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.
Chris Marren
Managing Consultant
Chris serves as a Managing Consultant and brings over 25 years of industry experience with perspectives gained from both the carrier environment and national and regional consulting firms. Chris’s background includes extensive work with both insured and self-funded group medical plans, and he enjoys working with colleagues and clients to achieve the goals of their comprehensive health & welfare programs.
Prior to joining Alera, Chris held leadership roles with overall responsibility for Benefits Consulting practices, leading teams and collaborating with consultants, financial analysts and underwriters providing end to end solutions for comprehensive health & welfare programs. Chris resides in Glen Mills, PA and when not working he enjoys spending time in the mountains or at the shore with his family.
Where did you grow up? Media, Pa
Favorite place to visit? Lake Sunapee, NH
Most adventurous experience? Flying in an ultralight on Margarita Island
What is something that’s on your bucket list? The Broad Street Run
Favorite sports team? Philadelphia Flyers
Emily Martin
Senior Consultant
Emily joined the Alera Group in 2019 and serves as a Senior Consultant at the Company. She has over 15 years of successful human capital experience, and serves in a generalist role focusing on policy and procedure development, change management, compensation and benefits, and performance management.
Emily has worked with clients of a variety of sizes and industries, including the FAA, Department of Defense, and DecisionOne, Inc. Prior to becoming a consultant, Emily spent 5 years establishing and managing the HR department for a growing software development company.
Emily graduated from the College of William and Mary with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business. She was also a member of the springboard diving team.
Favorite Book? I read a lot so I have lots of favorites but my most recent is Wonder, by RJ Palacio – I read it (and then saw the movie) with my 11 year old daughter and we both loved it.
Where did you grow up? I’m originally from Philadelphia area but spent 4 years growing up in Singapore.
Where is your favorite place to eat? Anyplace that has a great burger!
Childhood nickname? M&M
First thing you would do if you won the lottery? Hop on a plane with my husband and kids to a remote beach!
Matt Mayer
Financial Advisor
Matt is joining PFG in 2021 after more than eight years at Vanguard in Malvern, PA. Matt began there in 2012, focusing his work in higher education planning, retirement planning, wealth management, and institutional sales. He has always wanted to help people meet their financial goals, and he is excited to work alongside a team at PFG that puts clients first in all they do.
Matt graduated from Gettysburg College with honors in 2012. He majored in Political Science with a minor in Economics, doing his thesis research on the effects of globalization on healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa. Matt realized he wanted to be an advisor while interning at a local wealth management firm the summer going into his senior year of college, and changed his career path to prepare to enter the finance world. He earned his Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation in 2016.
Matt lives in Downingtown with his wife, Steph, and his mini labradoodle, Boogie. He is an avid University of Kentucky fan, follows all of the Philadelphia sports teams, and likes to read in his spare time.
Where is your favorite place to eat? Zahav in Philadelphia. You may have to book a reservation months in advance, but it’s well worth the wait.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to be a dentist. Eventually I learned I don’t have the stomach for the occasional surgeries dentists have to perform, so I shifted my career aspirations.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I studied abroad in Wollongong, Australia during my junior year of college, and I’ve been ready to go back ever since I left. The only cities I spent any time in were Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne, and there’s so much else I’d love to see.
Best advice you’ve ever received? One of my previous clients was an ER doctor, and the first time I spoke with him, he told me that life is too short to postpone living. That always stuck with me.
Favorite Book? Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. It encouraged me to determine what things I valued in life, and to seek those things in everything I do.
Patrick Melone
Communication Consultant, Graphic Designer
Patrick serves as a Communication Consultant. He focuses on design and execution of employee directed communications for clients facing various challenges in improving the perceived value of their benefit program.
He is enthusiastic about educating and engaging employees, helping them to understand their benefit options and make smart healthcare decisions.
Patrick holds a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Philadelphia.
What is your favorite city? Philadelphia, PA
Favorite movie quote? “Ah yes, the past can hurt but the way I see it – you can either run from it, or learn from it. AH! SEE! So what are you going to do?” – Rafiki, The Lion King, 1994
Favorite cartoon? Adventure Time
Favorite Disney movie? Aladdin/The Lion King
Best advice you’ve ever received? “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
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
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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Employee Benefits
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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