Presenter Bios I-O

Michael Juergens is a Father, Husband, Colorado Native, Registered Employee Benefits Consultant, and Founder/Owner of Rise Benefit Solutions. He thrives on guiding his clients on how to develop result-driven top-tier health plans – making the complex simple. He is passionate about what he does. Michael’s goal is to empower employers, their employees, and their families on how to get the best healthcare at the best price. 

In 2017 his second son (Chase) was born with a condition called CDH. His son's hospital bill was $222,367 of which $99,000 was said to be his responsibility. This experience opened his eyes to how much variability and bureaucracy exists in the US healthcare system and drives his passion to deliver value for consumers and businesses. 

Michael has his REBC certification through the national association of health underwriters, as well as certificates in accident, health, and life insurance, human capital management, and leadership. Currently serving as a committee member on the Arvada Healthcare KAPS Council, serving as a board member on the Arvada Chamber of Commerce, he is highly engaged in the community. He has been featured as a keynote speaker on what it means to be an "Engaged Healthcare Consumer" and featured on the TrendBreakers podcast. Michael is a current volunteer with the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center, Community Table of Arvada, Team Rubicon, Helping Hands, and Colorado Friendship. As an active member of the Colorado community, he makes it a priority to give first. 

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Wyoming, (Go Pokes!) where he was a starter on the university football team for three years. During that time, he was involved with several youth camps around the state of Wyoming, including Big Brothers and Sisters and Habitat for Humanity. He also signed as a free agent with NFL's Carolina Panthers. 

Born and raised in Colorado, he graduated from Pomona High School and Michael loves everything his beautiful state has to offer. He is happily married and is the father of two sons. Michael is an avid fly-fisherman, mountain biker, camper, deeper, personal growth junky, and man of God.   

Stephanie M. Koch, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the Director of Human Resources for Hendry Marine Industries. 

Stephanie is a senior human resources business partner with a proven track record of leading HR processes in a variety of different organizations.  

She is a creative thinker, problem solver, and decision maker with an ability to balance the needs of the company with the mission of the organization. She has strong communication, interpersonal relations, mentoring, negotiating, and organizational skills. 

Her Bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration & Management from William Paterson University. She is a dually senior certified HR professional from the Society of Human Resources Management and Human Resources Certification Institute. She is a member of SHRM and HR Tampa. 

John Keller is a multiple-exit entrepreneur in retail and software, participating in harvests of over 100MM in value. Over the past 20 years of his career, John has provided critical roles in operations, strategy, marketing, organizational development and more across numerous industries and business-types. His passion for in business goes far beyond just making money, as he has been heavily engaged in innovation and social impact throughout his career. Although John’s business achievements are primarily the businesses and non-profits he’s been part of starting, growing, failing or harvesting, he also earned an MBA from BYU—and while he has yet to use his degree, his time in that pursuit helped him solidify his love for learning and reading. John is a voracious reader—He’s usually trying to finish reading (or listening to) about a book a week. As the current president of Redlist, John works with his team to provide a software as a service (SaaS) platform for heavy industrial assets and teams for some of the biggest companies in the world—Companies like Georgia Pacific, ExxonMobil and more. When John isn’t working, reading or sleeping, he can usually be found trying to provide support to his better half and their 7 children.

Brian Klepper, PhD is Principal of Worksite Health Advisors and a nationally prominent health care analyst and commentator. He speaks, writes, and advises extensively on high-performance health care, primary care clinics, and the management of clinical and financial risk.

A purchaser advocate, he has focused on the market and policy dynamics of the health care quality and cost crises, and readily available solutions to purchasers willing to approach the problem laterally. His current focus is on high-performing health care organizations that consistently deliver better health outcomes at lower cost than usual approaches in high-value niches.

Dr. Klepper has been involved in several transformative health care efforts favoring patient and health care purchaser interests. His 2009 testimony to an HHS panel resulted in the revocation of an industry group’s monopoly on Health Information Technology certification. In 2010-2013, he spearheaded a national effort, culminating in a lawsuit against CMS and HHS, to expose the AMA’s RBRVS Update Committee’s role in distorting US’ care and cost patterns.

