Team
Erik Pedersen
erik@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 844-9840
FOUNDER & CEO
Born in Colorado, Erik spent most of his youth playing sports. After graduating from the University of Northern Colorado with a Major in Finance and Economics, he began his journey as a financial advisor. In the early 2000’s Erik was given the opportunity to move to Arizona and became a Vice President with Equitable. Throughout the next 14 years he helped train and develop advisors into the financial services business along with running his own personal practice. He continued that path with Principal Financial for another 6 years while developing the systems and team that would later become EPIC Holistic Partners.
At the end of 2023, Erik decided to hang up his formal management hat and focus on helping more people live their ideal lives. At that time, we launched EPIC Holistic Partners and Erik assumed the role of Founder & CEO. Erik’s primary role is to lead the organization, help foster strong client relationships and navigate complex cases. What Erik enjoys most about this career is being able to help people. His passion for helping people create their ideal life is the reason he says he will never retire!
Erik believes in working hard and playing hard. He loves spending time with and developing his two children, Brynne & Carter. His passions are spending time with his wife, skiing, pickleball, traveling (theme parks are a must annually) and playing Texas hold ‘em.
Heather Wilson
heather@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 844-9838
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Heather has many hometowns but has always stayed a desert girl. Growing up in Palm Springs, then moving to Las Vegas at the start of high school, to settling down here in Arizona in 2016. Heather graduated from Grand Canyon University in just 3.5 years while balancing a successful collegiate cheer career, earning a Bachelor's & Minor degree. Thankfully, even during the unsettling times of covid, she was quickly handpicked to come work with the team towards the end of 2020.
As the Director of Operations and the experience of working with the EPIC Holistic Partners team, Heather truly enjoys being the "glue" that keeps us running. While the list of Heather's tasks is not short, she is thankful to be in a career that allows her to make an impact on those we help within the practice as well as the opportunity to grow her skillsets for event planning and marketing.
Currently, Heather resides in Phoenix, AZ with her husband Ryan. They are true adrenaline junkies and enjoy anything that brings a thrill, which includes skydiving. When not seeking out adventure, Heather loves reading, line dancing at Scoot n Boots, providing consulting & choreography to the high school cheer teams around the valley and spending time on the mountain snowboarding.
Brandon Kaplan, CFP®
brandonk@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 842-1349
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
Brandon is originally from the southwest suburbs of Chicago, IL, but grew up in Scottsdale, AZ where he has called home for most of his life. Brandon is a tried-and-true Chicago sports fan but is always happy to support his AZ teams. After attending the University of Arizona for several years (Bear Down), Brandon earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from California State University, Northridge. Brandon's knowledge and appreciation for the financial market and wealth management industry was informed by his late father's experience trading futures independently on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) within the S&P 500 pit for nearly 30 years.
After spending nearly a decade in the corporate world as a Business Management Consultant with AssetMark, Brandon saw firsthand just how deep of an impact financial advisors can have in their clients’ lives. During his time spent strategically consulting financial advisors across the country, Brandon slowly came to realize there was one common denominator missing from his day-to-day, and that was the client relationship. Brandon’s love for people and helping them achieve their unique financial goals are what ultimately helped pave his way to joining EPIC Holistic Partners as a Certified Financial Planner™ professional.
In his free time Brandon is a single-digit handicap golfer and a true foodie in every sense of the word. He is also a big film buff, has a deep appreciation for countless genres of music and loves to go country swing dancing.
Kevin Bower
kevin@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 844-9842
DIRECTOR OF INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Born and raised in Iowa, Kevin met his wonderful wife Julie and they have been married to for over 46 years. In 1985, Kevin and Julie moved to Colorado with their two young daughters, Jill (5) and Jen (3), living there for the next 23 years. In 2008, they relocated to Tucson for Julie’s career and finally settled in Glendale, AZ in 2017. Kevin has held many roles throughout his career, including owning his own business, working in real estate, holding traditional corporate jobs & working with small mom-and-pop shops.
Although Kevin had a variety of roles, he has always held a passion for finance, economics & how the market works. When given the opportunity to join Erik Pedersen in late 2017 to help grow the practice, he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. As EPIC’s Director of Investment Strategy, Kevin focuses on serving our clients throughout the process of transferring assets, assisting the team in staying up to date on market information and is a certified Medicare specialist. He believes in the power of being invested and that everyone should have a financial plan in place. Kevin truly enjoys helping people succeed & grow with their goals, ultimately seeing EPIC’s team vision come to fruition.
When Kevin isn’t working, he and Julie love to travel and learn about the rich history of various places, including visiting local museums. Some of their favorite destinations include Hawaii, Europe and Ireland. When not on vacation, they spend time with their kids, four grandchildren & their desert tortoise Louie.
Brandon Bettis
brandon@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 844-9808
DIRECTOR OF CLIENT ENRICHMENT
Brandon is an Arizona native and attended Arizona State University, where he met his wife Erin (an AZ native as well) when they were both part of the Sun Devil Marching Band. After graduating from ASU with a Bachelors degree, Brandon proposed to Erin and earned a commission as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army on the very same day! From 2006-2016, Brandon led operations that ranged in size from 5 individuals up to 5000 trainees and even planned missions for the President of the United States, entailing multiple duty locations and cross country moves that included Washington DC and the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. During that time, the Bettis family welcomed 2 daughters, Whitney, born in Colorado, and Kennedy, born in Georgia.
After 10 fulfilling years of service, it was time to leave active duty Army and return home. Brandon developed a passion for servant leadership and personal finance and while looking for new careers, he fell in love with becoming a financial advisor. After a couple years of figuring out how NOT to do it, in 2018, Brandon joined Erik at Principal Financial and developed a lifestyle that never gets boring! Over the years, Brandon has honed in on his strengths of developing deep and personal relationships with others. He loves going above and beyond to help people that want help.
Although Brandon feels like he is always “working” (it’s not really work when you love it!), Brandon still serves in the Army Reserves, plays ice hockey, and loves being a girl Dad! Brandon was saved by grace in 2021 and is heavily involved with Mighty Oaks, a Christian ministry that focuses on Veterans, First Responders and their families.
Jen Pedersen
jen@epicholisticpartners.com
(602) 844-8742
LIAISON TO EPIC PARTNERS
Born in Fort Dodge, IA and raised in Littleton, CO, Jen settled in Phoenix, AZ in 2005 with her husband Erik. Jen graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree and two Minor degrees.
Jen has been a licensed real estate agent in the state of Arizona since arriving, representing both buyers and sellers in the purchase and sale of residential homes. Her experience and attention to detail allow her to provide a high level of service to her clients. She enjoys the client interaction and being a valuable resource to her clients in one of the biggest transactions of their lifetime. Having 19 years of experience as a real estate agent, it made sense to bring Jen onto the EPIC team as a liaison by specializing in how real estate ties into the overall financial plan.
Jen enjoys spending her time watching her two kids pursue their passions. Brynne, her daughter, is a dancer and loves seeing her perform on the stage. Her son, Carter, has been playing baseball since he was 3, and Jen delights in watching him in action on the field. Jen and her family are crazy about Disney – visiting Disneyland annually and aim to travel to all the Disney parks around the world. Outside of traveling, Jen has a passion for spending time with her family, including their French bulldog Flash, attending sporting events and reading a good book.
