About Eagle Strategies

Rafaela Diaz Gittens is a financial professional with 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. She currently serves as Corporate Vice President, Head of Financial Planning Solutions with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life. As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Rafaela has a deep passion for helping families and individuals develop long-term financial strategies that align with their unique goals and aspirations.

Throughout her career as a financial planner, Rafaela has worked with firms such as UBS, TIAA-CREF, and JP Morgan Chase. Prior to joining New York Life, she was a Planning Excellence Consultant at Northwestern Mutual Insurance, where she provided subject- matter expertise to product managers. Rafaela holds FINRA Series 7 and 66 licenses and is recognized for her expertise in financial planning, always leading with a comprehensive, client-focused approach.

Rafaela holds an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Education (M.Ed.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Cornell University. She began her career in education, a field she continues to value, and is dedicated to lifelong learning.

In addition to her professional achievements, Rafaela enjoys an active lifestyle in Kew Gardens, Queens, where she lives with her husband, Mike, and their three school-aged children. Outside of work, she enjoys volunteering at her children’s school, participating in book clubs, traveling, trying new restaurants, and going on early morning runs.

Marzena D Hrebenko is a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor and Corporate Vice President with Eagle Strategies, a subset of New York Life. Marzena originally came from Poland in 2003 and started her financial services career at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, where she discovered her deep interest and passion for financial planning. She continued expanding her expertise at UBS for the past years, working not only as a planning specialist but also as a true advisor to all sorts of executives and leaders. Her dedication for building real and long-term relationships with clients as well as her desire for helping and advising people on different aspects in life, gives Marzena a chance to be not only the financial professional but also the trustworthy friend for life who tries to make the difference.

Marzena graduated from the Zicklin School of Business in New York with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting in 2011. In 2012 she obtained Master’s degree in Financial Statement Analysis and Securities Valuation, associated with the Certified Financial Analysis partnership program for executives. Marzena is registered with FINRA and holds Series 7, 63, 65.

In free time, Marzena like to take advantage of her Polish background and volunteers mentoring international women. She also enjoys skiing, ballroom dancing and traveling with her friends and family. She lives in Queens, NY with her husband and two children.

Jacqueline is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Financial Planning Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life. She is responsible for supporting Eagle Advisors through all aspects of the financial planning process. This includes helping advisors to leverage eMoney, assisting in data review, case design, and plan creation. She is also responsible for coaching advisors and providing them with best practices to enhance their financial planning practice. Jacqueline is passionate about taking a holistic approach to planning and determining strategies to optimize clients’ wealth.

Jacqueline has been with Eagle Strategies since 2018 and has over a decade of financial planning experience, with previous roles at Lincoln Financial and LPL Financial. Jacqueline graduated from Boston College with a BA in Economics and was a member of the Division 1 Cross County and Track & Field teams. She is a CFP® practitioner and is FINRA Series 7 and 66 licensed.

Alexis is a Certified Financial Planner™ and Financial Planning Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life. She is responsible for supporting Eagle’s advisors with the financial planning process. This includes but is not limited to case development, coaching, best practices, and leveraging financial planning tools. Alexis has been working in the financial services industry since 2014 and has held positions on the Wealth Management Team at UBS in addition to serving as Director of Planning at Lincoln Financial Group. Alexis graduated from Stockton University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a concentration in Financial Planning. In addition to being a CFP® practitioner, she is also FINRA Series 7 and 66 licensed.

Nate is a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), and Financial Planning Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life. In his current role, Nate provides vital support to Eagle Strategies' financial advisors, assisting in all aspects of the financial planning process. His responsibilities include case development, coaching, implementing best practices, and utilizing advanced financial planning tools to enhance client outcomes.

Nate joined New York Life in 2024, bringing over six years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies, he worked as a client-facing Financial Planner with MassMutual Financial Group, where he developed a strong foundation in comprehensive financial planning. His expertise extends beyond client-facing roles, drawing on a background in financial consulting.

A graduate of Pasco-Hernando State College, Nate holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Business Management. He is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) candidate and holds the FINRA Series 7 and 66, as well as the 02-15 Life & Health (Including Annuities and Variable Contracts) licenses.

Outside of his professional pursuits, Nate enjoys spending time with his wife, Ruth, and their young son, Gabriel.

