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Joy Binkley (jbinkley@hcwbenefits.com) became a valuable part of the HCW consulting team in
June 2006 after serving in various sales and underwriting capacities at the Raleigh office of CIGNA Healthcare. After
being named Vice President of Sales in 2003, she helped drive retention rates to all new heights while bringing in scores of new business
accounts. Prior to her work at CIGNA, she served as an underwriter, stop loss specialist and marketing representative for Stop
Loss International. |
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Chip Bremer (cbremer@hcwbenefits.com)
joined HCW at the end of February 2005 to oversee the firm's
corporate and marketing communications programs. Previously,
Chip spent a couple of years as Publications Director for
the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development.
Prior to that, he served as Communications Director for the
Center for Information on Toxicology and the Environment
(CITE) in Research Triangle Park. Chip has a BA in Journalism/Communications
from Rider College (NJ), with concentrations in Public Relations,
Marketing and Advertising. |
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Steve Byrd (sbyrd@hcwbenefits.com)
was one of the earliest hires in the HCW Employee Benefits
division, joining the firm in May 2001. Prior to that, he
worked for several years with the U.S. Postal Service where
he served as a Distribution Supervisor, as well as a Data
Technician in the In-Plant Support department. Steve graduated
from North Carolina State University in 1991 with a double
major in Business Management and Economics. He currently plays
a key role as lead consultant of HCW's Small Business Unit. |
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Sheila
Colosimo (scolosimo@hcwbenefits.com)
was hired in August 2002 as the leader of client service operations
at HCW after serving for 17 years as a Human Resource executive,
including an extensive stint at Blue Cross Blue Shield of
North Carolina as an Account Manager. Prior to joining our
firm, Sheila held the Vice President of Employee Benefits
position at Willis of the Carolinas (formerly Willis Corroon).
Her vast field experience, strong organizational skills and
powerful interpersonal qualities have helped HCW build its
rapidly-expanding client base over the past few years. |
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Jennifer Craven (jcraven@hcwbenefits.com) joined HCW in July 2006 to fill the role of client coordinator. She came to us from WEYCO, INC., a Michigan-based employee benefit TPA, where she served in various capacities including Underwriting Manager, COBRA Manager, and Business
Continuity Plan Project Manager. A Michigan State graduate, Jennifer brings an impressive skill set to HCW, with proficiencies in benefit administration, client relationship management,
communications, marketing and strategy development. |
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Jennifer
Farrell (jfarrell@hcwbenefits.com) is a valuable member of our
Client Coordinator team. She came to HCW with an extensive background in employee benefits through previous employment as an Account Manger with Great-West Life and BB&T Insurance Services. With over 10 years of benefits experience, her knowledge, drive, creativity, and determination set the bar for others in the field. She is an excellent resource for our customers as well as internal staff. |
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Joanne Forbes (jforbes@hcwbenefits.com), a benefit consultant, has been with HCW since May 2006. Joanne came to us after serving for five years as General Manager of GBS Administrators, a regional office of Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., in Bellevue, WA . Joanne is a well-respected veteran with over 20 years of experience in the fields of employee benefits, business development and business consulting. Prior to her term at GBS, she was an integral part of the stop loss group of SAFECO Life Insurance Company in Redmond, WA, for 15 years in various leadership roles. Joanne holds an MBA from Seattle Pacific University (WA) and a BA from Allegheny College (PA).
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Deborah Hammond (dhammond@hcwbenefits.com)
has been a valuable member of our service team since joining HCW in September 2004 and recently served as team lead for the service unit before assuming her current role as Client Specialist. Deb came to us as a 19-year insurance veteran with RL Forrester Insurance
Agency (currently known as Forrester & Associates Inc.). Starting in 1985, she began
a 12-year stint with Forrester in the property and casualty
division, and then worked another seven years in the life
and health department for groups and individual insurance.
