Contributors

Emily Montes de Oca

20 Year Veteran in Branding and Marketing

Emily is an authentic creative professional with a focus on client service, loyalty, and reliability. Her creative background spans over 20 years in design and in corporate communication departments, ad agencies, and small family-owned businesses.

Emily has worked in all aspects of the creative process and in every medium from print to digital. She is also a photographer and has been taking photos since the age of eight. Recently, Emily has embraced the social media arena and manages daily social media accounts for clients.

Fun fact: In her spare time, she loves making jewelry and running a vintage bead etsy store. If you love art, yoga, music, photography, wine and furry friends you’re a friend of Emily’s!

HELEN KING PATTERSON

President King Knight Communications

Helen King Patterson, APR is the owner and president of King Knight Communications, Inc. With 25+ years experience, she conducted national, trade and local public relations programs.  Her strengths are media relations and arranging speaking engagements.  She frequently contracts with other professionals to deliver integrated, comprehensive marketing communications programs.

Before starting King Knight Communications in 1994, Helen worked for advertising and public relations agencies for eight years.  Previously she was the promotion director for two public television stations in Tampa and Fort Myers, Florida.

A graduate of the Mass Communications program at the University of South Florida, Helen is a long-time member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).  She was accredited in 1991 and served on the Tampa Chapter’s Board of Directors for several years and as its president in 2000.

Jennifer C. Jordan, JD, MSCC, CMSP

Jennifer Jordan is a nationally recognized expert on the subject of Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) compliance. Formerly Chief Legal Counsel and co-founder of MEDVAL, she currently serves at counsel for the Louisiana Association of Self-Insured Employers (LASIE). For nearly 20 years, Ms. Jordan has regularly spoken at industry and educational events nationally, authored articles for both industry publications and legal resources, been designated as an expert witness in MSP litigation and been cited in judicial opinions. In conjunction with extensive structured settlement experience, Ms. Jordan is focused on finding settlement solutions and resolving claims with the best interest of all parties, not just Medicare, in mind.

Ms. Jordan is Editor-in-Chief ofThe Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance, published annually by LexisNexis since 2010, and is the recipient of a 2010 Workers’ Compensation Notable Person Award and Top 25 Workers’ Compensation Blog Awards from 2009 through 2014 from LexisNexis. She currently serves on the board of a number of organizations such as the Larson’s National Workers’ Comp Advisory Board, WorkCompCentral Comp Laude Advisory Board, Friends Research Institute, and the Medicare Secondary Payer Charitable Foundation. She was named to the WorkCompCentral President’s Honor Roll in 2015 for her contributions to the industry and received a Best Blogs award in 2016 and 2017 from WorkersCompensation.com.

Ms. Jordan received her J.D. from the University of Baltimore, School of Law where she was a member of the Law Review and Editor-in-Chief of the University of Baltimore Intellectual Property Law Journal. She received her MBA from the University of Baltimore, Robert G. Merrick School of Business and B.A.s in Economics and Fine Arts from Virginia Tech.

JOE PADUDA

Joe is a nationally recognized expert, speaker, media source and author on managed care in group health and in workers’ compensation. He translates complex data into actionable knowledge and is able to take an aerial view or to drill down into intricate niches.

His practical approach and more than 25 years experience in the field give clients precise direction and applicable programs.

He writes the popular weblog Managed Care Matters attracting more than 1500 unique visitors a day and a good deal of comment in the health care world. His blogs are frequently republished on other sites. He also conducts industry surveys, including one focused on managing pharmacy costs within workers’ compensation.

Prior to founding Health Strategy Associates in 1997, Mr. Paduda served in sales, marketing and management positions with managed care and insurance companies, including MetraComp, a United Health Care Company, Travelers Health Company, Liberty Mutual and American International Healthcare/AIG.

Joe has a Master’s of Science Degree in Health Management from American University. Health Strategy Associates is based in Skaneateles, NY and can be reached at 203-314-2632 or [email protected].

