Meet Your Team

Silas started the financial consulting firm Silas Parker & Associates in 2006 with the purpose of helping people clarify and accomplish their most important goals.

He loves answering questions, translating complex issues into simple solutions, and going the extra mile to show how much he truly cares. Silas has consistently ranked as one of the top New York Life agents in the country, earning a coveted place at Chairman’s Cabinet for 2021^*—an honor reserved for the top 50 New York Life agents in the country. Although the accolades are an honor, Silas and his team care most about serving client needs. He strives to deliver solutions with great empathy, quality of service, and meticulous attention to details.

^*Council is an annual company recognition program based on agent production from July 1- June 30.

My Personal Story

Born in the Ozark Mountains, Silas spent his first years in a small, humble dwelling his father built in the woods. His name even means “man of the forest.” One of his greatest inspirations, his Oma (Meta Parker/grandmother), lived just down the dirt road. Meta, a World War II survivor and widow, taught him love for God, joy for life, and a resilience for life’s hardships. In the late ‘70s, Silas’ father joined the military and the family moved to Central Texas in the early ‘80s. As a young teenager, Silas went out on his own to escape his parents’ complicated divorce. Finding solace in music, he traveled the West Coast performing with a band. Eventually he made his way back to Texas, settling in Austin, which he has called home since 1994.

During a magical evening at a wildlife refuge benefit in 2000, he met his wife, Marjorie. Together they have a music-loving son August, and helped raise Marjorie’s sister, Winnie, after their mother’s sudden passing. Music continues as a passion in his life, and he performs as a bass player in local Austin bands. His grandmother’s influence is still deeply there, as he reads his Bible each morning and attends the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. He also volunteers in worship services at Good Shepherd as a Eucharistic minister, worship leader, and fill-in bass player. Whenever he has the chance, Silas loves to visit his Ozark childhood home to recharge his batteries by watching the bears, deer, and other wildlife that inhabit the forest he calls his sanctuary.

My Professional Story

Larissa has been with Silas Parker & Associates since 2019. Larissa’s job is to ensure that we are providing our clients with a level of service that surpasses their expectations, and she does just that. She is focused on our clients’ best interests, offering her extensive knowledge of insurance and retirement planning. Larissa holds her Group 1 License in Life, Accident and Health, and HMO, and assists Silas in applications and account implementation for all clients. In addition, Larissa acts as liaison with The Nautilus Group® and our other strategic alliances.  

My Personal Story

Larissa has more than 20 years of customer service and administrative experience and is passionate about helping people. She was born in Cuba to a Navy family and has a fierce desire to travel the world. Larissa enjoys spending time with her family, her dog, Major, and doing anything that involves animals of all kinds. She also loves swimming, reading, listening to music and cold weather!

My Professional Story

Nicole joined Silas Parker & Associates in 2021. Nicole’s goal is to make sure that we, as your financial team, are operating to the superior level our clients expect. Nicole makes sure that our firm operations mirror the company’s mission, vision, and core values. She handles all of our internal programs, HR, daily operations, IT, and assists with client meetings. In addition, she works with our Marketing Director of overall management for marketing, website, and social media compliance. Nicole has 20 years of administrative and legal assistant experience, which enables her to consistently deliver on our brand promise through appealing materials, relevant content, business strategy, and effective brand strategy.

My Personal Story

Nicole was born in New York but grew up in South Florida. She is a proud Disabled Veteran of the United State Navy, where she served for 2 ½ years. Nicole has a bachelor’s degree in Paralegal Studies from Kaplan University. She currently lives in Leander, TX with her husband Jason, daughter Giada (born in 2012), and three dogs: Velvet, Luna, and Nero. Nicole enjoys watching movies, spending time with her family, taking weekly art classes, and traveling . . . anywhere and everywhere!

Fun fact about Nicole: She has been to 4 continents, 25+ countries and counting!

My Professional Story

Marjorie has been involved in managing marketing and accounting for Silas Parker & Associates since day one. Even as a child, Marjorie was actively involved in the operations of her family’s businesses and, as such, has assumed many roles over the years. She is a certified bookkeeper and earned her BS in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin in just 3 years. Outside of SP&A, Marjorie has more than 20 years of career experience in marketing, media buying/planning, publishing, graphic design, and more. Marjorie brings solid business skills with an artistic flair and technical know-how to the team.

My Personal Story

A Waco native and 7th-generation Texan, Marjorie spent much of her childhood on the back roads around Midland, Texas before moving back to Waco in middle school. As a teen living in Waco, she spent many weekends driving her 1963 Cadillac on road trips up and down I-35 and across Texas for rock and roll shows, vintage shopping, and floating the rivers. While Marjorie strongly considered college on the East Coast, she opted to attend UT, landing in the epicenter of late ‘90s Austin weirdness. Marjorie planned to move to New York or DFW to pursue a career in advertising after graduation, however, after a fateful encounter with Silas, she fell head over heels in love and has been in Austin with Silas ever since.

Silas and Marjorie have been together since 2000 and married in 2003. They have had many triumphs and adventures while raising a brilliant son and helping to raise her baby sister. Marjorie considers herself incredibly loved and fortunate for the blessings in her life and believes every hardship is a lesson from God and an opportunity to grow better and stronger. Outside of work and family responsibilities, Marjorie loves road trips, live music, reading, creating, and practicing yoga whenever she can. She’s a trivia whiz who once lost on Jeopardy! And like a true introvert, Marjorie has yet to watch her episode (it aired in 2012)!

