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, C.L.U.
Financial Services Professional

“The greatest way to help one’s self is to help others.”

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