Deborah's vast experience has made her a valuable member
of our staff and an effective leader within our firm. |
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Angie Hansen (ahansen@hcwbenefits.com)
joined the HCW Underwriting/Risk Analysis Unit in June 2008 with over 10 years of experience in the areas of underwriting and financial analysis. Prior to her employment with HCW, Angie served for five years as a medical underwriting consultant with Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, Iowa. At Principal, Angie specialized in medical risk analyses for existing and potential clients, and served as team “subject matter expert” for Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). |
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Dax Hill (dhill@hcwbenefits.com) became a full-time member of the firm back in 1996 straight out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has experience in every aspect of our commercial employee benefits practice including billing, claims, contract provisions and, most recently, sales. Dax currently fulfills a number of duties for the firm, and always provides effective support for our service team. |
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Twyla Hutchins (thutchins@hcwbenefits.com) RN, BSN, COHN-S, filled the role of Medical Management Officer in June 2008 after working over 13 years as Manager of Occupational Health Services at the Durham offices of Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC. With over 23 years of overall healthcare and occupational health program experience, Twyla also holds several high-profile board positions, such as President of the Tarheel Association of Occupational Health Nurses and Executive Board Member of the North Carolina Association of Occupational Health Nurses. |
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Ida Johnson (ijohnson@hcwbenefits.com) Service Team Leader, came to us HCW in June 2008 from Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, where she served for nearly 15 years in various capacities. At BCBSNC, she made an impact in several prominent roles including Service Manager and Team Leader of the National Accounts area. As leader of the HCW Service Team, Ida works to ensure diligent and efficient team operation while maintaining the same level of dependability that has been a trademark of HCW for years. |
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McKenzie Kennard (mkennard@hcwbenefits.com) was welcomed as a member of the HCW staff in August 2007. She graduated from NC State University in May 2007, where she also did administrative work in the Dean’s office. Prior to joining our firm, she worked for LexisNexis in inside sales and also taught dance lessons for 4-6 year olds. She now serves as a valuable market specialist for our underwriting/risk management team. |
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Rob Krieg (rkrieg@hcwbenefits.com) joined HCW as the firm’s compliance officer in October 2006 after relocating from Towson, MD, where he spent the last several years working at the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s office as an Assistant State’s Attorney. He received his
Group Benefits Associate (GBA) designation through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also received his Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond. Rob has bridged his litigation experience to the employee benefits field, and he currently specializes in regulation compliance for health and welfare benefit plans, including all laws and regulations that impact employee benefits. |
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Christine Laiewski (claiewski@hcwbenefits.com) was embraced as a member of the HCW family in June 2006 fresh out of Xavier University. She soon became entrenched as a key member of the underwriting/risk management team where she continues to provide valuable support to our clients and sincere dedication to the HCW staff. She currently serves many of our clients as market specialist in our underwriting/risk management team |
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Chrissy Lin (clin@hcwbenefits.com) was welcomed in June 2008 as a Market Specialist on the HCW Underwriting/Risk Analysis Team. Prior to her employment with us, she graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Decision Sciences and finished a clinical research contract with the Environmental Protection Agency. |
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Marisa McEntee (mmcentee@hcwbenefits.com) was officially welcomed as a key member of the HCW Small Business Division in April 2007, and currently serves as an important part of our service team. She graduated from Campbell University in May 2005 where she was a starter on the women’s soccer team for four years. She currently holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and is currently finishing up her Master’s Degree in that same area. |
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Vicki Miller (vmiller@hcwbenefits.com) has the type of warm personality and strong work ethic that our clients have come to expect from our Service Team members. Prior to joining us in June 2008, Vicki was a fixture at Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC where she served most recently as an Operations and Support Specialist in their Health Care Services department. Prior to that, she held the position of Customer Service Specialist with their Commercial Services unit. |
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Heather Moore (hmoore@hcwbenefits.com) became part of the HCW family in July 2007 after a brilliant tenure at Mercer Human Resource Consulting in Washington, D.C. She also served in various HR and healthcare consulting capacities at AON Consulting and various other businesses over the course of her career. This Virginia native brings a great deal of experience to her current position as client coordinator at HCW. |
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Vicki Norris (vnorris@hcwbenefits.com) joined HCW as Director of Marketing in May 2007 after serving in a similar capacity at Bobbitt Design Build for over four years. Prior to that, she held various marketing leadership positions at several prominent New York-based businesses. A native of Upstate New York, Vicki specializes in market strategy development and project management. |
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Amanda Oakes (aoakes@hcwbenefits.com)
was welcomed in August 2005 to the HCW team to help solidify
the firm's underwriting department. Amanda gained four years
of experience as an actuarial analyst for Aon Consulting,
and she posesses the tools and insight to help develop health
plan strategies, as well as negotiate renewals on behalf
of our clients. She currently serves as one of the lead medical underwriters in our underwriting/risk management team. |
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Nikkie Perry (nperry@hcwbenefits.com) was welcomed as a member of the HCW Marketing and Business Development team in October 2007. A graduate of North Carolina State University, she assists with all aspects of HCW’s sales and marketing activities and events, as well as coordination of the firm’s business development opportunities. Prior to joining HCW, she served in various marketing and sales coordination capacities for such businesses as BeaconMedæs in Charlotte and TEAMM Pharmaceuticals in Morrisville. |
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Mandy Sanders (msanders@hcwbenefits.com)
left her career in business management to join the firm in
March 2002. Prior to her arrival at HCW, Mandy spent three
years as a controller for the Courtyard by Marriott where
she handled accounting and human resources responsibilities.
