ABOUT US

Douglas L. Skinner, CFP®, MBA

Doug has been with Skinner, Copper & Ehmen for over 14 years and has been a financial advisor since 1999. He received his MBA and bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Doug spent sixteen years with Bank of Springfield, where he served as Vice President, managing the Investment and Trust Departments. While at Bank of Springfield, he also served as the AVP of Commercial and Mortgage Lending. In addition, Doug was a committee member on the Asset & Liability Committee, which made decisions about how the bank managed its own money.

Doug is the father of three children and has been married to Kari for over 28 years. Doug spent many years coaching youth sports, mainly competitive baseball. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, traveling, and golfing. He has previously spent time supporting SPARC, Big Brother Big Sister, and the Sangamon Medical Society in various capacities and is a Sangamon Valley Estate Planning Council member. He is currently on the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Board. With over 30 years of banking and financial services experience, Doug specializes in comprehensive financial plans, retirement income strategies, and portfolio management for his clients.

James D. Copper, CLU, CFP®

Jim attended the University of Illinois as a James Scholar. Upon graduating in 1969 with a degree in math, Jim began teaching in Dwight, IL. He eventually moved to Mt. Pulaski where he taught and coached basketball until 1977, his team winning the State Basketball Championship in 1976. Jim left teaching and joined Northwestern Mutual Life in 1977, becoming one of a handful of pension specialists in the country. In March of 2000, Jim and Ryan left Northwestern to build a more comprehensive planning practice. The independent and flexible structure of this new venture allowed Jim to more effectively use his years of experience as well as the expertise he had attained earning the designations of CFP, (Certified Financial Planner), and CLU, (Chartered Life Underwriter). Jim is the architect and implementer of the Confidence Focus Experience™, a unique life planning process. This process strives to enable its participants to build the confidence and financial freedom that allows them to enjoy family, hobbies and other personal endeavors. Jim has a singular passion for seeing that his clients have the free time to pursue their hobbies, as he engages in many himself, among them fishing, hunting, and woodworking. Located in Springfield, IL, Skinner, Copper & Ehmen works with clients in all parts of the United States and around the world developing either comprehensive financial plans or specialized tactical planning.

Melanie Lesko

Melanie has been with Skinner, Copper & Ehmen for over 14 years. She graduated from Western Illinois University with a degree in Finance and has been working in the banking and financial services field for 27 years. As a financial advisor, she assists her clients at Skinner, Copper & Ehmen with their retirement planning and investment needs. Melanie is also the firm's Long-Term Care and 401K specialist. In addition, Melanie enjoys traveling and other family activities with her husband and two daughters.

Ryan Ehmen, CPA, PFS

Ryan, husband, and father of four, graduated from Western Illinois University in 1998 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in German. In 2004. Ryan graduated from the University of Illinois-Springfield with a Masters in Accountancy and in 2005 attained his CPA and PFS conferred upon him by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants).

Ryan began working for Jim Copper as an Associate Agent in 1999 and became part-owner of the firm in 2008. Most of his time is spent interacting with clients, developing retirement savings strategies, retirement distribution strategies, and everything in between. As the Managing Partner and Registered Principal of Skinner, Copper & Ehmen, Ryan also performs data analysis, investment due diligence, and technology research to be used in all phases of the Confidence Focus Experience™.

When not attending to business or family, Ryan is a rhythm guitarist and singer for "The Rowdy Jones Band."

Noah D. Skinner, CFP®

Since 2022, Noah has worked at Skinner Copper & Ehmen Wealth Management, LLC, and has over four years of experience in the wealth management industry. Noah received a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Illinois State University with minors in Economics and Financial Planning. Noah has health and life insurance licenses. He helps work on 401k and other retirement plans. Currently located in Chicago and Springfield, Noah is growing his network as a young advisor in the industry. He is an avid sports fan, enjoying golfing and traveling.

Cindy Williams

Cindy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Corporate Communication from Doane College in 1997. Her skills are vast and varied with experience in business, education, and healthcare. After moving to Springfield from Lincoln, NE she joined Skinner Copper & Ehmen to support our advisors and clients with attentive and thorough service. In her spare time, Cindy enjoys spending time with her children and cheering on the Huskers.

Tom Kazenski

Tom attended Illinois State University where he majored in Economics with a concentration in Business and Government. He came to Skinner, Copper & Ehmen with 20 years of experience working in the mortgage industry and secondary financial markets. His previous roles as both an account executive and an operations supervisor give him a diverse range of skills which are beneficial in his support of our clients and the advisors in our office. Tom enjoys the outdoors, biking and hiking, and spending time with his wife and their four children.