Our Story...
Is Much Like Your Own

The people who founded and lead Hope Trust know what it takes to live with and care for a loved one with special needs.

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Hope Trust is the first and only comprehensive, holistic solution that addresses the unique and ever-evolving needs of loved ones with special needs:

Expert trust and care planning services

Access to skilled care coordinators and fiduciary services

Instant access to products and services in accordance with a detailed life care plan

Our story

We created Hope Trust because our families and the family members with special needs we love, deserve more.

Each of us knows the unrelenting attention and effort required to ensure our children, siblings, parents or others with special needs get the help they need. These requirements extend beyond daily tasks, including assistance at school and at home.

Into their adulthood, we manage their household needs, arrange food deliveries and transportation along with countless other tasks of daily life, providing financial support the entire way. We’re there when they need us – and that is often and at all hours – because we love them.

We’re there because there are
no alternatives.

Family members lack the time and training to handle the workload, and a traditional bank trust department is not prepared or equipped to provide the high-touch, round-the-clock service it takes to administer a special needs trust. Without us, our loved ones have nowhere else to turn for the essential help and support they need.

Our Mission & Vision

Hope Trust is both a labor of love and of critical necessity.

Harness the power of technology and the dedication of skilled, knowledgeable professionals to serve and care for our clients and their families, enabling them to achieve their potential and live fuller, more rewarding lives.

We measure our success by the value we create:

Service supported by technology that safeguards your interests, helping you preserve and manage your resources.

Options that span the care spectrum, giving you the flexibility to choose and control the services you receive and ensure that all life needs are met.

Experience in creating and managing special needs trusts, that help grantors and beneficiaries in ways that traditional trust companies cannot.

Best-in-class, high-touch service and 24/7 accessibility, from our care coordinators dedicated to improving the life of every beneficiary entrusted to our care.

A culture of care, that is evident in everything we do – financial transparency for our clients, a singular focus on service, and an emphasis on social responsibility.

Our Team

We have a meaningful connection to the special needs community and are dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families that face these unique challenges.

Leadership

Joshua A. Fishkind, Esq

CO-FOUNDER AND ADVISOR

Surrounded by an amazing Team, Josh leads Hope Trust’s efforts to bring legal, health care, and financial professionals together using our ground-breaking technology to enhance the lives of individuals with special needs and their families. Josh is responsible for recruiting, finances, board communication, and managing the development of our revolutionary technology. He has built and now manages an incredible Team of software developers, health care professions, and financial services experts, all dedicated to delivering a holistic solution to a market that is so in need of being embraced. By creating a flat hierarchy, he has cultivated an environment where all team members contribute to the growth and delivery of our technology platform and personalized services. As a JD/MBA, Josh has brought his education, love of technology, and passion for helping challenged individuals lead better lives to this rapidly growing Company.

Henri Buccine, MA

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Henri brings her unique background of psychology, sociology, and expertise in criminal justice to best serve our clients and direct day-to-day operations at Hope Trust. She translates her diverse interests of background demography, disorders, technology, and public health implications into business intelligence key insights. Furthermore, she incorporated and authored legal and medical verbiage for technology-driven drafting. Henri helps to ensure that all information gathered through the Hope Trust Platform creates a fully comprehensive, personalized care plan for each client. She works with the developers, sales teams, care coordinators, and clinical coordinators to ensure smooth, daily services that contribute to Hope Trust’s care effort.

Our Team

Cynthia Boyer, PhD

CHIEF CLINICAL COORDINATOR

Dr. Boyer hires, trains, and manages the Hope Care Coordinators to help them better understand and communicate with the beneficiaries. Then, by reviewing each beneficiary’s life care plan, she designs the protocol for the delivery of appropriate products and services for each of our clients. Formerly an Executive Director of brain injury services and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychology, she brings 30 years of experience as a neuropsychologist serving individuals with neurological, psychiatric, intellectual, developmental and substance abuse disorders.

