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2008 Speakers Lee Ann Alexander, Assistant Vice President & Legislative Counsel William O. Ashcraft, Esq., Principal Kyle Babick, Ph.D., Psychologist Steven Bent, Executive Director Judy Berger, Director Workers’ Compensation and Disability Albert Betts, Workers’ Comp Commissioner Douglas C. Bracken, Esq., Senior Counsel Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder Pat Crawford, Return to Work Education Coordinator Michael J. Donovan, Esq., Partner Dennis Downing, President Olga Escobedo, Team Lead Tammy Escobedo, Director of Sales Wanda Estrada, CWCP, CPDM, RWCS, Health Services Manager Thad Harkins, Esq., Partner Misti Jeffryes, Workers' Compensation Claims Management Jill Laster, AARM, DRM, Associate Vice-Chancellor for Human Resources and Risk Management Amy Lee, Director, Workers’ Comp Research & Evaluation Paul Licht Sam J. McMurry, ARM, Administrator, Workers’ Compensation Dennis A. Pompa, Associate Commissioner and Director Michael Reed, MPA, MBA, Director Rosemarie Ritchie, Workers’ Compensation Medical Analyst Carol Scheffler, Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager Erin H. Shanley, Esq., Attorney Howard L. Smith, M.D., J.D., Medical Advisor J. Alfred Southerland, Esq., Partner John Sterrantino, President Jane L. Stone, Esq., Senior Partner Melissa D. Tonn, MD, MBA, MPH, FAADEP, FACOEM, President and Chief Medical Officer Jay Wallace, Esq., Partner Gregory W. Welch, CSP, Department Manager, Safety & Industrial Hygiene Joe M. Woods, Assistant Vice President and Regional Manager Mary Zersen, MS, CRC, CDMS William O. Ashcraft, Esq. William O. Ashcraft is a board certified specialist in labor and employment law and a founding shareholder of Ashcraft Law Firm, a firm which exclusively represents management throughout the United States in all aspects of labor and employment relations and employment litigation. He is one of the foremost legal experts on the new Texas Workers' Compensation Act and the legal ramifications of electing nonsubscribing employer status under the Act. He lectures frequently to personnel, employer and medical groups and he has authored several publications on nonsubscription and other labor and employment topics. He co-authored the first comprehensive article on the current Texas Workers' Compensation Act entitled A Review of the New Texas Workers' Compensation System, which was published in the Texas Tech Law Review. He has assisted numerous employers in a wide variety of industries in designing programs to significantly reduce workers' compensation costs and in formulating policies and procedures to minimize the risk of litigation. He represents employers in litigation before both federal and state courts. Mr. Ashcraft received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the United States Air Force Academy, his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Utah, and his Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University. Mr. Ashcraft was awarded his Master of Laws degree in labor law by New York University where he was presented with the William C. Klein award for outstanding scholarship in labor law. Kyle Babick, Ph.D. Kyle Babick, Ph.D., is a clinical and rehabilitation psychologist, in full-time private practice in Dallas, Texas since 1988. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, where he also completed his internship and continues to serve as Clinical Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Science. Dr. Babick maintains a practice in adult clinical and rehabilitation psychology, with emphasis on the assessment and treatment of psychological/behavioral issues in physical injury, disability, chronic pain, and surgery. He has served as director of psychological/behavioral services for several work hardening and chronic pain programs. In addition to direct healthcare services, he performs consultant peer review services, expert witness services, and practice management consultation. He also served as a faculty member for TWCC designated doctor impairment rating training courses for many years. Since 1990 Dr. Babick has been the Texas Psychological Association liaison to TWCC and chaired several healthcare committees for TPA as well. He has served on numerous advisory committees at TWCC. He frequently provides educational seminars to insurance carriers, healthcare providers, and rehabilitation consultants on mental and behavioral health issues in the workers' compensation system. Steven Bent, CAE, CWCP In 1990 Steve Bent organized a group of Texas business leaders to establish the Texas Association of Responsible Nonsubscribers (TXANS). Steve currently serves as both Executive Director and Director of Government Affairs for TXANS, managing the association's affairs while also working with lawmakers and policy-leaders on issues that relate to nonsubscription and other innovative approaches to occupational benefit programs. Steve's leadership had helped TXANS evolve into an effective, focused organization that has achieved prominence on both the state and national level. During his tenure at TXANS, Steve has served as a member of the Economic Development Task Force for the American Legislative Exchange Council in Washington, D.C., and on the Board of the Small Business Advisory Council at the Texas Department of Economic Development. Steve also assisted in the design of an occupational injury education and certification program for the University of North Texas, consulted with numerous associations and businesses on legislative issues, and helped benefit and insurance professionals design products and services to enhance nonsubscriber programs. While serving as a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Houston Health Law Policy Institute, Steve participated in the development of Occupational Injury Illness in Texas, a report to