SAIA Officers

TERESA WELLS, CFA – SAIA PRESIDENT
MANAGING DIRECTOR, TIEDEMANN ADVISERS

Teresa, as a Managing Director of Tiedemann Wealth Management, has direct responsibility for managing client relationships and addressing all investment-related matters. She is the main point-of-contact with clients and manages their portfolios by following the investment strategies and allocations determined by Tiedemann’s Investment Management Team and customizes portfolios to meet individual client goals and situations. She joined Tiedemann Wealth Management in January 2018 when Threshold Group merged with the firm, and brings over 17 years of investment industry experience to the role.

Prior to Tiedemann, Teresa served as the Managing Director of Investment Strategy for Threshold Group, who she joined in 2014. In this role, she worked in partnership with the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of Impact Investing to contribute to the firm’s broad investment strategy. She managed the research team as they developed the firm’s investment proposition including asset allocation and manager research. She was a voting member of both the Portfolio Management and Investment Committee and the Global Asset Allocation Committee. She also led the Wealth Management and Foundations services team in Seattle. In this role, she was responsible for recruiting, training and coaching the Seattle-based associates to deliver an exceptional client experience to wealth management and foundation clients.

Before joining Threshold Group, Teresa served as the Investment Strategist at Laird Norton Wealth Management (LNWM), creating strategic and tactical allocation strategies for high net worth investors. In addition, she oversaw two large institutional portfolios at the Seattle City Employee’s Retirement Plan and Farmers Life Insurance Co. Early in her career, she worked in client services for a small bank-owned trust company and for a venture capital fund of funds.

Teresa is a CFA Charterholder and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Seattle. She earned her Master’s in International Business from Seattle University and holds a B.S. in Finance from Metropolitan State College of Denver. She is on the Advisory Board for the Rwanda Girls’ Initiative.

BRIAN HANSON - SAIA VICE-PRESIDENT
SENIOR VP, INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORY GROUP - GRIFFIN CAPITAL SECURITIES, LLC

Brian has worked in the private wealth advisory community focused on registered investment advisors and family offices for more than 22 years. He was most recently employed as the Executive Director - iFunds Distribution with Mercury Capital Advisors. Prior to that he was Director of Business Development at Silver Creek Capital Management, a $7B AUM alternative investment manager. Prior to this, he spent nine years at BlackRock/Quellos Group, an alternative fund-of-funds manager, in both wealth advisory and investment management. Subsequent to this, he was the Chief Marketing Officer of Lake Union Capital Management, a long/short equity hedge fund, and earlier, Vice President of Business Development for SNW Asset Management, a fixed-income separate account manager. Brian holds a BA degree in Business Administration with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from the University of Washington. He is a board member of the Fulcrum Foundation and is a member of the Finance Committee at St. Joseph Catholic Parish.

DARREN WEST – SAIA TREASURER
MANAGER, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS

Darren is a Manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Seattle assurance practice where he provides audit services to local asset management clients. He has worked in PwC’s asset management practice since graduating from the University of Washington with a BA in Business Administration and a Master of Professional Accounting. Darren has worked in both the Seattle market, as well as internationally on rotation in PwC’s Sydney, Australia office within the financial services practice. Darren has experience serving domestic and offshore hedge funds, mutual funds, fund of hedge funds, collective trust funds, real estate funds, transfer agents and other associated asset management entities. Darren is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington State.

SONIA GIOSEFFI – SAIA SECRETARY
PARTNER, K&L GATES

Sonia works out of the San Francisco office of K&L Gates. She concentrates her practice in the investment management area and focuses on a variety of regulatory, transactional and counseling matters involving state and federal securities laws. She advises sponsors regarding the organization and regulatory requirements of private equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds and other private investment funds. She advises managers and placement agents concerning “pay-to-play” and lobbying regulation and compliance under federal, state and local laws. She also represents public pension plans and other institutional investors in connection with their investments in private investment funds.