Our Partners
Tælos Team
J Brian Morgan, AIF®, CEPA® — USAF Veteran
Managing Partner & Founder
My passion has always been understanding people and the unique experiences that guide their decisions and ultimately shape their paths. This has led me to constantly look for ways to have a meaningful impact on the lives of others in my community and the people they care about. I know this has a natural ripple effect. I am committed to developing deep relationships with my clients where I serve as a financial strategist to guide them through building their financial futures with confidence, so they can live their best lives and create lasting legacies for their families, loved ones, and communities.
Originally from South Carolina, I served in the US Air Force before calling North Carolina my home for the past 24 years. My wife, Shannon, and I are proud residents of Apex where we enjoy growing our community alongside our four amazing children. Outside of business I enjoy camping with my kids and coaching youth soccer, baseball and cross country. I also like to play a round of golf when I can.
Marissa Parker, M.S. – USCG Veteran
Office Administrator
Marissa was invited to join our company for her experience in business administration and planning.
While her education includes a Master of Science degree is remarkable, what really brings her to our team is her attention to detail, communication, and critical thinking skills. While serving in the Coast Guard, Marissa was awarded the Letter of Commendation for documentation of government assets, professionalism, and job performance.
Outside of her duties at Taelos Financial Partners, Marissa volunteers in our community as Vice Chair of the Tree Advisory Committee for the Town of Holly Springs and as Assistant Cubmaster within the Boy Scouts of America.
Marissa is driven by learning new things, finding solutions, and helping others improve their quality of life and future trajectories. Her newest endeavor includes earning a degree in data management and cyber security. In her spare time, Marissa enjoys cooking, spending time with family, and being outdoors.
Thomas Keisler – East Carolina University – Senior
College Intern
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Thomas currently resides in Greenville N.C. He is currently a senior at East Carolina University pursuing a B.A in Economics with a concentration in Policy Analysis and a minor in Business Administration.
During his early academic career, he established and directed a new local chapter of Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity for ECU.
He has a strong passion for investing as well as playing ice hockey when he can find the time when not also performing tasks for a certain homegrown social media mega-influencer. Thomas is excited to join the Taelos Financial Partners team.
Abel Getachew — Cornell University — Sophomore
College Intern
Abel is a rising sophomore at Cornell University, studying Operations Research and Information Engineering with a concentration in Finance. He is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.
At Cornell, he is involved in Cornell Financial Analysts, a premier finance club that prepares members to work at some of the most respected banks and firms. Additionally, Abel is involved in research with Mars, Inc working to develop and implement new data science solutions and techniques to optimize marketing strategies.
Outside of academics, a few of Abel’s personal interests are restaurant hopping, human geography, Maryland sports teams, and Arya Stark’s character development. He looking forward to contributing to the Taelos Financial Partners team’s ongoing success.
Board of advisors
Nelson Santiago – USCG Retired
Chief Learning Officer & Principal Consultant
Learning DNA, LLC in Raleigh, NC
Nelson Santiago is a globally recognized Learning and Development leader with over 25 years of experience helping organizations align their talent development initiatives and strategies to business outcomes. He has led talent development & leadership projects in over 25 countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia and has served multiple organizations in manufacturing, corporate, government and biotech industries.
He is also a Master Trainer with the Association for Talent Development, a DDI Facilitator, a Gallup Certified Strengths and Everything DiSC Coach, an associate with the ROI Institute, and a Learning and Development Partner with Catapult. He holds a degree in Organizational Psychology and proudly served his country for 13 years as an Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard. He is currently the Chief Learning Officer and Principal Consultant at Learning DNA, LLC in Raleigh, NC.
Matthew Markoff, CPA
Tax Partner
Markoff & Malatesta CPAs, PLLC
After nearly a decade of working in the Public Tax world, Matthew decided to start his own firm. Taking the knowledge he gained throughout the years, he decided to do something a little crazy- To actually focus on client care.
His firm specializes in individual (1040’s) and business (S-Corp’s, Partnerships, C-Corps) taxation and consulting. He also utilizes his experience with returns of all types, sizes, and nearly any industry- from your basic individual return to Ultra-High Net Worth tax clients, and from your normal “Mom & Pop” S-Corp/Partnership to a multi-tiered $100M+ company filing in 30+ states.
Van Daughtry, MBA
President & Founder
Van Daughtry Consulting, LLC
Van is the founder of Van Daughtry Consulting, LLC, a company focused on small and mid-size business sales and acquisitions. He is also a commercial real estate agent with Keller Williams in Raleigh, NC and uses his experience and passion to help individuals sell their current business or purchase a new one.
Prior to becoming a business and commercial real estate broker, Van was an owner/operator of 20 franchise locations of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service for over 11 years. During that time, he won numerous operational awards and just recently exited his business successfully. Before owning the tax franchise, Van was a partner in his family’s agri-business where he improved operations, made greater use of technologies in the business, and ultimately guided the business to a successful exit to a large national company. Van’s first career was as a commercial banker, which was a great foundational learning experience.
There are many types of businesses in the world, but small family businesses and start-ups are of particular interest to Van. In his spare time, Van assists small to mid-size businesses with challenges in the areas of accounting, marketing, team building, sales and development. He is also a volunteer mentor to students at NC State University in the Poole College of Management Entrepreneurship Program and loves hearing companies pitch what could become the next great business idea.
Van holds an M.B.A. from Campbell University and B.A. in Business Management from NC State University and is always ready to tackle the next business opportunity that comes his way!
Sarah Jansen
Director of Partnerships
Cultivate Advisors
Sarah is a 2x entrepreneur who successfully exited her most recent business in 2021. Throughout her career, her mission was to empower others. She was able to do that through case management, advocacy, and roles in sales/business development.
As the Director of Partnerships for Cultivate Advisors, she is now able to empower small business owners, entrepreneurs, and business leaders to grow and thrive. Her strengths in business are entrepreneurialism, market validation, KPIs, and business development strategies. Her last company grew 5X in 3 years.
She is an insufferable lover of Boxer dogs. She currently resides in Raleigh with her family and two dogs, Bobo & Weylen.