Our Team
David (Kevin) Klaas
David is the founder of Monarch Solutions, and has worked in the insurance arena for 2 decades. He graduated from Judson University in 2002 with a degree in Business Finance. David and his beautiful wife, Jennie, have six children: Gabriel, Vienna, Ellis, Janelle Joy, Jude and Liam Brave. He enjoys wake-surfing, studying the Bible, hunting and fishing, golf and vacationing on a beach with his bride!
“I enjoy focusing my attention on one thing; bringing impactful solutions to the table for my clients that will meet their goals, help them sleep better at night and create value and efficiency for them and the estate. I enjoy specializing in this one primary skill as having a narrow focus allows me the ability to remain on the cutting edge of unique planning solutions.”
Joe Almond
Joe is a health insurance advisor who has specialized in his field for over 15 years. He has partnered with his wife, Serenity, who he has three boys with. Joe enjoys most of his free time being outdoors and hanging out with friends and family, while being an average at best golfer.
Serenity Almond
Serenity grew up in the Rockford and surrounding area. She is happily married to Joe and together they are raising 3 young boys. She loves traveling, spending time with the family, meeting new people, and dogs. She has found her passion in helping people in our community navigate their Medicare options.
Palmer Klaas, CFP®
Palmer has worked in the insurance and financial services industry for over 40 years. As a seasoned veteran, he merged his insurance practice with Monarch Solutions in early 2019 and now enjoys a business development role within our team.
David Wolf
David has specialized solely in Long-Term Care Planning since 1988. His expertise in Long-Term Care Insurance planning with business owners and executives has gained him national recognition in his field. His depth of knowledge in creative tax applications for these products has made him a recognized leader and speaker. David has been a top producer for many of the insurance carriers Wolf & Associates represents. His practice niche is offering turn-key Long-Term Care planning Solutions to Advisors who wish to offer their clients the highest level of service and expertise. David is a dedicated advocate for senior care concerns and has written and spoken extensively about the challenges that seniors face in elder years due to physical and cognitive frailty. In addition to serving this population, he has first-hand knowledge and experience of some of the issues that frailty presents. David has been the caregiver for his wife who has experienced years of disabling illness and has “walked in the shoes” of many of those who are caregivers themselves. Like so many of the clients of Wolf & Associates, this experience allows him to see the world with a new lens and have compassion for the challenges associated with caregiving. David’s own life experience allows him to advocate for others more effectively. David attempts to spend as much time as he can with his wife Mindi, as nurturing their relationship is top priority! The outdoors is another passion — gardening, his Koi pond, and anything that "involves water" (kayaking, waterskiing, etc.). Time with his nieces is also high priority... dollhouse-building and frog-hunting are frequent parts of weekends with them! David also loves podcasts and reading, with significant interests in Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, and Human Behavior... where does the capacity for "other-centeredness" emerge, grow and flourish? He believes our world would be a better place if we had more capacity to embrace the "other".
Ann Marie Coyle, MBA
Ann Marie joined Monarch Solutions in January 2023. She brings over 20 years of administrative and operations experience, primarily in the nonprofit sector. Ann Marie has been a high school track and cross country coach for 14 years. Ann Marie and her husband, Brian, have five adult children and enjoy spending time with them as often as possible. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, reading and various outdoor activities.
Michael Fontanini, MT, CFP®, CLU®
Sonya Patenaude
Sonya brings nearly 30 years of experience in the industry. She has been employed with The Lion Street since 2019. Sonya was a case manager for 9 years for a life insurance marketing company and spent 20 years working for two financial planners who did both life insurance and securities. She has held a life insurance license and series 7 in the past (until 2015). Sonya lives in Michigan with her husband and daughter. She has two children, each recent graduates of Michigan State University. Her daughter is in nursing school (a second Bachelor’s degree) and her son lives in California working in accounting and pursuing Master’s degree.
Tiffany Hyde, FALU
Tiffany heads up the Underwriting division at Monarch Solutions through Lion Street. In this role, Tiffany has oversight within the underwriting team and strategic initiatives in the Underwriting and New Business divisions. Her additional areas of expertise include reinsurance staging and negotiations, foreign nationals, complex medical history, advanced case design, product selection and premium finance. Tiffany has been active in the life insurance industry since 1990, serving in various underwriting leadership capacities for companies including Voya (formerly ING – Security Life of Denver), US Financial and Mutual of Omaha. She also brings vast medical knowledge from her previous career in nursing. Passionate about continuing education, Tiffany has earned her FALU designation and currently teaches underwriting courses of all levels for hundreds of field office staff. She specializes in training both internal and external key staff in field underwriting. Tiffany is active in several industry groups, including the ALU, where she served on the Seminar and Webinar Committee and Marketing Committee. She is also an active member of the American Academy of Insurance Medicine and a regular speaker and contributor on current events and trends in underwriting and the industry.
Josh Ullrich, MBA
Josh has specialized in various forms of Business Development for more than 20 years. He holds his MBA and enjoys high level conversations with sophisticated and accomplished individuals. Josh and his wife Tricia enjoy family life as they have 7 children and counting.
Nanette Brown
Nanette joined our team in August 2020. She is a wife, mother of 4 grown sons, and grandmother of two. Her background is in education and finance. Her interests are reading, music, and history.
Mary Schorsch
Mary has been with Monarch Solutions since January 2017. She grew up in the Chicago area and has lived in Rockford since 1992. She is married and has raised 3 children. She has one grandchild, Steven.She enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, and all things related to family.