Tiffany Allen
Territory Manager, Public Sector Services, Travelers
Tiffany has worked in the risk and insurance field for 33 years. She credits her understanding of insurance and risk management to her early career experience as an underwriter and more recent 14 year adventure in risk management for multiple government agencies in North Carolina. In 2014, Tiffany left her county family and joined an insurance family. From 2014-2020, Tiffany served as a senior risk control consultant for public sector services. Tiffany now serves as the territory manager for public sector services in the mid-Atlantic region. Tiffany has had the honor of being a speaker at national and state events for the Public Risk Management Association, as well as local events for individual clients.
Randy Anderson, CSP
Co-Founder, E3 Professional Trainers
Randy Anderson is co-founder of E3 Professional Trainers, a Texas-based training firm that provides customized training, keynote presentations and personal coaching. The goal of E3 is to help people become more engaged in their work, be better equipped to do their job and feel empowered to live a more fulfilling life that will count for something after they’re gone. Before starting E3 in 2005, Randy spent 20 years in sales and sales management. Most of that time was spent in media sales, which gave him the opportunity to work with virtually every type of business and in every industry. His clients included small businesses as well as large corporations, and were spread all across the United States. It is from that experience that he draws the ideas and strategies to help his clients improve their performance in the workplace and to achieve their maximum potential in life.
Sonia Aranza
Global Diversity and Inclusion Strategist, Aranza Cross Cultural Strategies/Global Leadership Development
The U.S. Department of Labor described Sonia’s work as “Outstanding!” Participants at SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) conferences from around the world consistently give her rave reviews for her dynamic and engaging style. Corporations and organizations recognize her as a high impact global speaker, master facilitator and executive consultant with 25 years of solid experience specializing in cross-cultural strategies, diversity and leadership. She is a sought-after keynote speaker and seminar leader at conferences worldwide and is a trusted advisor to leaders across industries. Sonia’s clients include top Fortune 500 companies and organizations such as Chevron, IBM, McDonald’s, Monsanto, NASA, SHRM, Sodexo, State Farm Insurance, Texaco, Toyota, United States Army, United States Internal Revenue System, United States Social Security Administration, numerous associations, universities and many more. Prior to establishing her global consulting practice, Sonia served as director of constituent relations for Congressman Neil Abercrombie in the United States Congress, Washington, DC.
Fernando Branco, MD, FAAPM&R
Chief Medical Officer, Midwest Employers Casualty
Fernando is chief medical officer at Midwest Employers Casualty (MEC), a Berkley Company. He has over 30 years of experience in clinical practice and is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain and addiction medicine. He is the former medical director of a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation pain center for treatment of chronic pain cases – a center of excellence recognized by the American Pain Society. In his current role at MEC, Dr. Branco leads a team of medical management consultants handling complex workers’ compensation claims with the goal of helping employers and injured workers achieve better outcomes.
Karen Caterino, MBA, ARM-P
Senior Vice President, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
Karen works with Alliant clients, utilizing her knowledge and understanding of their unique risk and insurance needs to optimize risk management and brokering solutions. Her focus is on leading public entity, education and pooling business growth and development initiatives. Karen has been in the insurance industry for 20 in various business development positions in the healthcare insurance industry, providing leadership and strategic direction on sales initiatives. Prior to joining Alliant, Karen worked at a global insurance brokerage as the Center of Excellence (COE) Leader for the western region public sector and higher education practice. Karen graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College, Salem VA and from University of Phoenix with her MBA. She has an Associate in Risk Management-Public Entities, is a Certified Public Manager and Certified Government Benefits Administrator and is currently a CPCU candidate. She is a licensed Property/Casualty broker.
John Chino, ARM-P, ARM-E, CSRM
Area Senior Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
John is enjoying his 40th year at Gallagher and has spent nearly his entire career in the public sector. He currently serves self-insured pools and large sophisticated self-insured public agencies. In addition, he is on the advisory board for the USC Risk Management Minor Program and frequently serves as a guest lecturer. John is a member of the faculty of the National Alliance of Insurance Education and Research where he teaches the Certified Scholastic Risk Management Program (CSRM). He is a course instructor for The Institutes and helps students to pass ARM exams.