Fun fact: Joe also has a lifetime commitment to competitive rowing and is author of the book The Art of Sculling. He continues to row in masters competitions frequently and has won multiple national championships!

Kristen Chavez

President / CEO, WorkCompCentral.com

Kristen is President / CEO of WorkCompCentral, the leading media company in the workers’ compensation industry. WorkCompCentral produces and publishes national daily news, hosts regular educational events, including live events and webinars and is also host to the annual event Comp Laude® Awards & Gala. She has been with WorkCompCentral since 2004. Having worked in every department within the company, she brings to the table a very comprehensive understanding of both the company’s inner workings and it’s role in the workers’ compensation community. As President and CEO, Kristen plans to lead the company in providing best-in-class service while bringing information, tools and resources to the workers’ compensation community at large.

Kristen has 3 children, aged 17, 13 and 6. In addition to leading WorkCompCentral and balancing work and mom-life, she also serves as an advisory council member for Kids Chance of California.

LINDA VAN DILLEN, RN, BA, CCM

inda Van Dillen is the Vice President of Communications for CompAlliance, an independent Case Management, Utilization Management, Medicare Set-Aside, Bill Review and PPO Company.  As a Registered Nurse, Ms. Van Dillen has over 30 years of experience in the occupational health and workers’ compensation fields.  Prior to working at CompAlliance, Ms. Van Dillen o-owned and operated a case management company serving primarily Missouri, Illinois and surrounding areas local to these states.  While at S&H Medical Management Services, she developed products and services tailored to meet the client’s needs in a changing workers’ compensation environment.  She also developed software for the case management industry.

Ms. Van Dillen is passionate about increasing awareness about the opioid epidemic impacting families, employers and this country at large and what can be done to positively impact this epidemic from a case management perspective.  In addition, she works to increase education and awareness of the impact effective and collaborative communication will have upon the shared decision-making process for the injured worker and the employer during the course of a work-related injury.

Ms. Van Dillen speaks on a variety of topics within the workers’ compensation industry to support these above initiatives for case managers, employers and claims professionals.

Ms. Van Dillen is certified in Case Management and is currently assisting CompAlliance in retaining their URAC re-accreditations in Case Management and Utilization Management; also serving in the role as Director of Quality Management.

MELISSA STEGER

Melissa is the Assistant Director for Workers’ Compensation Insurance (WCI) for the University of Texas System (the UT System).  Melissa is responsible for administering the WCI Program for the academic and health institutions of the UT System. The program includes a certified workers’ compensation health care network and claims handling through a third party administrator with close oversight by the UT System.  She is also responsible for administration of the system-wide unemployment compensation insurance self-insured plan.

Melissa has extensive experience with the public, private and regulatory sectors of the workers’ compensation insurance industry.  She started at the UT System in 1993 as a temporary employee and held several positions before becoming a lost time adjuster handling claims for institutions within the UT System.  In 2000, Melissa began work for the regulatory agency and private sectors of WCI.  In 2005, she furthered her career by forming a certified workers’ compensation healthcare network and participating in the creation of a 504 network involving a pool of political subdivisions.  In 2007, she returned to the UT System as a Claims Supervisor providing oversight of claims handling for several of the institutions before her promotion to Assistant Director.

Melissa earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1993 and her Master of Public Administration in 2003, both from Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.  Her applied research project was “An Assessment of the 1989 Texas Workers’ Compensation Reform Act” which analyzed whether the implementation continued to meet the purpose of the legislation.

Melissa serves on the board of directors for Texas PRIMA and received the Risk Professional of the Year award from them in 2016.

