Employee Benefits Masterclass

Dr. Trish Schlomka, PharmD at Brown & Brown

Dr. Trish Schlomka is a pharmacist and serves on the National Pharmacy Team at Brown & Brown. With over 20 years of experience in pharmacy and healthcare technology, she provides clients with expert guidance and innovative solutions, leveraging her diverse clinical background as part of the broader clinical team.

Before joining Brown & Brown, Dr. Schlomka built her career as a clinical pharmacist, working in hospital, clinic, and community settings before transitioning into the healthcare technology sector. Licensed to practice in multiple states, she stays current on industry advancements through ongoing professional education courses that help strengthen her clinical knowledge base and keep up to date with new developments within the healthcare space.

Vincent Branchesi, National Director, Group Benefits, Center of Excellence, MetLife

Vincent Branchesi is an expert on the workforce and a leading voice of MetLife’s "Employee Benefits Trend Study." A recognized thought leader, Branchesi shares his thoughts and expertise on how employers can adapt and stay relevant to today’s evolving workforce, allowing them to attract, engage and retain the best talent. Prior to discovering his passion for the evolution of the workplace, Branchesi was part of the product strategy team at MetLife that helped grow their accident and health business while improving customized plan design capabilities. He has also overseen focused marketing efforts for some of the largest employee benefits brokerage and consulting firms in the United States. In addition, Branchesi is a past Chairman of LIMRA’s Workplace Benefits Advisory Board, an industry association of the largest group benefit carriers in the United States.

Dave Ross, Executive Vice President & Director of Underwriting Services

At Brown & Brown, David’s role is to provide guidance and leadership that fosters each office’s ability to satisfy their growth objectives. He is a key player in defining Brown & Brown’s macro initiatives and providing the vision, tools and education to support those objectives.

David’s secondary role is the Director of Underwriting Services, where his primary responsibilities include developing and maintaining financial tools and methodologies that improve clients’ ability to manage their employer-sponsored health plans effectively. His role keeps him actively involved in managing key accounts, representing more than 300,000 members.

Additionally, David acts as a national resource and the primary source of internal and external education and support regarding efficient health plan structure. He spends much of his time traveling around the country, educating consultants, employers and legislative bodies on the many counterintuitive and nuanced components of effective healthcare cost management.

Previously, David worked as an Underwriting Strategist at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, where he designed pricing methodologies that satisfied Blue Cross Blue Shield’s strategic objectives. During his tenure, David acted as an internal liaison between actuarial, underwriting and sales and assisted with BCBS’s lobbying efforts to expand the HDHP marketplace. David earned his bachelor’s degree in finance at Minnesota State University, where he now periodically teaches statistics.