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Norm Varin -
Jennifer Pike -
Joanna Ramer -
Dan Ripley
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Sean White -
Ellen Harrington -
Lydia Aguirre -
Douglas Fry -
Lisa Brown -
Hilary Swideki
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Executive Board
Norm Varin
- BOARD POSITION: Chairman
- COMPANY: PacificSource Health Plans/Idaho Physicians Network
- www.ipnmd.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2012
As Director of Government Relations for PacificSource, Norm Varin works with government officials and internal colleagues to support review, implementation and compliance with state and federal laws. Previously as Manager of Underwriting, Norm was responsible for matching appropriate rates to existing and predicted risks. Norm joined Primary Health in 2007, later acquired by PacificSource in 2009. Prior to joining Primary Health, Norm worked for Regence BlueShield of Idaho for 15 years. He has more than 17 years of experience in all aspects of Underwriting and Actuarial activities. For two years Norm held the position of Manager of Field Marketing responsible for addressing market opportunities and challenges relating to product, price, network, and channel. He is Vice Chair of State of Idaho Reinsurance Board, Vice Chair of the Idaho Immunization Assessment Board, Chair of the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry (IACI) legislative committee and current Chairman of the Employers Health Coalition of Idaho. Norm is also Chair of the Compass Public Charter School board. Norm graduated from the University of Idaho with a bachelor of science in applied mathematics and a master of science in statistics.
Jennifer Pike
- BOARD POSITION: Vice Chair and Website
- COMPANY: Ada County
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2017
Jennifer Pike is a Senior Benefits Consultant for Ada County focusing on the health care trust, legal compliance and benefits strategic development. She previously served as the Administrator of the State of Idaho's Office of Group Insurance. In her role there she oversaw the medical, dental, life, disability and flexible spending for all State employees, some political subdivisions and some school districts.
Jennifer worked for the State of Idaho for 15+ years, previously serving in a public information role and administrator of the State's Group Insurance Program. She sits on the board of the State's Certified Public Manager Program and the Emergency Medical Services Sustainability Task Force.
Jennifer is a graduate of Boise State University and enjoys shuttling her two kids to all of their activities.
Joanna Ramer
- BOARD POSITION: Secretary
- COMPANY: Delta Dental of Idaho
- www.deltadentalid.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2016
As a Senior Sales Account Executive for Delta Dental of Idaho, Joanna Ramer is a dental insurance industry veteran. With two decades of experience, she actively works with prospective group clients and manages large, key accounts throughout Idaho. Being well-versed on the importance of dental benefits has helped Joanna educate and empower Idahoans to improve their oral health. Her thought leadership on oral disease prevention, work productivity and cost savings ensures long term commitment with her clients and the subscribers in which Delta Dental of Idaho serves.
Prior to sales and account management, Joanna was instrumental in building two of the largest dental provider networks in Idaho. As the previous Provider Relations Specialist at a local competitor and subsequently at Delta Dental of Idaho, Joanna was instrumental in building the PPO dental networks in the Idaho marketplace. Her accomplishments can be attributed to her focus on relationship-building with stakeholders across the dental community resulting in Delta Dental offering one of the largest provider networks to date.
Joanna is licensed in Idaho as a Disability (Health & Life) insurance agent and has been a longtime member of the Idaho Association of Health Underwriters.
Dan Ripley
- BOARD POSITION: Treasurer
- COMPANY: St. Luke’s Health System
- stlukes.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2012
Dan has been with St. Luke’s Health System as a Sr. Benefits Analyst for 9 years. Prior to joining the St. Luke’s benefits department he was a Benefits manager for both Albertsons Inc. and Supervalu for 16 years managing both health and welfare and retirement plans. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Finance through the College of Idaho and Masters in Business Administration from Northwest Nazarene University.
Leadership Team
Douglas Fry
- BOARD POSITION: Member at Large
- COMPANY: Pinnacle Benefits Solutions
- pbs-usa.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2010
Douglas currently manages and is principal of a benefits agency in Boise, ID. Prior to that he worked for two health carriers in Idaho, Pacific Source Health Plans and Primary Health. He managed a third-party administrator that specialized in claims for large self-funded employers and ran his own multi-line insurance agency in the Treasure Valley. Douglas is active in the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Producers (NABIP) and in Scouting as the current Mountain West Council Commissioner.. He has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.
