Bickmore Risk Services and Consulting

Jeffrey T. Boone was CIO of Eliant, Inc. prior to joining BRS. He also served as CTO and co-owner of Retail Technologies International, and following a merger, CTO of Island Pacific, Inc. During his career he directed product development and corporate information systems, and laid the foundation for a global services and support network as CIO and VP of Products and Technology for Objective Systems Integrators, Inc.

With over 20 years of experience in developing successful software solutions and profitable software businesses, Jeffrey has an extensive technical and business management background. He is the Former Chair of Sacramento State University, Computer Science, Industrial Advisory Committee, and also Founding Chairman of the American Electronics Association CTO/CIO Forum (now SARTA CTO/CIO Roundtable). A highly-regarded industry expert, he holds a BS in Computer Science from California State University, Sacramento.

Judith Bals is a Workers' Compensation Specialist at BRS and manages the Workers' Compensation Team. She also serves as the Workers' Compensation Program Manager for two joint powers authorities and one self-insurance group. As program manager, Judith is responsible for the oversight of workers' compensation claims, performance of the third party claims administrator, maintenance of governing documents, and legislative updates.

Prior to joining BRS, Judith served as Senior Claims Examiner with a specialty in Vocational Rehabilitation for both insured and self-insured clients. Judith attended San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the University of Oregon, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, and she holds a Workers' Compensation Claims Professional Certificate from the Insurance Education Association.

As the Director of Risk Management Consulting NE Operations, William leads BRS' Northeast Coast Risk Management Consulting Practice.

Former Director of Sales for Eagle Claim Services and Vice President for Marsh USA, William is a highly experienced consultant to public and not-for-profit clients, including counties, cities, towns, school districts, special districts, authorities and community colleges. Past president of the NY State Public Risk Managers Association (PRIMA), William also served on the National PRIMA Editorial Board, and remains heavily involved in industry-focused associations. He holds a BA from State University of New York at Binghamton, School of Management.

A marketing and business development specialist, Mady has provided marketing and communication strategy leadership to Fortune 1000 and emerging growth organizations for over two decades. Most recently, she founded CoChel Communication Strategies where she and her team lead projects for Human Capital Institute, PeopleSoft/Oracle, Human Capital Source, EquaTerra, BrassRing, SDG, Wells Fargo, Chevron, Jackson Hole Group, Spencer Stuart, CRI, Talent Technology Corporation, and the US Navy. Prior to founding CoChel, Mady headed the marketing team at Saratoga Institute, and served as Director of Corporate Communications and Director of Partner Marketing at BrassRing. She is the strategist behind many HCM-focused advisory boards, books, and partner programs.

Mike Harrington provides actuarial and risk management consulting services to public entity pools and self-insured organizations. Mike brings many years of experience in the actuarial field, including ratemaking, reserving, financial modeling, and catastrophe management.

Prior to joining BRS in 2003, Mike served as an actuary for a nationwide insurance company. He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and serves on its examination committee. Mike is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA), and holds a BA from the University of California, Davis.

Mark Ashcraft joined BRS in 2003 to provide consulting for new workers' compensation self-insurance groups (SIGs). His role involves consulting on the formation of private SIGs and advising on the evaluation of workers' compensation legislation and regulations.

Mark brings over 30 years of loss prevention and self-insurance experience, including serving at the California Department of Industrial Relations for 10 years developing Cal/OSHA regulations with the Cal/OSHA Standards Board, 3 years as the assistant to the department director, and 15 years as the manager of the Office of Self Insurance Plans (DIR-OSIP). Mark holds a BS degree from San Diego State University.

Carol Barake has over 20 years of experience providing occupational health and safety consulting services to private consulting firms and the insurance industry. Her expertise includes design and delivery of health and safety training programs, program development and audits, development of strategic plans, and facilitation of client teams implementing health and safety program elements.

Carol is an instructor in the University of California, Davis Health & Safety Extension Program and the UC Davis Campus Professional Development Series. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), an active member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association, and former board member in the southern California and Sacramento Valley sections. Carol earned her MS from California State University, Northridge.