Brian is a regular contributor to the health care trade press. He is a reviewer for the journals Health Affairs and The Journal of Ambulatory Care Management, and an advisor to several health care organizations. He is Founder and Moderator of The Healthcare Benefits Hackers listserv, a vibrant discussion forum with more than 900 participants focused on health care value and high performance. George Washington University’s Masters in Health Administration Program ranked Brian's writing, archived at Care & Cost, the top 2016 blog by a health care professional. Feedspot named it a 2017 top 100 health care blog.

In his spare time, Brian is an offshore sailor.

Stephanie M. Koch, SPHR, SHRM-SCP is the Director of Human Resources for Hendry Marine Industries. 

Stephanie is a senior human resources business partner with a proven track record of leading HR processes in a variety of different organizations.  

She is a creative thinker, problem solver, and decision maker with an ability to balance the needs of the company with the mission of the organization. She has strong communication, interpersonal relations, mentoring, negotiating, and organizational skills. 

Her Bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration & Management from William Paterson University. She is a dually senior certified HR professional from the Society of Human Resources Management and Human Resources Certification Institute. She is a member of SHRM and HR Tampa. 

Bill Lacy has over 35 years of experience in executive and financial leadership positions. Currently, Bill serves as the CEO for the Association for Corporate Health Risk Management (ACHRM), a membership-based organization comprised of progressive employers ranging in size up to 50,000 employees and best-in-class vendors (Sponsor Partners) and consultants seeking education, a venue to collaborate, innovative methodologies, disruptive technologies and other resources to more effectively contain their organization’s healthcare costs.

ACHRM has offered 300 virtual and in-person events since its launch in June, 2012 engaging more than 1,000 employers and other professionals. The Association has published several white papers, case studies and launched various pilots to introduce new methodologies to assist employers with their healthcare cost

containment strategies. Recently, ACHRM was engaged by both a large mid-western City and mid-Atlantic

County to analyze and design a healthcare cost containment plans, with upwards of $150 million dollars in

savings.

Prior to ACHRM, Bill was CFO and COO for Business Health Services, a national Corporate Wellness and

Behavioral Risk Management provider based in Baltimore, Maryland; and CFO for Planet Fitness PA based in

Lafayette Hill, PA. Bill has also held executive positions with the Association for Corporate Wellness (ACW),

BB&T (Equity) Bank, Exelon (PECO) Energy, Rainbow Industrial Products, NatWest, and Entre Advisors LLC.

Bill is Adjunct Professor, Pfeffer University teaching MBA Finance and currently serves on the University of the Sciences’ Board of Visitors, and previously served on other not-for-profit and for-profit boards. Bill is an Eagle Scout. He earned his MBA (finance and marketing) from Drexel University and BS (math and economics) from Ursinus College.

Monica Lee is a Director of Operations for Southcentral Foundation. In her role, she supports SCF’s Medical Services division, assisting with the smooth operation of clinics as they provide care to customer-owners. Prior to her current role, Monica worked as a Senior Improvement Advisor for SCF’s Medical Services Division, a Business Advisor for SCF’s Learning Institute, and in SCF’s Human Resources department. Monica holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, as well as a Graduate Certification in Alaska Native Executive Leadership and a SHRM-CP Certification from the Society of Human Resource Management. Monica is an SCF customer-owner with a background of Inupiaq and Korean descent.

Lee Lewis serves as Chief Strategy Officer and GM Medical Solutions for the Health Transformation Alliance. He leads efforts across over 50 large and jumbo employers and six million employees to save lives and save millions of dollars through improved health delivery, outcomes and experience. Key initiatives in this role include new models of health benefits administration, curated provider steerage, and improved clinical delivery and outcomes.

He has advised healthcare strategy at Fortune 10 employers, insurance companies and administrators, medical associations and the Departments of Justice and Labor. He incubated and helped form two dozen health-benefit startup companies, and has been quoted and featured in Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Lewis is a founding, charter member of the Health Rosetta organization, which seeks to open-source employer health benefits strategy for the public good, and is credited as a co-founder of the Health Value Exchange, a free, online contributor database with over a thousand health benefit vendors democratizing industry access to great solutions.

