Join us for our inaugural community event!
In this one-day community event you will learn about the importance of an estate plan to protect your assets while creating a legacy for your loved ones. In addition to learning helpful strategies from estate planning experts, you will also have the ability to meet area estate planning CPAs and attorneys that can help you take the next steps.
Who Should Attend
This conference is designed to help provide basic information for those interested in gaining knowledge about how to start a personal estate plan. All community members are invited
Seating is limited, so reserve your space TODAY!
There are no qualifications or prerequisites to participate in and benefit from this program.
FREE Attendee Registration
$25 Per Person Suggested Donation
Registration includes attendance to all four speaker presentations, breakfast with presentation about the Community Foundation Legacy Society and lunch with estate planning professionals from our 26th Annual Estate Planning Institute, as well as printed presentation reference materials to take home.
Payment Information
Online Registration
To register online or make an event donation click the following link:
CFSNM Estate Planning Institute Community Session Registration Page
Company Invoice
If you will be attending on behalf of a business and they would like to make an event donation, but require an invoice please email our Special Events Coordinator, Alexia, at alexia@cfsnm.org or call our office number listed below.
Phone Payment
Call 575-521-4794 to register over the phone with a CFSNM team member and we will add you to our registration list.
Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces
Directions
Once you check in at the venue with a CFSNM representative you will be guided to the Tularosa Room.
Click below for Google Map directions on how get to Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, which is located at:
705 South Telshor Blvd., Las Cruces, NM 88011
Community Legacy Society
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico recognizes all planned and deferred gifts through our Community Legacy Society. These contributions include, but are not limited to, wills/bequests, endowments, charitable lead or remainder or annuity trusts, and life insurance policies. The Society formally recognizes the charitable act of a donor by providing the formal recognition of the donor’s generosity. The purpose of our Community Legacy Society is synonymous with the mission of the Community Foundation–to link donors with community needs and securing the community’s future.
To honor our Community Legacy Society the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico will be honoring these special contributions during our Community Legacy Society breakfast.
Schedule
Speaker Information
Susan Eisen- Gemologist / Inheritance Specialist & Author of “The Myth of the Million-Dollar Di$hrag”
Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry & Watches
Presentation Topic: The Myth of the Million-Dollar Di$hrag
An overview of knowledge discussed in her book about creating an effective and powerful plan to avoid a family inheritance battle before someone passes. With real-life stories of how unprepared clients faced heartbreaking estate issues by not taking action now, Susan’s revolutionary approach is a step-by-step guide in providing a powerful way to preserve family togetherness with the appreciation of the heirlooms.
Susan Eisen was born and raised in El Paso where she graduated with a BA from UTEP and then opened her first retail jewelry store and art gallery named Tiara in May of 1980. She then became a gemologist by earning her graduate degree from the Gemological Institute of America in California. She has received 5 trademarks and one design patent for her creations, which she has manufactured and marketed herself. Susan expanded her store, now called Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches, to carry other jewelry and watch brands by well-known designers.
Susan has become a major player in the jewelry industry today and published her first book called “Crazy About Jewelry-The Expert Guide to Buying, Selling, and Caring for our Jewelry.” She has received many top awards, including Woman Retail of the Year from the Women’s Jewelry Association, top 31 jewelers named “Americas Best Jewelers” by National Jeweler Magazine, and Best of the Best Jeweler in El Paso for multiple years.
Besides being a store owner and jewelry & art appraiser, Susan became an inheritance consultant, confidante, and adviser to her clients. For more than three decades Susan experienced client’s inheritance heartaches and family breakup stories, which inspired her second book. In 2012 “The Myth of the Million-Dollar Di$hrag” was published to help develop a plan for families to follow so people can be more satisfied with their inheritances, thus preserving family ties and good memories of their deceased loved one.
Eisen has coached parents, grandparents, children and grandchildren into making wise decisions on how to divide family heirlooms, jewelry, art, collections and sentimental non-valuable items amicably to prevent a family battle. Her book provides an easy-to-follow method for creating an inventory of possessions that can help families face the challenge of property distribution with fairness and affection. Susan also created a homework book to be used as an interactive tool to note where one’s will is located, who to call to appraise jewelry or art, record inheritance wishes, instructions for the executor and many other things your heirs need to know about.
Paula Feinberg- Senior Vice President, Investments
Raymond James, Dallas Cities Branch
Presentation Topic: The Aha! Moment
Understand the value in living the life you love and how to start making plans to fulfill end of life wishes. Learn about how to get started in creating a personal estate plan to protect your assets and better serve your loved ones in the future.
Paula Elerick Feinberg is a Senior Vice President with Raymond James Financial Services where she and her assistant, Shannon, take care of multi generational families in Dallas, New York, San Francisco, Houston, El Paso and other great cities. She brings with her over 25 years of experience in economic and community development, investment strategy, and financial planning with a special compassion for families who have experienced loss, having lost her husband four years ago.
Paula was born in Santiago, Chile and attended Loretto Academy preparatory. She received her Bachelors Degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in the Liberal Arts Honors Program where she was selected as the first Truman Scholar from UT El Paso. She lived in New York City for many years where she received her Masters in International and Public Affairs from Columbia University.