Tim is a Corporate Vice President and Portfolio Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, and is responsible for analyzing financial statements and offering guidance in positioning asset managers in client portfolios. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies in 2015, Tim was a Senior Director at Oppenheimer Asset Management where he partnered with financial advisors to present investment solutions to prospective clients and client portfolio reviews to their high-net-worth and institutional clients. Tim has over 25 years of investment experience and earned a BBA in Business Management from Hofstra University. Tim is FINRA Series 7 and 65 licensed. 

John Furey is a Senior Associate and Internal Consultant with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, and is responsible for providing customized wealth management solutions to advisors and affluent clients. John has 7 years of experience in the financial services industry, working as a Financial Professional with Prudential assisting clients in a wide variety of financial planning, as well as working as an Internal Wholesaler at AIG Funds and Global X ETFs assisting advisors by leveraging financial products to fit client portfolio needs. John is a graduate of Wagner College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance. He is FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed. 

Joseph Guglielmo is a Senior Associate of Eagle Strategies. Joseph joins us with over eight years of experience working with Financial Advisors and their clients. He specializes in wealth management strategies and investment portfolio construction and analysis. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies, Joseph held Wealth Management positions at Oceanstate Financial Services, AMG Funds, and Oppenheimer & Co. Joseph earned his FINRA Series 7, 63 and 65 licenses and has a B.S. in Business Administration and Finance from the University of Rhode Island. 

Bruce is a Corporate Vice President of Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, in the role of Wealth Management Portfolio Specialist. In this role, he supports our Financial Advisors to help them build their advisory business and meet their clients’ needs. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies, Bruce spent 14 years with Wells Fargo Capital Management. Bruce has worked for several NYC firms including Bear Stearns, Gruntal & Co., and Oppenheimer & Co and has over 28 years of experience in the brokerage industry. Bruce has an extensive sales and marketing background while working with financial advisors and high net worth clients. During his career, he has had success leading teams and managing client relationships with a consultative approach. Bruce earned his FINRA Series 7 and 65 licenses and has a B.A. in public administration from Miami University. 

Robert is a Corporate Vice President and Portfolio Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, and is responsible for analyzing financial statements and offering guidance in positioning asset managers in client portfolios. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies in 2020, Robert worked as a National Accounts Manager for Invesco responsible for new business development and client relationship management with institutional platforms offering wealth management and retirement solutions. He has over 20 years of experience within Financial Services holding sales and investment product management positions at BNY Mellon, Merrill Lynch and Prudential. He earned an MBA degree in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a BS degree in Accounting from Rutgers University. Robert is FINRA Series 7 and 66 licensed. 

Jeff is a Corporate Vice President and Portfolio Specialist with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, and is responsible for analyzing financial statements and offering guidance in positioning asset managers in client portfolios. Jeff joined Eagle Strategies from our parent company New York Life’s NYLIFE Securities Operations team and New York Life’s subsidiary, New York Life Investment Management LLC where he held a sales role. Prior to joining New York Life, Jeff worked as a Regional Advisor Consultant at Oppenheimer Funds where he helped drive sales in the Northern Virginia region, making it the number one region in 2015. Jeff also worked at Citigroup in a sales support role. Jeff earned a BA in Communications from SUNY Albany, is FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed, and is fluent in Spanish. 

Jon-Paul is a Senior Associate and Internal Consultant with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, and is responsible for providing customized wealth management solutions to advisors and affluent clients. Jon-Paul has 12 years of experience in the financial services industry, including serving on the sales side and supporting clients at Advisor Group and IndexIQ. Jon-Paul earned a BA from Wagner College and is FINRA Series 7 and 63 licensed. 

Rey Ortiz is a Senior Associate and Internal Consultant with Eagle Strategies, a subsidiary of New York Life, where he is responsible for delivering customized wealth management solutions to financial advisors and their affluent clients. With more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, Rey has dedicated his career to supporting advisors in helping clients achieve their long-term financial goals. Prior to joining Eagle Strategies, he held positions with several leading firms, including M Financial Group, Northwestern Mutual, and Merrill. Rey holds his FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 66 licenses, is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) professional, and earned his B.S in Business Finance from Southern New Hampshire University.