Before joining the HTA, Lewis was a consultant at Gallagher, where he founded Gallagher’s innovation lab and national jumbo employer practice. In 2019 he was recognized with the industry’s top honor as the Outstanding National Consultant for Large & Jumbo Employers Award by the independent Validation Institute. His consulting clients won Diamond Innovation Awards at the World Healthcare Congress, Innovation Awards from the Texas Business Groups on Health, Top 20 Innovator Awards from Healthcare Revolution Conference, and Financial Innovation and Large Group Management Innovation accolades from the Validation Institute.

Lee is a Rhodes Scholar Nominee and graduated Second in his Class, Magna cum Laude with University Honors and attended the University of Michigan and BYU.

Corey Lockett is the President of Sales for KonnectMD. Before being named President of Sales of KonnectMD in August 2020, Corey was a Director for WorldVentures’ and helped in creating over $860 million in sales and growing their client base to over 30 countries. What sets him apart is his willingness to push the envelope in terms of what is possible for a business, as well as his courage in defining and forging a new path forward- a path that more often than not leads to breakthrough achievements and propels the business to

new heights of success and growth.

With a MBA from Mississippi State University, he is well-versed in operations, supply chain and strategy with a goal to lead businesses to identify growth opportunities, cost savings and increase productivity to impact bottom line. Not one to sit by and wait for things to happen, Corey makes them happen, all the while infusing the teams he leads with an infectious energy and passion that empowers them to think big, set stretch goals, and then pursue those goals with such an intensity and focus that anything but success is unthinkable.

He is beyond excited about the future of KonnectMD. Their strategic partnership with Walmart Health Virtual Care is aiding them in becoming one of the industry’s newest innovators. As the cost for traditional health plans continue to rise, Corey looks to lead KonnectMD in creating solutions for organizations that are struggling to attract and retain great talent, without it impacting their bottom line.

Dan Ludwig, Director of Benefits and Safety at Brakebush Brothers, has over 25 years successfully reducing occupational losses.  In 2014 Dan transitioned into controlling health plan expenses as the company ventured from fully insured to self-insured.  Dan developed Brakebush’s Centers of Excellence program which includes steerage to high value providers as well as an international pharmacy.  After years of success offering an onsite musculoskeletal disorder prevention program, Brakebush opened their first fulltime onsite clinic in Westfield, WI in 2016.  Along with the MSD prevention, this clinic offers primary medical, mental health services, Rx dispensing, and other services.  Their second clinic was opened in their Irving, TX facility in 2021, and plans are in the works for adding onsite services at two other locations within the next 6 – 12 months. In 2018, Brakebush was award The Alliance (WI) Healthcare Transformation Award.  The following year, Dan was presented with the Employer/Purchaser Excellence Award (National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions) in recognition of innovation in healthcare strategy.  Each year since becoming self-insured, Brakebush has maintained annual per member costs lower than their first year.

Renzo Luzzatti has over 25 years experience in the health care industry with a primary focus in managed care, pharmacy, and pharmacy benefits. His healthcare career has included management roles in almost every facet of the pharmacy world from drug development, manufacturing, and marketing to dispensing and care delivery as well as pharmacy benefit risk management. 

Renzo has an undergraduate degree in Biology and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He has served in numerous management capacities at well-known companies including Ernest & Young, Abbott Laboratories, and WellPoint/Anthem. He co-founded US-Rx Care in 2007 to address identified clinical services and efficiency gaps in the pharmacy benefit marketplace. US-Rx Care has since become a valued, reliable business partner to benefits management firms, health plans, and self-funded employers large and small.

