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Now in Season 5! We are still breaking down complex issues of workers' compensation into bite-sized nuggets, one conversation at a time, with one slight twist. We are finally doing what we set out to do when we started: discuss the nuances of our fascinating system in "Cliff Notes" style summaries.
Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez approach workers' comp conversations from different backgrounds. Still, they share many similar things, such as their love for family and friends, a passion for Latin culture, and good old-fashioned belly laughs. Join them as they chat with their industry friends and colleagues, learn more about their roles, laugh, and have fun on the journey. You might learn something along the way! See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!
122 Episodes
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Send us a text We like to have fun with our episode titles when we can, hence "Alphabet Soup." Still, despite the fun name, this is an informative episode, particularly for those newer to the workers' compensation industry. Our guest is Jennifer Wolf, president and CEO of MWCIA in Minneapolis, MN. Jennifer expertly navigates through many of the common terms and acronyms we use. This is certainly not meant to be an exhaustive list of terms, so we have included several links for a m...
Send us a text Joe Paduda joins us to explain the basic framework of our workers' compensation system. In this episode, we discuss why our system is so complicated and some of the key features of several states. While Yvonne tries to keep the conversation focused on basics, Ralph and Joe wander on a few tangents, such as discussing the potential of a federalized workers' compensation system. Joe explains why that is not likely to happen and they explore Medicare and Medicaid components....
Send us a text Join us as we kick off Season 5 with Alex Swedlow, President of CWCI and the "History of Workers' Compensation." Alex Swedlow is the President of the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI). Alex is a previous guest on our podcast and we are so happy to welcome him back with his version of a brief "History of Workers' Compensation." As you will see, he is also a Workers' Compensation "nerd", just like Yvonne and Rafael, and he loves to talk about the histo...
Send us a text Here we go with Season 5! We can't believe we are kicking off the fifth season of Deconstructing Comp! Co-hosts Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez are back and ready to welcome a new season of conversations with their guests. This year, we are returning to our original idea of breaking down the workers' compensation system into bite-sized digestible nuggets of information. We call it the "Cliff's Notes" approach to understanding workers' compensation. Pl...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael take some time to relive and review 2024 Season 4 and chat about a few changes they will make for Season 5. Thank you for listening! ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp
Send us a text We are so happy to introduce you to Elise White, President of Change Forward Industries, based in the Atlanta Metro area in Georgia. Join us for an interesting conversation with Elise. You'll learn about her educational background, including that she studied criminal justice and how that led to a career in insurance and claims management. Elise has 16+ years of experience managing claims for some of the biggest insurance companies, including Liberty Mutual, Travelers, a...
Send us a text In this episode, we get to know Evelyn Eury, Director of Program Claims, Occupational Risk/P&C Lead at Crum & Forster—a leading carrier in property and casualty, accident and health, and specialty insurance solutions. Evelyn shares her journey from studying journalism to her current role, where she navigates the intersections of workers' compensation, property & casualty, and other insurance lines. Our conversation covers a variety of topics, including: Saluting Vet...
Send us a text Let's get to know Melissa Marks, Senior Leave Supervisor at Pepsico. What does a "Leave Supervisor" do for an employer? Shout out to our friend Natalie Torres for introducing us to Melissa. In this episode, Melissa shares her personal health journey and how it has shaped her empathy for others, particularly as she navigates her role working with employees who experience work injuries. Here is a link to Melissa's book, titled "Fight Faithfully" ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for...
Send us a text We are so happy to bring you this episode featuring Dr. Crystal Cobos, Director of the Brain Injury and Concussion Clinic at Institutes of Health and Anne McDonnell, Advocacy and Affiliate Specialist for the Brain Injury Association of America and former Executive Director of the Brain Injury Association of Virginia. In this episode, we discuss the recent development announced in late July by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services: CMS now officially recognizes Traumat...