Brenda Cogdell, AIC, AINS, SCP
Director, Risk Management & Safety, County of Hillsborough, FL
Brenda is an experienced risk manager with a demonstrated history of working in local government and private sector organizations. She has experience working in nonprofit organizations, enterprise risk management and internal audit. Brenda also has the ability to exhibit extraordinary analytical skills in fields such as property and casualty insurance.
Kelvin Coleman
Executive Partner, IBM
Prior to Kelvin’s current role, he worked with the world’s most recognizable technology and financial services companies to build strong public/private partnerships as chief executive officer and executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance.
Kelvin has served in several roles in the private and public sectors including cyber policy executive at the National Defense Information Sharing and Analysis Center and as strategic director at FireEye, where he managed National Security Agency and Department of Defense issues related to protecting government intelligence networks. Kelvin also spent a number of years with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Cybersecurity and Communications. While there, he was the staff director for the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Later in his career at the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, he served as the branch chief of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs – Stakeholder Engagement. During the Obama Administration, he joined the White House staff. While at the White House he was director of state engagement at the National Security Council - Cyber Directorate.
Tina D’Andrea, RN, BSN, MBA, CCM, MSCC
Senior Medical Management, Midwest Employers Casualty
Tina is a certified case manager and Medicare set-aside certified consultant. She has over 23 years of experience in workers’ compensation case management, including experience providing telephonic case management for employers, physicians and attorneys. In her current role, Tina offers a unique perspective to the identification and management of high-risk workers’ compensation cases and helps develop ways to achieve the best resolution possible for both the injured worker and their employer.
Dana Dorsey, RN, BSN, CCM
Medical Management Consultant, Midwest Employers Casualty
Dana is a medical management consultant at Midwest Employers Casualty (MEC), a Berkley Company. She is a reigstered nurse and certified case manager with more than 24 years of workers' compensation case management experience, including 14 years of of telephonic case management and ten years of field case management. In her current role, she applies her extensive experience to collaborate with adjusters, medical providers and employers to provide targeted care solutions for injured employees to help them return to work sooner.
Terri Evans
Vice President, Employer Advisory Services
Terri spent most of her career with the City of Kingsport, starting in 1984 and joining the Risk Management department in 1986. While with the city, Terri performed all risk functions within the department including benefits, self-funded health insurance, on-site wellness center installation/management, self-funded workers’ compensation, pooled liability with a large self-insured retention, and safety programs and training. Terri was promoted to risk manager in January, 2001. On June 1, 2020, Terri joined Employer Advisory Services (EAS) as vice president.
Terri proudly served as the 2016-17 President of Public Risk Management Association – PRIMA - and served as the national conference planning chairperson for PRIMA-Houston 2015. Terri served as co-Chair of PRIMA Institute in 2018 and 2019. She has also been involved in the leadership of the Tennessee Chapter of PRIMA, serving as Vice-President, President, Director and conference planning committee member since 2006. Terri received the TN-PRIMA Risk Manager of the Year award in 2012 and the Abbie Hudgens Distinguished Service Award in 2016.
Michael Fann, ARM-P, MBA
President/CEO, Public Entity Partners
Michael has more than 30 years’ experience in providing risk management consulting and training for local governments, school systems, universities, state governments, and associations. He is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University (Finance & Political Science) and Ole Miss (MBA - Management). He has participated in international public risk management exchanges with colleagues from the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Michael is a former two-time member of the board of directors of the PRIMA, and formerly served (2013-2016) on the board of directors of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI). In 2020, Fann was the inaugural recipient of PRIMA's Pioneer Excellence Award. Further, in 2019, he was conferred with the honor of "Fellow in Professional Practice" by the University of Tennessee's Master of Public Policy & Administration (MPPA) Program "to recognize accomplished & experienced professionals whose careers exhibit the highest standards of performance excellence…" by a vote of the MPPA faculty. In 2014, he was presented with PRIMA's highest honor as only the 11th recipient of its Distinguished Service Award. He has also received TnPRIMA's Abbie Hudgens Distinguished Service Award (2012), and the Southeast Loss Control (SELC) Group's Distinguished Service Award (2016).