Rick Brush is responsible for the management of new private self-insurance groups formed to provide workers' compensation coverage. Rick manages the group formation process from beginning to end, overseeing the initial feasibility study; financial review; and working with the industry group to create an operating plan, obtain regulatory approval, and implement the plan. Since joining BRS in 2003, Rick has formed five self-insurance groups, two of which he now serves as the Executive Director.

Prior to joining BRS in 2003, Rick served as CEO/President in charge of operations for the California Society of Association Executives (CalSAE), a non-profit corporation and the fourth largest Society of Association Executives in the nation. He holds a BS from Arizona State University, Tempe.

Eric Cooper is a human resources and organization development professional with over two decades of experience. His career includes positions at both Fortune 500 as well as not-for-profit companies. Much of his work for the past ten years has focused on complex change management as well as executive and leadership coaching.

Eric received his undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of San Francisco. He has completed additional masters-level programs in executive coaching at Fielding Graduate University. He is qualified to administer and facilitate a number of psychometric instruments and other tools including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Thomas-Killman Conflict Mode, and CPI-260 among others. In addition to his certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) he is accredited by the International Coach Federation as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC).

Jeff Furnish began his consulting and actuarial career with Wyatt (now Watson Wyatt Worldwide), specializing in Fortune 200 retirement consulting, and leading the firm's plan document drafting and ERISA compliance efforts. Later, he established the consulting actuarial operation for Johnson & Higgins (now William M. Mercer) in Portland, Oregon, and then managed the firm's Employee Benefits Department. In 1992, Jeff joined Aon Consulting as Vice President & Senior Consulting Actuary for the West Coast. At BRS he is focused on public entities' compliance with GASB 43/45 retiree healthcare plan accounting standards.

Jeff is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and past Chairman of the society's Committee on Pension. He is a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and past member of the Academy's Board. A Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, Jeff is past Chairman of the Conference's Committee on Pensions, and past President of the Conference. He is a member of the Virginia and D.C. bars and the American Bar Association. Jeff holds a BA from Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California, and a JD from George Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Ruth Graf-Urasaki is a highly experienced trial attorney specializing in labor and employment relations law. Recognized for her strong professional competence and real world experience, Ruth's areas of practice include representing clients in state and federal court employment litigation, administrative procedures before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Fair Employment and Housing Commission, disciplinary matters, and administrative hearings.

She is considered an industry expert in all aspects of discrimination and harassment, the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal constitutional litigation, police discipline, and Police Officers Bill of Rights issues. Prior to joining BRS, she was with Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, where her clients included cities, counties, police and fire departments, community college and K-12 districts, as well as special districts. A popular public speaker, Ruth holds a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of California, Berkeley.

Allen F. Hyman was Managing Director and Public Entity Practice Leader at Marsh USA, Inc. before joining BRS as Managing Senior Consultant. He also served as Director of Insurance Services for the Texas Municipal League Risk Management Pools.

Over the course of his career Allen was Manager of Special Facilities for the City of Evanston, Illinois, as well as Director of Safety and Risk Management for the cities of Evanston, Illinois and Corpus Christi, Texas. Former president of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), he received PRIMA's Distinguished Service Award in 2000. He has spoken at many international, national, regional, state, and local conferences as well as many colleges and universities. Allen holds a degree in Management from California Coast University and has specialized training from the National Safety Training Institute and the Insurance Institute of America where he also served on the ARM Advisory and Editorial Committees.

Michael Groff is a licensed staff attorney with 25 years of litigation experience in state and federal courts, Michael’s experience includes representing private and public sector clients. A former in-house claims attorney and a partner in two well-known independent insurance defense firms, Michael is active in several risk management associations and teaches risk management for the Insurance Educational Association (IEA).

Robin Johnson joined BRS as a Consultant in 2007 to provide risk management consulting for public entities. With over 30 years of experience in the areas of insurance, self-insurance, and risk management, he has managed public entity pools and captives and provided consulting services to self-insurance groups, risk retention groups, and captives.

Prior to joining the firm, Robin worked for Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. and Commercial Insurance Alternatives, Inc. He is well known within the industry, and is a contributor to its publications and conferences. Robin holds a JD from Golden Gate University, along with CPCU and ARM certifications.

Jeff Johnston joined BRS with over 15 years of safety and risk control experience. In his role as Risk Control Manager, he provides safety and risk management consultative services and training to various public and private clients, including schools, cities, counties, and special districts. In addition to assisting with safety compliance issues, Jeff specializes in identifying opportunities where safety and risk management can be integrated into an organization's values.