My Professional Story

Crystal joined Silas Parker & Associates in 2021. She has a degree in Communications and Outreach, and background in several industries (including insurance, media, and military). She holds her Group 1 License in Life, Accident and Health, and HMO and supports our firm by delivering concierge-level service to meet our clients’ needs. Her role is to serve our clients on all levels throughout the financial journey, and she aims to do so excellently.

My Personal Story

Crystal is definitely a people person. Born and raised in Montana, she graduated from Lipscomb University in Nashville. She met and married her Army husband soon after. Together they started a family and moved several times before settling in Texas in 2015. Crystal was also a homeschool teacher to her three kids.

Fun fact about Crystal: She enjoys playing violin with her kids and continues to attempt a garden every spring.

My Professional Story

After graduating from Texas State University in the fall of 2014, Matt wanted to pursue the path to become a financial professional. He started his career with New York Life and NYLIFE Securities LLC in 2015. His success as an agent was noticed by the Austin General Office (GO) management team and he was approached in 2017 to become an Associate Partner and join the Austin GO management team. Matt later became a Partner in early 2018 to help with the recruitment and development of new agents that joined the Austin GO.

In early 2020, he returned to the field to continue pursuing his original goal of becoming a financial advisor. Matt joined Silas Parker & Associates in 2022 as a Financial Professional. He is dedicated to helping his clients work toward their financial goals by developing and implementing personalized financial solutions.

My Personal Story

Matt was born and raised in San Marcos, TX. Matt graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Major in Finance in the fall of 2014 from Texas State University. Prior to graduating from college, he helped manage his family-owned business, Diaz Martial Arts in San Marcos, for 13 years. Matt’s experience in the martial arts and managing a business has helped him develop a high level of integrity, discipline, resilience, always remaining a student in life.

Fun Fact about Matt: He started training in martial arts at the age of 6 and began managing the family business full-time at the beginning of his senior year of high school.

My Professional Story

With seven years of experience as a business owner serving start-up companies, Trey brings his charisma and enthusiasm for helping others and building relationships to his career as a New York Life agent. Trey joined the Silas Parker & Associates team as a Financial Service Professional in 2022. Born in Houston and raised in Austin, Trey represented Texas proudly at Louisiana State University, where he graduated in 2020 with a degree in Communications and minor in Spanish. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, cooking, and cheering on his favorite teams.

Wes started the financial consulting firm Wes Young & Associates in 2003 with the purpose of helping people create more than they consume financially. This purpose was rooted in a reality that he had been unconsciously discovering since childhood.

“We all run out of time and money before we run out of ideas and opportunities to pursue. As a result, it's easy to pursue the areas that scream the loudest, while some of the areas that matter most go untouched.”

Wes has dedicated his professional life to providing clients and their advisors with the clarity and direction needed to identify and pursue their best financial opportunities.

In addition to working with the firm’s private clients, Wes leads the team to optimize resources and focus on opportunities to improve and maintain the integrity of our organization as we continue to grow in our quality and quantity of clients. Wes is an author and speaker, receiving invitations to teach at financial firms and leadership conferences. Wes and his wife Jamie live in Austin, TX with their children Gage and Abby.

Kate Kelley's successful career in the financial services field began over two decades ago with UBS, and she has been with New York Life and Eagle Strategies for many years.

Kate is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. Her practice is centered around providing financial guidance for both young and retiring professionals. Her focus is on life insurance, disability insurance*, and long-term care planning, as well as investment planning. Kate also works closely with veterinary graduates of The Ohio State University, as well as established veterinarians nationwide. 

Kate holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Salisbury University. She is active in the Toledo community, especially as an advocate for downtown residents and business owners. She currently serves on the boards of Advocating Opportunity, The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo, and is the past president of the Toledo Animal Rescue. She has also served on the boards of The Toledo Warehouse District Association and The Downtown Toledo Parking Authority.

Kate resides in Toledo with her rescue pets, Willow, Maggie, and Rudy.

My Personal Story

When I get the chance to unplug from work, one of my favorite things to do is to explore my community. I moved to Toledo from Baltimore over a decade ago and decided to set roots here. I love to immerse myself in the arts, events and (of course) diverse food offerings. Some of my favorite events include the Art Loops, Mud Hen games, and architectural walk-throughs that demonstrate what makes this small metropolis so unique. While a great glass of wine and a boat of sushi are my favorite on a Friday night, I will never turn up my nose at a great slice of pizza and a local beer! Travel and friends are a combination made in heaven, and I will take any opportunity to go somewhere exotic with a close group of great people. Another passion of mine is advocacy; I sit on the Board for the Toledo Animal Shelter and have three furry friends of my own. I also am a board member of Advocating Opportunity, one of a handful of programs in the country providing comprehensive, holistic, trauma-responsive legal and support services to persons who have experienced sex and labor trafficking.

Volunteer events and fundraisers are a wonderful way for me to meet others and do exactly what makes me happy, helping people and helping animals.

My Professional Story