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.
Gordon St. John
Senior Partner
Gordon serves as the Senior Partner . He is accountable to the firm’s clients and staff to drive the highest level of performance in all aspects of the Alera Group’s business.
Gordon is actively involved with clients in the role of both Account Executive and Executive sponsor. He has experience in all aspects of benefit plan design, funding, administration and communication.
Gordon works with mid-market companies, Fortune 500 organizations, and educational and not-for-profit institutions. He has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical and finance / insurance industries.
Gordon was one of the founding partners of Alera Group and is a member of the firm's Partner Advisory Board.
Favorite Book? The Perfect Storm
Favorite place to visit? Rhode Island
What is something that’s on your bucket list? Sailing for a week while totally unplugged.
Rules to live by? You can tell the character of a person by how they treat someone who can do nothing for them.
Where is your favorite place to eat? Matunuck Oyster Bar
Brooke Sherwin
Benefit ConsultantBrooke serves as a Benefit Consultant. She works closely with clients to provide consultative services with a proactive approach.
She provides daily support and coordination of her clients’ health and welfare benefits program including plan design and cost recommendations and the development of strategic alternatives. Brooke also works closely with vendor partners on her clients’ behalf to ensure seamless implementation and coordination.
Her passion for detail and organized approach, combined with her commitment to managing projects from the initial stage to completion, has made her a valuable member of Alera Group. Brooke holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Fairleigh Dickinson University and has over 5 years of experience in the insurance field.
What is your favorite city? Budapest
Favorite song? Weekends by Big Time Rush because my uncle help write and produced 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 AnalystKaren 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!
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
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
Q2 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.
May 6, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
2025 Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report: How Does Your Benefits Program Stack Up?
In this session, our experts will dive into the results of our annual, market-leading benchmarking survey.
June 26, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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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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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Deadline for San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance is approaching
The annual San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (SF HCSO) reporting by employers that have employees who work in the City of or County of San Francisco is due by May 2, 2025. Employers should be aware of the upcoming deadline even if they are not located in San Francisco.
The SF HCSO requires large and medium-sized employers to provide covered employees with benefits equal to or greater than the expenditure rate. Covered employees are those who have been employed for more than 90 days and who regularly work at least eight hours per week within the City of and County of San Francisco.
April 14, 2025
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Webinar: Is Captive Insurance the Right Solution for Your Business?
Join Alera Group on Thursday, April 17, for "Balancing Cost and Care: Could a Captive solution be the right fit for you?", a webinar on self-insuring to reduce group Medical Insurance costs and other business expense. Our experts will discuss how Captive solutions work and what you need to consider for your own group’s needs.
April 3, 2025
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Benchmarking’s Role in Voluntary Benefits Program Design
Alera Group’s Employee Benefits team recognizes that workforce composition varies from business to business, from industry to industry, from region to region. And, at a time when the U.S. workforce is more generationally diverse than ever before, the needs and priorities of one generation can be very different from those of another. This is where voluntary benefits — also known as supplemental, workplace or optional benefits — become so vital to an organization’s offerings strategy. Alera Group’s "Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Reports" take an in-depth look at the benefits businesses provide, the options they offer and the strategies they use to manage costs.
March 31, 2025
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HIPAA Webinar: Required Training and Valuable Refresher
Whether meeting federal training requirements or simply refreshing their knowledge base, professionals whose role includes HIPAA administration will benefit from participating in Alera Group’s annual HIPAA Privacy and Security Overview, a one-hour webinar scheduled for Friday, April 11.
March 27, 2025
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