Consultation

Mallory Earley serves as AVP, where she has spent the past decade advancing risk management practices and improving patient safety. She leads the regional managers, as well as the CME program and data analytics team, driving strategic initiatives through the use of diverse data and performance metrics. Mallory advises customers on MPL matters, authors industry-relevant publications, develops educational programs, and is a frequent speaker at national conferences and professional associations.

Bradley E. Byrne Jr., JD, CPHRM, is the Southeast Regional Risk Manager advising physicians, healthcare providers, and administrators on risk management and liability. In private practice, he focused on employment litigation, business development, and professional athlete representation. He is a member of the Alabama Bar, Birmingham Bar, American Society for Health Care Risk Management, and Alabama Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Joanne Simmons, BSN, RN, has over 30 years of nursing experience including roles as a pediatric clinical supervisor, home health specialist, and case management leader. She holds Lean Healthcare Certification from Belmont University and a Patient Safety Certificate from Johns Hopkins. Joanne is Treasurer of ALASHRM and an active ASHRM member. For the past ten years, she has served as a Senior Risk Consultant at ProAssurance, leading the content development team.

Kelly Riedl is a Certified Professional in Health Care Risk Management and licensed Physician Assistant. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and from Nova Southeastern with a Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies. She gained over a decade of clinical experience in the clinic, hospital, and ASC settings prior to becoming a healthcare risk manager. She enjoys providing education and training to practices to improve patient safety.

Wendy Alderman currently assists physicians and clinicians during adverse events and provides continuing medical education on patient safety issues. Prior to joining ProAssurance, Wendy helped manage the risk department for a large multi-specialty provider practice in Washington, D.C. She oversaw organizational insurance, patient safety, and claims. Wendy’s clinical experience includes critical care, radiology, and post-anesthesia care. She enjoys providing consultative services to clinicians and healthcare organizations to mitigate risk and improve patient safety.

Barbara Hunyady is the Midwest & Northeast Regional Risk Manager advising physicians and practices on healthcare risk management and professional liability issues. Prior to this, she was a member of the ProAssurance Claims team managing medical malpractice claims and appeals. In private practice, she was a litigator defending physicians, practices, and hospitals in medical malpractice lawsuits. Barbara is a member of the Michigan Bar Association and American Society for Health Care Risk Management.

Brenda Tuck is a Senior Risk Management Consultant with a myriad of experiences in clinical, quality, and risk management, as well as leadership roles in the United States Air Force (USAF) and civilian healthcare organizations. Brenda served as the Chief Nurse Executive at the USAF European Command’s healthcare facility and for the Air Force Headquarters, Washington, D.C., facility. She currently conducts risk assessments for physician practices and hospitals and advises on mitigation strategies.

Laurette Côté, MBA, CPHRM, is a Senior Risk Management Consultant at ProAssurance. She holds a master’s degree in business administration and has served in roles spanning hospital and clinic operations, training, compliance, education, and healthcare risk and quality management. Laurette provides guidance on liability issues and solutions, writes articles, and is an accomplished speaker delivering educational programs for physicians, staff, and practice administrators.

Mary-Lynn Ryan began her professional career in medical liability defense litigation, was then a staff attorney at the California Medical Association; and prior to its acquisition, was a Risk Manager at NORCAL. In addition to providing risk reduction services at ProAssurance, she teaches Legal Issues for New Dentists at the University of MN School of Dentistry. Mary-Lynn obtained her JD from Pepperdine, and she is licensed to practice law in California and Minnesota. She has a Graduate Certificate in Health Ethics.

Tara Eichman brings experience in legal, clinical, and risk management disciplines. Beginning as a medical defense paralegal and later earning her nursing degree, Tara progressed from hospital-based clinical work to Risk Manager within the same organization. She improved patient safety through clinical risk, claims, and facility oversight. At ProAssurance, Tara provides insureds with healthcare risk insights and mitigation guidance. Tara holds a bachelor's degree in healthcare management.

Gerryann Whalen is a registered nurse with more than two decades of experience in clinical operations across the care continuum. As Regional Director of Risk Management for a multidivisional healthcare system, she oversaw patient and colleague safety initiatives, managed claims and risk financing, and guided policy development. She has a Master of Legal Studies (MLS) in Health and Hospital Law from Seton Hall University School of Law and an AAS in Nursing from Maria College. She is a member of AHRMNY, ASHRM, and the Oncology Nursing Society. At ProAssurance, Gerryann advises on liability issues and risk mitigation, authors articles, and delivers presentations to improve organizational readiness and patient safety.