Paula worked in the South Bronx on community and economic development projects and later was recruited as a Vice President by Citibank to direct public affairs for Manhattan and the Bronx. She spent 20 years with Citigroup and Smith Barney and joined Raymond James last year. She currently serves on the Loretto Academy Board of Trustees in El Paso and returned recently to serve on the Board of Chiapas International in Dallas. She was a founding member of this organization ten years ago in an effort to expand micro-lending tools to the poorest women in Latin America by connecting wealthy, philanthropic women in Dallas to the cause.
Buffy Johnson- Franchise Owner/Manager and President
Home Instead Senior Care and Buffy Johnson Consulting
Presentation Topic: The 70/40 Rule….It All Adds Up!
The “70/40 Rule” means that if your parents are 70, or you are 40—it’s time to start talking about certain senior topics. This rule was created through research and experience by Home Instead Senior Care, an international care giving company, to encourage earlier conversations about sensitive life topics between adult children and their aging parents.
Buffy Johnson purchased the Home Instead Senior Care office in 2016 and has continued to provide the Las Cruces community with the quality and compassion that previous owners initiated.
Buffy has had an extensive career in Executive Management with proven results and a strong desire to enhance the quality of life for seniors. She has an extensive background in long term care facility survey preparation, customer service, census/marketing and financial success. Buffy graduated with a B.S. degree in Health Professions/Health Administration from Southwest Texas State University in 1991. She was a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator for 24 years and spent the past 10 years as the Regional Vice President of the health care company Fundamental, then the President of Operations for On Pointe Health, and the Regional Vice President of Consulate Health Care.
She now owns the Home Instead Senior Care franchise in Las Cruces and has a passion for providing quality care to seniors. Along with that passion Buffy works with investors and operators to build or open new nursing homes and assisted living properties on behalf of her personal business Buffy Johnson Consulting.
Robert Peterson– Director of Planned Giving
New Mexico State University Development Office
Presentation Topic with Terra Winter: What Are My Options?
Creating an estate plan with your community in mind is a great way to leave a local legacy. Terra and Robert will detail ways to get involved with the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico and the New Mexico State University Foundation when planning for the future.
Robert Peterson has been with the NMSU Foundation since 2004, and has served as the Gift Planning Director since 2008. His vision is student focused, to serve the Aggie community with honor in a way that nurtures relationships with the university’s major, principal and planned giving donors. Robert has received the NMSU President’s “Above and Beyond Award” for his estate planning and closing services. He co-founded and coordinates the NMSU Women’s Estate Planning Conference (celebrating 10 years), and is an instructor for the annual NMSU Windmill Workshop in the College of ACES. Robert developed a public-private partnership to establish the University’s first employee emergency assistance fund. He is a member of the Southern New Mexico Estate Planning Council.
Robert attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning a B.S. in Conservation of Natural Resources. A work study scholarship supported his academic dreams and enabled him to be a member of an NCAA Division 1 National Water Polo Championship team.
After graduation, Robert first worked as a National Park Ranger from coast to coast. Since then, he has served as co-founder New York AIDS Coalition, and then program associate for the March of Dimes, to co-develop the “Campaign for Healthy Babies.” In the Borderland, he was a grant writer for the YWCA, freelance writer/photographer for the El Paso Times, and held leadership positions with the Communications Group (economic development in colonias, under a US Department of HUD grant); the Levi Strauss Foundation; as well as the Kellogg Foundation Community Partnership (UTEP, Texas Tech, County of El Paso), which established four school-based health clinics in lower valley colonias.
Robert’s past volunteer work includes co-founder of the El Paso Ryan White HIV/AIDS Consortium; Board of Directors, NYC Prenatal Care Steering Committee; Education Director, City of Concord CA Energy Task Force. Robert has been a volunteer soccer coach for diverse independent leagues serving ages 4-18.
Terra V. Winter– Executive Director
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico
Presentation Topic with Robert Peterson: What Are My Options?
Creating an estate plan with your community in mind is a great way to leave a local legacy. Terra and Robert will detail ways to get involved with the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico and the New Mexico State University Foundation when planning for the future.
Terra joined the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico team in June 2017 as the Executive Director. Recently, she served as the Associate Vice President for Development at the New Mexico State University Foundation in which she was involved in the campus’s most ambitious campaign to raise $125 million. Previous to this position, Terra served at the Assistant Dean for Donor Development and Alumni Relations for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Her love for the NMSU Aggies and NM Agriculture drives her continued connection as an alumna and donor.
As a lifelong New Mexico resident, Terra is passionate about nonprofit work throughout the state. Her professional background includes ten years with Mesilla Valley Hospice where she served the organization in many facets of community outreach, education, fundraising and board development. She has volunteered for multiple organizations including the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and the Junior League of Las Cruces.
Terra obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies, minoring in Health Sciences, and a Master of Public Health from NMSU. She completed her an Interdisciplinary Doctorate with an emphasis in philanthropy, nonprofit management and leadership in December of 2017.