Zach Gardner

Who is Zach Gardner?

Zach Gardner is a co-founder of Quantum Portfolio Analytics, a software company that builds retirement-income, tax, and Roth-conversion planning tools for independent financial advisors and registered investment advisers. As Director of AI Innovation he owns the company's AI strategy, product direction, and design, and he writes production code.

He came to the work as an apprentice. Hired by financial advisor Nic McLeod to add as much value as he could, he studied Nic's practice end to end — more than 775 clients and over $300 million in retirement dollars serviced — built the engines Nic now uses in client meetings, and then turned them into a platform any advisor can run with their own product shelf and client data.

Two principles from his years of volunteer service run through the work: “service before self,” and “every headstone tells a story.”

Service before self.

Guiding principle, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs scholarship profile

Every headstone tells a story.

On cataloguing Fayetteville National Cemetery

What is Quantum Portfolio Analytics?

Quantum Portfolio Analytics (QPA) is retirement income planning and Roth conversion software for financial advisors. It models retirement income across Social Security, pensions, and portfolio withdrawals; prices multi-year Roth conversion options with the full tax engine; analyzes taxes across all 50 states and D.C.; allocates portfolios with the Five-Bucket Strategy; and generates client-ready presentations from the same analysis.

Nic McLeod is the Founder and Creator of Quantum Portfolio Analytics; Zach Gardner is the Co-Founder who built the software that turned Nic's 20-plus years as a financial advisor into the QPA platform. Cole Sorokolit, co-founder, leads backend engineering. QPA was built in partnership with NJM Wealth Preservation Strategies, where Zach also serves as Director of AI Innovation.

He also operates The Gardner Collective LLC, his holding company and a family-legacy project.

About Quantum Portfolio Analytics · How Quantum produces every number · How Quantum uses AI

Where is Zach Gardner from?

Zach Gardner was born in 2005 and raised in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in Washington County, with deep roots across Northwest Arkansas. He graduated from Fayetteville High School in 2024 in the top 1% of his class, and captained the school's lacrosse team for two years.

He is a finance student at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, expected to graduate in May 2027, and a member of Kappa Sigma, where he serves as Philanthropy Chairman (2025–26) and as an Interfraternity Council delegate.

What awards has he received?

His recognition comes from service rather than business: a national veterans-service scholarship, Arkansas 4-H's two highest honors, a statewide speech title, and Scouting's highest rank. He has earned more than $100,000 in scholarships.

James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship (2024)

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service's national youth award, a $20,000 scholarship; nominated by the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks.

Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame (2024)

Awarded to one 4-H member statewide each year.

Arkansas 4-H Governor's Award finalist (2024)

Arkansas 4-H's highest honor; one of four finalists statewide.

VFW Voice of Democracy, Department of Arkansas state winner (2021–22)

On the theme “America: Where Do We Go From Here?”; listed among the VFW's national scholarship winners.

Eagle Scout

Scouting's highest rank.

Leadership roles

Arkansas 4-H State Officer, Secretary (2022–23); U.S. Senator John Boozman's Congressional Youth Leadership Cabinet; Arkansas Boys State; Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce Teen Leadership Council; VA Student Leadership Council.

What is Zach Gardner's connection to veterans?

Zach began volunteering at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks as a teenager and has logged more than 1,100 hours there. For eight years he helped run the National Salute to Veteran Patients, and during the pandemic, when visitors were not allowed inside, he organized car parades past the hospital so veterans could still see the community show up for them. He served on the VA Student Leadership Council.

He has served on the Fayetteville National Cemetery Advisory Committee since 2020 and volunteers with Wreaths Across America. Over several years he catalogued more than 11,000 soldiers buried at Fayetteville National Cemetery — the work behind his phrase “every headstone tells a story.”

He also represented Arkansas at National 4-H Congress in Atlanta and at Citizenship Washington Focus in Washington, D.C., and interned on the White House Vice Presidential Advance Team.

What is his family history?

Zach is a 13th-generation American. His 10th great-grandfather, Thomas Gardner, served as overseer for the Dorchester Company, landed at Cape Ann in 1624, and helped found Salem, Massachusetts. The family line runs through Nantucket and North Carolina before reaching Arkansas.

The Gardner Collective LLC, his holding company, is named for that lineage.

