About Next Level Private

Next Level Private invites successful people at every life stage to become part of our supportive community. As an independent fiduciary, we serve only your best interests. Our goal is to put you in a better financial position every day. We do it by providing goals-based planning, hands-on guidance, and access to personalized strategies for building success.

Why Choose Us?

Next Level Private offers a client experience unlike any other firm. We do it by delivering:

  • Exceptional guidance

You gain access to the highest level of financial advice that’s aimed directly at helping you design the life you envision. At every life stage, you and your family receive sophisticated strategies and customized solutions.

  • Community as a way of life

We help you understand how to develop and manage your plan for reaching financial independence. We also work to identify the opportunities and connect you with the resources you need to live the impactful life you want.

  • A richer take on financial freedom

You want to reach a level where you can breathe a sigh of relief and feel that your family and your finances are secure. We meet you right where you are and help you reach your desired level of financial independence.

  • Service that feels like family

Each Next Level Private team member considers you to be like a family member. We share the camaraderie of working together on our common goal of serving your needs as a trusted advocate.

  • Reliable excellence

We believe in living by a code of excellence day in and day out. We hold ourselves accountable for delivering on our promises. You gain a partner you can rely on to effectively tackle challenges and manage opportunities.

Meet Your Team

Barry P. Mitchell Jr.

CRPC®, CRPS®, CAP®

Founder and Managing Director

Barry P. Mitchell Jr., CRPC®, CRPS®, CAP®

Founder and Managing Director

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  • Recognized by Forbes since 2018 Best-in-State Wealth Advisor New York State
  • Ranked #8 Best-in-State Wealth Advisor New York State by Forbes in 2022
  • Recognized as one of America’s Top RIAs by FA Magazine since 2022
  • Recognized by Advisor Hub 2024 Top 200 RIAs to Watch

The Next Level Private family is on a quest to build a community of people who want to strive towards financial independence, and who are looking for more in the way of significance and impact.  This is not a job to Barry; it is a calling and way of life.

The Next Level community is an amazing group of regular successful people who believe success is about more than money.  Barry believes this ethos is changing the face of wealth management and financial advocacy in the Tri-State area.

Barry embarked on his journey to change the face of the financial services industry in 1987.  During his 37 plus year career, Barry has proven to be eminently qualified to help clients and their families in his role as their trusted advocate.  He has helped them navigate most market environments, helping them sleep at night since 1987, as they march towards financial independence.  Barry considers himself “the people’s advocate,” and takes great pride in his ability to add value by providing clients with the highest standard of support, collaboration and knowledge.

Barry founded Next Level Private with his team in 2021 as a registered independent advisor to serve clients and the community in a better way as fiduciaries.  It is important to recognize and understand that NXT is not a broker dealer, and because of that Barry, the firm and all of its employees, are held to a higher standard of care, known as the fiduciary standard.

Barry is a 1983 graduate of Iona Prep and in 1987 graduated from Boston College Carroll School of Management with a B.S. in Finance and Marketing.  His belief in continual learning has earned him multiple industry designations including the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®), the Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®), and the Chartered Advisor of Philanthropy (CAP®).  Since 2018, Barry has been recognized consistently as a Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor for New York State.  His highest ranking for Forbes Best-In-State was #8 in 2022.  Next Level Private has been recognized on Financial Advisor magazine’s list of America’s Top RIAs since 2022 and in 2024, Barry was recognized by Advisor Hub as a Top 200 RIA to watch.  Next Level Private has also been featured as “The Face of Financial Advocacy” in 914 Inc and Westchester Magazine.  Next Level Private and Barry currently advise on and manage in excess of $1 billion of assets and liabilities.

Barry’s motivating force for Next Level Private, and the way he and his wife Elisabeth (“Lis”) live their lives encompasses helping others and continuously finding ways to give back to their communities.  In the spirit of giving of oneself, Barry was one of the early organizers of Rye Youth Lacrosse where he helped form the foundation to the program’s success producing scores of future college players.  Barry is often heard saying “Do something for someone today that will change their life tomorrow,”; a simple and tremendously powerful way to live.  Barry, Lis and the Next Level family are keenly focused on giving back to many charitable organizations and philanthropic causes.  Barry serves as a director on the board of Hospice of Westchester.  He is a past member of Elizabeth Seton’s Children’s Leadership Council, and a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.  Barry and Lis are also immediate past National Co-Chairs of the Crusader Athletic Fund for the College of the Holy Cross.  The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick has recently named Barry to serve as Historian of the Society.  Barry is tremendously proud of his support and his participation in Swim Across America (“SAA”).  Participating for over 15 years, and since 2022, Sponsor and Captain for the Next Level Private SAA team, Barry has been Making Waves to Fight Cancer; in 2024 Team Next Level Private raised in excess of $103,000 for SAA.  Barry, Lis and NXT are also passionate supporters of Bronx Lacrosse, Soul Ryders, Buying Time, Each One Counts, Iona Prep Father’s Council, Don Bosco Community Center, the Westchester County Police Chiefs Association and many other law enforcement organizations, SOTF (Special Operators Transition Foundation) The Umbrella Club of Fairfield County, Boston College, The College of the Holy Cross, the Rye Fire Department, and The Chris Mello Memorial Scholarship Foundation.  Barry and Next Level Private actively participate, educate and support many of the PBA’s here in Westchester County.