Vince Maromonte has put that innovative mindset to use ever since he started his first lawn care business in high school. That venture grew and expanded throughout his college years. It’s that attitude and approach to pro-active thinking — rather than waiting to adapt to change — that Vince brings to HUB International’s regional headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. As Senior Vice President and Employee Benefits Practice Leader, Vince leads teams in HUB offices in Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg, as well as Columbus, OH, and Morgantown, WV. Vince strives to create new and advanced initiatives while continuing to provide a Fortune 500 level of service to all clients. In addition, Vince serves as the lead for employers to develop and sustain multi-year strategic benefit plans. His abilities of critical questioning, innovation, service and continuous improvement that make Vince a rising star at HUB. He is also a member of HUB’s Executive Management Team and its National Employee Benefits Best Practices Task Force. Vince maintains his Pennsylvania Life, Accident & Health and Property & Casualty licenses. Vince and his wife, Carolyn, live in Franklin Park with their daughter, Penelope, and chocolate Labrador Retriever, Abu. In his free time, Vince enjoys playing golf, watching Pittsburgh Penguins hockey and collecting pens and watches. 

Karen McIntire joined Southcentral Foundation (SCF) in 1996. She is the Vice President of Workforce and plays a key supporting role in strategic planning and development. Karen is responsible for the development and management of human resources policies, programs, and procedures related to recruitment and employment, compensation and benefits, employee relations, human resources information systems, safety, and other associated programs. Karen played a key role in the application that led SCF to become a Baldrige award-winning organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with emphasis in marketing from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is certified as a Professional in Human Resources. Karen is of Yup’ik-Aleut descent. She presents nationally and internationally on whole-system improvement, customer focus, workforce improvement, innovation, and SCF’s Nuka System of Care. 

Ginger Miller is currently the Director of Health and Benefits at Utz Quality Foods, LLC where she oversees the leave management program, leads efforts to create value- based benefits, and develops opportunities to promote the health and well-being of the organization’s associates.

She started her Utz career 9 ½ years ago in a newly created role as Health and Wellness Coordinator where she opened the Hanover-based Fitness Center and expanded programs and partnerships throughout the national Utz footprint to improve the health and well-being of associates and find opportunities for them to become better consumers of healthcare. Her role later evolved into that of Health Promotion Manager where she facilitated the opening of the Utz Health and Wellness Center, an onsite primary care clinic in Hanover, PA and continued to innovate ways to improve health while curbing the associates’ and the organization’s healthcare spend.

Ginger has been an integral part of developing a bundled payment program for joint replacements and a direct contract mammogram program with local providers. Over the past 2 years she has been at the forefront of COVID-19 mitigation and management efforts at Utz, with numerous invitations to speak locally and nationally on these successes. She has been featured in several articles including those published by the Health Action Alliance and the Washington Post. 

Ginger earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Elizabethtown College and practiced in the field of Occupational Therapy for 19 years as a clinician and manager before joining Utz Quality Foods in 2013. In addition to numerous clinical certifications, she is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist and a Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist and trained in Neurodevelopmental Techniques. She has been a guest speaker at many state and national events on a variety of health management topics.

Ginger is a member of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers Leadership Council and COVID-19 task force as well as the Harrisburg Area Community College Health and Wellness Promotion Advisory Committee. She is also currently on the Board of the Hanover VNA and the Board Chair of the Central Pennsylvania Business Group on Health. Ginger is involved in various initiatives with the Association for Corporate Health Risk Management and participated in the Exact Sciences Advisory Board for Colorectal Cancer Screenings at Jefferson University.

She had the privilege of helping develop the Utz Women’s Mentoring Group, the first employee resource group in the organization, serving as a past chair on the executive board. She still remains active in philanthropy and mentoring initiatives with this group.

In May of 2022 Ginger was nominated as a “Woman of Influence” by her organization for the Shelby Report, a national trade publication for the grocery industry.

Ginger resides in Hanover, PA with her husband. She has three active children, 2 of which are in college and one in high school. She practices what she preaches, spending her free time working out, running, biking, hiking, boating, meditating, and further her knowledge on healthcare issues in order to positively impact change.

