Our People

	Robert J. Ryan - rryan@rjrassociates.net Bob is focused on the design and development of the investment ideas of RJR Associates and their applicability to the financial portfolios of both institutions and individuals. He completed his PhD in finance at Syracuse University in 1989 and was awarded an MBA with distinction from Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management in 1971. Bob’s professional experience includes over twenty years with NYSE and Fortune 500 companies in all facets of corporate finance. He has been a director of several corporate boards, including food processing, international trade, insurance and banking concerns. Bob has also served on the faculty of Syracuse University where he taught graduate and undergraduate courses in securities markets and corporate finance. Bob and his wife, Linda, enjoy spending time at their family retreat on Lake Champlain in Vermont, and he marvels at the insights on the human condition provided by John Prine and Henry David Thoreau.
	Ted J. Scallon, MBA - tscallon@rjrassociates.net Ted is Executive Vice President of Business Development for RJR Associates where he oversees the development of new client relationships for the firm’s institutional business. He has more than 50 years of banking experience in New York City and throughout the Central New York region. Ted, along with Bob Ryan, founder of RJR Associates, help boards and investment committees of foundations and institutions, as well as individuals, manage financial assets by developing reasonable expectations for return while better understanding risk and how it is measured. Ted holds a BS in business management and an MBA in finance from Long Island University. He and his wife, Sally, live in Fayetteville where they raised their three children T.J., Mark and Gemma. Ted has long been involved with the community’s not-for-profit community and currently serves as the Board Vice President of Elmcrest Children’s Center and as a member of the Board of Regents of LeMoyne College.
	Tom Benner, MBA - tbenner@rjrassociates.net Tom is primarily involved in working with individual clients at RJR Associates in the development and management of their long-term investment portfolios. He completed his Bachelor's degree at the University of Missouri in 1980 and earned his MBA in finance at Syracuse University in 1986. Tom spent 15 years in key roles at three different high-growth companies, specializing in financial and product planning. Prior to joining RJR Associates he worked as an investment representative in the Rochester office of a national investment firm. Tom and his wife, Elizabeth, enjoy being fully involved with their two teenage children and far too many pets. In his spare time he is trying his best to learn how to play Irish music on the fiddle and can often be found jamming at local public “seisiuns.” Tom currently serves as a member of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and community historical preservation boards.
	Patti Edwards - pedwards@rjrassociates.net Patti is responsible for client services of RJR Associates. She joined RJR with over 30 years business experience, the last 15 with specific responsibility for transfer agent and investor relations functions associated with the $500 million stock and debenture program of a large northeast farm cooperative. She is a graduate of Onondaga Community College with an AAS in Business Administration and successfully completed NASD Series 63 requirements to qualify as a securities state agent. Patti and her husband, Earle, enjoy relaxing and entertaining year round at their lake house in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, which has affectionately come to be known by friends and family as "The Hotel Edwards."
	Keri J. Morrison - kmorrison@rjrassociates.net Keri is responsible for client relationship services and administrative support for RJR Associate clients who are building their retirement portfolios. Over the past 12 years her professional experience has primarily focused on the successful development and management of complex client relationships in both the Florida housing and manufacturing markets. She is a graduate of Valencia College with an AAS in Business Administration and successfully completed the NASD Series 65 requirements to qualify as an Investment Advisor. Keri and her husband, Roarke, enjoy fishing on their boat with their two Jack Russell Terriers, Charlie and Sam.
	Joy Gillis - jgillis@rjrassociates.net Joy is focused on marketing the RJR Associates story to the world. She finds avenues for communicating the value proposition that RJR provides to its clients. She also serves as a community liaison for RJR Associates, ensuring that the members of the RJR Team avail themselves of the many opportunities to serve in, and be enriched by, the Syracuse community. Joy spent 19 years in financial and program management in the aerospace and computer service industries before joining RJR Associates in 2000. Joy is a native of Los Angeles who, together with her family, selected Syracuse as their new hometown. She is continually amused by Syracusans discussing local traffic. She views Syracuse as a smaller, friendlier LA with a little "white stuff" thrown in to keep the population down.