Send us a text In this episode, you will hear from Jennifer Wolf, President of the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Insurance Association (MWCIA). She talks about what she studied in college, how she found her way into our wonderful industry, and how she loves our workers' compensation ecosystem. We also learn what a rating does and how it contributes to the overall workers' comp system. According to the MWCIA website: "The primary function of MWCIA as a Data Service Organization (DSO) is to...
Send us a text Come along with us as we catch up with two of the brightest leading women in our industry: Marijo Storment and Jenn Ryon. We start, as we usually do at the beginning of our episodes, discovering what Marijo and Jenn studied in school. Then, we chat about what it was like to launch ForzaCare. Next, we take a deep dive to focus on an organization that is near and dear to our hearts: Alliance of Women in Workers' Compensation (AWWC). Yvonne served as a Florida ambass...
Send us a text We have a special treat for you just in time for a long weekend! Dr. Tyrone Spears, Chief of the Workers' Compensation Division for the City of Los Angeles, is one of the best and brightest in the business. Yvonne and Rafael recently caught up with him for a lively, thought-provoking episode! If you know Tyrone, you know he is a servant leader who continually does good things for others. Find out what he studied in school, what career path he considered, and how he found hi...
Send us a text Join Yvonne and Rafael as they chat with one of their hometown "sheroes" Brenda Cogdell, Director - Risk and Safety Division, Hillsborough County. Brenda shares her enthusiasm for her role at Hillsborough County and for the risk and insurance industry where she has dedicated her career to shaping a culture of caring for the employees she serves. Together we explore her journey from graduating from Tampa's University of South Florida (Go Bulls!) to entering the ris...
Send us a text Les Shute is the Chief Innovation Officer at Infinity Nurse Case Management. Join us in this episode as we learn more about Les, including what Les studied in school and what he aspired to do in his career. After graduating college as a Marketing Major and with a Minor in Computer Science, Les was recruited into the insurance industry and started as a workers' compensation adjuster! In this episode, we learn that Les grew up with a strong influence in computer programming. ...
Send us a text Here is a bonus episode where your co-hosts Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez pause to reflect on Season 4 so far. Can you belief half the year is already gone? Neither can we. Join us for a quick recap of what we've done so far on our podcast. We talk about the guests we've had and those who are joining us soon. ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on...
Send us a text In this episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk to Nikki Jackson, aka Nerdy Nikki. Why Nerdy Nikki? Because she loves talking about risk management and anything related to Property Casualty Insurance industry and she constantly pushes herself to learn more! She also loves to share her knowledge with others. We are lucky to know her! We get to know more about Nikki during our chat and we talk about how to attract and retrain new talent AND Artificial Intelligence, one of our favorite ...
Send us a text Let’s get to know Jeff Gurtcheff, Chief Claims Officer at Corvel. He joins us from just outside Atlanta, GA in Alpharetta, and he is a former neighbor to Rafael! Wow! In this episode, Jeff shares his educational background, a little about what it was like to live next door to Ralph, his journey into the insurance and workers’ compensation industry, and how he has grown up through the insurance industry. We learn how at Corvel they are harnessing the power of artificial...
Send us a text Another first for you! We are thrilled to introduce you to Chief David Picone, our first-ever fire chief on our podcast. He is the Fire Department Battalion Chief and Health and Safety Officer with the City of San Diego. June is PTSD Awareness Month, so we are happy to share our recent interview with Chief Picone. In this episode, Chief Picone shares his educational background, his desire to be a rock star, his journey as a career firefighter, and how he has gro...
Send us a text Are you ready to get to know Dionne Lacey-Artis, Chief Business Officer and Customer Centric Leader at Optum Workers' Comp and Auto No-Fault? Even if you DO know her, we think you will learn some things you DON'T know, when you listen to this podcast episode. Dionne is based in Atlanta, Georgia. ' Yvonne Guibert and Rafael Gonzalez enjoy deconstructing issues in workers' compensation, however, it seems our podcast platform has taken on a new role...deconstructin...
