Staff Directory
Roy L. Russell
Roy is the president and founder of The LIFE Financial Group, Inc. As a Certified Financial Planner™ and an Investment Advisor Representative for Geneos Wealth Management, Inc., he is responsible for overseeing more than 100 million dollars of invested assets for clients around the country. Roy and the staff also actively minister in conservative, Bible-preaching churches around the country with their three-day Stewardship Lifestyle Seminars. Maranatha Baptist Bible College has also developed a relationship with Roy and his staff to promote financial literacy in their supporting churches. In addition, Roy is a graduate of the Planned Giving Institute through the College of William and Mary in Virginia. He has also taught workshops on pastors' taxes and oversees the tax department at The LIFE Financial Group as well as managing his personal donor-advised charity called the Institute for Biblical Endowment, a public charity though WaterStone Foundation.
He has been married for over thirty years and has four grown children and nine grandchildren. Roy’s many hobbies include sailing on tall ships, travel, water skiing, slalom skiing, boating, biking, hiking and tinkering in his wood-working shop. He and his wife Lana attend High Point Baptist Chapel in Geigertown, PA.
Timothy J. Russell
Tim Russell, Roy’s son, is a Financial Advisor and has worked with The LIFE Financial Group, Inc. in various capacities since 1998. He was licensed to sell securities at age seventeen. He currently holds Series 7 and 66 licenses, in addition to his Pennsylvania Life & Health Insurance license. Tim's responsibilities include managing client accounts, promoting and organizing church seminars, and updating the company web site.
Tim Graduated from Clearwater Christian College with a BA in Bible. Married since 2002, Tim and his wife Christine have two very active boys (Joshua and David). Along with spending time with his family, Tim enjoys reading, scuba diving, hiking, going on mission trips, and serving as a Sunday School Teacher and deacon at church. He and his family worship at Grace & Peace Presbyterian Church in Pottstown, PA.
J. Jeremy Ehst
Jeremy Ehst is a Financial Advisor and also services our clients’ insurance needs. He holds Series 7 and 66 securities licenses in addition to his Pennsylvania Life & Health insurance license. He has been to seminary and holds a degree in Biblical Studies with a concentration in missions, and has served in ministry as an associate pastor.
Jeremy and his wife Melanie have been married since 1993 and have three young sons. He and his family reside in Douglassville and are active church members at Mountain View Chapel in Douglassville, where Jeremy serves in small group leadership. In his spare time, Jeremy enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, fishing, and reading.
Mark Magruder
Mark Magruder is a Financial Advisor and also assists the other advisors in communicating with our clients. He holds Series 7 and 66 securities licenses in addition to his Pennsylvania Life & Health insurance license. Mark also assists with tax preparation, marketing, and church seminars. He graduated from Drexel University with a degree in Accounting and brings to The Life Group a wealth of experience in accounting and tax preparation. He also has first-hand understanding of issues facing the small business owner, having started several small companies himself.
Married in 1985, Mark and his wife Maryanne have three grown sons. The Magruders attend New Life Bible Fellowship Church in Oley where they are active in various groups. In his spare time, Mark also volunteers for Hockey Ministries International assisting them with summer camp ministries. In addition, Mark is very involved as an off-ice official in professional hockey. He has worked with the American Hockey League's Philadelphia Phantoms since 2002, and with the ECHL Reading Royals since 2005. He is also the chaplain for the Reading Royals where he does a weekly Bible study with the professional hockey players. Mark and Maryanne also enjoy National Parks and traveling to California and Canada to visit their sons.
Marshall Kissling
 Marshall serves as Director of Information Technology at The LIFE Financial Group, Inc. He also services our new technical services division, Life-Line Technologies, LLC. Marshall holds an engineering degree from The Pennsylvania State University and numerous certifications on Microsoft products. With over 15 years of information technology consulting experience, he is well versed in supporting various technology requirements.
Marshall is married and has an active teenage son. He and his wife are encouraged to see their son taking an active part in their church (St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Stowe, PA.) and following in his footsteps as an Acolyte. Marshall’s hobbies include mountain biking, hiking and swimming.
Jean Koch
 As Operations Manager, Jean's primary role is to support the financial advisor team related to documentation readiness planning, client care and communications. Jean is the Back Office Team Lead and is responsible for day-to-day business operations as well. With over thirty years of corporate experience in the field of Information Technology and Services, she has worked as a team lead on a variety of custom solutions including the Federal Reserve Bank and Orange France Telecommunications Projects, and has served as an internal software development auditor in the United Kingdom and throughout the United States.
Jean enjoys spending time with her daughter Kori and her two grandchildren, Kali and Thomas. She supports youth sports activities and volunteers her spare time as an assistant field hockey coach for the Perkiomen Valley Youth Sports League. Jean is a long time attendee of the Church of the Nazarene and enjoys Christian fellowship with her family and friends. She attended Ursinus College for Business Administration Studies and holds a Certificate in Scientific Data Processing from Montgomery Technical School. Some of her hobbies include golf, swimming, tennis, physical fitness and playing the piano.
Carla Stangl
Adam F. Dieffenbach
Adam F. Dieffenbach, Marketing Manager, is the newest member of our team. With a diverse educational and professional background, Adam brings a wide variety of skills and abilities to The Life Financial Group, where his duties include updating and maintaining the website, overseeing our monthly and quarterly newsletters, Stewardship Seminar promotion, and organizing client and staff events, to name a few. Adam holds degrees from Philadelphia Biblical University (B.S. Biblical Studies, 2006; B.Mus. Composition, 2006) and Temple University (M.Mus. Composition, 2009), and is currently at work on his dissertation as an external PhD student in the Historical Musicology program at The Queen’s University, Belfast.
In addition to his work at The Life Financial Group, Adam is also currently serving as Director of Music at Zwingli United Church of Christ in Souderton. He and his wife Jennifer, also a PhD candidate at Queen's, and a highly skilled pianist, are members of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harleysville.
Dana Iverson
 Dana Iverson is our Client Communication Specialist, helping to make sure that all of our clients receive top-notch service. She provides operational support to each of the advisors in addition to fielding phone calls and solving problems. Dana graduated from Davis & Elkins College in W.VA. with a B.S. degree in Early Childhood & Elementary Education. After a few years working in the field of education, Dana married, became a stay at home mom and spent several years homeschooling.
She has been blessed with four wonderful children; Abigail Lynn, Hannah May, Mary Ruth and Joseph Paul. Her oldest daughter will be starting her second year at Baptist Bible College this fall. The other three children attend High Point Baptist Academy in Geigertown. She attends High Point Baptist Chapel in Geigertown, PA. She loves being with her children, baking and sewing. She also enjoys the beach and N.Y.C.
Sally Vallette
Sally Vallette is our Director of First Impressions. Originally from New Jersey, Sally attended Lancaster Bible School where she met her husband Rich. In 1967, they went to the mission field and served for a total of 37 years between Chile and Uruguay, South America. Sally has four children. Two of her sons serve as missionaries in Uruguay, another son serves in the Dominican Republic, and her daughter is a Christian School teacher in Hawaii. She and her husband attend Valley Forge Baptist Temple in Collegeville, PA, where she teaches Sunday School in Spanish.
Lana Russell
Lana Russell is Roy's wife and assists with office administration and client services as needed. Lana is primarily a homemaker, but after raising four children, she now helps keep the office supplied and provides support when needed. She loves reading, spending time with friends, scrapbooking, sewing, and babysitting her nine grandchildren. Lana also sings second soprano in the choir at High Point Baptist Chapel in Geigertown, PA.
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