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Shirley Tom is owner/manager of Shirley Tom Professional Corporation (est. 2005), a professional full service accounting and advisory firm located in Brampton, Ontario.  Shirley holds the designations FCPA, FCGA, LPA (Licensed Public Accountant) and C.Dir (Chartered Director).  Previously, Shirley worked within the estates and trust practice of a major Toronto law firm and continues to specialize in the preparation of estate accounts, including estate administration, planning and tax filing compliance, with her network of business partners.  She is currently Past-President of EPCOH (Estate Planners' Council of Halton).

My role at The Gryphin Advantage is to build relationships with advisors by offering coaching, mentoring and education, in order to bring value and assist them in growing their business in the most professional environment possible.

Brent van Ryzewyk, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C., CHS., CEA. Principal,

Brent’s impressive career spans more than four decades in the financial services industry, marked by deep technical expertise, respected professional affiliations, and a longstanding commitment to leadership and community service.

Throughout his career, Brent has developed a strong specialization in advanced estate and tax planning, family & business succession, association & sponsored benefit plan design, retirement income strategies, and asset protection for professionals & business owners. His background includes significant executive leadership and senior regional management roles within national public insurance companies, investment banking institutions, and privately held advisory firms, giving him a uniquely broad and seasoned perspective on the industry.

Brent’s professional standing is reflected in his longstanding membership in many of the field’s most respected organizations, including Advocis, where he has been a member since 1984, CALU, The Institute for Advanced Financial Education, the Financial Planning Standards Council, the Million Dollar Round Table, and the Canadian Institute of Certified Executor Advisors.

His leadership contributions are equally notable. Brent served as President of the Advocis Peel/Halton Chapter, 2009 to 2010, and continues to support the Chapter as a Board Member. He also serves as Vice Chair and Treasurer of The Institute for Advanced Financial Education, helping to guide the profession’s development and uphold its standards.

Beyond his professional commitments, Brent has invested deeply in his community. Since 2008, he has been a Board Member of the Estate Planning Council of Mississauga, recently completing his second two-year term as President. He was also Founder and served as Past President of The Certified Executor Advisor Network (CEAN), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to strengthening estate literacy, and fostering collaboration among estate planning practitioners.

In 2024, Brent was honored as a co-recipient of the prestigious IAFE J.G. Taylor Award for his exceptional impact on the profession and community, and overall involvement within the financial services industry.

"My career is built on four decades of professional excellence, leadership, and community commitment. I focus on building principled structures that help advisors and clients thrive over the long term, while always ensuring my own clients receive the dedicated care and attention they deserve."

Brent’s longstanding dedication to professional excellence, ethical leadership, and community betterment is truly inspiring.

Micheline Varas, BA, RHU, RFC, EPC, GBDS

Senior Partner, Senior VP Living Benefits

CustomPlan Financial Advisors

Micheline assures safeguarding financial advice is of the highest quality. She works in conjunction with several insurers and their respective underwriters delivering results to individuals and corporate clients. Micheline is also a resource to financial advisors and large institutions. Her focus is to structure and ensure creative, cost and tax effective risk mitigation solutions. She believes that professional financial advice adds significant value to individuals and their businesses. To provide the best to clients, Micheline works with the best! This mindset allows for collaboration with independent specialists delivering comprehensive plans designed to create value. Her extensive experience in Living Benefits enabled Micheline to be the first recipient of the GBDS (Group Benefits Disability Specialist) designation in Canada, and a founding moderator for the Canadian Initiative for Elder Planning Studies. A Top of the Table (MDRT – Million Dollar Round Table) member, Micheline has penned many industry and non-industry publications, holds various training and educational events and has been a speaker at numerous national and international congresses. In 2014 Micheline was named one of 50 Women of Influence in Canada’s insurance industry.

For the past 50 years I have helped advise my clients through my law practice, initially as Speal, Viner and then growing over time to Viner, Kennedy, Frederick, Allan & Tobias, commonly known as Viner, Kennedy.

With my experience, and as a creative problem solver, I can assist in any of the following areas:

• Guiding an Executor so as to avoid costly errors and delays.
• Suggesting pitfalls to avoid if considering a Will or Power of Attorney.
• In advising small and family businesses with succession planning.
• As mediator in conflicts and disputes as an alternative to litigation.

My role is to give you confidence and to help facilitate you and your other professionals to obtain the best results.

Sally is a certified financial planner with more than 20 years experience assisting all levels of clients on a wide range of financial, wealth and tax planning matters. Having worked in Toronto and Nova Scotia during the course of her career; she has experienced many different and unique financial circumstances. Sally noted through direct personal experiences, that there is a need for better education and access to competence in the area of executor counseling. She was motivated to embark on this literacy quest and in turn work with Canadian Institute of Certified Executor Advisors.

I am a CPA, CA with many years of experience in tax planning and in the preparation of tax returns for deceased individuals, estates and trusts.  I enjoy helping individuals, whether it's someone who needs assistance developing an estate plan to achieve peace of mind, or an executor who needs help with the many challenges in their important role. 

I am an Estate Specialist and the founder of New Dawn Financial, with more than 20 years of experience in financial services. My work is focused on two things: helping clients build well-structured estate plans, and supporting executors through the administrative and technical demands of settling an estate.

I hold the CFP (Certified Financial Planner), TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner), CEA (Certified Executor Advisor), MFA-P (Master Financial Advisor - Philanthropy), DMA (Personal Tax Services Specialist), and MTI (Estate and Trust Professional) designations. That depth of training means clients get advice that is technically sound across estate, trust, tax, and financial planning.

On the planning side, I help clients get organized, work through their options, and put plans in place that will hold up and reduce burden for the people they leave behind. I collaborate closely with lawyers to make sure strategies are coordinated and reflect what clients actually want.

On the executor side, I work alongside estate trustees to provide the structure, guidance, and hands-on support needed to navigate the settlement process. I also accept personal appointments as estate trustee for clients who want a knowledgeable, independent professional named in their estate documents.

New Dawn Financial serves clients across Ontario, virtually and in person throughout the Golden Horseshoe.

Independent Financial Advisor since 1994.

Del is a Financial Advisor, primarily for retirees,  as well as successful professionals and business owners who aspire
to financial independence and a "work optional" lifestyle. He has
developed and refined a process that puts the pieces of the financial puzzle together for
his clients as their life unfolds and needs evolve. Retirement planning, estate
planning, risk management planning are a big part of the process, as is debt
and cash flow planning. Del works with his client's other professional
advisors, such as lawyers and accountants, to facilitate a team approach to
financial planning.

I work directly with clients developing investment portfolios as well as providing financial planning in the areas of business succession, retirement income planning, and estate planning.  In addition to the CEA designation, I have earned several other industry certifications, including the Chartered Investment Manager and Certified Financial Planner designations.  I am a member of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. I am registered as both an Advising Representative (AR) in Canada and an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) in the United States.

A financial services and business professional with thirty years extensive and varied experience in entrepreneurial, bank, trust, brokerage, mutual fund and insurance company environments.
Coaches and assists others understand, plan and reach their personal and financial goals with a particular emphasis on wealth building, investment, insurance and estate and legacy planning.
Frequent speaker on Estate Planning; Elder Law and Financial Planning; Pre-Planning and Legacy Planning; Benefits and Group Pensions.

Specialties: Estate and Legacy Planning; Investments; Insurance; Business Coach