Sean White
- BOARD POSITION: Member at Large
- COMPANY: Alliant Employee Benefits
- alliantbenefits.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2016
Sean is a senior consultant in Alliant's Boise office and a member of Alliant’s Pacific Northwest Team. Sean provides ongoing health and welfare benefits consulting as well as leads and participates on strategic client assignments. He has over 22 years of experience in the design, pricing and administration of health and welfare programs, with a focus on financial analysis and consulting, including self-insured plan cost projections, trend analysis, plan performance, contribution strategy and design, plan design review, benchmarking & redesign, and IBNR development.
Sean has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Business Administration from Seattle University.
Ellen Harrington
- BOARD POSITION: Legislative Chair
- COMPANY: Milliman Incorporated
- Milliman.com
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2012
Ellen is a consulting actuary with the Boise office of Milliman. She joined the firm in 2013.
Ellen works with a variety of corporate, public and multi-employer clients. She works primarily with self-funded health benefit plans, and her work includes plan design pricing and analysis, experience analysis, setting funding and COBRA rates, estimation of liabilities and reserves, including IBNR, and reporting required by state insurance departments as part of actuarial certifications of self-funded health plans. She consults on reporting and compliance requirements for both state and federal mandates. She works with vendors and carriers on behalf of clients.
Prior to joining Milliman, Ellen had 12 years of actuarial consulting experience.
Lydia Aguirre
- BOARD POSITION: Member at Large
- COMPANY: Human Capital Solutions, LLC
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2004
Lydia is the owner of Human Capital Solutions, LLC. Lydia was formerly with Idaho Housing and Finance Association for 20+ years, as Director of Human Resources, and is also Director of HR for The Housing Company directing all HR and payroll activities for both organizations. She has been an HR Generalist for a variety of industry types. Current certifications are SPHR (Senior Professional in HR), CCP (Certified Compensation Professional) and SHRM-SCP (Senior Certified Professional). Prior to IHFA, Lydia worked in the private sector for large corporations such as Micron Technology, Boise Cascade Corp., and Ore-Ida Foods (subsidiary of Heinz USA). Lydia continues to serve on several HR related Boards. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Boise State University, and completed graduate studies at BSU. Prior to entering the corporate world, she was a teacher certified to teach K-12.
Lisa Brown
- BOARD POSITION: Membership Chair
- COMPANY: PacificSource Health Plans
- ACTIVE SINCE: Member since 2024
Lisa Brown is the Account Executive at PacificSource Health Plans. Lisa works with the Account Management team. Lisa is responsible for client retention of membership for commercial lines of business including: Large group, dental and self-insured medical and dental.
Lisa has 30+ years of previous insurance industry experience and has always focused on all aspects of Employee Benefit Plans. Her experience with sales and service and account management. She holds a current life and disability license in the State of Idaho.
Lisa served on the board of Treasure Valley National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals. Lisa is a graduate of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce Leadership Meridian class.
Lisa loves living in Eagle with her husband Blake. She has 4 children, and 4 grandchildren. Idaho provides a lifestyle that allows for hard work and play. She enjoys spending time with family, golfing, and traveling.
Hilary Swideki
- POSITION: Administrative Support
- COMPANY: Delta Dental of Idaho
- ACTIVE SINCE: Administrative support since 2022
Hilary Swidecki is a Senior Account Manager with Delta Dental of Idaho and manages large fully insured and self-funded accounts in southern Idaho. Hilary has been with Delta Dental of Idaho for 13 years, has been involved with the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) for more than a decade, served on the local NABIP board for several years, joined the Employers' Health Coalition of Idaho (EHCI) in 2022, among other activities.
Hilary has bachelor's degrees in mathematics and physics, as well as an MBA from Northwest Nazarene University. Hilary lives in Eagle, Idaho, with her husband and four children.
