About Us
Our Firm
Founded by John Davidson in 1983, our firm offers customized employee benefit solutions and consulting services built around our clients’ goals and objectives. We specialize in creative benefit solutions, strategic planning and easing the benefits burden on HR. We exclusively work on large group (> 100 employees) employee benefits. Our leading goal is to practice with the best principles always in mind. Making a difference in everything we touch is what we live and breathe each day.
Formerly known as Davidson Benefits Planning, we are a fully-owned division of Alera Group based in Tigard, Oregon.
Our Philosophy and Culture
We value of integrity, hard work, and professionalism. We are committed to innovation and creative employee benefits, risk management and insurance solutions. This is accomplished through our philosophy which is to:
- Expect far more from ourselves than we do from others
- Inspire excellence and success
- Lead with integrity and wisdom
- Provide fanatical attention to service, consistency and detail
Our promise is to partner with our clients to offer exceptional customer service, support, solutions and resources in every touchpoint we have with them. We are committed to recommending ideas, programs, products and services that will maximize the value and ensure the success of cost-effective benefit plans for each and every client.
Well known in the community for our culture, we make concerted efforts to be inclusive, open to everyone’s perspectives and to be optimistic and engage the mind and spirit. Culture development comes from our entire staff. Our culture committee coordinates a variety of events including community volunteer activities to have fun together and invigorate staff.
Part of our culture is also to practice The Collaborative Way which emphasizes Speaking Straight, Being There for Each Other, Listening Generously, Acknowledge & Appreciation and Honoring Commitments. We have ongoing training and support for our employees. The training and message has been extremely well received.
As a result, we have very happy and appreciative employees and outstanding performance for our clients. Our firm achieved Top 100 Employer to Work for in Oregon for the 16th year in a row.
Meet Our Team
People you can count on. People you can trust.
Erica Riggs
Director, Employee Benefits Consultants
Erica Riggs has over 25 years’ experience in health insurance, employee benefits and self-funding. Throughout her career, she has successfully created a blend of skills and knowledge to truly partner with her customers. Her proactive thinking and strategic planning have earned her rave reviews and ensured that her customers are always a step ahead of the marketplace.
During Erica’s employee benefits career, she has concentrated mainly on large, multi-state employers. She worked for a local carrier and at a third party administrator servicing self-funded clients before venturing out into the broker side of the business. Her ability to analyze plans and help create customized solutions for her client’s employee benefit needs has proven to be very valuable. In addition, her caring attitude and positive outlook compliment her overall ability to get results for her clients.
Erica also has experience as a human resource manager. Prior to DBP, Erica was the HR Manager for a local company where she focused on planning, managing benefits, payroll and all personnel issues.
Erica earned a Bachelor of Science degree in both Business Management and Psychology from the University of Oregon. She continues to support the Oregon Ducks athletic program, especially in the fall during football season. She also enjoys traveling and being involved with her daughter’s competitive softball team
Samantha Sardella
Benefit Consultant
Samantha Sardella is an Benefit Consultant with DBP and brings with her 20+ years’ experience in health insurance and employee benefits. Her career has been focused around healthcare communications, client services and account management. She was a communication coordinator for a regional insurer and a client services rep for a consulting firm. She has served as a member of the Pacific Northwest Employee Benefits Conference (PNEBC) planning committee.
Samantha is an avid sports fan, particularly softball in which she was a collegiate player. All three of her children are student athletes, and she enjoys watching all their games. Samantha graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Business Administration and Marketing. She enjoys traveling, volunteering and spending time with her family and friends.
Whitney Solomon
Team Lead, Senior Account Manger
Whitney Solomon is an energetic member of the DBP team. Whitney is a Senior Account Manager who is passionate about client relationships, and creating unique value for her client teams. Her keen attention to detail and the great pride in her work is well respected by her colleagues and peers. Prior to joining DBP, Whitney held roles within the community that included event management and public relations. These roles bring with her a unique understanding of communication styles and needs, as well as creative customer desires in an ever-changing marketplace.
Whitney’s ability to focus on each client individually and give specific strategic attention to each one shows her passion to create a trusting relationship both professionally and personally.
Whitney is a native Oregonian and coffee connoisseur who enjoys being outdoors, golfing, watching sports, and spending time with her husband and 2 young children. Whitney earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Oregon State University. Whitney maintains her Mental Health First Aid Certification and Life and Health licenses.
Marcella Soulagnet
Account Manager
Marcella Soulagnet is an Account Manager at Davidson Benefits Planning with over 20 years in the employee benefits industry. She was previously with a regional health insurance carrier for 16+ years, where she managed hundreds of small group accounts as well as several larger accounts including association/trust plans and self funded groups.
Marcella truly enjoys establishing long-lasting trusted relationships. She has a knack of explaining things to people in a way that is easy to understand. She is energetic, caring, responsive and jumps in at any opportunity to help.
Outside of work, Marcella enjoys traveling with her family, sipping good coffee, wine tasting, and playing outdoors – rock climbing, Sup boarding, mountain biking, skiing, and especially hiking/exploring our beautiful state. Marcella also has two daughters that keep her quite busy – one is in high school and on the dance/cheer team as well as choir and theatre, and the other is in college at Portland State University.
Marcella holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Willamette University, and serves on the Board of Directors with the Oregon Association of Health Underwriters (OAHU).
Resources
Pocketpal Video - App for Employee Benefits Portal (Touchpoints)
* Access requires credentials, please email info@jjdavidson.com for access information
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
HIPAA Privacy and Security Overview
Join our compliance experts for an overview of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules. During this webinar, we'll review the different types of entities subject to HIPAA, take an in-depth look at protected health information (PHI), individual rights under HIPAA and what to do when there is a breach of PHI.
April 11, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
Employee Benefits
Balancing Cost and Care: Could a Captive solution be the right fit for you?
In this session, our experts will discuss how Captive solutions work and what you need to consider for your own group’s needs.
April 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
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
Sign Up
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
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
Find out more
Employee Benefits
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
Find out more Property and Casualty
5 Steps to a Lower Workers’ Compensation Mod
Understanding how your Workers' Compensation Insurance premium is calculated can help you manage costs more effectively. One of the primary factors in determining your premium is your experience modification factor — the number that reflects your company’s claims history and directly determines what you pay.
March 13, 2025
Find out more
Employee Benefits
Getting the Most From Your Voluntary Benefit Offerings
Join Alera Group on Thursday, March 20, as we present the next in our Engage series of webinars, "Maximizing Impact: The Value of Voluntary Benefits for Today’s Workforce."
March 6, 2025
Find out more