The Mitchells raised their three children in Rye, New York.  The oldest two are college graduates – Barry III, Boston College ’21, and Margaret, College of the Holy Cross ’22.  John ’25 is currently attending the College of the Holy Cross.  All three Mitchell’s excelled in the classroom and played lacrosse at their respective schools.  Barry is an avid golfer and open water swimming enthusiast.

 

THIRD-PARTY RANKING DISCLOSURES

Next Level Private LLC (“Next Level Private”) is not implying an affiliation, sponsorship, endorsement with/of the third party or that any monitoring is being done by Next Level Private of any information contained within the website. Next Level Private is not responsible for the information contained on the third-party website or the use of or inability to use such site. Nor do we guarantee their accuracy or completeness.
Forbes as Best-In-State Wealth Advisor New York State
Barry P. Mitchell Jr., has been ranked by Forbes as Best-In-State Wealth Advisor New York State from 2018- 2024.  In 2022, he was ranked #8 in New York State.
Ranking  Methodology:
Data provided by  SHOOK® Research, LLC. Data as of 6/30/23 for the 2024 ranking, and as of 6/30 of the prior year for each of the years 2018-2023.
Forbes America’s Top Wealth Advisors and Best-in-State Wealth Advisors ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. SHOOK’s research and rankings provide opinions intended to help investors choose the right financial advisor and are not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Past performance is not an indication of future results. Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receive compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. For more information, please see www.SHOOKresearch.com.SHOOK is a registered trademark of SHOOK Research, LLC.
America’s Top RIAs
In 2024, 2023, and 2022, Next Level Private was named one of America’s Top RIAs in  Financial Advisor Magazine’s RIA survey.
Ranking Methodology:
The Financial Advisor Magazine’s RIA survey is a ranking based on assets under management at year end of the prior year (December 31, 20XX) of independent RIA firms.  FA’s  ranking comes at no cost; however, Next Level Private LLC  did pay a licensing fee for use of FA’s digital badge from July 2022 – June 2023.
2024 AdvisorHub Advisors to Watch and Top 200 RIAs to Watch
In 2024, Barry P. Mitchell Jr. was recognized by AdvisorHub as a Top 200 RIA to Watch.
Ranking Methodology:
2024 AdvisorHub Advisors to Watch: Awarded June 2024; Data compiled by AdvisorHub based on the time period from 12/31/22 – 12/31/23 (Source: AdvisorHub). The AdvisorHub 2024 Advisors to Watch (A2W) rating produced by AdvisorsHub is based on industry experience, assets under management, revenue, growth, compliance records, professionalism, and other criteria. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. The rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and is based solely on the disclosed criteria.  Next Level Private did not compensate Advisor Hub for placement in the Advisors to Watch list.
2021 and 2022 “The Face of Financial Advocacy”
In 2021 and 2002,  Next Level Private was featured as “The Face of Financial Advocacy” in 914 Inc and Westchester Magazine.   Next Level Private paid a fee to the respective magazines to feature the designation.

Jenny G. Piche

Managing Director of Client Engagement

Jenny G. Piche

Managing Director of Client Engagement

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Jenny is co-founder of Next Level Private and is responsible for our robust client engagement model. She started in the client services end of the financial services industry right out of college, and teamed up with Barry in 1999. Jenny’s interactions with clients for more than two decades have led her to create the experience our clients benefit from today.

Overseeing all service and operation for Next Level Private, her team’s commitment to excellence begins with communication, fairness, and a deep understanding of the priorities and needs of each client. She treats our clients like family and is always enthusiastic and eager to help. While Jenny is good at many things, she is extremely good at one in particular—making sure our clients know they are in the most trustworthy and efficient hands. Jenny is a consummate problem solver. She doesn’t just embrace the culture of community here at Next Level Private—she created it.

Jenny graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in art history. She grew up at the Jersey Shore and enjoys spending summers there with her family. She lives in Purchase, New York, with her husband and two children, Nora (10) and Theo (6).