Stuart Colburn

Mr. Colburn is a shareholder of Downs Stanford and opened the Austin, Texas, office. He is board certified in Workers’ Compensation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Colburn is an AV Rated lawyer by Martindale Hubbell. He is a certified lobbyist and attends Legislative meetings and hearings. Mr. Colburn is the firm’s representative at Division meetings. He has extensive experience in all phases of dispute resolution before the Division of Worker’s Compensation and in district courts across the state.  The State Bar Of Texas Workers’ Compensation Section awarded Stuart “The Barb-wire Award” for lifetime service in the area of workers’ compensation. He also received the Comp Laude Award by Workcompcentral.com for his contributions as a defense attorney. Mr. Colburn was the founder and first Chair of the State Bar of Texas Workers’ Compensation Section.  He is a co-author of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Handbook published by LexisNexis.  Mr. Colburn served as a Contributing Editor for the Texas Insurance Code Annotated and contributor for The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance.  He serves on the Executive Committee of the LexisNexis Advisory Board for Larson’s on Workers’ Compensation.  He served as founder and first chair of executive committee for the workers’ compensation subgroup for Primerus Defense Institute.  He is extremely active in the education of attorneys, adjusters and employers for workers’ compensation and bad faith allegation and is certified by the Texas Department of Insurance as a continuing education provider. The TexasBarCLE Staff awarded Mr. Colburn the Standing Ovation Award recognizing his efforts, commitment and leadership. A sought-after speaker, Mr. Colburn has delivered over five hundred speeches regarding Workers’ Compensation across the country. He also served as the Course Director for numerous programs including the Texas State Bar’s Advanced Workers’ Compensation Seminar and Texas Workers’ Compensation Forum.

TAMMY BOYD

Vice President of Business Development & Marketing for NeuroInternational

Tammy is Vice President of Business Development & Marketing for NeuroInternational, a Sarasota-based post-acute rehabilitation provider for brain and spinal cord injuries. NeuroInternational is the largest, privately owned provider for neuro-rehabilitation, neuro-behavioral, complex care and long-term supported living services. NeuroInternational’s mission is a client-centered approach, focusing upon individualized goals, functional independence and quality of living. Mrs. Boyd is responsible for all aspects of NeuroInternational’s business development and marketing efforts. Within the past five years, the organization has had exceptional growth, with 33% year-over-year expansion of client census, with the addition of comprehensive clinical services and a 5,000-square foot vocational center. Tammy is passionate about reaching new clients with forward thinking marketing and business development strategies especially through the use of social media where she is on University of South Florida’s MBA Digital Marketing Advisory Board. She believes strongly in what she does truly changes the lives of others and finds that to be the most rewarding aspect of her job. Tammy obtained her bachelors of science in Organizational Communication from the University of Utah. An interesting fact about Tammy, is that she began her career as a public relations intern for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, introducing Mitt Romney as the new incoming President of the Organizing Committee.

YVONNE GUIBERT

Yvonne has over 25 years of marketing experience specializing in the healthcare and workers compensation industries. Event marketing is her passion. She helped David DePaolo realize his dream vision of the Comp Laude® Awards & Gala at workcompcentral.com, launching the event in it’s current format in 2014. The event is currently in it’s 5th year. She developed the nominating process, was instrumental in venue selection and developed the marketing and media relations strategy for the event. Additional industry events include: The Crystal Conference hosted by Joe Paduda and Peter Rousmaniere 2014 – 2017, Comp Pharma’s annual member meeting from 2008 – 2015 in St. Petersburg, FL. She also has numerous educational events and various communications to her credit including special reports / white papers, blogs, seminars, webinars, and workshops for professionals in workers compensation. She launched and directed the Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers Compensation, an awards event focused on awarding excellent physicians in workers compensation at the WCI Conference in Orlando, FL 2003 – 2007.

Fun fact: Yvonne loves pets, studied holistic nutrition and holds a certificate in pet massage. She previously owned and operated a health food boutique for pets in Tampa, FL and was instrumental in launching the Woofstock at Original Carrollwood event, an outdoor pet celebration that benefits local rescue groups.