Our Team

Anja B. Nickel

Founder | Financial Advisor

Professional Background

Anja Nickel is the founder of ABN Financial Strategies. She specializes in building personalized financial solutions that reflect her clients' individual circumstances. Taking a consultative and collaborative approach, she guides her clients in defining their goals, prioritizing those goals, and strategizing on how to achieve them.

Anja is passionate about partnering with and educating other professional women, so they feel financially empowered. She loves being there to celebrate each of her clients’ life milestones, and to navigate changes and challenges together.

Anja has created a multi-state practice that continues to grow rapidly, due to her relationship-centric approach working with individuals, families and businesses.

Anja is a member of The Nautilus Group®, an exclusive, advanced planning resource for estate conservation and business continuation strategies. The Nautilus Group® is a service of New York Life Insurance Company, and membership is limited to the company’s top agents. As an Investment Advisor Representative with Eagle Strategies LLC and a Registered Representative with NYLIFE Securities LLC, Anja offers comprehensive financial guidance to her clients. She holds a FINRA Series 6, 7, 63, and 66 securities licenses as well as her Life and Health license.

Anja graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Penn State Smeal College of Business, with minors in psychology and international business. As a proud PSU alum, she has continued to support the Penn State Panhellenic Dance Marathon, which raises money and awareness for childhood cancer.

CA Insurance License #4075892

1Council is an annual company recognition program based on agent production from July 1- June 30.

2The Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT), The Premier Association of Financial Professionals, is recognized globally as the standard of excellence for life insurance sales performance in the insurance and financial services industry.

Personal Background

She is a travel junkie and enjoys experiencing new cultures. In addition to traveling, Anja loves bringing people together, drawing, being outdoors, and spending time with her family. Anja grew up in CT and after living in DC for 6 years, she now lives with her husband in Cambridge, MA.

Photo of Anja Nickel
Photo of Anja Nickel
Photo of Anja Nickel

Carla Coan

Director of Operations

Professional Background

Carla manages the scheduling and service processes for the firm, as well as our client relations and business operations. Her focus is to maximize customer satisfaction, ensuring that all clients’ needs are met. She graduated from Fisher College in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in business management.

Personal Background

Carla is originally from Venezuela and came to the US to learn English and pursue her college career in 2007. Prior to joining ABN in 2021, Carla was a full-time mom managing a household, balancing schedules, and making sure things ran smoothly.

She lived in Boston for 6 years before moving to Central Mass, where she currently resides with her husband and two daughters, Cecilia and Camila. Her family loves traveling overseas, dining out and going on outdoor adventures - especially with their furry pups, Mika and Sasha!

Photo of Anja Nickel
Photo of Anja Nickel
Photo of Anja Nickel
Photo of Anja Nickel

Julia Robinson

Director of Operations

Professional Background

Julia manages our client relationship and data management, workflow process improvement, and aligning back-office functionality. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a bachelor’s degree in business management.

Prior to joining ABN, Julia spent 10 years as Director of Talent Acquisition for a boutique executive search firm. She was responsible for full cycle recruiting for executive level positions and client relationship management ensuring a positive experience both for clients and candidates.

Personal Background

Julia relocated to Napa, California following college graduation in 2014. She is often found hiking with her dog or tending to her chickens, reading in a hammock, paddleboarding or cooking for friends and family. Of course, there is the occasional winery tasting thrown in for good measure.

She has traveled extensively in California and enjoys trying new restaurants and sampling wines at Napa area wineries.

Photo of Julia Robinson walking with her dog
Photo of Julia Robinson

Strategic Alliances

You deserve the best possible support for your financial journey, which is why we’ve chosen to partner with some of the strongest and most well-respected entities in the financial industry. By leveraging a diverse range of expertise and resources, we’re proud to offer a thoroughly comprehensive and personalized planning experience

The Nautilus Group
  • Business Succession and Exit Planning
  • Family Protection
  • Estate and Legacy Planning

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Eagle Strategies LLC
  • Fee-based Financial Planning
  • Investment Advisory Services
  • Investment Management Programs

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NYL
  • Life Insurance Solutions
  • Long-Term Care Insurance
  •  

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ASH
  • Family-operated General Agency
  • Life Insurance and Annuities
  • Disability Income

Learn More


Ash Brokerage is a privately owned family-operated insurance brokerage general agency. Ash provides us with a variety of products and support for life insurance, long-term care, disability income, and annuities. Our relationship with Ash supports our mission to provide our clients with objective solutions to suit their individual needs.

Community Involvement

  • Penn State Boston Alumni Chapter
  • Junior League of Boston

Penn State Boston Alumni Chapter

Anja is proud to be a member of the Penn State Boston Alumni Chapter. The Chapter's mission is to create an alumni network that's positive and inclusive, and offers social events, networking opportunities, and community service activities.

Junior League of Boston

Anja is a member of the Junior League of Boston, an organization focused on empowering young girls to reach their full potential. The Junior League partners with other organizations in the community to provide programs and support to girls in the Greater Boston area.

HR Alliance DC

Anja is on the board for HR Alliance DC and also serves as the head of the membership committee. HR Alliance DC is a non-profit organization that creates a community for HR professionals to establish connections, provide resources, and give opportunities for professional development.