An integral part of our underwriting team, Mandy also serves as a behind-the-scenes worker who
always does an efficient job of keeping the firm functioning
smoothly.
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Rebecca
Sheaffer (rsheaffer@hcwbenefits.com)
joined our service team in May 2003, and moved into a client
coordinator role in February 2005. She came to HCW from Mid-Atlantic
Medical Services (MAMSI Health Plans) where she served as
account manager for over three years. Rebecca is considered
one of the most charismatic members of the HCW staff and a valuable
resource to our client coordinator team. |
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Hue Sheahan (hsheahan@hcwbenefits.com) came aboard in October 2003 as a medical underwriter with over eight years of underwriting experience. Prior to joining our firm, Hue was a senior underwriter with Cigna HealthCare where she managed over 200 large group medical accounts. Hue has also worked in the underwriting department with Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina where she developed a strong understanding of their underwriting methodology and processes. |
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Ellen Tucker (etucker@hcwbenefits.com)
became a welcome addition to the HCW consulting staff in September 2007. She is a Certified Managed Care Executive with experience in several areas of the employee benefit arena. Prior to joining HCW, Ellen served in several capacities related to underwriting, financial administration and product development, including Senior Vice President of Underwriting and Development. In 1988, she was one of the early associates of Carolina Physician’s Health Plan, and over the course of her career, she helped the HMO grow into Healthsource and then into its eventual identity, CIGNA Healthcare. Her expertise in the areas of underwriting, product development, financial analysis, provider relations, market research, strategic planning and benefit administration make her one of the most knowledgeable individuals in the healthcare industry today. |
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Rebecca Wade (rwade@hcwbenefits.com) became a part of the HCW service team in February 2005 with over six years of experience in the insurance industry. She began her career in 1999 as a Customer Service Associate with Blue Cross Blue Shield, and later moved on to work with Wellpath, a Coventry Healthcare plan. At Wellpath, she spent time as a Customer Service Specialist and was later transferred to the Recovery department to serve as a Recovery Specialist. |
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Carol Wagoner (cwagoner@hcwbenefits.com) SPHR, came aboard as our Operations Leader in June 2008 with more than 15 years of management experience. For 11 years, she led the Human Resources function at Agri Supply Company, one of the Southeast’s largest distributors of agriculture equipment. Prior to joining us, Carol was employed as an Organizational Development consultant where she advised executive teams on matters of employee relations, growth opportunities and change management initiatives. |
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Angie Wilson (awilson@hcwbenefits.com) CEBS, GBA, arrived at HCW in June 2008 to fill the role of Client Coordinator. Angie is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist with nearly 15 years in the group benefits field, most of it in client relationship management. She arrived at HCW after serving as Client Services Manager with Ceridian HR Outsourcing in Morrisville, NC, where she acted as a direct contact for several of Ceridian’s high-profile clients. |
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Kristin Wouk (kwouk@hcwbenefits.com) was introduced as a member of the HCW service team in August 2006. She is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate who relocated back to North Carolina after spending a couple of years teaching high school in Key West, FL. Kristin has several years of experience in customer service, a friendly demeanor, and she gets great joy out of helping people .
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