the Texas Legislature. He also provided support on a number of other publications relating to occupational injuries, including Revising Workers' Compensation in Texas, an Administrative Inventory, a report by the Workers' Compensation Research Institute; Toward a Safer Workplace, published by the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research; An Agenda for Leadership, a joint effort by the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research and the Competitive Enterprise Institute; Lost Injury Days: Moral Hazard Differences Between Tort and Workers' Compensation, offered by the University of Minnesota; Risk Financing, prepared by International Risk Management Institute; Working Toward a Better Workers' Compensation System, a report by Brown University; and Workers' Compensation as an Alternative to the Tort System: Are Injured Workers Better Off?, a report by the Department of Economics at Princeton University. Steve has also authored a number of reports on the topic of responsible nonsubscription and served as a contributing editor for Insurance Specialist Magazine. In addition to his contribution on written works, Steve is also a frequent speaker on the topic of nonsubscription, innovative workplace injury programs, and legislative issues. Steve's hosts include the National Managed Workers' Compensation Institute, the Institute of Business Law at California State University, Council on Education in Management, the Risk & Insurance Management Society, the Disability Management Employer Coalition, the Self Insurance Institute of America, Society of Human Resource Professionals, the Texas Institute of Occupational Safety, chambers of commerce, economic development councils, medical, and insurance associations, and more. Steve is a Certified Association Executive, Certified Workers' Compensation Professional and a member of the American Society of Association Executives and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section of the State Bar of Texas. Prior to his service at TXANS, Steve served as President of Comptrol Systems, which provided injury management and regulatory compliance services to Texas businesses. Through his work at Comptrol, Steve discovered that augmenting workers' compensation with market-based solutions would allow many employers to address their need for a more effective occupational injury benefit program. Steve Bent resides in Austin, Texas and continues to collaborate on responsible options to mandatory workers' compensation and innovative occupational benefit programs. Judy Berger Judy Berger, Director Workers’ Compensation and Disability at American Airlines, has been with American for 35 years. She has been responsible for the US based workers’ compensation and disability programs since 2001. Prior to that, her background was focused on the health and welfare plans and running call centers for the employees and retirees of AMR Corporation. American Airlines was one of the first major employers to implement HB-7 in Texas in 2006. Since its inception, not only have AA’s claim cost per full time equivalent decreased from one policy year to the next by 18%, but the number of lost time claims are down by 50%. After almost two years from its inception, the programs’ costs continue to decrease. In addition, through education, measurements, communication and staying in touch with injured employees and close involvement with the union leadership, the American Airlines Workers’ Compensation program continues to improve. Judy received her BA from Queens College in New York and her MA in Community Health Education from New York University. Albert Betts Albert Betts was appointed Commissioner of Workers' Compensation by Texas Governor Rick Perry on September 1, 2005. Previously, Mr. Betts served as the Chief of Staff at the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) overseeing the agency's $50 million budget and 900 employee staff and advising the Commissioner of Insurance on legislative and agency management issues. He previously served as TDI's Deputy Commissioner for Human Resources and as Assistant General Counsel to the Commissioner. Mr. Betts is a native of Dallas. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Douglas C. Bracken, Esq. Mr. Bracken is a Senior Counsel practicing primarily in employment, labor, tort and commercial litigation in both trial and arbitration. Mr. Bracken represents employers defending employee claims for discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, FLSA, NLRA and other state and federal employment laws; before state and governmental agencies; and on union grievances. He also defends employers who have opted out of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act. He can also assist employers in avoiding litigation by advising them on their employment policies, procedures, and handbooks, and on other employment issues, including those involving employment and non-compete agreements. Stuart D. Colburn, Esq. As a shareholder of Downs Stanford, Mr. Colburn opened the Austin, Texas, office and manages the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation board representation services. He is board certified in Workers' Compensation Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Mr. Colburn is the firm's representative at Division meetings. He is also a certified lobbyist and attends all Legislative hearings. Specializing in Workers' Compensation, Mr. Colburn has extensive experience in all phases of dispute resolution before the Division of Worker's Compensation and in district courts across the state. He is extremely active in the education of both adjusters and employers, and is certified by the Texas Department of Insurance as a continuing education provider. A sought-after speaker, Mr. Colburn has delivered hundreds of speeches regarding Workers' Compensation. Mr. Colburn