Archives: People

Responsibilities
Crystal Bailey is the Program Manager for five regional Health Insurance Funds (HIF) and one County Commission. She is the primary liaison between insurance carriers and clients to resolve issues, negotiate contracts and recommend plan design changes. Crystal is also responsible for assisting and advising brokers and clients on all aspects of their employee benefit plans within the HIF, including day-to-day account management, vendor management, annual enrollment process, and resolution of high-level claims issues.

Background
In 1989, Crystal joined Prudential HealthCare/Aetna as a Group Insurance Eligibility Technician before working as a Quality Review Technician, where she assisted in migrating Prudential HealthCare client and membership information onto the Aetna systems platforms through technical support for all products. In 2003, Crystal worked as a Benefits Consultant before being promoted to Senior Broker Liaison in the Preferred Producer Department for Aetna Inc, where she assisted with the creation of Aetna products communications, review and interpretation assistance of Aetna contracts, and planning of implementation and open enrollment activities for all lines of coverage.

In 2006, Crystal served as Associate Account Manager for Aetna Inc., where she assisted Key and Select account managers in maintaining their current fully and self-insured Middle Market book of business. Her responsibilities included investigation and resolution of issues reported by preferred producers and sales, which included but are not limited to enrollment, claims, membership services, pharmacy, and commissions for all Aetna lines of coverage. During her time at Aetna, Crystal gained an extensive background in producer and plan sponsor issues resolution and spearheaded several special projects, one of which included the transferring of eligibility to Aetna’s new Traditional system.

Education
Community College of Philadelphia – Bachelor of Science in Biology

Professional Designations
Licensed in Health and Life Insurance for New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware

Responsibilities
Brian Dietrich works closely with clients to develop innovative risk management solutions and insurance programs that offer optimal protection at the most competitive costs. He is responsible for program design and proper placement of policies with top insurance carriers in an ever-evolving marketplace. As Account Executive, Brian oversees the service team designated for each account, ensuring timely, informed, and professional support for every client.

Background
Brian has enjoyed a career in the insurance industry holding positions in management, sales, and service support. With a strong focus on proper insurance placement, he leverages his expertise to help organizations understand their exposures, protect their assets, and mitigate risk. His experience includes coordinating key agency services such as coverage and exposure analysis, contract review, loss forecasting, claims coordination, and safety and loss control initiatives.

Brian began his industry career with an internship at IBM, which led to positions with an insurance carrier, a risk management advisory firm, and successful insurance agencies.

Education
Susquehanna University, Sigmund Weis School of Business – Bachelor of Science in Management and Marketing

Professional Designations
Certified Risk Manager (CRM)
Certified Insurance Consultant (CIC)
Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS)
Ethics Certified (EC)

Responsibilities
Michael Helfrich is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships on an assigned book of business. He conducts thorough risk assessments to identify potential exposures and vulnerabilities. Michael is also skilled in leveraging market relationships to negotiate competitive premiums and secure optimal coverage for clients. He works closely with internal teams to deliver seamless and coordinated service to clients.

Background
Michael joined Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2016 after working two years as a broker at Apogee Insurance Group, a professional liability wholesale brokerage firm located in King of Prussia, PA. Prior to his time at Apogee Insurance Group, Michael was a Property Underwriting Assistant at XL Insurance America in New York, NY where he assisted the rating and policy issuance of large, multinational property insurance programs.

Education
Saint Joseph’s University – Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Responsibilities
Tom Merchel serves as the Fund Risk Management Consultant to the Ocean County Municipal Joint Insurance Fund, the Professional Municipal Management Joint Insurance Fund, and the Monmouth Municipal Joint Insurance Fund. He also serves as the Risk Management Consultant to members of the Atlantic, Burlco, Camden, Garden State, Mid Jersey, NJUA, and Trico Joint Insurance Funds, as well as the Burlington County Insurance Commission.

Background
Prior to joining Conner Strong & Buckelew, Tom worked for 26 years at the Township of Moorestown as the Chief Financial Officer, Deputy Manager and Township Manager. Tom handled all accounting, financial and budgeting responsibilities for the Township. He managed over $200 million in capital projects, including the construction of a new municipal complex, three water treatment plants and major upgrades to a wastewater treatment plant. He is proud of his accomplishment in increasing the Township’s Moody’s Bond Rating from A1 to Aaa.

While at Moorestown, he served as Commissioner and Chair to the Municipal Excess Liability Joint Insurance Fund (MEL), New Jersey Cyber Risk Management Joint Insurance Fund, and the Professional Municipal Management Joint Insurance Fund (PMMJIF). Tom was also the Commissioner to the Environmental Joint Insurance Fund (EJIF) and the Residual Claims Joint Insurance Fund (RCF). In his capacity as commissioner, he served on various subcommittees including MEL, EJIF and RCF Claims.