Kate M. Bluvol

Chief Operating Officer

Kate M. Bluvol

Chief Operating Officer

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As our chief operating officer, Kate is responsible for all back office operations. Her diligent oversight empowers the team to focus on and deliver an exceptional client experience. She brings more than 30 years of experience helping companies improve operations in order to grow. 

Registered as a CPA in New York and New Jersey, Kate received her MBA in finance from Columbia Business School. She also earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Delaware. As a Partner in the audit practice at PwC, Kate eloquently balanced excellent client service and independence while serving Fortune 500 companies and small start-ups. More recently she worked in a consulting capacity, advising companies accessing the public markets and leading the technical accounting practice at MorganFranklin Consulting. 

Kate lives in Rye, New York where she and her husband David raised three children. Kate and David are active supporters of a number of not-for-profit organizations in the Westchester community. Since 2016, they have worked with the Don Bosco Scholars Program in Port Chester, NY mentoring first generation high school seniors through their college application process. Kate and her children spent many Saturday mornings at the Don Bosco Community Center helping, and ultimately running, the Read Aloud Program. The whole family brings their energy and enthusiasm to The Sharing Shelf, which addresses clothing insecurity and meets the basic material needs of low-income children and teens in Westchester County. The Bluvols have also supported the Soul Ryeders organization over the years. They assist with the annual TieTheTownPink Campaign, which highlights Breast Cancer Awareness month but also supports anyone impacted by cancer.

Gary J. Raniolo II

Senior Financial Advocate

Gary J. Raniolo II

Senior Financial Advocate

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Gary has an unparalleled passion for helping others design the life they always envisioned. He prides himself in building lifelong relationships with each and every one of our clients, considering them an extended part of our family. Whether meeting at your kitchen table or your office, Gary enjoys nothing more than getting to know our clients on an intimate level and thoroughly understanding their unique goals, passions, aspirations, and hopes and dreams. Through these meaningful conversations, he is able to outline a financial roadmap that has a “real” purpose—allowing clients to take their financial health to the next level. One of Gary’s greatest pleasures is helping others turn their dreams into a reality, striving towards financial independence so they are able to live a much more fulfilled and rewarding life. 

Gary brings over a decade of experience in the financial services industry in both personalized financial planning and risk management, which are key priorities for our clients. He truly believes in investing in one’s self, and through advanced training has earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation. With this extra layer of education, Gary helps clients and other business owners take their companies to the next level. He implements a plan that strives consistently to improve their overall value and ultimately places them in the best position for a future monetization event.

Gary graduated from Fairfield University with both a B.A. and M.A. in finance. He was a member of their NCAA Division I lacrosse team where he was also a team captain his senior year. He is currently the co-president of the Fairfield University men’s lacrosse alumni association. Gary grew up in Yorktown, New York and is a member of the Yorktown Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He is also an active member of the Mamaroneck/Harrison Rotary Club. Gary is an owner of the Predators Lacrosse Club, where he currently oversees the Youth Program. He and his wife Danielle live in Fairfield County with their daughter, Sienna Rose. 

Maggie B. Smith

Director of Client Experience

Maggie B. Smith

Director of Client Experience

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After leaving a career in finance to raise a family, Maggie joined our team in 2013. She currently spearheads our marketing efforts and leads our team in finding ways to continually enhance the client experience. 

Maggie understands client needs and focuses on helping to provide the highest levels of exemplary service and attention to detail. She is also responsible for introducing our team to successful people who are looking to make more informed financial decisions. Her strong finance background combined with her warm and engaging personality make Maggie a welcome member of our team and an invaluable partner to our clients.

Maggie graduated from Boston College in 1995 and began her career at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. She is also licensed as an investment advisor representative. Maggie lives in Port Chester, New York with her husband Scott and their four children, Ryan, Morgan, Sean, and Casey.

Jennifer M. Galli

Client Advocate

Jennifer M. Galli

Client Advocate

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Jennifer joined the team in 2017. She brings incredible commitment to each client relationship with her genuine passion to help people. She aims to exceed expectations for assisting all clients efficiently and effectively. With Jennifer on our team, we are strongly positioned to deliver the advice our clients need to progress towards financial independence.

Jennifer is a 2009 graduate of Western New England College with a B.A. in psychology. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and cycling.

Philip A. Johanson

Investment Strategist

Philip A. Johanson

Investment Strategist

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Phil joined our firm after 28 successful years in the investment management business at Citi. He started his career at Shearson Lehman Brothers, transitioning through several roles and mergers. These culminated in his position at the Citi Private Bank as a senior portfolio manager. Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in helping clients achieve their financial goals.

