Our Team

 

Dwight T.Philip
Owner

Dwight is a Fort Myers, FL native and longtime lover of the area. “There’s no place like Fort Myers” is a common reminder Dwight likes to give around the office. He is a rooted man who loves to spend time with his family and helping others. Dwight is an only child but always thought he’d be a great big brother which is what motivates him in helping kids around the area get a fair shake in life. Focusing on fairness and equal opportunity is what sparked his passion to found Philip Financial Group. His dream is to help people create wealth over time and protect the seeds they sow once they reach their financial dream. Dwight Philip is our founder and owner who began working in the insurance and financial service industry in 1989. Through his over 33 years in these industries, he can provide guidance on all aspects of financial goals. He uses his experience and passion to look at all the pieces of the financial puzzle, helping to ensure that his client’s financial futures are pieced together completely.

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Devon T. Philip, AIF®
Financial Advisor

Devon is a Florida native, meaning that the sunshine, beaches, and gators that are all characteristic of his home are embedded into his blood. After graduating from the University of Florida, he moved back to his hometown of Fort Myers to start his career with Philip Financial Group. He functions as a Financial Advisor within our practice as well as a Health, Life, and Annuities Insurance Agent.

With his Series 7 and Series 66 securities registrations, Devon helps to advise our individual clients by addressing their financial and insurance needs to plan for their retirement. He advises our business clients towards creating a comprehensive employee benefit package with a focus on retirement plans and business continuation. Mainly motivated by people’s happiness, Devon strives to be a servant to his community, family, and friends.

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Bayleigh Jauregui
Agent: Health, Life, Fixed Annuities - Operations Manager

Bayleigh was born in Naples, FL and raised in the surrounding community. It’s evident in her love for all things outdoors with a special interest around the water. Whether it’s fishing, boating, wakeboarding, or a relaxing pool day, she is just happy to be near some water with her two pups. Receiving her degree from Florida State University she will be the first person in the office to say “Go Noles!” when given the chance. Bayleigh is one of our Insurance Agent’s and Care Coordinators who started with Philip Financial Group in 2022, quickly earning her Health, Life, and Fixed Annuities license. She wants to succeed with her definition of success being one she wrote for herself, “I don’t need to change the world, but if I could help change just even a few people’s lives in my lifetime I would consider myself ‘rich’”. Aiming to educate others to mitigate life’s risks, she works to promote financial confidence. Bayleigh is in the business of helping people with her knack for industry and concern for our clients.

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Peter Tortora
Agent: Health, Life, Fixed Annuities – Property & Casualty

Peter is passionate about people. He was born in Crestwood, NY and graduated from Iona College. Stemming from his time growing up around NYC, Peter has a natural curiosity for people and for the ingredients that make them tick. When outside the office he enjoys spending time with his wife, friends, and family. Familial bonds are important to him which led him to become a notary; with the goal of ultimately being able to marry people. He’s performed weddings for people on several occasions and finds purpose in playing such a big part in others’ lives. The greatest motivation in his life is his wife, children, and grandchildren. At Philip Financial Group he is one of our insurance agents and business consultants. Peter has a deep knowledge of his clients that comes from his strong character and cares for their well-being.

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Chloe' Gratesol
Agent: Health, Life, Fixed Annuities - Claims Specialist - Care Coordinator

Chloe’ is another local from the area as she was born in Cape Coral, Florida. Recently she graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with her bachelor’s in Criminal Justice which has been a lifelong passion of hers to study. She has an instinct for investigating problems and solving a person’s plight. These natural skills fuel her role at Philip Financial Group as our Claims Specialist. She applies her investigative tact and industry knowledge to ensure that our client’s insurance policies are performing correctly. All while coordinating with insurance carriers and medical providers to advocate for our client’s well-being, Chloe’ can juggle many conversations at once. With her motivations stemming from the support of her family and friends she recycles that support towards those with claims struggles. Each day she looks forward to resolving our client’s claims and shares in their happiness when her job is done. Chloe’ has a bright future ahead, which when she’s not working towards it, she’s likely living as the locals do at the beach, watching movies, or relaxing at home.

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Bryce Farnsworth
Agent: Health, Life, Fixed Annuities - Benefits Consultant

Bryce has been a local to SWFL for all his life. Born and raised in Fort Myers, FL he decided to attend Florida Gulf Coast University obtaining a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance degree. Bryce came to Philip Financial Group as an intern while still earning his degree. Demonstrating drive and work ethic he finished his degree to then accept a full-time offer within our office. Since then, he’s earned the Florida 2-15 license and has a goal to continue his growth in our practice. Bryce loves to work but knows that he needs to spend some time on himself. When he has some free time, he enjoys time with family and friends or exercising. When he’s not on the go he can be found watching history documentaries and taking notes so he can tell our office all about them. Bryce is one of our benefits consultants helping business owners to assemble comprehensive employee benefit packages. With his care and self-responsibility Bryce has a bright future within our practice.