received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southwestern University and his Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the Tavis County Bar Association, and the Austin Young Lawyers Association. Pat Crawford Pat Crawford provides education and information about early return to work and early return to work programs for the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation. Prior to joining the TDWC, she was a Workers' Compensation Specialist for Levi Strauss & Co. She was responsible for claims management, as well as for regulatory and legislative matters related to workers' compensation in thirteen states. She has served on numerous workers' compensation and labor relations committees and task forces. For nine years she was a member of the Board of Directors for the Texas Workers' Compensation Insurance Fund, now known as Texas Mutual Insurance. She has a background in Human Resources and business and has extensive experience in developing and implementing effective return to work programs. Michael J. Donovan, Esq. As a reminder of what drives a law firm, this partner reserves the biggest chair in his office for his clients—literally. He aims to best serve his clients by maximizing results while minimizing both the duration of the cases and the cost. After more than 21 years of practicing workers' compensation law within the same circle of attorneys and judges, Mike has proven his mastery of this realm. Continually attacking the challenge of serving as counsel away from home turf while meeting the demands of his trial work keeps his skills sharp and his tenacity impenetrable. Certification: Personal Injury Trial Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization; Civil Trial Law - National Board of Trial Advocacy; Texas Workers' Compensation Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization Practice Areas: Workers' compensation; business litigation; subrogation In 1985, after four years of plaintiff work, Mike began concentrating on insurance defense, the majority of his practice involving workers' compensation matters at the administrative, trial court and appellate levels. His clients include workers' compensation carriers, self-insured employers and political subdivisions in first-party claims, premise/liability, products liability, auto liability, bad faith and Deceptive Trade Practice Act claims. He also represents carriers on recovery of subrogation monies. All of the above has led Mike to an increasing concentration on business litigation matters, representing employers and small businesses on employment law issues ranging from defense of wrongful discharge to breach of contract suits, as well as representing plaintiffs in enforcing employment and non-compete agreements. Dennis Downing Dennis Downing is CEO and Founder of Future Industrial Technologies (F.I.T.), an international organization with the goal of reducing workers' compensation costs through effective injury prevention protocols. For over 11 years he has worked with companies large and small across America. Through the practical applications of BACKSAFE® and SITTINGSAFE® employees around the world have benefited from reduced injuries and improved quality of life, while companies have enjoyed lower work comp costs and increased employee morale. Olga Escobedo Olga Escobedo has been with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) since 1996. During the past 12 years with TDI, Olga has held several positions, including staff attorney in TDI’s legal division. Currently, Olga works in the HWCN Division, which is the TDI division that oversees and regulates health maintenance organizations, utilization review agents, independent review organizations, and certified workers’ compensation health care networks (networks). Olga is a team lead for several HWCN Division functions, including regulation of networks. As a team lead, Olga oversees the review and approval of network applications and the examination of networks. Wanda Estrada, CWCP, CPDM, RWCS Wanda Estrada is the Health Services Manager for Miller Brewing Company in Fort Worth. Prior to her employment with Miller Brewing Company, Ms. Estrada was the Workers' Compensation Coordinator for Lear Corporation where she provided recommendations and support to the workers' compensation, return to work, short term disability and FMLA processes. Previously, Ms. Estrada was the Workers' Compensation Coordinator at Vought Aircraft Industries. Her responsibilities included the program management and oversight of programs at all company sites in Washington, California, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. She also provided guidance on complex medical disability and work-related situations, including concurrent ADA and FMLA related issues. She works with physicians, environmental safety health and medical departments, third-party administrators, insurance brokers, supervisors, and collective bargaining unit representatives to provide effective company-wide workers' compensation programs. Ms Estrada is the current treasurer of the Disability Manager Employer Coalition (DMEC) for the Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter, and she holds a position on the national DMEC Employer Advisory Council. In addition, Ms. Estrada has her CPDM (Certified Professional Disability Management), RWCS (The National Registry of Workers' Compensation Specialist) and CWCP (Certified Workers' Compensation Professional) certifications. Thad Harkins, Esq. Mr. Harkins practices primarily in the areas of civil litigation, employment and labor law (management and labor), with experience in personal injury, employee benefits and bankruptcy. He also serves as a mediator in civil litigation matters, primarily in employment and school law issues. He is Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Labor and Employment Law. Mr. Harkins