Traci Kovacic and Shine On Pittsburgh

For Traci Kovacic, the past decade has brought life challenges that could easily have broken her. Ten years ago, her husband Mike collapsed while running the EQT 10 Miler race in Pittsburgh. The 32-year-old died a half hour later of a previously undetected heart arrhythmia. She spent the following years deeply in grief and picking up the pieces of her life.

If that wasn’t enough hardship for one family, just seven years after her husband’s tragic death, their 9-year-old daughter, Josie, suffered a skiing accident that almost took her life. A snowboarder lost control and collided with Josie, throwing her 20 feet into the air and stopping her heart. It took 10 minutes for ski patrol to resuscitate her with a defibrillator. Josie’s neck injury was so catastrophic that most patients die before they make it to the hospital. After three months in the hospital, Josie not only survived, but surpassed her entire medical team’s expectations. Today she is almost completely recovered, despite the odds. Some may call it a miracle, and Traci certainly does.

What does it take to get through more trauma and tragedy than most people experience in a lifetime? Traci credits her personal mantra, “Shine on”. No matter what life brings, her resilient nature refuses to let it dull her shine. The tenth anniversary of Mike’s death just passed, and it has been a decade of grief, trauma, and healing for Traci. Now she is ready to conquer her next phase of life. 

Ironically, Traci’s career is preparing others for the unexpected. She has worked in the life insurance field for over twelve years as the vice president of a life insurance and financial investing firm in Pittsburgh. Now she’s taking the next step in her career, forming her own company with two other women, in a male-dominated field, working with Primerica.

Her new company is aptly named Shine on Pittsburgh, a testament to her resiliency in both life and investing. She specializes in life insurance, retirement planning including Roth and traditional IRAs, and college savings strategies.

“My approach is simple: meet clients where they are and provide personalized, jargon-free guidance that creates real financial security. I believe everyone deserves to understand their financial options clearly and to build a future where we all shine on,” she says.

Traci works with people of all income levels; there are no account minimums, and she doesn’t charge advisory fees.

Traci has a passion for working with widows and widowers, as she knows personally how devastating the death of a spouse is. She helps support those families and makes sure they are set up for financial security. She also sets up a financial future for her clients that protects them in the case of unforeseen life challenges. 

Traci also uses her life experiences as an opportunity to help others.

“Beyond financial services, I'm passionate about giving back to my community and helping others navigate life's challenges with empathy and support,” she says.

In 2020, along with the family of another friend who died tragically, Traci created the Angels By Your Side nonprofit organization. The nonprofit helped families who had experienced the sudden death of a loved one pick up the pieces. 

Just months after her husband’s death, a group of friends stepped in to decorate Traci’s home for the holidays, so that her two young children would still have the magic of Christmas, despite the devastating loss they were experiencing. Traci, who was in the throes of grief, said she probably wouldn’t have decorated at all if it weren’t for her friends. She credits them with stepping in to help her children feel a sense of normalcy in a time of tremendous change.

As a way of coping with her loss, Traci wanted to pass on this generosity and love to those who didn’t have a strong support network. With Angels By Your Side, groups of volunteers provided support to widows, widowers, and their families, helping with everything from yard work to preparing for a move. Though the nonprofit is no longer operating, Traci is proud of the work they did and has made community service an important part of her mission.

Traci is most recently featured in a television series called Legacy Makers, which shares the stories of industry leaders, entrepreneurs, pro athletes and other influential change-makers and explores how they make their own success and thrive in their fields. In Traci’s episode, she shares how she built her brand on the back of adversity, using her financial and investing expertise to prepare families for the unthinkable and build them back up after tragic loss. You can watch Traci’s episode at legacymakerstv.com/traci-kovacic.

Today, life is looking up for Traci. She’s engaged to be married, just bought a new house, and is celebrating the launch of her new business. The legacy of her late husband and the miracle of her daughter’s survival serve as constant reminders of the fragility of life and the gift of personal strength which guides her through hardship. Her endless supply of hope and resiliency has shaped her career and inspired Shine On Pittsburgh. 

To learn more about Traci and Shine On Pittsburgh, visit www.primerica.com or call (412) 463 - 9181