1. 1624 Cape Ann, Massachusetts
2. 1626 Salem, Massachusetts
3. 17th c. Nantucket
4. 18th c. North Carolina
5. Today Fayetteville, Arkansas

Timeline

1. 2005 Born in Fayetteville, Arkansas Washington County; the family's Northwest Arkansas roots run deep.
2. 2011 Joins Washington County 4-H The start of 13 years in Arkansas 4-H.
3. 2020 Fayetteville National Cemetery Advisory Committee Begins cataloguing the cemetery's more than 11,000 soldiers.
4. 2021–22 VFW Voice of Democracy, Arkansas state winner Named among the VFW's national scholarship winners.
5. 2022–23 Arkansas 4-H State Officer, Secretary Represents Arkansas at National 4-H Congress and Citizenship Washington Focus.
6. May 2024 Graduates Fayetteville High School Top 1% of the class; two-year lacrosse captain.
7. May 2024 James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship The VA's national youth volunteer award, presented in St. Louis.
8. June 2024 Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame; Governor's Award finalist One Hall of Fame inductee statewide; one of four Governor's Award finalists.
9. Aug 2024 Enters the Walton College, University of Arkansas Finance; expected graduation May 2027.
10. 2025 Kappa Sigma Philanthropy Chairman Also an Interfraternity Council delegate.
11. 2026 Co-Founder & Director of AI Innovation, Quantum Portfolio Analytics The platform built from Nic McLeod's advisory practice, in partnership with NJM Wealth Preservation Strategies.

Recognition & Press

Every published source about Zach Gardner, with publisher and date. Photos are linked, not rehosted.

• James H. Parke Memorial Youth Scholarship Award U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs · 2024 The VA's national youth volunteer award profile — the strongest independent source.
• 2024 James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship Award Luncheon program VA Center for Development & Civic Engagement · May 15, 2024 The St. Louis award program naming the $20,000 recipient.
• Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame inductee University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture · June 7, 2024 The Division of Agriculture's Hall of Fame announcement.
• Arkansas 4-H Governor's Award finalists University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture · June 13, 2024 The four statewide finalists for Arkansas 4-H's highest honor.
• Arkansas 4-H honors Hall of Fame inductee, teen leaders ED 88, UA Cossatot Radio · June 10, 2024 Syndicated coverage of the Hall of Fame induction.
• Zach Gardner - 4-H has thoroughly equipped me for my future Arkansas 4-H (YouTube) · October 31, 2024 Arkansas 4-H's alumni video, embedded above.
• “4-H Changes Lives” playlist Arkansas 4-H Foundation · 2024 The Foundation playlist that features the video.
• Hall of Fame portrait UADA Communications (Flickr) · June 5, 2024 All rights reserved — linked, not rehosted.
• Hall of Fame award photo UADA Communications (Flickr) · June 5, 2024 All rights reserved — linked, not rehosted.
• VFW Names 2022 National Youth Scholarship Winners Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States · April 2022 The national Voice of Democracy winners list names Zachary Gardner of Fayetteville, AR for the Department of Arkansas.
• Team profile: Zachary Gardner, Director of AI Innovation NJM Wealth Preservation Strategies · Current The NJM team page.
• Zachary Gardner on LinkedIn LinkedIn · Current Professional profile.
• @zachqpa Instagram · Current Instagram profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Zach Gardner?

Zach Gardner (Zachary Thomas Gardner) is a fintech co-founder from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He is Co-Founder and Director of AI Innovation at Quantum Portfolio Analytics, retirement-planning software for financial advisors, a finance student at the University of Arkansas's Walton College, and a 2024 Arkansas 4-H Hall of Fame inductee.

Is Zach Gardner the founder of Quantum Portfolio Analytics?

He is the Co-Founder. Nic McLeod is the Founder and Creator; Zach built the software that turned Nic's advisory framework into the QPA platform, and Cole Sorokolit co-founded the company and leads backend engineering.

Where did Zach Gardner go to school?

Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Arkansas (class of 2024) and the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, where he studies finance and expects to graduate in May 2027.

What is Zach Gardner's connection to the VA?

He has volunteered more than 1,100 hours at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks, served on the VA Student Leadership Council, and received the VA's 2024 James H. Parke Memorial Scholarship.

How can I contact Zach Gardner?

Email zach@quantumportfolioanalytics.com or connect on LinkedIn.