Lori Gray
Assistant Director of Finance for Risk & Wellness Services, Prince William County, VA
Lori has over 30 years of risk management, safety and loss control experience. As risk manager for the county for over 22 years, Lori has succeeded at building an outstanding risk and wellness program from scratch after the entity had previously outsourced the function. She oversees the administration and management of the Prince William Self-Insurance Group (PWSIG) and is chairman of the board of trustees for the PWSIG. Through her successful strategies and risk control techniques, the PWSIG has recognized dividend payments totaling over $20,000,000. During her tenure, Lori has implemented 22 award-winning programs recognized by PRIMA, National Association of Counties (NACo) and the Virginia Association of Counties (VACo). Before joining Prince William County in 1999, Lori was with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA).
Lori holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Old Dominion University. She is currently a member of Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) and serves on the PRIMA and PERI board of directors. She was recognized as PRIMA’s Risk Manager of the Year in 2008 and Business Insurance’s Risk Manager of the Year in 2013.
Elisha D. Hodge
Legal Consultant, University of Tennessee, Municipal Technical Advisory Services
Before joining Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) in October 2014, Elisha served as the open records specialist and the open records counsel for the State of Tennessee from 2007 until 2014. Prior to joining the comptroller’s office, Elisha prosecuted cases and served as advisory counsel for the Tennessee Department of Health. Elisha graduated from the University of the South (Sewanee) in 2001 and the University of Memphis, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2003. Elisha currently serves as a member of the IPS Diversity Committee and as the chair of the Exempt Staff Council for UTK, IPS, UTIA and University Administration. As part of her role as chair, she sits on the UTPD Advisory Council, the Commission for Blacks and the Employee Relations Advisory Board. Elisha is a 2021 graduate of the Tennessee Certified Public Manager program and is an Intercultural Developmental Inventory Qualified Administrator. She also serves as both a UT Promise Mentor and a tnAchieves Mentor.
Dan Hurley, CSP, ARM-P, MS, MPA
Risk Manager, City of Chesapeake, VA
Dan is the middle of his seventh year as risk manager for the City of Chesapeake. Prior to current role, he was the risk manager for Norfolk Public Schools and the safety officer for the City of Norfolk. He also had a two year stint with Midwest Employers Casualty Company (an excess carrier) as a public schools practice leader. Dan is a past president of both the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA) and the Virginia PRIMA Chapter, currently serving as a board member. Dan has a BA from Virginia Tech, and an MPA and an MS from Old Dominion University. Dan also has Associates in Risk Management (ARM) and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designations. Retiring this year, Dan plans to work part time in the public sector.
Geoffrey R. Jones, Esq.
Senior Claims Attorney, Midwest Employers Casualty
Geoffrey is a senior claims attorney for Midwest Employers Casualty, where he has worked throughout the United States for the past 12 years providing claims/legal oversight and recommendations. Geoffrey has had a positive impact on an assortment of challenging catastrophic and presumptive claims. One of Geoffrey's strongest assets is his ability to mitigate and resolve high exposure claims, which has led to millions of dollars in savings. In that capacity, he has handled mediation/settlements in over 30 states. When not settling claims or aiding the management of catastrophic cases, Geoffrey may be found working with MEC's advanced analytics unit and clients to ensure positive outcomes.
Amy Larson, Esq.
Risk & Litigation Manager, City of Bloomington, MN
Amy has more than 20 years’ experience as the risk manager for the City of Bloomington, including the past 11 years as the risk and litigation manager. She is responsible for the overall planning, management, administration, organization and coordination of the city’s risk management program; review and negotiation of city contracts; and litigation management. Amy is a licensed attorney in the state of Minnesota and a frequent presenter for many national PRIMA events, including PRIMA Institute, the national conference and speaker's bureau. Amy is the current chair of the PRIMA Institute and has been actively involved with PRIMA Institute since 2013. She also served on the national PRIMA board of directors from 2012-2019, including serving as the national PRIMA president from 2017-2018, and serving as a member of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) Board of Directors from 2012-2017. Amy is also very active in the Minnesota chapter of PRIMA and currently serves as its past president.
