Aprilyn Chavez Geissler Receives the 2019 NAIFA Diversity Champion Award
October 16, 2019 by NAIFA
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Sept. 16, 2019) — Aprilyn Chavez Geissler of Albuquerque, N.M., has been recognized as the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors’ 2019 Diversity Champion. She is First Executive Vice President at Gateway Insurance and Financial Services, Inc., a national firm with over 200 office locations and a corporate home office based in Albuquerque, N.M.
Geissler has been instrumental in helping Gateway Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. focus on providing insurance and financial services to Hispanic and Native American families. After building her own successful local agency in Albuquerque, N.M., she merged her practice with Gateway and the past five years has helped the organization embrace and serve clients from diverse backgrounds.
She has also expanded the Gateway staff to be diverse and includes members who speak Spanish and Navajo to better serve the national client base. She has employed young minority women as interns to give them experience working in a professional environment, providing them with education about personal finance and how to manage their own money.
“Aprilyn Chavez Geissler has done incredible work with NAIFA and in business to promote diversity within the life insurance and financial services industry, providing needed products and services to diverse communities,” said NAIFA President Jill Judd, LUTCF, FSS. “When you also consider the volunteer work she does around Albuquerque, Aprilyn perfectly exemplifies the type of financial professional the NAIFA Diversity Champion award was created to honor.”
Geissler is a former NAIFA trustee and has been an active member of NAIFA’s Diversity Task Force. She has participated in numerous NAIFA Diversity Symposiums.
In her community, Geissler works with TeamWorks NM, a nonprofit welfare-to-work program for minority women who are single parents or coming out of abusive relationships. She speaks at a group home for victims of domestic violence about the importance of financial literacy, providing important information about creating budgets, planning for the future, setting and achieving financial goals. She also volunteers with Crossroads for Women, an Albuquerque-area nonprofit organization that provides housing and therapeutic services to empower women emerging from incarceration.
“One of Aprilyn’s biggest strengths is her ability to recruit a broad spectrum of talented support staff to her successful local New Mexico office and the multi-line division of the firm,” said James R. Hawk, CLF, LUTCF, president of NAIFA’s New Mexico chapter. “Most of Aprilyn’s staff is bi-lingual giving her office the ability to explain complicated and detailed information to clients in languages other than English, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions regarding their insurance needs. As a NAIFA leader, she constantly works to making sure we represent the needs of all agents of all backgrounds, including promoting NAIFA-New Mexico sponsored speakers and training to support women and minorities.”
“I knew from the time I was in high school that I wanted to be in the insurance and financial service industry, so having the opportunity to live my dream of being able to help others achieve their dreams is what drives me each day. By empowering women to embrace their self-worth and confidently become financially independent and personally successful, I am fulfilled. I hope to continue to grow Gateway nationally and to help inspire others to embrace challenges and make them their strengths,” said Aprilyn.
NAIFA created the Diversity Champion Award to recognize exceptional efforts to promote the full and equal participation of diverse people within the insurance and financial services profession.
A Diversity Champion presents a unique blend of experience, skills, accomplishments, and other qualities. A nominee must be a member of NAIFA in good standing and have at least five years’ experience in the insurance and financial services industry. The Selection Committee considers the nominee’s trailblazing efforts in one or more of the following areas:
- Creating and promoting diverse and inclusive workplaces
- Raising awareness and fostering communication within the financial services industry and the community
- Supporting inclusion and encouraging diverse individuals to reach their professional goals
- Fostering awareness and commitment to diversity and inclusion within the NAIFA membership
- Providing insurance and financial services in underserved and diverse markets
Aprilyn Chavez Geissler received this distinguished award at NAIFA’s Performance + Purpose conference in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 14, 2019. She can be reach at: Aprilyn@GFAinvestments.com, AprilynG@GatewayIG.com or by calling 505-271-2222 or 858-Gateway.