A 1986 graduate of the State University of New York in Albany, Phil holds a B.S. in economics. He also earned an MBA in finance from Iona College. Phil is a certified USA Swimming Official as well as a board member and treasurer of the Westchester County Swim Conference. An active volunteer, he has coached youth sports as well as serving on the Village of Larchmont Budget Committee and the Church of St. Augustine Parish Council. Phil grew up in Larchmont, New York where he and his wife Lucy raised their four children.

Kaitlyn C. Lavelle

Client Advocate

Kaitlyn C. Lavelle

Client Advocate

Kaitlyn joined Next Level Private in 2021. She enjoys engaging with all of our clients to help with service and operational needs. She is incredibly efficient and client focused. Kaitlyn finds one-on-one interactions with clients to be the very best part of any day.

A graduate of Loyola University in Maryland, Kaitlyn earned a B.A. in communication with a specialization in advertising and public relations. She loves to travel, but being home with family is where she is happiest. Kaitlyn loves coffee, changing seasons, and country music.

Russ S. Baker

Financial Advocate

Russ S. Baker

Financial Advocate

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Russ Baker joins Next Level Private after a successful 35-year career in the financial services industry trading securities at various big banks. Russ’s most rewarding days did not come from getting the market correct. Rather, Russ realized his sense of worth came from contribution. This unnegotiable desire to help others pulled him to help build a business at C-19 Safety First where he served as the Director of Operations and Client Services. During this time Russ was dedicated to bringing New York back to work and school safely from Covid-19 managing testing programs for Westchester Schools, NYC Charter Schools, as well as the U.S. Tennis Open and the Metropolitan Opera. As a client for over 20 years, Russ knew providing for others was a way of life here at Next Level Private. Russ and his wife Jennifer value the many evening kitchen table conversations with Barry to navigate life’s happy and challenging curves. Russ knew first-hand the importance of what Next Level Private gives to their clients and was compelled to be part of something this unique in the wealth management and planning business.

Russ lives in New Rochelle with his wife, Jennifer. He is extremely proud of the family and life they have built. They raised 4 children—Meghan, Brian, Lauren and Kevin—and became grandparents in 2021. Russ is very proud that through thoughtful planning, his children all went on to receive their college degrees. That commitment to planning is yet another reason that Russ is such a great fit for the team as his passion is to help successful regular people plan for, and continue to build toward, financial independence. Russ brings professional and family life experience along with the understanding that in life, things change. He appreciates the need for a strong financial plan to help with life’s changes and a healthy financial future. 

Russ and his family are longtime supporters of Swim Across America—as donors and as swimmers. Outside of the office, you can find Russ out for a swim or on the paddle tennis courts. Russ is a 1983 Graduate of Chaminade High School and earned a B.S. in Finance from Villanova University 1986, where he was a member of the Villanova Rugby Club and LXA Fraternity.

Tom G. Elliott

Associate Financial Advisor

Tom G. Elliott

Associate Financial Advisor

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Tom joined us here at Next Level Private in the beginning of October 2024. Tom is dedicated to helping successful individuals take control of their financial future by creating personalized financial plans that algins your goals with your dreams. Tom prides himself on developing deep lifelong relationships with clients, taking the time to understand your needs while providing exceptional guidance along the way. Tom truly wants to understand what your aspirations are to achieve financial clarity and independence.

Tom grew up in Mahopac, NY and is a 2024 graduate of Fairfield University Dolan School of Business with a B.S. in finance. He honed his leadership and teamwork skills as a dedicated member of the NCAA Division 1 lacrosse team. Outside of work, Tom enjoys staying active in the community, whether that is helping coach youth lacrosse or exploring the outdoors. Most importantly, he enjoys strengthening his friendships with people or clients along the journey.

Melissa Holguin

Client Advocate

Melissa Holguin

Client Advocate

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Following an exciting sales role at an international export-management company Melissa joined Next Level Private in 2022 as a Client Advocate. Her addition to our Next Level Team offers yet another incredible level of client service and care. Melissa prides herself on finding efficient solutions for every client and she prioritizes making clients feel comfortable and confident in all of their interactions.  Her goals align perfectly with our team’s mission of putting clients’ interests above all else.   

Melissa is a 2019 graduate of Iona University in New Rochelle with a B.A. in Business Administration, specialization in International Business. She is lifelong resident of Harrison, New York although her family roots stem from Colombia and Peru.  Melissa is fluent in Spanish and passionate about discovering her family’s history and culture through travel. Melissa loves animals and when she is not in the office you can find her reading, writing, and cooking.