About Us

Tema & Joel Steele



TEMA L. STEELE, M.B.A. began her career as an agent with New York Life Insurance Company in November 1981. Prior to joining NYLIC, she was a Bank Manager for a leading South Jersey Bank for seven years.

A 1970 graduate of Temple University, Tema received her BBA Degree with a major in Marketing and a minor in Statistics. She received her MBA Degree from Drexel University in 1985 in Organizational Behavior.

Tema is one of only a handful of agents that has qualified for Chairman’s Cabinet, the highest council status in New York Life, every year since its inception. She is a qualifying and life member of the Million Dollar Round Table* (MDRT). MDRT is recognized throughout the industry as the standard of excellence in life insurance sales performance. Since 1995 Tema has been awarded a place in MDRT’s prestigious Top of the Table which represents less than the top one percent of the industry. This distinction is achieved by attaining six times the qualifying status in a single year. Tema is consistently a Centurion award recipient representing several hundred new clients each year.

Tema has been an adjunct professor at Rutgers University, Camden Campus. She was Chairperson of the Advisory Board of the Regional Small Business Development Center at Rutgers University and is a recipient of the YWCA TWIN Award (Tribute to Women in Industry and Business).

Tema has been interviewed for articles that appeared in the LAN (National Association of Life Underwriters national magazine). She also has been interviewed by WOMEN’S WORLD magazine, and has written monthly columns for JERSEY WOMAN magazine. Her annuity article appeared in LEADERS magazine. She was also interviewed for an article in AMERICAN DEMOGRAPHICS, a publication of Dow Jones & Co., Inc. Tema is frequently asked to be a guest/keynote speaker at various groups and organizations. These include trade-related industries, as well as social and professional organizations.

In the May 8th 2006 edition of the National Underwriter magazine, Tema was featured in the cover story exclusive and in a second separate article regarding retirement planning and the need for agent education on the subject. New York Life asked Tema to represent them in the articles based on her track record as being one the top producers in the industry regarding retirement income planning. National Underwriting is one of the longest running, most respected publications in the financial industry.

Additionally, Tema appeared on the cover of the Collector’s Edition of NEW JERSEY WOMAN magazine, which honored 15 of New Jersey’s most accomplished women. An article applauding Tema and her accomplishments appeared in this edition. She was also showcased in the Commemorative 150th Anniversary book showing the history of New York Life in 1995. Tema has been featured in her own “Talk to Tema” informational radio and TV programs, and frequently contributes financial columns for local publications relating to finance.

Shortly after Tema’s son, Joel, joined New York Life as an agent in 2002, Tema began using the trade name Steele Financial Solutions symbolizing the family business that she had created over a quarter of a century. In 2006, after 25 successful years of operating out of New York Life’s local office, Tema and her staff of 8 relocated to their own office building where Tema and her partner/son Joel own almost an acre of land in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Tema has been “Creating, preserving and distributing wealth since 1981,” and she plans on doing the same for another 25 years.




*MDRT is recognized throughout the industry as the standard of excellence in life insurance sales performance




Business Biography
Joel I. Steele
Financial Services Professional

“The greatest way to help oneself is to help others.”

As an agent of New York Life Insurance Company and a Registered Representative with NYLIFE Securities LLC,  Joel Steele possesses a unique and unsurpassed passion for helping his clients achieve and preserve wealth. Joel I. Steele began his career as a young child. He accompanied his mother, New York Life Agent, Tema L. Steele, MBA, on appointments and assisted in her office throughout high school and college. Joel obtained his life, health insurance and securities licenses soon after graduating.

Just before receiving a Bachelors of Science degree in Business Marketing from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Joel created a restaurant company from scratch that grew to three stores. Joel was involved with that business for over four years. He is a nationally recognized Certified Personal Trainer. Joel also holds a Small Business Training certification from Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey

Currently a Chairman’s Council member at New York Life, the highest council status at the company, Joel represents the top one percent out of approximately ten thousand agents. He is also a “Centurion” award recipient noting his passion for helping approximately two hundred clients per year create, preserve and distribute wealth. He is also a qualifying member of The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT): The Premier Association of Financial Professionals®. MDRT is recognized throughout the industry as the standard of excellence in life insurance sales performance. Additionally, he is an active member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and recipient of their “National Sales Achievement Award.”

Joel is devoted to identifying potential pitfalls and working with clients to develop solutions to aid in their financial security. Joel primarily enjoys working with pre-retirees and retirees to help crystallize their objectives into a strategic plan that will protect their assets and their family members.

Located in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Joel spends the majority of his time at his office meeting with clients in person, by phone and by email to assist with various insurance concerns (life, long-term care ins., etc.), mutual funds** , annuities (fixed and immediate), 401(k)/IRA rollovers, retirement income strategies and estate planning.

When not at the office, Joel is on the road meeting with clients who are unable to visit his office. He has been a guest speaker for the graduate level Hospitality Management program at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Joel also has flown around the country speaking to several thousand New York Life agents. He is currently licensed in sixteen states although most of his clients work and reside in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Joel and his wife reside in Columbus, New Jersey.

**Offered through NYLIFE Securities LLC, member FINRA/SIPC.