Send us a text Are you ready to meet Laura Michaels, MS, OT, PSHO, Occupational Health and Safety Manager for City of Palm Springs? Yvonne and Rafael recently met Laura at the PARMA 2024 conference in Indian Wells, CA, and boy do we LOVE her! Shout out to Jennifer Johnson for putting together a beautiful dinner at PARMA that brought us together. From the very first conversation, we knew we liked Laura. She possesses a very particular set of skills that combined make her one powe...
Send us a text In this episode, we get to know a real superhero in the workers' compensation industry, Josh Schuette, DPT, MBA, WRP, Director of National Workers' Compensation Sales and Account Management at Brooks Rehabilitation. While there are so many amazing things to know about Josh Schuette, one interesting thing is, he thinks Ryan Gosling is his spirit animal! And, just like the famous actor who played Ken in the blockbuster Barbie movie, Josh is also originally from Canada! He...
Send us a text Ramona Tanabe is our latest guest, right on the heals of the 40th Annual WCRI Issues & Research Conference, March 5-6, 2024, in Boston, MA. This is Ramona's second time as a guest on Deconstructing Comp. Join us as we discuss and recount highlights from the recent conference in Boston. Ramona turns the tables on Yvonne and asks her to share what sessions she learned something new at the conference. We also talk about Ramona's first year as CEO and how her experience ...
Send us a text In this episode, we talk to Joe Paduda, Principal of Health Strategy Associates, blogger, Syracuse Lacrosse fanatic, speaker and owner of a 1795 farmhouse in New Hampshire with a super squeaky farmhouse chair! Listen for the squeaky sounds during the episode. This is Joe's second time as our guest. We invited him back, specifically to discuss important issues related to the economy and how they may or may not impact insurance, and more specifically, the workers' compensa...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael FINALLY catch up with Carlos Luna, who lives in Denver, Colorado. It took us a while to schedule an interview with Carlos, but it is well worth the wait! So, come along, and let's get all caught up with Carlos about his new role at New Reign Capital, his deep and varied thoughts about our amazing industry, and, sadly, as he shares his thoughts about the recent loss of a beloved work friend and colleague, Joe Frank Rodriguez. Talking to Carlos is ...
Send us a text For the second year, Yvonne and Rafael identify ten issues to frame their conversations with guests as they kick off a new season. Here we go with Season 4! Are you ready? Our issues are... Provider Shortages - Healthcare jobs are growing faster than any other industry, yet there is a shortage of experienced doctors and clinicians to fill the openings. This is straining the entire healthcare system; we certainly feel it in workers' compensation. https://kffhealthnews.org...
Send us a text Join Yvonne and Rafael as they pause for a few minutes to reminisce about all the fun they had interviewing guests in their 3rd season! Grab your headphones and get ready for a few laughs -- you can always count on Rafael's laughter in each and every episode! ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Twitter @deconstructcomp
Send us a text Wow, what a fantastic conversation with Dr. Leslie Cadet, a native of Tampa, FL! In this episode, we learn that Leslie grew up in Tampa and started her education at none other than University of South Florida (USF), Yvonne's alma mater and Rafael's adjunct teaching university for 20+ years! From there, she went on to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she became a medical doctor, then on to Harvard's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, where she ear...
Send us a text ¡Qué lindo! ¡Hablamos con Julian Robinson en español! How lovely! We are speaking with Julian Robinson in Spanish! During our recording of our podcast episode with guest Julian Robinson, we learned he speaks fluent Spanish! So we recorded a short bonus episode talking in Spanish. Well, it's mostly Julian and Yvonne, with Rafael listening in. Still a fun diversion. ¡Disfruten queridos oyentes! Enjoy dear listeners! ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We woul...
Send us a text Join us as we dive in and get to know Julian Robinson! Julian is the workers' compensation director at the City and County of San Francisco. Julian shares his educational background, studying business and then embarking on a study abroad trip to India that ignited his love for travel and exploring other cultures. We discovered that Julian is fluent in Spanish! So, we recorded a short bonus track in Spanish that we will release very soon (watch for it!). Did...
