Our Professional Affiliates

Michael Fontanini, MT, CFP®, AEP®, CLU® is Vice President, Advanced Sales and Design with Lion Street, Inc., a national network of fiercely independent life insurance and wealth management advisors.  Michael specializes in developing sophisticated life insurance solutions to meet the sophisticated needs of the high-net-worth and corporate & business clients of the 200+ Lion Street Firms nationwide, and mentors a team of six design analysts.  Prior to Lion Street, his background consists of diverse experience with several life insurance companies in the areas of personal financial planning, life insurance product development and advanced planning.   

Michael has earned a Master of Taxation (MT) Degree with an Estate Planning Certificate through the Graduate Tax Program of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law/Villanova School of Business, the designations of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®) from the CFP Board, ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER (AEP®) from the National Associate of Estate Planners and Councils, and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) from The American College.  He is FINRA series 7 and 26 registered, a current member of the Estate Tax Working Group committee for Finseca (the largest political advocacy group for the Financial Security Profession), which advises Finseca and its lobbyists on estate tax policy considerations to help inform its legislative advocacy strategy, and a past member of the Advanced Sales Committee for LIMRA. Michael is from Des Moines, IA and currently resides in Austin, TX. 

Tiffany Hyde serves as Lion Street’s SVP of Underwriting and Medical Director, overseeing underwriting operations, new firm selection, vendor partnerships, and strategic carrier initiatives. With a strong medical background as a former nurse, Tiffany is highly skilled in complex medical cases, reinsurance staging and negotiations, foreign national underwriting, advanced case design, product selection, and premium finance. 

Tiffany has established significant acclaim from her leadership roles with leading insurance companies, serving on multiple advisory boards, and regular speaking opportunities at industry events. A dedicated advocate for continuing education, she holds the FALU designation and leads ALU study groups for hundreds of underwriters & field staff nationwide. She is the President and Council Chair of the City of Hope’s National Life Insurance Council – advocating for the advancement of cancer research and treatment as well as, a member of both the Academy of Life Underwriting (ALU) and the American Academy of Insurance Medicine (AAIM).