is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States District Courts, Western, Northern and Southern Districts of Texas and Northern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Harkins received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. He subsequently attended the Master of Laws program of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, focusing his studies on federal civil litigation and employment law. Mr. Harkins is a frequent lecturer to attorneys, human resource managers and risk managers on issues of the FMLA, employment discrimination, litigation skills and procedure, work related injury claims and governmental liability for employment law claims. Misti Jeffryes Misti Jeffryes is the Workers’ Compensation Claims Manager for American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas and has been with American for 10 years. American Airlines is the world’s largest airline with over 80,000 employees worldwide. Misti is responsible for the workers’ compensation vendor management program and overall claims management for over 40 states in which American operates. Misti was actively involved on the technical committee with Texans for Workers’ Compensation Reform group. She has also been active in other workers’ compensation legislative reform efforts in California and Illinois. Prior to joining American Airlines, Misti worked for Kemper National Insurance Company for 6 years in several claims positions. Jill Laster, AARM, DRM Jill Laster is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources and Risk Management for Texas Christian University. Jill's career has been in the risk management area for many years. She holds an all lines adjuster license and was honored by the national organization of University Risk and Insurance Managers as the Distinguished Risk Manager for 2005. In 2008, TCU Human Resources won the Southwestern Region Excellence in HR Practices Award. At TCU Jill has responsibility for human resources, payroll, risk management, safety and environmental health, emergency planning and business continuity. She serves on the board of directors for a health care consortium as well as a risk management professional association. Dennis A. Pompa Dennis is Associate Commissioner & Director of the Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit. He has been employed with the Unit since its beginning as a law enforcement agency twelve years ago. His career in insurance fraud investigations spans almost two decades; he is a former police officer and district attorney financial crimes investigator. Dennis also has a wide-ranging background in the personal banking business and served as project coordinator for a national and international electronic funds transaction network. He holds a BS degree in Criminal Justice Administration; is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and maintains a Texas Master Peace Officer certification. Dennis currently serves as the Texas Department of Insurance's liaison to local and national antifraud organizations. Michael Reed, MPA, MBA Michael Reed is the Director of Managed Care Delivery Systems with the Texas Medical Association. He was selected to be the Director of Managed Care Delivery Systems to work closely with physician organizations involved in workers’ compensation and managed care through advocacy, policy development and legislative representation. The Department of Managed Care Delivery Systems also develops and delivers technical assistance and supports programs for physicians in workers’ compensation and other managed care delivery systems; serves as a clearinghouse for physicians needing information about the changing healthcare delivery environment throughout Texas; focuses on issues and problems physicians face in their practice and health care delivery settings; and coordinates and develops Association policy and activities in these areas. In his capacity as TMA staff to the Council on Health Services Organizations, Mr. Reed supports TMA physicians involved in a variety of facility issues, including aging and long-term health care delivery systems such as home health and hospice services, end-of-life care, Advance Directives, and Medicare managed care. Mr. Reed currently serves on the Texas Physician-Hospital Relations Workgroup to improve relationships between Texas facilities and physicians. Prior to joining the Texas Medical Association, Mr. Reed was a Consultant with MGT of America in Austin. While with MGT, he led a variety of consulting engagements including master facility planning for healthcare delivery institutions, strategic and business planning and information systems analysis for health facilities. Mr. Reed received his baccalaureate degree in Sociology and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Texas State University. Mr. Reed also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. Mr. Reed and his wife, Wendy, have one son named Jake and a dog named Inca. Howard L. Smith, M.D., J.D. Dr. Smith began work as Medical Advisor for the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), Division of Workers' Compensation (Division) in March 2007. Dr. Smith has been a practicing physician since 1985, specializing in brain and spinal surgery. He has served as a designated doctor in the Texas workers' compensation system since 2005 and previously was certified as an independent medical examiner. Dr. Smith also has been a practicing attorney since 2002. As Medical Advisor for the Division, Dr. Smith serves as chair of the Medical Quality Review Panel (MQRP), and oversees the review of complaints on quality of care received through the TDI Complaint Resolution and Customer Services section. He graduated from the Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1985 and holds a Diplomate from the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Loyola