Our Team
At Planning Strategies, we use a team approach. While each client will usually deal with one advisor as their key contact, all of our planners are available to provide their individual strengths and expertise to each of our clients unique financial situations. With each of our partners being familiar with each clients financial profile, we are able to make sure that urgent needs will be adressed even if your key planner is away from the office. All partners of Planning Strategies are registered with the State of Pennsylvania as Investment Advisory Representatives.
Steven M. Mitchell | MBA, CLU, ChFC, Financial Advisor
 Steve has been actively involved in the area of finance since 1977. He graduated from Shippensburg University, with a business degree, and immediately put his skills to work for the U.S. Marine Corps. He was an officer and Aircraft/Helicopter pilot, but assigned duties as a comptroller while earthbound and chained to a desk. He also spent one year in purgatory as an Air Liaison Officer with an infantry(Grunt) Battalion, In order to further his career, he went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Finance from Boston University. Upon leaving the Marine Corps and starting his own financial planning practice, he continued to develop his education, ultimately receiving the Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant designations from The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. Steve serves as the firms Chief Financial Officer. Steve is a past Board member of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, as well as a past Board Chair of the St. Joseph’s Health Ministries and past Board Chair of St. Joe's Foundation. The primary concentration of his practice is in the analysis and design of investment portfolios, as well as estate and personal financial planning. Steve and his wife, Bonnie, live in Lancaster, and have one daughter. She is following in Steve’s footsteps, as she recently graduated Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, aspiring to become a professional pilot. Steve’s hobbies include running, woodworking, but his true passion is his work
Scott Glenn Smith ChFC® | Financial Advisor
 Scott was born and raised in central Pennsylvania, graduating from Hershey High School in 1986. From there he continued his education in Pennsylvania, attending and graduating from Penn State University in May of 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences, with major studies in Marketing, Psychology, and Philosophy. Scott began his career in the financial services industry immediately after college, attaining his insurance and securities licenses through Prudential Securities, and he has been practicing financial and investment planning in this area since 1991. Scott says his career actually began before that, having been born into the field to a father who spent 35 years as a licensed stock and insurance broker. So, investment planning is in his blood.
During his career Scott has continued his professional education in the areas of estate planning, business planning, retirement plans and portfolio management, and has attained both the series 7 General Securities License and the series 65 Registered Investment Advisor License. In addition, Scott holds the Chartered Financial Consultant designation from The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. Scott is currently registered as a financial advisor of Planning Strategies, Inc., where he also serves as Chief Investment Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. In 2006 Scott was a recipient of the “Top 40 Under 40” award, which honors 40 businessmen and women of Central Pennsylvania under the age of 40. Scott has also served on the Board of the The Hershey Pa Chamber of Commerce from 2003 to 2012, and was President of the Organization in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Scott and his wife Elizabeth make their home in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, with their daughter Angelina. When Scott is not working, he is an avid backpacker, martial arts instructor and is a founder of the Epicurean Cultural Society... a culinary club of central Pennsylvania.
Kathy Kelly | Chief Operations Officer
 Kathy, Chief Operations Officer of Planning Strategies, Inc., believes her previous three years as a senior living sales counselor provided an ideal foundation for her work as an operations manager. As part of Brethren Village’s marketing roup, her sales team won a hard-earned award for Sales Team of the Year in 2007. Her background also includes working as a liaison for the Boards of the Delaware Group of Funds for 11 years as well as working as a client analyst at Goldman, Sachs where she obtained her Series 7 NASD license. Attention to detail, good listening skills and great empathy are symbols of her appreciation by the clients. She effectively supports Steve and Scott with her professionalism to help build long-term relationships with our growing client base and provides excellent customer service. Kathy is a proud recipient of Temple University’s Bachelor of Business Administration graduating Magna cum Laude with a concentration in Finance and Human Resources. In September, 2011 she studied and passed the NASD Series 65 exam and is now licensed as an Investment Advisor Representative by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is happy to become more of an integral part of the Planning Strategies investment advisory team. Away from the business, she enjoys travelling, skiing and spending time with family and friends. Erika Sackey | Client Relationship Manager  Erika Sackey, Client Relationship Manager at Planning Strategies, Inc., has been active in the administrative field for 17 years. She began her start in her native, New Jersey, after a high school internship for a small, start-up company turned into a career. Erika fully believes her previous position working with a new business gave her such a broad and extensive learning field and allowed her to learn what it takes to build a business and how important client service is.
Starting as the receptionist, Erika’s inquisitive nature, attention to detail and desire to learn, quickly moved her into higher positions. And when the company grew she grew with it, eventually becoming the Executive Assistant to the CEO and CFO. Her travels to other countries such as Germany and Columbia, contributed to her knowledge in working with other cultures, lifestyles and upbringings. In 2003, Erika was relocated to Dallas, TX to manage the sales force and client relationships for the southwest region. It was during this time she enhanced her client management skills and her education, obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Network Engineering from The Institute of Technology. Managing a sales team and handling regional clients, independent of her superiors, proved to be a challenging and rewarding decision as it strengthened her confidence to run a team, maintain an office and keep her clients informed & happy. Her sales team was consistently in the Top 3, every year that she managed them while she maintained one of the Top 2 Sales Manager spots. After 16 years, the owners wanted to retire and the company was sold in early 2011. Erika decided if she was starting over, it was time to head back east and she settled here in Lancaster, Pa. She began looking for another small business to make her “home”, thus her relationship with Steve, Scott and Kathy was formed and will remain until she too, retires. When not working, Erika can be found at art galleries, wine tastings and the local park with her dog, Callie.
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