Additionally, Tom previously worked for 5 years as the Treasurer for Pennsauken Township and for 4 years as a municipal and school auditor for Bowman & Company.

Education
Saint Joseph’s University – Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Minor in Finance

Professional Designations
NJ Property & Casualty Producers License
PA Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
NJ Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO)
NJ Certified Tax Collector (CTC)

Community Involvement
Tom is a member of the Moorestown Breakfast Rotary Club where he participates in various community events such as the Adopt-A-Park and school backpack programs. He is a member of the NJ Government Finance Officers Association.

Responsibilities
Jessica Roche services a book of business that includes complex Life Science accounts based domestically and internationally. Her current clients include companies at various points in their life cycle ranging from the research and development stage to publicly traded multi-national pharmaceutical companies with approved products on the market. In her role, she focuses on program design and marketing, insurance placement, contract review and coordination of services. Jessica is also an active participant in the Life Science Practice Group and International Practice Group, both of which work to address current coverage issues and industry changes related to their respective lines of business.

Background
Jessica joined Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2014 after she graduated from Temple University where she majored in Risk Management & Insurance. Prior to her full-time employment, she interned with Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2013 where she supported teams in the Major Accounts department as they serviced their respective books of business.

Education
Temple University, Fox School of Business – Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
Gamma Iota Sigma Professional Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science Fraternity

Responsibilities
Joan Robinson Brong advises medium and large multi-national employers on Healthcare Reform, HIPAA, ERISA, FMLA, COBRA and other federal and state laws governing health and welfare plan design and administration. Joan drafts complex health and welfare benefit plans, performs administrative compliance reviews for medium and large clients, and assists with drafting the annual open enrollment materials.

Background
Prior to joining Conner Strong & Buckelew in March 2015, Joan was a Compliance Consultant at Mercer Health & Benefits where she was a member of the Regulatory Resources Group. Prior to Mercer, Joan was a benefits analyst at Morgan Lewis in Philadelphia where she was a member of the Employee Benefits Group.

Education
Rosemont College – Bachelor of Arts
Philadelphia Institute – Paralegal Certificate in Employee Benefits

Responsibilities
As the company’s marketing leader, Karen Wallace oversees the company’s brand marketing strategies and thought leadership campaigns across key business sectors. Under her leadership, a high-performing marketing team has been built that bridges traditional strategies and campaigns with advanced digital tools and analytics.

Serving at the intersection of sales and marketing, Wallace plays a pivotal role in launching new service offerings and contributing to the firm’s year-over-year growth and profitability. Performance-driven, she recently led a complete enterprise brand refresh across all sales and marketing materials, and a transformation of the company’s anchor website.

During her tenure, Wallace has significantly expanded the company’s integrated strategies to advance the firms national reputation as a visible and credible voice in the highly competitive P&C and employee benefits markets.

Background
Wallace joined Conner Strong & Buckelew in 2008, rebuilding the company’s brand within her first seven months in the role. She previously served as Vice President of Marketing for Commerce Bank, where she was responsible for managing brand identity and alignment for the enterprise. She began at Commerce Bank in 1997 as Assistant Vice President in charge of Sales Promotion and her role quickly expanded to include leading integrated marketing programs for more than six business lines.

Education
University of Delaware – Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing

Responsibilities
Marc Labay leads the management and delivery of the Conner Strong & Buckelew application suite comprising of custom software applications, reporting tools, and business process automations. He is the liaison with business teams across the organization and strategically expands on the capabilities of the software stack and custom solutions. Marc is continuously improving project deliverables.

Background
Marc has over 25 years of experience as a software developer and manager. His primary focus has been on utilizing the latest technologies to build enterprise solutions to help streamline business processes.

Education
New York University – Bachelor of Computer Science
New Jersey Institute of Technology – Master of Computer Science

Responsibilities
Vicki Stropes has 40 years of accounting and financial experience in insurance and private sector companies. She is responsible for financial reporting and analysis, budget preparation, planning and analysis, tax and payroll filings, and quarterly reportings. Vicki is also the administrator of the financial reporting and budgeting system and treasury banking systems.

Background
Vicki has been with Conner Strong & Buckelew for over 27 years, beginning with one of the original acquisitions of Chesley & Cline in 1996. During that time, she assisted with converting over 20 acquisitions and held various financial positions within the company including payroll. She has a diverse background in accounting and insurance including her role as an internal auditor at Harleysville Insurance. Some other roles she had were in cost accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, and payroll.

Education
Rowan University – Bachelor of Science in Accounting

Professional Designations
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)