Speaker Biographies Andrea Brookes Senior Benefits Consultant, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Andrea is a Senior Benefits Consultant at Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group with more than ten years of insurance experience. She is dedicated to providing a superior experience as well as advising and educating clients based on their specific needs. Andrea is passionate about creating long-term relationships. She is responsible for developing unique ideas, strategies, and solutions in order for clients to make well thought out, educated decisions about their employee benefit offerings. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Westfield State University and is licensed in Life, Accident and Health Insurance through the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Ryan Campagna, CFP, AIF Senior Vice President, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Ryan Campagna is a Senior Vice President for Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group. He has been an employee benefits consultant for both profit and notfor-profit businesses for more than ten years. His area of focus has been in the design, implementation, communication, and administration of qualified and nonqualified retirement plans. Ryan has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF ), and is also part of a select group of planners who have met the rigorous requirements necessary to call themselves Certified Financial Planner (CFP ) professionals. He is registered with FINRA holding the Series 7, 63 and 66, and is a licensed Life & Health insurance agent. Ryan graduated from Bentley College with a Bachelor s degree in Finance. Jim Carnevale, Esq., CEBS, CFP, AIF Executive Vice President, Personal Investment Services Jim is an Executive Vice President of Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group with more than twenty-five years of various insurance and investment experience. Jim leads our Personal Investment Services Group, which includes a team of investment advisors who guide clients through the strategic planning process to implement and maintain their personal financial planning, investment management, college savings plans and individual retirement account decisions. Jim holds a Juris Doctor degree from Massachusetts School of Law and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from College of the Holy Cross.
Ava Carnevale, CPFA Retirement Plan Advisory Representative Ava Carnevale is a Retirement Plan Advisory Representative for Sentinel Pension Advisors. She joined Sentinel in 2014 as part of the Leadership Experience & Advancement Program and transitioned into her role in Retirement Plan Advisory Sales in June of 2015. Ava focuses her time in the design, implementation, and administration of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. Ava has obtained the designation of Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisory and is registered with FINRA holding the Series 65 license. Ava graduated cum laude from Union College with a double Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Spanish Language and Culture. Jerry Cicalese, QPA, QKA, CPFA, TGPC Senior Vice President, Retirement Services Senior Vice President in our New York office, Jerry oversees Retirement Plan Sales and Consulting. He is responsible for executing our strategic vision of providing the best client experience through professional plan analysis and innovative participant outcomes through data analytics. Jerry works extensively with our internal and external sales teams to help foster strong relationships with investment advisors. Keeping our clients best interests at heart, Jerry believes that taking a collaborative approach to problem solving is the key to building trustworthy and successful relationships. A great listener, Jerry offers meaningful advice and takes the time to illustrate how something aligns with our best practices. Jerry holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from St. John s University. Furthermore, Jerry is a credentialed member of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries where he holds several professional designations. Robert M. DiMase, AIF Executive Vice President, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group President, Sentinel Insurance Agency, Inc. Rob DiMase is the Executive Vice President of Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group and President of Sentinel Insurance Agency, Inc. As a 25-year industry veteran, Rob specializes in the design, implementation, communication and administration of all types of employee benefits plans. Rob joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 1993 as a sales representative and became a partner in the organization in 1998. Rob takes a holistic view of employee benefit programs, seeking to maximize value to employer and employees alike with a strong integration of various tax advantaged savings and spending accounts. Rob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and a concentration in Marketing from Boston College. He is a Board member of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters and an active member on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Harvard Pilgrim broker advisory boards. Rob holds FINRA Series 6, 63 and 65 securities licenses. He is also a licensed Life & Health insurance agent and licensed Life & Health insurance advisor.