Jeff's prior experience includes several years of general safety consulting in the insurance industry, and over eight years of risk management consulting for a pool of 300 public water agencies. Jeff was instrumental in developing and customizing targeted safety programs to control general liability, property and workers' compensation exposures, and also designed and presented numerous regional and statewide training sessions to address those exposures. Jeff is a member, past Chapter President, and Board Delegate of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). He holds a BS from California State University, Sacramento, and is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Associate in Loss Control Management (ALCM).

Lynn Keller joined BRS in 2005. With over 22 years in the workers' compensation industry, she is currently responsible for the workers' compensation program management of 16 cities located in Los Angeles County, California.

Lynn's previous experience includes positions as Workers' Compensation Claims Manager for several large insurance carriers, and claims adjusting and supervising in multi-state jurisdictions. She was actively involved in the Valley Industrial Claims Association and the San Francisco Industrial Claims Association, holding such positions as President, Vice President, Education Chair, and Board Secretary. Lynn conducts training workshops for those new to workers' compensation and is the author of three training manuals. She holds an MBA and BS from California State University, Sacramento, and certifications as a Workers' Compensation Claims Professional and Self Insurance Administrator.

Brian Kelley joined BRS in 2000. Highly knowledgeable in all aspects of client services, programs, and processes, he currently provides administration and risk management to three major California JPAs. Before assuming his role at BRS, Brian lead teams at CalFarm Insurance and at California State Automobile Association, investigating property and casualty claims, determining liability, negotiating settlement alternatives, setting reserves for claims. He holds a MBA and BS from California State University, Sacramento.

Tom Kline provides safety and risk management consultative services to various public sector risk clients, including cities and special districts. In his role as Risk Control Manager, he helps clients to assess their risk, establish and manage loss control programs, and comply with state and federal standards. Tom also provides safety and risk management training on a wide range of subjects.

Prior to joining BRS in 2001, Tom spent over 18 years managing safety, health, emergency response, and fire prevention programs for large private sector employers, which resulted in substantial decreases in injuries, workers' compensation costs, and property losses. A former member of various trade associations and environmental, health, and safety committees, he is presently an active member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). Tom holds a BS from State University of New York, Binghamton, as well as Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) designations.

Gary Martin joined BRS in 2007 as Managing Senior Consultant and Senior Client Advisor. His professional career includes senior executive positions at Marsh USA, Inc. and Aon Corporation, as well as the position of Risk Manager for the City of Manhattan Beach, California. Former Regional Vice President of the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), Gary was the original founder of the California PRIMA chapter, and was its charter president.

Gary holds an MA from California State University Los Angeles and a BA from University of California, Los Angeles. He has been published many times in National PRIMA Magazine and Business Insurance Magazine.

Catherine MacLeod brings 22 years of actuarial experience to BRS. She is currently focusing her practice on public entities within California and Nevada and compliance with GASB 43/45 accounting standards for other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

Prior to joining the firm, Catherine was a consulting actuary with Independent Actuaries, Inc. and Howard Johnson & Company. She also served as Actuary and Manager for Standard Insurance Company. Her expertise includes strong management and consulting experience in qualified retirement plans and defined benefit plan actuarial services. She is also highly knowledgeable in 401(k) and profit sharing plans. Catherine holds an MS and BA from Ball State University. She is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. She sits on the ASPPA Legislative Relations Committee, and is a Board Member of the Western Pension & Benefits Club, Portland Chapter.

With over 20 years of extensive experience protecting people, property, and the environment, Terrie Norris is a recognized leader in risk management and loss control. Her responsibilities as Risk Control Manager include providing a wide range of safety and risk management consultative services to public and private entity clients in southern California.

Her prior experience includes managing risk control technical staff, delivering risk control and management services to private and public entities, conducting risk control audits, ergonomic assessments, site security assessments, developing loss control and training programs, and implementing corrective action plans. She serves as Vice President for Region One on the Board of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and also serves on the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) committee that develops public playground standards. Terrie has a BS from Nazareth College, is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and holds certification in Comprehensive Practices and Management Aspects. She holds a BBA from Nazareth College of Kalamazoo and an AD from Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

Mary Beth O'Connell brings over 25 years of practical, client-focused experience in the safety, health, and risk control fields. She provides BRS clients with safety and risk management services and training to address risks, exposures, and support internal accountability for the risk control process. Her expertise includes a wide variety of employers among private and public sector entities and nonprofit agencies.