Jessica Osborne
Attorney, Bullard Law
Jessica is an attorney at Bullard Law, a boutique management-side labor and employment law firm located in Portland, OR. She represents public, private, and non-profit employers in employment litigation and labor matters, as well as providing advice and counsel. Jessica also has experience in conducting workplace investigations.
Carleen C. Patterson, ARM-P, CIC, ARM
First Vice President & Practice Leader, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
Carleen joined the Alliant Insurance Services team in 2020. Carleen is the national public entity and higher education practice leader. She works with higher education and public entity clients across the United States providing insurance brokerage and risk management expertise. Carleen’s expertise includes the design and negotiation of client insurance programs, evaluation and analysis of alternative risk transfer plans including captive plans, risk management evaluations, and the creation of complex property risk and insurance programs. She has been in the insurance industry since 1988. Prior to Alliant, Carleen served in a similar role for a large, international broker. She has risk management, claims, and insurance brokerage experience; and has spent the last 21 years specializing in self-insurance and insurance brokerage and consulting for higher education institutions as well as large public entity clients. Her expertise is in the design and implementation of large property and casualty insurance programs. Carleen earned her BS in Education from the University of South Dakota. She is licensed as an insurance agent/producer in many other states and holds the Associate in Risk Management, Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities, Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager designations.
Paul Peak, PharmD
VP Clinical Pharmacy, Sedgwick
Paul has been with Sedgwick for over 8 years and currently serves as VP clinical pharmacy. In this role, Dr. Peak oversee Sedgwick’s Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) partner relationships and also has oversight of Sedgwick’s clinical pharmacists. The clinical pharmacist team is one part of the larger Sedgwick Pharmacy Program that works to address concerning prescribing habits and trends while advocating for clinical practices that help injured workers realize improved functionality and return to work. His role provides him with a unique perspective on both larger pharmacy trends occurring in the industry as well as specific clinical practices seen at the claim level.
Paul brings a wealth of past work experience to Sedgwick including a background in hospital care as well as specialty pharmacy services.
Paul Pousson, ARM, DRM
Managing Director, Higher Education Practice, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Paul is a managing director with Gallagher’s Higher Education Practice. He has specialized in providing risk management and insurance services to institutions of higher education and governmental entities for 25+ years. Since joining Gallagher in 2015, Paul has used his risk management insight to provide insurance brokerage and risk management advisory services to help his clients mitigate risks and recover from losses in the most effective, efficient and transparent manner. He currently works with some of the largest and most prominent public and private universities and systems in the country.
Liani J. Reeves
Attorney, Bullard Law
Liani is a shareholder and president of Bullard Law. Her practice includes representing employers in litigation, providing advice and training, and serving as an investigator into high profile and sensitive matters. Liani has a special focus on working with public sector clients. Prior to joining Bullard, Liani served as general counsel to the Office of the Oregon Governor, where she advised on a myriad of legal issues. She also served as the deputy chief trial counsel at the Oregon Department of Justice Trial Division representing state agencies in litigation.
Liani has served as co-chair of the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association and president of the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association. She was the first woman of color to serve as the 2020 president of the Oregon State Bar.
Patty Reinecke, RN, BSN, CCM, MSCC
Director of Client Consults and TPA Relationships, Midwest Employers Casualty
Patty has over 28 years’ experience in the workers’ compensation industry. She provides a unique healthcare perspective to identify high-risk claims early and develop solutions that help employers and injured workers achieve better outcomes. In her current role, Patty works to ensure quality claim handling within the MEC Claims Department and as a liaison to facilitate positive working relationships with partners and claim administrators.
Greg Scott
Risk Manager, Chatham County, GA
Greg is the risk manager for Chatham County, Georgia. He began his professional career in the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department in March of 1978 until 1982, leaving to pursue a career in the insurance industry. In May of 2014, Greg returned to Chatham County as the risk manager, working in the same building that his professional career began in 1978.
During his 39 years in the industry, Greg handled complex liability and workers’ compensation issues involving policy and coverage questions for both private companies and government entities.
In June of 1981, he received his B.S. in criminal justice from Armstrong State University. Greg continued his education in the evenings and received his MBA in June of 1989.
