Resume for Brandon Gilliam
An abridged printable copy is available here. The free Adobe Reader is required to view and print
this version. It can be downloaded here.
Professional Experience
Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA of Waco, Texas
2011-Present Vice President
2015-Present Director
Dunnam & Dunnam, LLP of Waco, Texas
2008-2011 Asst. Escrow Manager
| • | Originally a division of a now ninety year old law firm, Advance Trust & Life Escrow Services, LTA (ATLES) was formed upon the granting of a trust company charter from the Texas Department of Banking in early 2011. ATLES serves as the primary escrow agent for a publicly traded company working in the secondary market for life insurance known as life settlements. This company puts together groups of investors to buy fractional interests in unwanted or no longer needed life insurance policies from seniors as an investment. ATLES holds all of the money for the purchase and maintenance of the policies, and has had as much as $220,000,000 under its control at one time. |
| • | One of two founding employees of the division of the law firm, and now serve as Vice Presidents in a two person management team for ATLES, supervising both staff members and outside contractors (including information technology, custodial, facility maintenance, security system and others) |
| • | Primary person responsible for closing purchases of policies (since 2008, approximately 14,000 clients have purchased more than 65,000 fractional interests in more than 550 policies, purchased for almost $1,000,000,000 and with a total death benefit of more than $1,770,000,000, and institutional clients have purchased whole policies with a total death benefit of more than $180,000,000) |
| • | Supervision of all account changes, hundreds per month, such as resales to other investors, abandonments, mandatory distributions, and transfers between IRAs (traditional to Roth) |
| • | Processing all policy maturities, including filing death claims and paying out more than $144,000,000 worth of death benefits to thousands of fractional owners. |
| • | Coordination of annual financial and information technology audits, as well as annual information technology and safety and soundness exams from the Texas Department of Banking (Safety and Soundness exams regularly require the production and organization of roughly 7,000 pages of documents) |
| • | Serve as the Information Security Officer, responsible for the safekeeping of confidential information, as well as maintaining legal files, vendor management records, responses to subpoenas, and corporate insurance policies
(building, E&O, health) |
| • | Telephone, email, and in person customer service, with IRA custodians, the life settlement company, its licensee network (outside sales) and its clients, who are of substantial means and must self certify as highly qualified investors |
| • | All purchasing, from custodial supplies to major information technology expenditures |
| • | Preparation of Board of Directors and Participant meeting materials, including agendas, tracking reports for audits and exams, critical vendor summaries, risk assessments, and minutes |
| • | Creation and maintenance of all training materials, including several hundred pages of manuals for our custom software, as well as training new staff and annual staff training on the Bank Secrecy Act, Customer Identification Program, Information Technology best practices, etc.
|
| • | Creation and maintenance of all policies and procedures, totaling several hundred pages, many of which must be regularly updated in response to suggestions from auditors or examiners, or because of changes in the way we do business |
| • | Coordination of major projects, such as initial setup of temporary office space, moving company to newly constructed building, installation of new servers and migration to them, installation of imaging system and conversion of paper files to electronic records |
| • | Day to day technical support, backed by an outside contractor for major projects or problems |
| • | Coordination of website development, design and production of marketing materials |
First Presbyterian Church of Waco, Texas
2003-2008 Communications, Technology & Facilities Manager
2001-2003 Director of Communications & Technology
1999-2001 Administrative Assistant
| • | Development of an improved, focused, and integrated communications strategy comprised of printed materials, emails, and the world wide web |
| • | Design and publication of multi-page weekly worship bulletins, monthly newsletters, posters, postcards, stewardship materials, church school brochures, newspaper advertisements and all other communications materials for a successful, downtown Presbyterian Church (PC(USA)) congregation with approximately 700 members |
| • | Writing feature articles for newsletters and bulletins |
| • | Serving as a staff resource for the Christian Education, Congregational Life, Facilities Management and Planning, Golden Memory Memorial (special projects funded by memorial gifts), Jablonowski Beautification (special projects funded by a restricted fund managed by a foundation), and Stewardship (fundraising) Committees as well as attending monthly Session (the governing body of the local church) meetings |
| • | Serving as volunteer and special projects coordinator |
| • | Management of an almost 30,000 square foot facility (with sections built in 1911, 1950, and the early 90s) and grounds (1.8 acres, included landscaped lawn, two parking lots and two landscaped courtyards, all managed organically), including planning and supervision of major improvement projects |
| • | Coordination and supervision of custodial service, lawn maintenance contractor, security officers, plumbers, electricians, painters, and other contractors |
| • | Supervision of a full-time custodian, including the difficult task of providing the necessary documentation to support his termination |
| • | Coordination and supervision of audio/visual equipment, including purchasing and maintenance |
| • | Creation and maintenance of vendor relationships, including conflict resolution |
| • | Installation, administration and maintenance of a mixed Macintosh and Windows network, including routing and installation of network cables, switches, and routers, building PCs and servers, upgrading numerous systems, setting up network printers and other shared resources, providing software support and training for church staff and volunteers, and installation of two Christian Education computer labs with internet access |
| • | Active participation in both the budgeting and budget compliance process for technology and facilities |