Prior to joining BRS, Mary Beth established and facilitated the first safety and health consulting practice for Goldman Insurance Services, a San Francisco regional broker. She was also a senior safety consultant for Crawford/The FPE Group Risk Control Services. Mary Beth authored a chapter in the Essentials of Safety and Health Management (first and second editions), and is also an instructor for the Safety Center Incorporated. She holds a nursing diploma from Sisters of Charity School of Nursing, a BA from St. Mary's College of California, is a Certified Occupational Health Nurse Specialist (COHN-S), and Associate in Risk Management–Public Entities (ARM-P).

Ann Pudoff is a board Certified Industrial Ergonomist (CIE) and state licensed Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS). As the Ergonomics Practice Specialty Manager, she works with various public entity and private industry clients to reduce work-related injuries, providing risk analyses coupled with safety and risk management program development and training.

Prior to joining BRS, Ann was an independent consultant and founder of Medical and Occupational Safety and Training (MOST). Over the last 14 years she has focused her efforts on addressing ergonomic challenges in a variety of industries and office settings, including patient handling in the health care industry. Ann is Co-Chair of the Ergonomics Roundtable of Sacramento, Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and Past President and ARVP of Communications for Region I (5 years), Professional Member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), and Past President of the Northern California Healthcare Safety Association (NCHSA). She holds a BS from California State University, Sonoma and is pursuing an MS in Human Factors/Ergonomics.

Prior to joining BRS in 1998, Kim was a manager in charge of auditing, accounting services, and consulting engagements for over 50 joint powers authorities and school districts at Gilbert Accountancy Corporation. Her previous experience also includes seven years at Cooperative Personnel Services as the Financial Manager responsible for budgeting, financial preparation and presentation, financial forecasting, cash flow management, and strategic management. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and holds a BS from California State University, Sacramento.

Julie Theirl has over two decades of work and consulting experience in risk management and human resources. Her specialties include disability/absence management, workers' compensation program management, benefits/wellness programs, litigation management, contract review, insurance procurement, and labor negotiations.

A two-term past president and current active member of the California Chapter of PRIMA, Julie has been a member of several national PRIMA committees, including its Leadership Development Committee. Julie has been on the Executive Committee of the California Joint Powers Risk Management Authority (CJPRMA), and is an active member of PARMA. A three-term past president of the Big Independent Cities Excess Pool and three-term past president of the California Campus Environmental Health and Safety Association (CCEHSA), Julie is on the ICMA Technical Advisory Committee member. In 1994, she was awarded CCEHSA Safety Person of the Year.

Fred Treffinger has over 20 years of experience developing property/casualty applications. He supports database and actuarial projects and consults on information technology issues.

Prior to joining BRS, Fred held positions as data warehousing architect at Allied Insurance, and director of data warehousing at CalFarm Insurance. He also developed ratemaking and reserving applications at Fireman's Fund and marketing applications at Allstate Insurance. Fred holds a BS from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and a Certificate in Programming from the Computer Learning Center, San Francisco.

Erike Young has been with the firm since 2003. In addition to providing safety and risk management consultative services to BRS clients nationwide, Erike is a leader in BRS' use of technology to make the delivery of risk control services and training more efficient and effective.

Prior to joining BRS, Erike served 13 years as the regional safety specialist for Raley's Supermarkets, Inc., a privately held, self-insured supermarket chain of over 150 stores, including 40 stores in New Mexico and Nevada, as well as a 400-employee distribution center in California. While at Raley's, Erike played a critical role in developing and customizing targeted safety programs to control exposures. He also has extensive experience in developing comprehensive injury and illness prevention programs and safety incentive programs that comply with IRS guidelines. Erike is Chapter President and Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and a member of the National Safety Management Society (NSMS), American Association for Public Opinion Researchers (AAPOR), and Public Agency Safety Management Association (PASMA). He earned his MPPA from California State University, Sacramento and BA from the University of California, Davis.