Allissa Boren Swinney
Director of Operations & Client Relations
Spectrum Financial Group – East Texas

As a Tyler native since 1983, I attended Rice, Hubbard, Lee, now Tyler Legacy. After high school, I attended University of North Texas from 2001-2005 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice.  I then found that the program back home at UT Tyler was more suited to my degree choice. However, it required me to start almost back at square one (you could say that I have a double degree). UTTyler was pivotal in replicating real world situations within the work force, and then implementing those in class. Throughout school I worked in the restaurant industry and did small marketing projects on the side. The service industry was a great way to make money while in college. You meet so many people (networking), and it is a good way to keep a flexible schedule for your courses, however it was through marketing that I found a passion for business. While I was working towards my Bachelor’s in Psychology here at UT Tyler, I took on a job at a dental office here in Tyler for 5 years, Dentistry for Children. I started out as an assistant to the Office Manager helping with advertising and marketing. Once I received my degree, I was then promoted to Director of Advertising and Marketing to build them a profile for their upcoming growth. Once I built an effective marketing/advertising plan for DFC, I handed their portfolio over to the new “me” and went on to further my career. Over the next several years I worked as a Business Development Consultant in many different industries: Healthcare, Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction, Military Contracting, Technology, Recruiting, and finally finance. Consulting in different industries was fun, fast paced, and a huge learning experience. Developing a business is multi-faceted, and I worked in all areas of development. In 2017, a local financial company, Spectrum Financial Group of East Texas approached me with an opportunity I just couldn’t refuse, Director of Operations and Client Relations. The responsibilities include: supervising all processes and operations, general business development, overseeing marketing/advertising/events, general budgeting, assisting in recruiting new advisors and staff, and creating new prospects, plans, and budgets for future business growth. Spectrum Financial Group of East Texas is in the exciting process of changing hands from one generation to the next. In this new opportunity, I saw a potential to help people and support a locally growing business with all aspects of their growth, from core benefits to buy sell agreements.  Since late 2017 Spectrum Financial Group here in East Texas has grown from 6 agents to 12, we have built a modern and fresh advertising/marketing campaign, and we have now added another side to the company in helping businesses with their group health insurance.   I have a husband, three children, and I serve in our community all over: Tyler Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Contact Club, Tyler Young Professionals, CASA, For The Silent, Women’s Symphony League, and the PTA.