Ryan Ponsford
With 20-years in business, non-profit, and financial industries, Ryan has learned a few things about giving, wealth creation, and general life and business principles. Ryan has been recognized as a thought leader, disrupter, and innovator in multi-generational wealth and business strategies, as well as using philanthropy as a tool to prepare and inspire generations of leaders.
Early in his Private Banking career, Ryan recognized that the majority of his most successful clients had accumulated wealth in one of three ways: owning a business, through real estate, or from inheritance. He also recognized that most families lost their wealth, businesses, and even more tragically, their relationships, within three generations. It was on the mission to reverse this trend that he was inspired by the incredible power of giving on the hearts and minds of those who give. Diving into the concept of philanthropy, he realized that it really wasn’t something reserved just for the wealthy, but rather was a tremendous opportunity for people from all walks of life – thereby coming up with the goofy notion of bringing philanthropy to Main Street.
Mr. Ponsford graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego with a degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and extensive coursework in Chemistry. He is the founder of several companies including Akili Capital (a strategic planning firm named after his grandmothers elephant, Akili) and Gateway For Good, a Benefit Corporation that brings many of his philanthropic principles to businesses and organizations throughout the country.
In addition to multiple industry awards and accolades, Ryan plays guitar in a band, sings in a quartet, coaches several of his kids’ sports teams, loves teaching on white boards, regularly speaks at conferences, family and board retreats, and has been a guest on several TV and radio programs throughout the country.
RyanP@MainStreetPhil.org
858-255-1680
Scott Farnsworth
Scott Farnsworth is an attorney and a Certified Financial Planner™ who teaches financial, legal, and philanthropic professionals how to leverage the power of stories, the power of relationships, and the power of unique processes in their work with clients and donors. He is the president of SunBridge, Inc. and the founder of The Legacy Builder Network. He is the author of three books: Closing the Gap: A Revolutionary Approach to Client and Donor Services; Like a Library Burning: Sharing and Saving a Lifetime of Stories; and Double Your Sales: An Honest and Authentic Approach to Professional Selling.
Mr. Farnsworth is a well-known national speaker and has been named an “Innovators of the Year” by Financial Advisor Magazine. He twice served as Chairman of The International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy Annual Conference. He designs and delivers transformative workshops for professionals, including “The Legacy Builder Retreat” and “The Wealth & Wisdom Summit.” He is a certified Time to Think® Facilitator, Coach and Consultant.
He earned his undergraduate degree magna cum laude in Portuguese and Political Science and his law degree magna cum laude at Brigham Young University. During law school he published two scholarly articles as the Managing Editor of the Law Review, and following graduation, he was appointed Judicial Clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
In addition to his three decades of professional experience as an estate-planning attorney and financial planner, he was Vice President and Trust Officer at Trustmark National Bank and a professor of business law at the University of Southern Mississippi