Lisa Francis Director, Customer Experience Strategy Lisa Francis joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2006 and has been the Director of Customer Experience Strategy since 2014. In this role, she is responsible for evaluating, enhancing and improving the customer experience as it relates to our existing line of products. She also acts as the customer advocate in the development and implementation of new product offerings. Lisa is driven to simplify the service experience for our clients and individual customers, including plan participants and individual investors, and leads business partners throughout the organization toward a common, customer-focused vision. Prior to her current role, Lisa served as Service Center Director for over seven years. In this position, she was responsible for the management of Sentinel s call center, leading the team of representatives responding to participants inquiries about their benefit plans, including retirement accounts, flexible spending accounts (FSA), health savings accounts (HSA), health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) and COBRA. Lisa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Salem State University. Tobe Gerard, CLTC, MBA, MLS, LIA President, Tobe Gerard Insurance, LLC Tobe Gerard has over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry. As President of Tobe Gerard Insurance, LLC, she has committed her professional life to helping people manage the risk of needing extended long term care. Because of her strong belief in independent insurance agencies, as well as her knowledge that one size doesn t fit all when it comes to insurance, Tobe Gerard Insurance, LLC has always represented multiple long term care insurance companies. Tobe has been a national educator on the topic of long-term care insurance, and an active champion for smart insurance reform on both the state and national level. She served on the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters Board of Directors for eight years. She also served on the Long Term Care Advisory Committee for the National Association of Health Underwriters for seven years and was a regular contributor to their LTC Messenger newsletter. She earned the leading long term care insurance designation, CLTC (Certified in Long-Term Care), in 2001. She earned her LIA (Licensed Insurance Advisor) in 2013 that allows her to act as an adviser on a fee for service basis. Tobe also holds a Master s degree in Library Science as well as a Master s degree in Business Administration. Benjamin Healy Assistant Vice President, Operations Benjamin Healy joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2009 and currently serves as the AVP of Operations. He is responsible for strategic planning and innovation as it relates to Sentinel Benefits' three Operations teams contribution processing, distribution processing, and trade support. Ben specializes in business process improvement, product management, and client retention programs. Prior to his current role, Ben held various positions within Sentinel Benefits, including marketing, operations, and project management. He most recently served as Client Experience Manager where he evaluated Sentinel s services from an outside-in perspective in order to develop customer-focused business initiatives. Ben holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Bryant University. He is currently working towards a Masters in Business Administration from Northeastern University.
Ross James, CFP, AIF, QPFC Vice President, Personal Investment Services, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Ross James joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2011 as a registered representative of Sentinel Securities and an Investment Advisor Representative of Sentinel Pension Advisors, Inc. Ross offers fee-based investment management and financial planning services to businesses, individuals and their families. He provides education and guidance to plan participants to help maximize their retirement benefits in an effort to become retirement ready. For institutions, he works closely with plan sponsors to help implement custom retirement programs and employee benefits packages and provide fiduciary governance. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government with a concentration in International Political Economy from Connecticut College. Ross has obtained the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF ), and is also part of a select group of planners who have met the rigorous requirements necessary to call themselves Certified Financial Planner (CFP ) professionals. He is registered with FINRA holding the Series 7 and 66 registrations, is a licensed Life & Health insurance agent and is a Qualified Plan Financial Consultant (QPFC). Lisa Jones, Esq., CPC, QPA Vice President, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Lisa Jones has over twenty years of experience working in the retirement plan area. Prior to joining Sentinel, she was Director of Compliance at CNA Trust and team leader of the Midwest ERISA plan specialists at Scudder Kemper Investments, located in Chicago. A member of the Illinois bar, Lisa earned her law degree at Chicago Kent College of Law and a bachelor s degree in marketing from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has attained the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) and Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) designations from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. Samuel Mitchell Executive Vice President, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Sam Mitchell joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2000 and is currently the Executive Vice President of Sentinel Benefits Group. Sentinel Benefits Group is one of Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group s four businesses and provides consulting and administration services to organizations throughout the United States. Sam oversees all aspects of the business, including operations, client experience and business development. Prior to Sam s most recent position, he has held leadership positions throughout the organization. This included 401(k) plan administration, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, COBRA administration and other fringe benefits. Sam specializes in the design, implementation, communication and operation of all types of employer-sponsored benefit programs. Sam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Accounting from Gordon College. He also holds the Certified Flexible Compensation (CFC) designation from the Flexible Compensation Institute.
Meghan Murphy Director, Thought Leadership, Fidelity Investments Meghan is a Director on Fidelity s Workplace Investing Thought Leadership team and is responsible for the development and delivery of data driven points of view on retirement savings trends. This work is leveraged by plan sponsors, participants, advisors, policy makers and the media. Additionally, she is a media representative in the retirement space, helping to bring data based stories to life for the general public. Meghan has been with Fidelity since 2000 and has served in various retirement focused leadership positions across the organization. Greg Puig Benefit Consultant, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Greg Puig joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2011 and currently serves as a Benefits Consultant. He is responsible for providing expert advice, developing solutions and executing strategies for current and future Health & Welfare clients. Greg specializes in consulting individuals and groups on how to create a robust, yet cost effective, benefits package. A large part of Greg s focus is ensuring his clients are educated and compliant with regards to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Prior to his current role, Greg worked on the operations team in Retirement Plan Services and as a Benefit Analyst as a member of the insurance team. Greg holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Connecticut, Storrs. He is also a licensed Life & Health insurance agent and holds his PPACA designation through the National Association of Health Underwriters. Scott Riordan Director, Health & Welfare Services, Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group Scott joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2008 and currently serves as Director of Health & Welfare Services. Scott oversees client experience and business development for this team. Prior to Scott s most recent position, he held various roles on the Health & Welfare team which included both project management and plan consulting. Scott specializes in the plan design and implementation of benefit plans and administration services, including Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Health Savings Accounts and COBRA. As part of this, he focuses on employee education and awareness as well as strategic planning. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Providence College. He is currently working towards a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College.