In private practice, Jen practiced defense litigation focusing on medical professional liability. For more than a decade, she served as Associate General Counsel and Risk Manager for a Federally Qualified Health Centerinvolved in all aspects of legal, regulatory, operational, and risk management. Jen is licensed to practice law in Texas, California, and Pennsylvania. She maintains her CPHRM and is a member of the Texas State and Austin Bar Associations, ASHRM, and the South Texas Society for Healthcare Risk Management.

Prior to joining ProAssurance, Lesley led the Travis County Medical Society's legislative advocacy, public health, and practice management efforts as Director of Advocacy. As AVP of Risk Management at TMLT, she oversaw practice review, CME, and physician consultation services. Lesley is on the board of the Austin Child Guidance Center and is an Advocacy Ambassador for the Komen Center for Public Policy. She has a BA in Biology and an MS in Community Health, both from Texas A&M.

Katie has over 25 years of experience in healthcare risk management, including managing the professional liability program at a large urban hospital for the University of California, and working as a Risk Manager at John Muir Hospital and NORCAL before joining ProAssurance. She has extensive experience working with physicians, administrators, and other healthcare professionals to reduce liability risk and improve patient safety. Katie has a JD from University of San Francisco School of Law.

At ProAssurance, Stacy Stauffer, JD, advises physicians and healthcare providers on risk management and liability issues. Stacy earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a juris doctorate degree from the Creighton University School of Law. She practiced law as a city attorney for over 22 years in both civil and prosecutorial roles. Stacy is a member of the State Bar of Arizona (retired) and the American Society of Health Care Risk Management.

Anne Marie has worked in healthcare risk management with leadership roles overseeing patient safety, quality, and risk across ambulatory, acute, and post-acute care for over 30 years. For 13+ years, she has been a senior risk management consultant for medical practices, clinics, and hospitals. She holds a BA in Psychology from Holy Cross and an MHA from University of New Hampshire.

Kiersten Pines is a Risk Management Data Analyst at ProAssurance. She works with the Risk Management Data & Technology team to collect, clean, and analyze data from a variety of sources for use in educational materials and to aid in data-driven decision-making. Kiersten has three years of experience in data analytics, specializing in statistical analysis and visualization. She earned her BS in Data Science at Northern Michigan University.

Kethra has over 12 years of experience supporting multiple functions within the Risk Management department at ProAssurance. Throughout her tenure, she has provided comprehensive support to the Vice President, CME team, risk consultants, as well as both internal and external stakeholders. Her continued professional development has enabled her to transition from administrative support into data analysis, playing a key role in the development and maintenance of risk assessment modules and reporting tools. She currently leads optimization efforts for the Annual Baseline Self-Assessment survey process, with a focus on improving efficiency, capability, and functionality.

Shirley Armenta is the CME administrator for the Risk Management department of ProAssurance MPL division. She joined ProAssurance in 2021 through the NORCAL acquisition, where she served 14 years in various capacities including CME Manager. Shirley has 40 years of experience in the insurance industry educating clients or training operations staff. Shirley earned her BA from San Francisco State University and has the designation of Certified Healthcare CPD Professional.

Dawn Grubbs is the Supervisor of Risk Management Operations and Administration at ProAssurance. She has been in the Risk Management department for over 20 years. Dawn oversees the Operations and Administration team, which provides direct online seminar assistance, hospital assessment report completion, various administration reports, and resources and customer service to internal and external customers nationwide.

Diane Young began her career as a patent administrator supporting attorneys at RCA. She later transitioned to work as a court reporter before finding her long-term professional home in the risk management field. For over 35 years, she has brought a wealth of experience to her role. At ProAssurance, Diane is an advocate for insureds, assisting with website navigation, processing CME completions, and supporting the Data Analytics team.

Prior to joining ProAssurance, Gina was administrative assistant to the Director of Hepatology at University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was employed for 13 years. Gina has over 20 years of customer service and administrative experience and has moved up in every position she has held. Prior to working in Hepatology, Gina worked at Student Health where she trained new employees and helped students with their documents and qualifications for enrollment. She is very interested in the insurance career change and the opportunities it brings.