Carrie leads our financial planning team and provides a high-level of planning support and guidance to North Star associates and their clients.

As a team, the Financial Planning Resource Center of North Star offers steady guidance and personalized solutions for individuals and families navigating the many changes life brings.

While Carrie and her team work out of North Star’s headquarters in Minneapolis, they serve clients and financial professionals throughout the country.

Steven has spent 31 years supporting advisors and clients through effective investing solutions, and he joined North Star in 2021 as a consultant in our investments division. Steven assists clients in portfolio construction, investment strategies, wealth management case design, economic trends, and retirement distribution ideas.

As Senior Vice President, Chase oversees the operations of Business Owner Solutions, Distribution Planning, and North Star’s insurance brokerage operations, which include Property and Casualty Insurance, Disability Insurance, Medicare/Individual Health, and Employee Benefits.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire with a degree in business administration and finance, Brakke joined North Star in 2008.

As a trained former financial advisor, Chase understands how to integrate complex strategies into overall financial goals. In his current role, much of his time is spent working directly with advisors and their clients and connecting them with North Star’s supporting team of specialists to serve clients holistically.

Chase is heavily involved in his community and has seen firsthand how financial literacy and preparedness can positively impact others. He serves as a board member for BestPrep, an organization that provides educational programs to students in grades 4-12 through professional mentorship opportunities. Each year, Chase volunteers over 100 hours with the organization as an eMentor, classroom speaker, and student essay judge.

For his volunteer work in furthering financial literacy, Chase was the recipient of the BestPrep Bunzel Volunteer of the Year award in 2018, was recognized as a Notable Leader in Finance honoree by Twin Cities Business in 2021, and was named an honorable mention for the Volunteer of the Year award from Invest In Others in 2024.

Chase lives in Stillwater, Minn., with his wife, Jenn, and two children. In his free time, he enjoys playing golf, basketball, volleyball, and tennis, along with spending time with family, especially at his lake cabin.

Chris helps financial advisors at North Star identify the strongest insurance product solutions for their clients. Joining North Star in 1996, Chris’s career path has taken him from financial advisor to manager of external insurance brokerage to long-term care specialist to his current role as vice president of insurance brokerage and long-term care. He is very passionate about both brokerage and long-term care given the consequences families face without proper planning.

In an industry with hundreds of companies and thousands of products, Chris helps narrows down the choices to the few that truly make sense based on each client’s unique situation.

Chris attended St. John’s University in St. Joseph, Minn., and he currently works out of North Star’s headquarters in Minneapolis.

Michael joined the North Star property and casualty department in 2019. As a team, the North Star insurance specialists focus on finding gaps in coverage and providing clients with customized solutions based on their specific needs.

Working out of North Star’s headquarters in Minneapolis, Michael is licensed to work with clients throughout the U.S.

Austin is the Director of Tax Services at North Star Resource Group in Minneapolis, where he provides tax advice to North Star advisors in their mission to attract and retain clients.

Prior to joining North Star in 2023, he was a tax manager for private client services at BDO LLP. He managed between five and 10 tax associates and senior associates while servicing pass-through entities, REITs, trusts, and high-net-worth individuals who had a high degree of tax complexity. He also advised individual and trust clients on year-end tax planning while clearly communicating the results of projections and discussing potential tax strategies.

Before BDO, Austin served as a Senior Tax Associate at Deloitte Tax LLP. In this capacity, he served high-net-worth individuals across athletics, real estate development, retail, and manufacturing industries. He also researched, planned, and performed accounting method changes, entity restructuring, and liquidations as part of his role here.

After growing up in Cook, MN, Austin graduated with a B.A. in Accounting from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, MN. He has also completed the CPA certification exam from the State of Minnesota Board of Accountancy. In his free time, he enjoys muskie fishing, spending time outdoors, and attending Minnesota Twins baseball games. His family also runs Vermillion Dam Lodge, a resort in northeastern Minnesota, which he still visits to this day.