Mark Mincy is a 4th generation pharmacist that started his career at Walgreens as a pharmacist in South Florida. Mark’s experiences with Walgreens included becoming a Pharmacy Manager, managing a Staff Model pharmacy for the 1st Medicare Advantage plan that later was acquired by Humana and District Pharmacy Supervisor. Mark moved to Walgreens Health Care Plus which evolved into Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), in Sales and ended his career with WHI as the Vice President of Managed Care Sales and Service, which processed 38% of all Part D claims in 2006. Mark then began a career in consulting for health plans and large employer groups with focus on PBM contracting, PBM oversight, Specialty Pharmacy Strategy and CMS regulatory compliance. Mark provided consulting services to organizations including J&J, State of Wisconsin, Topco, MCS, Amerigroup and Centene. Mark joined US-Rx Care in 2018 as Executive Vice President and has been a part of business development, account services and product strategy.

Darrell Moon founded Orriant in 1996 to change the dynamics of healthcare and give employers some control over the ever-increasing costs of the healthcare benefits they offer their employees. He believed that engaging individuals in the management of their own health was a key that had to be inserted back into the economic equation of healthcare. Darrell received both his Bachelor of Science in Finance and his Master of Health Administration from Brigham Young University. He managed 10 different medical and psychiatric hospitals throughout the country prior to creating Orriant. He is a principal speaker for the world's leading CEO organization Vistage on the topic of controlling healthcare costs and improving health. Darrell is a Forbes Leadership Contributor. 

Steven E. Nielsen, MHA, FACHE, RHU President at NBG Benefits

Steve has spent his career working at the intersection of health care providers and employer purchasers. He’s held executive positions with Intermountain Healthcare and Community Medical Centers of Central California. He founded the Western Business Group on Health, an employer purchasing coalition. He served on the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions’ Board of Directors. He is a founder of NBG Benefits. He works to improve health, satisfaction and affordability. He participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s value improvement project. He is a member of the Utah State Health Department’s Transparency Advisory Group and the Utah Partnership for Health Care Value. He served as Co-Chairman of the Utah Health Underwriters Association Legislative Committee. He is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a Registered Health Underwriter. He is a graduate of Brigham Young University and Washington University at St. Louis, with an M.H.A in healthcare management.

Matt Ohrt and Jon Baran have recently joined forces in a start-up company, which is being developed to provide a complete package of employer healthcare services to employers, including administrative, medical, technology, and consulting. This package is based on a study they conducted of healthcare strategies from employers who have achieved success stories. Interestingly, although success stories are rare; the strategies utilized are all very similar. 

Growing up on a farm in Iowa, Matt learned the value of hard work, integrity and problem solving. Throughout his career, Matt has served as an influential executive leader, working for companies such as Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Badger Mining (#1 Great Place to Work in America award), and recently, as the Vice President of HR & Medical Services for Merrill Steel in Schofield, WI. He is a proven transformational leader in areas of employer healthcare, lean manufacturing and work culture. 

Matt is best known in Wisconsin for the healthcare success story at Merrill Steel, in which he led the company on a five-year healthcare improvement journey to implement a number of no cost healthcare services to employees and their families, such as onsite clinics, a mobile clinic (converted ambulance), physical therapy, chiropractic, MRI, bundled orthopedic surgeries, and a world-class wellness program.  

Outcomes included frozen premiums for 6 consecutive years, $5.5M in total cost savings (employees and their families saved $1.7M), reduced pharmacy costs, reduced STD/LTD/Life costs. Additionally, these efforts had very favorable effects on recruiting and retention. 

In 2018 Matt founded the Healthcare Best Practice Group. Today, there are about 200 employers and 225 free-market providers and vendors who participate. For his success in providing healthcare solutions for employers.

My name is Natalie Olson and I am currently a Human Resource Supervisor at Imperial Industries, Inc. I have worked at Imperial since May of 2021 and previously was attending the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse for my Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology with a minor in Criminal Justice. In December I will be completing my Master of Science degree in Industrial–Organizational Psychology through Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). I am also currently a Graduate Assistant for one of my professors at EKU and spend most of my time helping her by grading papers or assisting students when not at work or completing my own school work. Even though I am young in my career, I have found a passion for working in HR and enjoy working with employees to give them a great experience at the organization and help them create a career to be proud of.