School of Law in 2002. J. Alfred Southerland, Esq. J. Alfred Southerland's practice at Ogletree Deakins focuses on labor and employment-related litigation before state and federal courts and agencies, including claims involving equal employment opportunity laws, unfair labor practices, wage and hour issues, unemployment compensation, wrongful discharge, state law tort and contract claims, occupational safety and health matters, and immigration. He also counsels clients regarding developments in the areas of counseling and discharge issues, workers' compensation, family and medical leave, wrongful discharge, and restrictive employment covenants. Mr. Southerland's experience includes the design and development of personnel policies, and management counseling that is designed to help minimize exposure to costly litigation and disputes. Mr. Southerland frequently speaks at employment related seminars, is an associate editor of the Texas Employment Law Handbook, and has published several articles on labor and employment issues. Education: J.D., with Honors, University of Tennessee Law School, 1986 Admitted to Practice: State of Texas, 1986 Professional Activities: Member, American Bar Association (Labor and Employment Law and Litigation Sections; Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of the Labor and Employment Section) Jane L. Stone, Esq. Ms. Stone is a senior partner at Stone Loughlin & Swanson, L.L.P. maintaining a comprehensive workers' compensation and administrative law practice. She handles workers' compensation cases from the agency level up to the Texas Supreme Court when necessary. Her practice includes successful challenges to the Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers' Compensation and its predecessor agency for exceeding their legislative authority in rule-making and the application of agency policy. She acts as a consultant to individual and group health care providers, hospitals, insurance carriers, certified self-insureds, third party administrators, health care networks, utilization review companies, audit companies and employers involving matters of overutilization of health care and billing issues impacting health care services within the Texas workers’ compensation system. Ms. Stone is Board Certified in Workers’ Compensation by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a member of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network, the Travis County Bar Association, and the State Bar of Texas Workers’ Compensation Section. Ms. Stone is a frequently requested speaker and has taught employers, insurance carriers, physicians, attorneys, and agency employees a variety of topics related to workers' compensation, including an innovative course on ethical issues arising in the workers' compensation context. She is vice-chair of the Workers' Compensation Law Advisory Commission of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Melissa D. Tonn, MD, MBA, MPH Dr. Melissa Tonn is President and Chief Medical Officer of OccMD Group, P.A. She provides medical management services for a number of large employers including: Safeway, HealthSouth, Kroger, Dillard's, Target, Pappas, Best Buy and Pilgrims Pride. She also services as Medical Consultant to TOTAL PetroChemicals and Arkema, Inc. Dr. Tonn is licensed to practice medicine in Texas and California and is board certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine, Occupational Medicine. She is also certified by the American College of Physician Executives as a Certified Physician Executive and the American Academy of Pain Management in Pain Management. She holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and earned her MBA from Rice University. Mary Zersen, MS, CRC, CDMS Mary Zersen, MS, CRC, CDMS is a certified disability management specialist and certified rehabilitation counselor who is approved by DWC for inclusion in the Division's registry of private providers of vocational rehabilitation services. Ms. Zersen has been providing medical case management, vocational case management and disability management services for workers' compensation cases, STD and LTD cases for the past 12 years. As a case manager she assesses injured employee' situations, develops plans, implements and coordinates services to assist injured workers through their recovery process so they can return to their optimal functioning level. Ms. Zersen also collaborates with other healthcare providers and governmental agencies to evaluate service options to help ensure access to prompt, high quality medical care as well as other services necessary to facilitate the injured employee's return to work. Ms. Zersen works closely with employers to educate the employer regarding job modification, return-to-work programs and to identify alternative work options. Ms. Zersen has been approved by the Texas Department of Insurance to provide training on several workers' compensation issues such as HB7: RTW Options, Disability Management, Medical Aspects of Extent of Injury and Networks & Case Management. Ms. Zersen is currently an officer of the Texas Rehabilitation Association and served as the president of the TRA in 2007. She is an active member of the Houston Area Rehabilitation Association who works closely with other rehabilitation professionals to advocate for services for persons with disabilities and stays abreast of legislation that will impact persons with disabilities. Ms. Zersen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a MS in rehabilitation counseling. Mary Zersen is a partner of Zersen & Dunaway Consultants, LLC, which is a private consulting firm utilized by TPAs, insurance companies, employers, attorneys, and persons with disabilities to assist individuals with the problems that may occur following accidents, injuries, or illnesses.
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