Send us a text Come along for a fascinating conversation with Dr. Tomer Anbar and Duane Johnson with the Institutes of Health. We caught up with them during the WCI Conference in Orlando, Florida. Duane Johnson obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Health Services management from Indiana University Bloomington. Dr. Anbar studied clinical psychology, psychodynamic psychiatry, and group psychotherapy. While conducting research in Mexico City, he stumbled upon an i...
Send us a text Come along with Yvonne and Rafael and get to know Roberta Serena Mike, Field Claim Adjuster for Strategic Comp in Georgia! As you will learn, Roberta has spent her entire career in the insurance industry. She started with The Travelers and liked workers' compensation early on. In this episode, Roberta shares with us the twists and turns of her career. She talks about leaving Garden City, New York, moving to Georgia, and how she built a name for herself with a soli...
Send us a text Do you know Raja Sundaram with Plethy, Inc.? If not, you are in for a treat! Raja is a workers' comp newbie. He and his company Plethy have entered the workers' compensation scene in the last few years and they are making some big waves! If you missed the Star Wars reference in the title, it is considered one of the most iconic quotes from the original movie. It is from Yoda during his training with Luke Skywalker: “No, Try Not! Do or Do Not, There Is No Try.” It i...
Send us a text Melissa Steger is the associate director of workers' compensation and unemployment insurance for the University of Texas System in Austin, Texas. In this episode, Melissa shares how she started her career in workers' comp, delivering workers' compensation checks. In that first job, she became curious, fell in love with workers' compensation, and has spent her career of over 30 years learning and working to make improvements to the system. For more information abou...
Send us a text Come along with us and get to know Jim Allsup, founder of Allsup Employment Services and the Ticket to Work program for individuals who qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. Individuals who qualify are offered Vocational Return to Work services free of charge. In this episode, Yvonne and Rafael talk to Jim about the Ticket to Work program and what he says is a little-known benefit for individuals who qualify for Social Security Disability benefits. Lear...
Send us a text Brandi Lewis is one busy woman! We were lucky to catch up with her at the WCI conference for a live podcast interview. Join Yvonne and Rafael as we talk with Brandi, learn about what she's been up to lately, and talk to her about the business she founded and now chairwoman of Health Plus Trans, providing transportation, translation, and ancillary services. Among her many skills and talents, Brandi is a phenomenal event planner and turned our WCI Salsa Party into a...
Send us a text Finally, Yvonne and Rafael catch up with Kirsten Kaiser Kus, an attorney with Downey and Lenkov, LLC at WCI. We have been hot on her trail for some time now, trying to schedule an interview. Luckily, she had time to spare and sit down with us at WCI. Get to know more about Kirsten and what she has been up to. Visit her profile here: https://www.dl-firm.com/attorneys/kirsten-l-kaiser-kus/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you shari...
Send us a text We are so happy to connect with our brand new friends we made at WCI for the first time! Ash Afzal with Bismark Medical. Join us for a fun group conversation with Ash, Amina, Bilal, Mohammed and "T" Another set of first-timers that Yvonne met through the Whova app. Bismarck is a family-owned company in the DME business, and they are looking to expand into the workers' compensation market. Yvonne and Rafael are like two kids in a candy store! For more information...
Send us a text Catherine Benavidez and Art Nuñez from Injury Management Organization join us to talk about their experience at WCI and what they are up to at IMO at their corporate headquarters near Dallas, Texas, in Plano. For more information about Injury Management Organization visit them here: https://injurymanagement.com/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked I...
Send us a text Do you know Maxine Topper? Wowza, do we have a treat for you! Meet her son Richard Boyer, anesthesiologist at Weill Cornell Medicine and co-founder of HoopCare, a Cornell Tech Run Startup. Richard joins us to chat about his tech startup, HoopCare. HoopCare is transforming preoperative medical clearance with telemedicine and AI. Fascinating conversation. Yvonne and Rafael are super pumped up by conversations with such young and driven professionals who have their ...
