sports reporter writing about local prep sports for multiple Southern California News Group newspapers, covering local, regional, and state CIF events in football, basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Alongside SCNG, he also worked for TheCup.us, the country's longest-serving media outlet covering first, second, and third-division US Open Cup matchups.
Ignacio also enjoys long-distance running and completed the 2025 LA Marathon, as well as numerous half marathons throughout the year. In his spare time, he can typically be found watching sports, or spending time with his girlfriend, Sunny. They also have a pet beta fish named Theodore (Teddy for short).
Joanna Timmons
Joanna is a Client Services Specialist with the Financial Alliance. She makes sure the office runs smoothly, assisting with prepping for seminars and communication with clients (answering phone calls and the like.)
Joanna takes care to ensure clients are receiving the best service possible. She has had other jobs in the past related to event planning, but wanted to find a job role where her hard work would really help others.
When not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two cats, at their home in Long Beach, California.
Chelsea Gladwell
Chelsea is Kurtis's assistant and generally ensures things run smoothly behind the scenes. It’s fulfilling work for her to help keep everything organized, ensure nothing falls through the cracks, and support both the team and our clients.
Chelsea has over 15 years of experience as an Executive Assistant, having supported leadership across multiple industries, including healthcare, finance, and construction. In addition to executive support, she’s held roles in program management and board governance. She is also a Certified Professional Coach. This diverse background has strengthened her ability to adapt quickly, manage competing priorities, and support organizations in a variety of capacities.
Chelsea is friendly, supportive, and reliable. She’s a good listener, and tries to be the type of person people are comfortable coming to for help. When she’s not working, she enjoys a mix of staying active and unwinding which includes trying new restaurants with her husband Andre, going to Pilates and dance classes, watching reality TV, skiing, and loving on her two cats, Mickey and Yuki.
Karen Baardson
Karen is the Head of Accounting, and Kurtis’ sister. Karen has a hand in anything and everything that has to do with Kurtis' bank accounts. She handles all payroll and outgoing payments, oversees the bookkeepers, helps with any snags they run into, works with the CPA answering questions about the books, and helps troubleshoot glitches with our password and file sharing platform. She also typically takes care of new employee paperwork as well as termination paperwork. Her job is a little different every day: There’s always a new problem to tackle or an issue to research. Karen likes to fill in all the blanks and complete tasks.
Karen is funny, relaxed, but incredibly organized, full of energy, and isn’t above laughing at herself.
She lives with her husband of 21 years, Kyle, their 4 sons, and 1 dog, Cora. When not working, Karen enjoys a number of hobbies: She loves audiobooks and podcasts, cooking, baking, scrapbooking, board games, puzzles, exercising, doing any sort of DIY project, and giving back to the community. Karen volunteers and her local church, her childrens’ Christian school, and often at homeless shelters. And of course, she loves spending time with her family.
Tina Trujillo
Tina Trujillo is the receptionist for The Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions, responsible for greeting clients, thank-you cards, Happy Birthday texts, and generally maintaining the lobby area. She enjoys face-to-face time with clients, the time her work gives her to learn new things, and the help she receives from her coworkers. She took on this position because of the growth opportunities and how it aligned with what she wanted to do long-term.
Tina is currently taking classes to get her Associate's degree in Business Administration in Accounting. Tina is kind, outgoing, and funny. When not working, she enjoys crochet, spending time with her family, reading, and cooking/baking. She currently lives in Artesia with her boyfriend.
Kenneth Orellana
Ken's role with The Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions is Transaction Coordinator. He is responsible for processing Life applications, calling carriers with clients, and will soon be taking over meeting prep for our Agents and Client Services, helping clients with questions or requests they may have (including RMD's, Beneficiary Changes, and Reallocations). Ken enjoys knowing he's making life easier for both our clients and our team. He takes pride in serving as the primary point of contact for clients throughout the application process. This is the first place Ken has worked where he really felt like he belonged. He appreciates knowing he's a valued member of the team, and it's nice to know everyone here is looking out for each other and for clients. Everything here is tailored to suit each client or potential client, and Kurtis is constantly looking for areas of improvement and collaboration. He leads with transparency and has everyone's best interest in mind.
Ken attended SAE Institute of Technology for his Certificate in Audio Engineering, and graduated in 2013. The majority of his professional background has been in Pro Audio. He's worked various events as a DJ & AV Technician, and has extensive experience over the last 13 years as an Audio Engineer in professional studios. Ken is creative, empathetic, and determined. In his free time, he enjoys making music, playing the guitar, video editing, and going for runs/to the gym. He's also a movie buff. Ken was born and raised in LA, but has lived in Long Beach for the past two years. He also has a rescue dog, Gemini, who might as well be part of the office staff and loves meeting anyone who stops by.
Sloane Hedgepath
Sloane Hedgepath's title with Financial Alliance & Insurance Solutions is Transaction Coordinator. She handles the processing of clients' FIAs from start to finish, and stays in touch with clients to give them important updates throughout the process. She enjoys being able to connect with clients and helping alleviate some of the stress that often comes with preparing for their financial future by making sure everything is in order every step of the way.
Sloane graduated with an Associate of Science - General from Delaware Tech in 2022. From there, she studied computer science at UNLV and earned several postgrad certifications. She previously worked part-time in hospitality in Las Vegas during her schooling, then transitioned to client finance and took on additional responsibilities in asset management for the company. She eventually became more interested in finance, and so jumped at the prospect of a role that involves a methodical process and heavy problem-solving while still allowing her to interact with clients.
Sloane is personable, easygoing, dedicated, passionate, and intelligent. In her spare time, she loves going out with friends and exploring the world. She also enjoys rock climbing and reading. She currently lives with a friend in LA, and enjoys visiting her family, who all still live in Delaware.
100+
Yearly Education Events
800+
Happy Clients
18+
Years Experience
Giving Back to the Community
Not everyone is as fortunate as we are. However, because of this, we believe in the importance of giving back to our community. We partner up with a number of amazing charities in the area, and work hard to keep those partnerships active and strong. Is there a charity that you feel is in need of support? Reach out to us about it. We'd be happy to look into it.
