Cathy Mendell is the President and Founder of Elevation Capital Strategies, an independent financial services firm designed to help individuals create their own retirement strategy. Cathy specializes in creating simple and powerful retirement solutions. She is passionate about helping her clients achieve financial security and independence because everyone deserves a secure and independent retirement.

The Retirement Navigator, Cathy’s proprietary planning process, is the cornerstone of her work as an advisor in her own firm, an author on many national and local publications, and as a radio show host (Elevate Your Retirement airing Sundays at 7:30 a.m. on KMED, KBNW and KQAK.

Outside of work Cathy and her husband, Arlan, enjoy spending time with their three grown sons and two grandchildren. Together Cathy and Arlan are the directors for Orphanages of Kenya, located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Ryan Sanford is a financial advisor at Elevation Capital Strategies and an Investment Advisor Representative of Elevation Capital Advisory. Ryan specializes in guiding retirees and pre-retirees in retirement income planning, and wealth preservation. He joined the team at Elevation Capital Strategies in 2014, and holds his Series 65 securities registration and insurance license in the state of Oregon.

Ryan brings a great mix of education and experience along with his genuine desire to help people. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree. He also has a decade of corporate finance experience where he worked as chief financial officer of a corporation.

Ryan’s combined love for numbers, math, and people, making him a perfect fit for financial planning. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and five children.

Derrick Hanson is a financial advisor at Elevation Capital Strategies and an Investment Advisor Representative of Elevation Capital Advisory. Derrick joined ECS in Spring of 2018, and his focus is on helping clients build and maintain wealth. Derrick’s focus is on helping clients build and maintain their wealth. He develops income plans for those who are at or near retirement, analyzes investment portfolios, and determines future investment strategy allocations for clients. Derrick spent the first 10 years of his career with a life insurance company that specialized in the ultra-high net worth market, where he learned the value of understanding the specifics of financial instruments and the role they play in an overall financial plan.

Derrick holds current CLU® and ChFC® designations from The American College, his Oregon life/health insurance license, his Series 65 securities registration, and is working toward his CFP®. Outside the office, he enjoys spending time with his wife and son, playing sports, and tutoring math.

Lori Robinson is our director of client services at Elevation Capital Strategies and assists clients with various service items and additional requests regarding their custom retirement blueprint. She handles new accounts and outstanding service requests to assure they are taken care of in a timely manner.  She is also responsible for ensuring a great experience for our clients, managing office workflow and overseeing compliance-related activities.

Lori joined the Elevation Capital Strategies team in 2010. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and granddaughter.

Devin Lakovics is our newest member, joining the ECS team in November 2018. Devin brings vast experience in sales, software, and marketing to our team. She has worked for companies such as Microsoft, G5, and Pronghorn, as well as a non-profit and a start-up company. Originally from the East Coast, Devin moved to Bend, with her family and attended high school here. After earning her bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Management and Innovation from Seattle University, she continued to live in Seattle to pursue her career.

With her love for outdoor activities and family in Bend, it was an easy decision for her to move back when the opportunity presented itself in 2016. In her free time, Devin enjoys time with family, and outdoor activities such as golf, kayaking, and skiing. She is also a world traveler having visited 30 countries and hopes to have the opportunity to add to that number.

Saori McRill is a client service specialist at Elevation Capital Strategies and assists clients with various service items and additional requests regarding their custom retirement blueprint focusing primarily on assets-under-management portion of the business.  She handles new accounts, account transfers, various service items and works directly with clients to ensure they are taken care of in a timely manner.

Saori joined the team at Elevation Capital Strategies in 2013. She resides in Bend with her husband, Randy, and their daughter, Erin. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to music and spending time with her family.

Jacqui Linville is the marketing and event coordinator at Elevation Capital Strategies. A recent addition to the team in 2017, Jacqui brings almost three decades of experience in event planning to her role. Past jobs also include working as an administrative assistant in the legal field for more than 20 years, and eight years as a white-water rafting guide. She holds an associate’s degree in legal assistance and a bachelor’s in business leadership and management.

Jacqui is a true Oregonian, born and raised in Albany but now happily residing in Bend. Away from the office, she can be found spending time with her husband, children and friends She enjoys hiking, camping, rafting, and scrapbooking.