Send us a text A fun group, we are calling the "mod squad" includes Dr. Geralyn Datz, Jeffrey Adelson, and Stuart Colburn. We have a very fun and energetic conversation about dinner the night before and the beginning of the WCI Conference. Experience the energy of the WCI conference as we chat about this groups thoughts on various topics. They all love to poke fun at Yvonne, so laugh along with the conversation about dingers. We finally pulled ourselves together and talked about...
Send us a text Join us as we sit down with Zachary Rosenthal of Physicians Health Center to chat about the WCI conference and what his goals are for the conference. It was a pleasure to chat with such a young professional in our industry and someone who has been in the industry for a few years and sees the opportunity and potential for improvement. For more information about Physicians Health Center for more visit their website here: https://physicianshealthcenter.com/ ¡Muchas G...
Send us a text Join us for an interesting chat with our new friend, Andrew Barson, who works with Frasco Investigative Services. We enjoy chatting about WCI conference fun and shenanigans (and healthy competition) on the new conference app, Whova. During this conversation, we chat about how Yvonne and Andrew met through the app and the importance of networking and cultivating relationships in our industry. Lots of good conversation and interesting surprises along the way. ...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael talk to Chrissy Gaul LIVE! Sunday, as we gear up for the WCI Conference starting Monday, 8/21, in Orlando, Florida. This is part of our LIVE! Conference series. These are shorter episodes and are unedited. To learn more about Carisk Partners: https://www.cariskpartners.com/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow us on Tw...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael talk to Duane Johnson and Dr. Tomer Anbar LIVE! Sunday, as we gear up for the WCI Conference starting Monday, 8/21, in Orlando, Florida. This is part of our LIVE! Conference series. These are shorter episodes and are unedited. To learn more about Institutes of Health: https://institutesofhealth.org/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Li...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael talk to Natalie Torres LIVE! Sunday, as we gear up for the WCI Conference starting Monday, 8/21 in Orlando, Florida. This is part of our LIVE! Conference series. These are shorter episodes and are unedited. To learn more about PriMedical, visit: https://www.primedicalinc.com/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael talk to Nick Ferrante LIVE! Sunday, as we gear up for the WCI Conference starting Monday, 8/21 in Orlando, Florida. This is part of our LIVE! Conference series. These are shorter episodes and are unedited. To learn more about gain life, visit: https://www.gainlife.com/ ¡Muchas Gracias! Thank you for listening. We would appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends on social media. Find Yvonne and Rafael on Linked In or follow u...
Send us a text Yvonne and Rafael talk to Doug Clark LIVE! during the WCI-Give Kids the World Village Volunteer Service Day ahead of the WCI Conference in Orlando, Florida. Doug talks to us about what's going on at the 2023 WCI-GKTW volunteer service day. It's a day that the WCI-Spirit to Serve committee plans for all year! Nearly 600 volunteers, 106 different companies, 25 projects at the village. If you live near the Orlando, FL, area, there is still time to join us tonight for...
Send us a text Take time to get to know Jeff Rush, Workers' Compensation Program Manager at California JPIA and also the current president of the Public Agency Risk Management Association (PARMA). Wow, this episode is chock-full of great information about WC claims management and issues facing municipal entities in California. We talk about many legislative issues, presumption law, and other issues specific to California, but we also talk about PARMA's 50th Anniversary, and the ...
Send us a text Wow! This episode starts off with a bang, and we love it! Workers' compensation IS sexy. Paola says so, and she should know! She has spent her entire career in our wonderful industry. This fits right in with our mantra that no matter what you studied in school or what your work experience has been up to now, there is a place for you in this industry! Join us for another fascinating conversation and get to know Paola Stauffer, Executive Vice President of Claims at ...
Send us a text Finally, Yvonne and Rafael catch up with their good friend and colleague, Stuart Colburn! Stuart is a defense attorney and partner with the Downs & Stanford, PC law firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tune in to this episode and get to know more about Stuart! He is one of the best in the business! Stuart is a regular speaker and moderator for industry events like the Texas Workers' Compensation Conference, National Workers' Comp and Disability Conference, Wor...
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