ABOUT US

Invested in Your Members

Copper Financial (formerly known as CommunityAmerica Financial Solutions, LLC) was founded as a CUSO powered by CommunityAmerica Credit Union in 2001. We went from a fully outsourced managed program, to a dual employee model as a department within CommunityAmerica Credit Union, to eventually becoming a FINRA registered broker-dealer under the name CommunityAmerica Financial Solutions to expand our services to other credit unions in 2014.

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We re-branded to Copper Financial in July 2021 as we began to grow within the wealth management credit union space. We are now one of the only credit union-owned broker-dealer RIA firms working directly with other credit unions and their advisors.

Our logo, Copper Financial, is a tip of the cap to credit unions. If you remember your days of science class, the element for copper on a periodic table is Cu. 

Our Leadership

Justin Steitz

President

Justin Steitz serves as President of Copper Financial. In his role as President, Justin leads the sales, investment operations, compliance, and audit for the CommunityAmerica advisor channel as well as the broker-dealer business unit. Before assuming this role in July 2023, Justin served as Chief Operating Officer for ten years.

Prior to joining the Copper Financial team, Justin served as Chief Compliance Officer for Ausdal Financial Partners, Inc., where he led the effort to build an in-house broker-dealer. He began his career in an audit capacity with FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) where he spent seven years.

Justin received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Northwest Missouri State University. He and his wife have four kids.

Alyssa Akers

Vice President,
Risk and Business Administration

Alyssa Akers serves as Vice President of Risk and Business Administration. In this role, she ensures Copper Financial delivers a high level of service and support to our credit union partners and financial advisors so they can provide the best service to their clients, while establishing controls and oversight to mitigate risk. 

Before Alyssa’s role at CommunityAmerica, she started in the industry working for CommunityAmerica’s primary regulator, FINRA, and served 12 years in a senior compliance role at a mid-sized broker-dealer. She holds a BSBA in Finance, a BA in German, and an MBA. Alyssa loves exploring new places, enjoys playing golf, and spending time with her friends and family.

 

Karl Geisler

Senior Vice President,
Digital Strategy

Karl Geisler serves as Senior Vice President, Digital Strategy.  In this role, he is responsible for driving the digital strategy and the technology platform supporting both credit union members and our wealth advisors. 

Karl holds over 20 years of experience in information technology, focusing on digital transformation and product management. Prior to this role, Karl served as a senior technology leader at a global fintech. He began his career in consulting with Accenture.

Karl holds a bachelor’s degree in management information systems and accounting from Iowa State University.  He enjoys spending time with his family, travelling, and watching his 2 children play sports.

Anastasia Rock

Director of Marketing

Anastasia Rock serves as Director of Marketing dedicated to developing, implementing, and executing comprehensive marketing efforts for both B2B and B2C strategies. She works closely with Copper Financial and CommunityAmerica leadership, along with wealth advisors and partner credit unions to help all credit union members on their path to achieve financial peace of mind.

Prior to joining the team, Anastasia spent over 25 years at American Century Investments, holding senior leadership roles in marketing, communications, and compliance. She received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Oklahoma State University. In her spare time, she enjoys hot yoga, gardening, pickleball, watching tennis, and spending time with friends and family. She lives with her partner Eli, three dogs, and a cat, Rafa.

Christine Leyva

Director of Relationship Management

Christine Leyva serves as Director of Relationship Management. In this role, she works alongside Copper Financial’s partner credit unions to support the development and execution of their strategic wealth management goals. Additionally, she works with internal and external partners to grow Copper’s brand in the credit union wealth management space.

Christine has spent the last 15 years in the financial services industry with roles including client service, relationship management, and business operations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership and is currently serving as a board member for Cornerstones of Care. She and her husband have two teenage boys and are very involved in their academic, athletic, and scouting activities. When not volunteering in the community, Christine enjoys traveling, live music, a good book, and staying on the go.

Michael Dehner

Director of Finance and Accounting

Michael Dehner serves as Director of Finance and Accounting. In this role, he oversees the financial activities and performance of the organization. Michael holds more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry that includes the management of accounting, reporting, and financial analysis functions.

Michael graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in finance and is a current CFA® charterholder. He currently serves as a board member for Flourish Furniture Bank. Michael enjoys playing golf and volleyball, and spending time at the lake.

Kari Pruitt

Senior Recruiter

Kari Pruitt serves as the Senior Recruiter for Copper Financial, where she actively matches talent to fulfill staffing needs for the organization’s financial advisors and employees for the corporate office. She confers with management to assess and identify staffing needs and design and implement recruitment plans for the organization.

Before assuming this role, Kari spent the last 22 years working for GuideStone Financial Resources, where she served as the Talent Acquisition Specialist for the past 7 years. In this role, she led the talent acquisition efforts for all departments within the organization. She is currently an active member of DFWTRN and Dallas HR.

Kari graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management. She and her husband reside in Arlington, Texas, where they enjoy attending various sporting events for their son, Paxton. Kari also enjoys reading a good book and traveling with her family.

Mike Haggerty

President

Mike Haggerty serves as President/Chief Operating Officer of CommunityAmerica CUSO One, LLC (CUSO One), and President of Copper Financial (Copper Financial). CUSO One is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CommunityAmerica Credit Union, providing white-labeled, full service financial, wealth, and mortgage services to credit unions across the nation and members all over the world. CUSO One also serves as the innovation lab for CommunityAmerica, a member centric team developing products and solutions to ease member pain points enabling their path to financial peace of mind.

Mike is very active in both the Kansas City and financial community, currently serving as a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Kansas City, the Directed Account Plan, and TruHome Solutions. He formerly served as a board member of Catholic Charities.

Before joining the CommunityAmerica family, Mike worked as an auditor with KPMG and a wealth advisor for Smith Barney. He received his undergraduate degree from The University of Missouri in Columbia. Mike has five children and spends his free time coaching his kids’ sporting teams.