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Kathy
Administrative Specialist

Kathy is crafty no doubt about it. After growing up around Nashville, TN she moved to Fort Myers, FL in her early adulthood and has since made herself at home. Through her move she learned the value of hard work and having hope that her efforts would prevail. Kathy is quite creative as she spends her free time crafting anything from intricate pop-up holiday cards to decorative craft houses. Being careful and calculated in her crafts translates over to her skills at Philip Financial Group as she’s been instrumental in our growth as a company. She helps keep Philip Financial Group moving forward through her ability to ask the right questions and get to the bottom of the answers. Kathy’s role revolves around Client Administration, COBRA Administration, IT Support, employee training, agent commissions, enrollments, terminations, and coordination with our carriers. Respectfully asking questions has led her to connect with other talented individuals throughout her career. Whether it’s our carriers or our clients she is conversing with, she always finds motivation when she learns something new about the industry she has made her home for over a decade. Her mind and ears are open to all.

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Donna
Accountant – Payroll Specialist

Donna originally stemmed from Chicago, IL but moved down to the sunshine state in 1978. She received her education from USF and has been local since except when she’s traveling the world. When she has that time to herself you’ll likely not be able to predict her next destination but you can rely on the fact that she’ll have a book in hand to help pass the travel time. Well-read and well-traveled, Donna has a wealth of experiences that helps translate to her position at Philip Financial Group. She is our resident Accountant and Payroll Specialist who finds purpose in being able to help our clients with accounting, bookkeeping, or payroll needs. Donna is proficient in payroll systems and can be heard in our office helping to orchestrate client support amongst the varying processing platforms. By always finding a way to help navigate our clients through their questions she has earned a reputation for her ability to handle complex cases with ease.

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Brittney
Payroll Specialist– Administrative Specialist

Brittney was born in Billings, Montana but decided to make the trek down to Florida for most of her life. “Hands on” is a great way to describe Brittney’s work ethic and her passions outside of work. Recently she’s started to put her hands to the test by crafting jewelry, ties, and even outfits all out of beads. She does this for fun where she trades her creations at concerts and for her family’s varying requests. Family is key to Brittney’s motivations as she cites her main driver in life as her son. Seeing childhood as a blessing she wants her son to enjoy his time being young while learning that as he grows into himself and works hard it can be extremely rewarding professionally and personally. At Philip Financial Group, Brittney helps handle payroll and administrative functions for our clients. She has a special ability to multitask while maintaining a focused effort towards her work, ultimately motivating others with her example. Beyond processing systems and applications, she is well versed in Harley’s, even having one of her own. She’ll often take a drive to bike nights spending time with her husband and son.

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Meredyth
Payroll Specialist - Administrative Specialist

Originally from New Jersey, Meredyth moved to Cape Coral, FL where she lives today pursuing challenges and in pursuit of living a rewarding life. In her home state she attended Gloucester County Vo Tech for Graphic Design and has carried her keen eye to Philip Financial Group where she works in our Payroll and Administrative department. She has demonstrated a tenacity for her role, which likely stems from her motivations. Waking up each day, knowing she has another chance to be brought closer inline to her goals, children, and grandchildren she works in all aspects to do a good job. She wears her results on her sleeve and is constantly looking for new challenges to direct her efforts towards. When not at work, she likes to spend time with her family or outdoors with herself. Being outside is a focal point to her life as she enjoys being around the beach, practicing yoga, and undertaking projects like refinishing furniture. In her personal and professional life Meredyth is someone who has a strong desire for fulfilling her many roles.

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Lilly
Claims Specialist – Care Coordinator

Lilly was locally born and raised in Lee County. SWFL has been her whole life since she graduated from Riverdale High School and is a big fan of our local hockey team, the Florida Everblades. Being from the area she has a certain love for the beach that is unique to SWFL. Lilly is hardworking at her core but does take the necessary time to herself to scrapbook or read. Creative and kind she uses her talents to help our clients as a Claims Specialist and Care Coordinator. We think her claims tact could stem from her love of true crime documentaries, where she utilizes an investigative approach to emphasize with our clients and get down to the root of the claim issue. She also assists with Administrative needs in our office and clients, as she can be a sole contact for our clients needing a hand. Thriving off helping others and growing in her role, Lilly has a lifetime ahead of achieving her goals.

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Lisa
Agent: Property & Casualty – Administrative Specialist

Lisa was born in Grand Blanc, MI but moved to Fort Myers, FL over a decade ago. She is consistently friendly, positive, and always willing to lend a hand to help which is why we think she fits right in to the SWFL culture. She has always been business minded earning an Associates from Mott College and then she attended business classes at the University of Michigan-Flint before moving down. When not working she’s spending time with her boys participating in America’s favorite past-time, watching them play baseball. Lisa is hands-on and likes to pick up “do it yourself” projects or reading. Anything she can get her hands on she wants to make an impact. At Philip Financial Group she is one of our Property & Casualty agents with a 2-20 license and also an administrative specialist for our financial clients. Feeding into her friendly nature, Lisa focuses on client-facing with our P&C clients to understand their policies and service them whenever they need help. With her positivity she helps our financial clients through the paperwork and documentation process that comes with creating a comprehensive financial plan with our financial professionals. Lisa is a lifetime learner and will continue to use her talents to help others learn.