2025 Continuing Education in Ethics Seminar

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History invites Certified Financial Planners, attorneys, and insurance professionals to a unique continuing education seminar.

This program offers the opportunity to earn required ethics credits in a dynamic setting designed to spark insight and professional growth.

Following the seminar, enjoy a private, after-hours reception and curator-led tours of the newly transformed Museum. Explore reimagined spaces where immersive exhibits bring science and nature to life, inspiring wonder and discovery.

Schedule and Registration

Insurance professionals: 2–5pm
Attorneys: 4–5pm
Certified Financial Planners: 3–5pm

Reception and Tours: 5–7pm

Registration is $65 for Certified Financial Planners and insurance professionals. Attorneys, please register through the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

Space is limited; reserve your spot now!

About the Presenters

James S. Aussem
James S. Aussem is a shareholder in the Cleveland law firm Cavitch Familo & Durkin, Co., LPA, as well as a former member of its board of directors and former Chair of the Business Practice Group. Aussem’s practice focuses on succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, and estates and trusts. Aussem has served as president of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (FSP) and of the Cleveland Chapter FSP (now known as the Northeast Ohio Association of Financial Professionals). Selected as one of America's Best Lawyers every year since 2009, he is a frequent speaker, facilitator, and instructor for professional organizations on a variety of topics.

Ted R. Fowles
Ted R. Fowles serves as Bar Counsel and the Director of Legal Services for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. His responsibilities include directly supporting the grievance, fee dispute, unauthorized practice of law, and bar admissions committees. He also manages the Cleveland Legal Collaborative, the Lawyer Referral Service, and pro bono opportunities provided by the bar, including the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program, Reach out for Nonprofits, and the pro bono appeals clinic. Prior to joining the CMBA, Fowles was Chief of the Legal Policy and Program Development for the U.S. Coast Guard. Before working as a civilian, he served on active duty for 23 years, retiring as the Chief Trial Judge.

Philip E. Shipman
Philip Shipman serves as Assistant Bar Counsel for the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. His responsibilities include directly supporting the grievance, fee dispute, unauthorized practice of law, and bar admissions committees. His portfolio also includes assisting with managing the Cleveland Legal Collaborative, the Lawyer Referral Service, and pro bono opportunities provided by the bar, including the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program, Reach out for Nonprofits, and the pro bono appeals clinic. In addition to his work at the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Shipman owns and operates P. Shipman Law, LLC, where he specializes in appellate law.

Tom Strauchon, CFP
Tom Strauchon is a Certified Financial Planner who specializes in business succession planning and estate planning for entrepreneurs. After 10 years in the industry, he founded and served as President of Family Business Planning Group, a boutique firm that catered to successful family-owned businesses planning for the continuation of their enterprises. In 2001 he joined Sequoia Financial Group, where he served as Vice President of Life Insurance Services. After spending much of his career providing advisory services to Sequoia Financial and Cohen & Company's most affluent clients, Strauchon joined Long Road Risk Management Services as Managing Director of Insurance Services.

About the Featured Curators

Caitlin Colleary, Ph.D., Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
Dr. Caitlin Colleary is a vertebrate paleontologist with expertise in the molecules that preserve in fossilized bone. She is particularly interested in the question "What is a fossil?" Her research explores how incorporating new techniques and technology can make it possible to examine fossils on a molecular scale, uncovering previously inaccessible information and expanding our knowledge of ancient animals.

Before joining the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in January 2020, Dr. Colleary was the Biomolecular Mass Spectrometry Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute. She received her Ph.D. in geosciences from Virginia Tech, a master's degree in paleobiology from the University of Bristol, and a bachelor's degree in anthropology from UCLA.

Nicole Burt, Ph.D., Curator of Human Health & Evolutionary Medicine
Dr. Burt is a biological anthropologist who works with both archaeological and modern human populations. Her research centers around the question “What does it mean to be healthy?” Her interdisciplinary approach combines many methods, including histology, molecular analysis, and even interviews, to explore health through the lens of evolutionary medicine.

Dr. Burt joined the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in 2014. Her position is part of the legacy of the Museum’s 2007 merger with HealthSpace Cleveland, which made human health a cornerstone of the Museum’s mission and programming. Dr. Burt earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Alberta, a master's degree in forensic science from Michigan State University, and a bachelor's degree from Beloit College.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Cocktail Hour Sponsor
Cornerstone Family Office

Tour Sponsor
Western Reserve Trust Company

Networking Sponsor
Cavitch Familo & Durkin

Supporting Sponsors
Arbor Group Advisors
Bernstein
Cleveland Private Trust Company
Hahn Loeser
Schneider Bell

Program Partner
Strauchon & Company

Special Thanks
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association