| • | Design, publication, and maintenance of the church website (www.firstpreswaco.org), which contained hundreds of pages and includes information on church programming, local and national church history, and Presbyterian beliefs (site has been redesigned) |
| • | Design and publication of a weekly email newsletter and other email communications |
| • | Participation in discussions about current and future programming for the church |
| • | Purchasing of resource materials, furniture, custodial supplies, and office supplies |
| • | Working cooperatively with a varied group of individuals of all ages and backgrounds |
| • | Coordinating and assisting with major events, including many parties, large meetings, and an annual retreat |
Carroll Cruises & Tours of Waco, Texas
1997-1998 Travel Counselor, CLIA Accredited Cruise Counselor
| • | Sales and marketing of cruises, escorted tours, and group sales for an established travel agency with over two million dollars of sales in a fast paced and rapidly changing industry |
| • | Customer service, conflict resolution and vendor relations |
| • | Coordination and support of an outside sales force |
| • | Design and publication of newsletters and marketing materials |
| • | Good verbal communication skills, especially on the telephone, were required |
Flowers by Design of Waco, Texas
1992-1996
| • | Coordination and set up of weddings, parties and other events for an established floral company, including supervision of work crews and assisting in the design and production of complex floral displays |
| • | Working in an environment which required effective time management skills, where I regularly operated under deadline pressure |
| • | Customer service and conflict resolution in an often high stress, fast paced work environment |
| • | Teamwork, coordination of shared responsibilities, and cooperation among staff members were required for events to be successful |
Additional Experience & Community Involvement
First Presbyterian Church of Waco, Texas: Church School Teacher (2 years), Congregational Life Committee Member (2 years), Christian Education Committee Member (5 years), Playground Relocation Committee Member, Vacation Church School Assistant (5 years), First Fellowship Sunday evening programming) Sub-committee Member (2 years), Stewardship Committee Member (7 years). Youth Conference and Activity Sponsor (8 years), coordinated and/or hosted Meals
Sparks Memorial United Methodist Church of Bellmead, Texas: Replaced lightbulbs and fixtures with more energy efficient ones, made small repairs and cosmetic upgrades throughout the building, set up and ran sound board for special events, helped host multiple meals and community outreach events, designed and provided hosting for a church website
Central Presbyterian Church of Waco, Texas: consulting on technical needs, including hardware and software troubleshooting, equipment recommendations
Woodhaven Presbyterian Church of Irving, Texas: design and creation of a website for the congregation (site has been redesigned), other technical and programming consulting
PC(USA) Administrative Personnel Association: Served on the Planning Committee of the 1999 Annual Regional Conference in Dallas, Texas
Grace Presbytery (a regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church, representing more than 48,000 members in 185 congregations in 53 counties in North and Central Texas): Resource Network Committee Member (2 years, this committee coordinated communications, resources–including a large library, and intercongregational programs), Communications & Technology Committee (Moderator (Chairman), 1 year), Presbytery Council (essentially the “Board of Directors” of the Presbytery, 1 year), Grace Presbytery Reflections (a multi-page newsletter sent to all of the pastors, educators and church officers in the Presbytery) Editorial Board Moderator (1 year, I was the first to serve in this position after the Resource Network Committee created the newsletter), and Grace Presbytery Website Editorial Board Moderator (1 year)
Bluebonnet Girl Scout Council of Waco, Texas: design and creation of a website for the organization (which has since merged with another council), computer recommendations and repair, and other technical and communications consulting
Camp Fire USA, Tejas Council of Waco, Texas: design and creation of a website for the organization (which is no longer in existence), computer recommendations and repair, and other technical and communications consulting
Quinn Campus, Inc. of Waco, Texas (which fulfilled its purpose of redeveloping the old Paul Quinn College Campus and has since disbanded): computer recommendations and repair, and other technical and communications consulting
Home Restoration in Waco, Texas: I have purchased and restored two homes built in 1954. The first was an uninhabitable foreclosure. I made extensive repairs, painted (inside and out), refinished the wood floors, landscaped, and worked with the assistance of contractors to repair the electrical and plumbing systems. I also had an HVAC system installed in the home. The second was in better initial condition than the first, but I have cosmetically updated it and made substantial improvements, with the assistance of contractors on some of the plumbing and electrical upgrades. I've also had the floors refinished professionally, as well as having a new roof and HVAC system installed. Both were complex restorations done without the assistance of a general contractor.
Skills
Computer Programs: Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Fireworks, Adobe Flash, Adobe Contribute, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft Publisher, Corel WordPerfect, Corel Quattro Pro, Corel Presentations, Corel Draw, Corel Photo Paint, Windows, and Mac OS X. Willing and able to quickly learn other necessary software.
Other Computer Skills: Installation and replacement of all computer components, including building entire systems, system and software troubleshooting and support, network cabling, and network administration
Interpersonal: Experienced in working with groups and individuals, both staff and volunteers, using teamwork and collaboration, setting goals, delegating responsibility, and communicating effectively.
Education
Baylor University of Waco, Texas, Bachelor of Arts (Psychology), December, 1996
Midway High School of Waco, Texas
Questions, comments, or broken links? Please email the webmaster at bgilliam@bgilliam.com
Unless otherwise stated, all material contained in this web site is Copyright © 2015 by Brandon Gilliam.