Greater Philadelphia Area
About Us
In the Philadelphia area, we have brought together six outstanding firms as Alera Group Philadelphia. This includes Pentra, HealthFirst, Somerset Capital, Vantage Point, Perspective Financial Group and HR inTune. Recently, Lamb Benefits – Employee Benefits Division joined our team. Every owner of each firm remains an equity partner in Alera Group. Our mission is to enhance our clients’ experience in tangible and measurable ways by building on the foundation of each firm. We strive to deliver the best possible outcomes—positively impacting our employees, clients, communities and the lives of people we serve.
There is a level of excitement at Alera that our clients experience through daily interactions with our team. We care about our people, our clients, our client relationships and making a difference.
Meet Our Team
People you can count on. People you can trust.
Brooke Sherwin
Benefit Consultant
Brooke serves as a Benefits Consultant who partners closely with clients to deliver proactive, strategic solutions for their health and welfare benefits programs.
With a strong focus on plan design, cost analysis, and the development of innovative alternatives, Brooke ensures her clients receive personalized support and expert guidance. She also collaborates closely with vendor partners to guarantee smooth implementation and ongoing coordination.
Brooke’s strong attention to detail and organized approach, combined with her commitment to overseeing projects from start to finish, make her a valuable asset to Alera Group. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Fairleigh Dickinson University and has more than six years of experience in the insurance industry.
What is your favorite city? Budapest
Favorite song? Weekends by Big Time Rush because my uncle helped write and produce the song!
Favorite class in high school? Calculus & Physics
Favorite sports team? Flyers & Phillies
What is something that’s on your bucket list? Playing golf overseas at St. Andrews
Karen Thiel
Benefit Analyst
Karen serves as a Benefit Analyst. She is responsible for assisting consultants with all aspects of client service, including proposals, audits and renewals. In addition, working as an advocate for employees, Karen thoroughly researches, and resolves claim issues, and handles enrollment issues as required.
Most Interesting Place: Florence, Italy
Favorite Sports Team: Philadelphia Eagles
Where Did I Grow Up: Rochester, NY
Favorite Disney Movie: Monsters Inc
Favorite Place to Eat: Villa di Roma, Philadelphia, PA
Mai Vance
Director of Underwriting
Mai Vance is the Director of Underwriting. She has been in the insurance and financial services industry since 1989. As the Director of Underwriting, Mai serves as the primary liaison with carriers, medical institutions, clients and their advisors, to facilitate the medical and financial aspects of the underwriting process. Mai is also responsible for the implementation and servicing of multiple-life disability & life insurance programs.
Mai currently holds the PA Life/Health License, the Associate, Life Management Institute (ALMI) and the Associate Customer Service (ACS) designations from LOMA.
When she is not taking care of our underwriting needs, she is busy taking care of her family, which includes her husband and two children. They reside in North Coventry Township.
Favorite movie? The Notebook.
Favorite song? Take it Easy, by the Eagles
First thing you do when you go home from work? Hug & pet my dog, Jager.
Favorite Disney movie? The Lion King.
Best advice you’ve ever received? Just show up!
Nicole Watson
Benefit Consultant
Nicole serves as a Benefit Consultant. Nicole works closely with clients to establish strong, active relationships and provides proactive and consultative services.
She demonstrates a high level of proficiency in benefit administration, compliance, and employee communication. Her commitment to managing projects from the initial stage to completion, along with her detailed oriented style, contributes to her success at Alera Group and the bond she has with each of her clients.
Nicole has many years of experience in the industry that give her the ability to thrive throughout her roles in the firm. Nicole holds a Bachelor's degree in Adult and Organizational Development from Temple University.
Rules to live by? Be happy and live every day to its fullest, since you never know what tomorrow will bring.
What did you want to be when you grew up? An Oceanographer! I always wanted to swim with the whales at Sea World.
Childhood nickname? Beaner, since my maiden name is Bean. It still sticks with me today.
What is your favorite T.V. show? Any show on the ID channel. I love a good murder mystery!
If they made a movie about your life, who would you want to play you? Cameron Diaz
Resources
Success Stories (downloads)
Captive Refesability Study for Fortune 500 Company
THE CHALLENGE Alera Group was requested to undertake a captive refeasibility study for an U.S. based multinational manufacturer of appliances with...
Enhancing a Healthcare Captive
THE CHALLENGE A non-profit multi-state health system with 35,000 employees wanted to conduct a feasibility study to determine if captive funding...
Quarry Faces Environmental Liability Query
THE CHALLENGE A large quarry operation owned a dig site that had been filled with a profusion of waste material following a mineral extraction....
An Alera Group member company based in Southern California was asked by the board of directors of a 400-unit condominium building to provide a bid...
