What’s the good news, ladies?  Broker Expo

 I just need to take a second to recognize the staff of BenefitsPRO and ALM for putting on another stellar Broker Expo this year.  If you couldn’t make it this year, you missed out BIG time!  I’ve been attending this conference for about a decade, and it is far and away the best industry conference out there, but this year just hit differently.  The speakers were incredible, the location was great but the people….just WOW!  So many women from our industry showed up in force AND Nancy Giacolone, one of our earliest ladies featured in this series, was given the honor of Broker Of the Year!  It was so great to connect with many of the women who have been featured in the past and also to make new friends that you’ll be seeing featured this year as well.  

As we gear up for the National NABIP (formerly NAHU) Convention next month, I’m feeling hopeful about the women in our industry.  You can feel a shift happening and I am excited!  Our next two features are all about shifting and changing to keep with the times.  They are great examples of what happens and the things you can achieve when you take a step back to look at things a little differently!  Please read on to see how Diana and NaShina are making a difference in our industry and their communities!

Diana Miller, Benefits Advisor, Conner Insurance 

“I was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia and came to the U.S. to attend college. I met my husband during my college years and stayed in the Iowa area afterwards. 

I worked for 10 years at a “traditional” benefits consulting firm. I drank the “Kool-Aid” and was proud to say that I had options available for my clients with the BUCHAs all across the country. Delivering renewals between 10% – 30% felt completely normal until a couple of years ago, when my ethics radar went off while I was attending employee meetings. Seeing people’s faces full of worry and unhappiness about their benefits offered through their employer was harsh. I started doing research on alternative solutions and was introduced to industry professionals including Nelson Griswold, David Contorno, and Ben Conner. I decided to start educating my colleagues about how much good we could do if we looked at non-status quo options for our clients but unfortunately, most of them were not on board due to the misaligned incentives present with working with the BUCHAs. 

After much deliberation, I took a leap of faith and joined Ben Conner’s organization almost a year ago — andI haven’t looked back. It feels so great being able to educate and deliver transparent solutions to our clients that can lower health care costs while improving their employees and families’ lives. I was nominated as an Emerging Leader by my peers this year, which fuels my fire to continue to work hard. I am very much looking forward to what the next few years will bring, both for myself as a benefits advisor as well as our organization!”

NaShina Bush, Founder & CEO, Onyx Benefit Designs

“After 10 years in the health insurance industry, I launched my own employee benefits agency,which has been both exciting and terrifying at the same time! On the challenging days I remind myself of my “why”. For years I’ve watched as my community suffers from ailments that stem from poor dietary and lifestyle choices; the pandemic only served to make things worse.

I’m passionate about the education of benefits and ensuring that employers and employees alike truly understand how their benefits work or don’t work in support of their health goals, so I started a blog, “Health Nuts.” Health Nuts explores insights and strategies to improve overall health and ultimately reduce the impact of health costs over time. This gives potential clients an opportunity to hear my heart and know that I will be a strong advocate for them in the benefits arena.”

Know women in our industry who are crushing it?  I’d love to know them, too!  Just shoot me over an email at:  scombs@combsandco.com so we can get them featured.  See  you in NOLA next month!