Richard Spiers, CPCU, ARM, ARe, AIC
Claim Consultant, Spiers Consulting, LLC
Richard has been in the insurance industry since 1980 and was a claim executive in the reinsurance and excess marketplace since 1985. He was with Genesis Management and Insurance Services for over 20 years and is currently doing claim consulting work. Richard has extensive experience handling the wide array of claims faced by public entities, K-12 school districts and the higher education sector. Based in Chicago, he has also worked for Transamerica Insurance Group, Northbrook Excess and Surplus Insurance, CNA and Allstate Reinsurance. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, a member of the Society of CPCU, and holds associate designations in risk management, claims and reinsurance. Richard has been developing and presenting insurance industry-related training sessions to a variety of client and industry groups for over 25 years.
Tina R. Stevens
Director, Human Resources Services, Virginia Risk Sharing Association (VRSA)
Tina is a graduate of the University of Richmond with a degree in human resources management. Tina holds the professional designations of Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (CEBS), International Public Management Association Senior Certified Professional (IPMA-SCP) and Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI). She began her career with Home Beneficial Life Insurance Company in their Payroll, Benefits and Retirement Department. She was a human resources consultant with First Health Services Corporation/Coventry Healthcare and was director of human resources with the American Heart Association prior to joining VRSA in 2007. Tina is a past president of the Richmond Chapter ISCEBS and is a current committee member with the Richmond Chapter of SHRM.
Nancy Sylvester, CPCU, ARM-P
Area Executive Vice President, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Nancy is area executive vice president, as well as Gallagher Public Sector’s (GPS) national director- federal disaster recovery. She has earned the CPCU and ARM-P designations. Having devoted her career to public risk management, first as a practitioner (K-12 risk manager) then a director of risk management for a national public entity insurance carrier, and now as a leader in Gallagher’s support for its public housing, education, construction and public sector clients, Nancy has been recognized for her work by several leading industry organizations and has received multiple awards for her work including: Multi-year Power Broker by Risk and Insurance in public sector as well as higher education; Leadership Award by Liberty Mutual/Risk and Insurance; Women to Watch by Business Insurance; and others. Nancy speaks and trains regularly at national and state conferences on the topics of risk management, FEMA, P3s, insurance and leadership.
Pamela Teal
Claim Manager, County of Hillsborough, FL
Pamela is the claim manager for Hillsborough County Risk Management in Tampa, Florida. Prior to her current role, she worked in the private sector for 26 years investigating property and casualty claims. She has two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Saint Leo University in human resources and sociology. Pamela is the current treasurer for PRIMA’s Tampa Bay chapter.
David Weightman
Risk Control Manager, Public Entity Practice, The PMA Companies
David is a risk control manager for PMA Companies and is currently responsible for managing the risk control services provided to public entity clients. With more than 30 years of experience, David has held various field and management positions with PMA where he has managed and delivered safety and risk control services for both the traditional insurance market and self-insured clients.
David earned a Bachelor of Science degree in occupational safety and health from Millersville University and a Master in Business Administration degree from LaSalle University. He holds the Charter Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities (ARM-P) and Associate in Loss Control Management (ALCM) designations and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP).
Ya’Sheaka C. Williams
Partner, Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A.
Ya’Sheaka is board certified in workers’ compensation by The Florida Bar and a member of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Ya’Sheaka is the recipient of Martindale Hubbell’s AV Preeminent rating. Florida Super Lawyers Magazine also named her a Rising Star in the areas of insurance coverage and workers’ compensation from 2012-2017.
Ya’Sheaka won the 2021 Comp Laude Defense Attorney Award. In 2022, In Touch awarded Ya’Sheaka with the Women Leading the Way in Workers’ Compensation Award, the award celebrates and honors women who are empowering and paving the way for other women. In Touch also awarded Ya’Sheaka the Exceptional Defense Attorney Award, which honors professionals who consistently demonstrate superior expertise in all areas of claim defense including, but not limited to, the review of claims, most effectively providing advice, instituting strategy, and seamlessly navigating each claim through resolution while achieving cost containment.
Ya’Sheaka is a graduate of Brenau University Women’s College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in conflict resolution and legal studies, with a minor in English in 2000. She completed her J.D. studies at Stetson University College of Law in 2003.