Complicated Commercial Real Estate Portfolio
An Alera Group member company based in Southern California was retained by a commercial real estate property manager to review the insurance policies...
Persistence Secures an Infant’s Life Sustaining Treatment
An Alera Group member company that provides services focused on customized, comprehensive employee benefits, HR technology solutions, and wellness...
Start Up Benefits for a Start Up Company
Alera Group was contracted by a start-up national credit counseling company to assist with maintaining employee health benefits offerings while...
An Alera Group company that serves as a multidisciplinary employee benefits and risk management consultancy was approached by a company in the...
THE CHALLENGE Alera Group was the benefits broker for an employer that was working with two affiliated health insurance companies, “Company A”...
Our Community
Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region
For over 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region has been positively impacting children and communities in Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties in PA and NJ. They don’t create potential in a child, they just foster and protect it.
Buck County Children’s Advocacy Center
The Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) provides a safe and child-friendly environment in which CAC staff, law enforcement, child welfare, prosecution, victim advocacy, medical and mental health professionals collaborate to implement effective, coordinated investigations of suspected child abuse.
With more than 2,500 reports of child abuse in Bucks County each year, the Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center provides a setting in which children can receive timely, collaborative services from agencies mandated by law to investigate reports of child abuse. The predominant approach to child abuse investigations at the Children’s Advocacy Center is the multidisciplinary team model. This approach supports enhanced communications between the various agencies that respond to allegations of child abuse.
The Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center strives to transform the system by providing a child-friendly setting where a skilled team of professionals come together under one roof to investigate serious child abuse allegations, conduct forensic interviews to aid in the prosecution of offenders and connect children and families with therapy and victim assistance services — always keeping the best interest of the child in mind.
Eluna Network
The mission of Eluna is to support children and families impacted by grief or addiction. Their innovative resources and programs address the critical needs of children experiencing powerful, overwhelming and often confusing emotions associated with the death of someone close to them or substance abuse in their family. No child should have to face these struggles alone, and our unique programs bring kids together to ease their pain and provide the tools to help restore hope.
Children affected by grief or addiction can feel isolated and alone. Circumstance puts them at increased risk for depression, suicide, poverty, anxiety and behavior problems. Children living in a home with addiction are also at four times the risk of developing an addiction of their own. Eluna’s programs come alongside children and their families to provide vital support helping to prevent complications that arise from unaddressed childhood bereavement and to help break the cycle of addiction in the next generation.
Eluna is dedicated to energizing new research and inspiring political advocacy that will lead to higher standards of care and positive outcomes for children in the fields of bereavement and addiction prevention. By raising awareness for these issues, Eluna reduces stigmas, improves understanding, and makes healing possible for children in need.
Alfred I. du Pont Hospital / Nemours Foundation
A gift of toys, games, books, or crafts can do wonders to brighten a child’s life while they are in the hospital or clinic waiting room. The Child Life programs at Nemours offer activities designed to help children cope with their hospital stay.
Child Life specialists in the hospitals are trained to work with children who have serious illness or are recovering from surgery — often using toys, games, and crafts to allow them to express their fears and hopes and regain a sense of mastery and control.
New, cuddly stuffed animals, hand-held video games, books, and music CDs can help to pass the time and provide a distraction from the hospital routine or clinic visit.
Manna
Manna uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal. By providing medically tailored meals and nutrition education, we empower people to improve their health and quality of life.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
Dynamic Data: Strategies for Success
Join us for this session, as our experts will share how to utilize your organization’s data to create advanced and innovative strategies for success.
July 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Preparing for Open Enrollment: How to Engage and Educate Your Employees on Their Total Benefits Package
In this session, our experts will share guidance on setting yourself up for success during Open Enrollment.
August 21, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Q3 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
September 9, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Legal Alert: Employee Benefits Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 3, 2025, Congress passed a reconciliation bill (the “Reconciliation Act”) previously named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but subsequently redesignated “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.”
July 8, 2025
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Employee Benefits
Benchmarking: How Do Your Organization’s Employee Benefits Offerings Stack Up?
For the sixth consecutive year, Alera Group is offering a valuable piece of market intelligence: our Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report. We’ll introduce the 2025 edition on its release date, June 26, with a one-hour webinar beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
June 5, 2025
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Reminder: PCORI Fees Due By July 31, 2025
Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2025 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) via Form 720, which was recently updated and released by the IRS.
June 3, 2025
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Benefits Captives: Your Business and What Your Competitors Are Doing
In one form or another, Captive Insurance has existed as a risk management solution for many decades — originally for property and casualty coverage and primarily for large employers. But its viability as a solution for employee benefits and for midsized businesses has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by volatility in the insurance market in general and by the skyrocketing cost of health insurance in particular.
May 29, 2025
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