Jessica Fisher, MSW

SR. CARE COORDINATOR

Jess, together with the care team, organized and wrote a holistic questionnaire, enabling our innovative technology to synthesize and personalize each client’s life care plan. Guided by this Plan, she understands the nuances of each and every beneficiary, empowering her to deploy appropriate resources to help make their lives better. She graduated with both her Bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies, and Master’s degree in Social Work from Syracuse University.

Debbie Niemann, MBA, ChSNC

SVP, DIRECTOR FINANCIAL INTEGRATIONS

In planning for her own daughter with cerebral palsy and medical complexities, Debbie realized how complicated, disjointed, and overwhelming the process was, especially on top of the normal, daily demands of care. She quickly became a special needs planning specialist at Northwestern Mutual, where she helped countless families across the country through this process. She has spoken on the topic at state, regional, and national conferences and joined Hope Trust to share her expertise and help financial advisors support their clients in creating peace of mind. She is passionate about making sure families and their advisors have the information and solutions to ensure a lifetime of care for their loved one with disabilities.

Zarrin Farooqi, DNP, FNP-BC

CHIEF CARE COORDINATOR

Serving as Hope Trust’s Clinical Care Coordinator, Zarrin oversees all care provided to our clients and ensures it is delivered in accordance with our values as a company. She has authored the underlying questionnaire responsible for building the Hope Care Plan and is responsible for coordinating teams across the company to deliver the highest quality of care. As a Doctor of Nursing, her study and work is dedicated to the wellbeing of her clients.

Matt Thompson, MS

CARE COORDINATOR

Together with the care team, I understand the nuances of each beneficiary, empowering myself to deploy appropriate resources to help make their lives better. I graduated with both my Bachelor’s degree in History and Classics, and Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Seton Hall University.

Board of Directors

Russell J. Fishkind, Esq

CO-FOUNDER, GENERAL COUNSEL & CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

Russell is an attorney whose practice centers on trust and estate planning, with a focus on special needs planning, high net worth estate planning, business succession planning, and family office consulting. He also is the father of a special needs child. Russell teaches at New York University and literally wrote the book on trust and estate planning as co-author of J.K. Lasser Pro’s™ Estate Business Succession Planning – A Legal Guide to Wealth Transfer. Russell has drafted more than 3,000 estate plans during his career along with several books and numerous articles, and appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, MSNBC and U.S. News & World Report.

Daria Placitella

CO-FOUNDER

Prior to joining Hope Trust, she was the regional president for PNC’s New Jersey market, and eventually rose to become the managing executive for the Eastern US, responsible for 35 teams with 20 billion in assets under management.

Andrew Komarow

FOUNDER, PLANNING ACROSS THE SPECTRUM

Andrew Komarow is a Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) and founder of Planning Across the Spectrum. The firm specializes in helping individuals, with autism and other intellectual/developmental disabilities, pursue financial confidence. He provides comprehensive guidance for life decisions that are either unknown, not easily accessible, or can be complicated to pilot for someone with unique needs. Andrew provides a comprehensive perspective for serving neurodiverse individuals and their families because he has “walked in their shoes,” having received his autism diagnosis late in life.

Steven Rubin, BA, JD, CELA

CERTIFIED ELDER LAW ATTORNEY FROM THE NATIONAL ELDER LAW FOUNDATION

Steven L. Rubin has earned the distinction of Certified Elder Law Attorney from the National Elder Law Foundation.Attorney Rubin has passed the Bar in Connecticut, New York, and Florida. He is a member of organizations that reflect his career directions and active participation: Connecticut Bar Association; the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association; the New York Bar Association; the Florida Bar Association; the Connecticut Bar Association Young Lawyers; the Florida Bar Association Young Lawyers Division; the New York Bar Association Young Lawyers Division; New Haven Bar Association, New Haven Bar Association Young Lawyers; New Haven Bar Association Public Service Committee; the New Haven Bar Association Trusts and Estates Committee; Court Relations Committee; and the American Bar Association. His practice focuses on elder law, estate planning, estate administration and probate, Title XIX (Medicaid) planning and eligibility, Life Care Planning, business continuation, disability and special needs planning, trust planning and administration, and related tax matters.

Hope Trust serves clients throughout the United States.