Katie Bjornstad Amin has extensive experience advising employers, governmental entities, self-funded plans, and insurers on health and welfare matters.  Her practice encompasses the full range of federal and state laws that affect the administration of health and welfare benefit plans, cafeteria plans, health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), flexible spending arrangements (FSAs), voluntary employees’ beneficiary associations (VEBAs), wellness programs, expatriate coverage, fringe benefits, captive insurance arrangements, and other employee benefit arrangements.
Katie also counsels clients on their obligations under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including employer shared responsibility requirements, IRC Sections 6055 and 6056 reporting requirements, annual fee on health insurance providers, insurance market reforms, and the ACA’s tax provisions. Katie assists clients with obtaining rulings from the IRS and submitting comments to the IRS, Department of Labor, and Department of Health and Human Services in response to agency guidance.
Katie regularly speaks on the ACA and other employee benefit matters.  She has been quoted in the trade press and her articles have been published by the Benefits Law Journal, Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Compensation Planning Journal, Employers Council on Flexible Compensation FLEX Reporter, and Law360.
Prior to joining the firm, Katie spent nearly 4 years at the IRS Office of Chief Counsel in the Health & Welfare Branch. At the IRS, Katie drafted guidance, private letter rulings, and technical advice on issues involving VEBAs and other welfare benefit funds, including Sections 419 and 419A employer deduction issues and VEBA unrelated business income tax (UBIT) issues, and the ACA.

Since joining Fidelity in 2005 as Vice President, Emerging Products, Will Applegate has served as Product Manager for both Health & Welfare Administration and the Fidelity HSASM (Health Savings Account).  He also served as the team leader for the Fidelity HSASM product launch, and led HSA business development efforts for the Fidelity HSA.  In his current role, Will has responsibility for Fidelity’s relationships with intermediaries with a focus on the distribution of our health offerings, as well as industry events. Prior to joining Fidelity, Will developed Mellon Financial Corporation’s HSA product offering following Mellon’s acquisition of Kwasha Lipton.  Will’s prior roles at Kwasha Lipton included managing large benefit outsourcing relationships, developing one of the first H&W administration platforms, and consulting with employers on health care plan design, pricing, and vendor selection. Will graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science and holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses..  He is an influential figure on the topic of emerging health care consumerism and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences.

Jeff is a Managing Principal within the Houston office of QPA. In this role Jeff is responsible for overseeing client operations, serving as lead client advisor and assists as a subject matter expert in various areas of compliance. Prior to joining QPA, Jeff joined Ascende in 2005 as a senior associate on the retirement team and progressed into a business development role. In this role, he was responsible for communicating the Ascende value to business leaders and the broader community. Through these interactions, he identifies opportunities to improve employee programs and/or administrative services, as well as to better manage costs and optimize a company’s return on investment in human capital. Jeff also served as a senior adviser for Ascende Wealth Advisers, Inc. (AWAI). He has over fifteen years of experience in benefit plan administration and consulting with responsibilities ranging from SEC, IRS, and DoL compliance, employee education, performance analysis, merger and acquisition assistance and plan design consultation. Jeff also brings over twenty years of Defined Contribution and Defined Benefit plan administration management, consulting, and investment advisory experience. Prior to joining Ascende, Jeff worked in DC, DB, and non-qualified plan administration at Mellon HR Solutions. He also served as sales director for HelloWallet, an internet start-up focused on holistic financial wellness for employees. HelloWallet was acquired by Morningstar in 2014. He is a licensed life/health representative, has passed the 65 securities exam and holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP ®) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designations. Jeff received a Bachelor of Science degree in history and political science from Tufts University. He has been interviewed for the Houston Chronicle for his extensive work on fiduciary management responsibilities.

Nancy is Vice President, Health Care Thought Leadership where she is responsible for helping to shape and define Fidelity’s point of view on health care and benefit trends. Nancy started with Fidelity in 2011 as a part of Fidelity’s Workplace Customer Experience team, helping the organization better understand and perfect customers’ experiences across a variety of products and services. Since that time, Nancy has held various roles where she has been responsible for designing and delivering employee experiences, making complex topics easier to engage with and understand. Before joining Fidelity, Nancy worked as an HR strategy and change management consultant at Buck Consultants, where she focused on helping clients optimize and maximize their HR functions. Nancy also held various roles at Mellon Financial, in their total benefits outsourcing business and within the Dreyfus group. Nancy has a B.S. in Management from Boston University and a M.A. in Education from Columbia University.

Jamie has spent her entire professional career helping employers and employees navigate the retirement space. She has been with Cafaro Greenleaf since 1993 and a principal since 1997. Jamie serves on the Advisory Boards of Prudential and American Century and John Hancock, as well as participated in the Leadership Council for the National Association of Plan Advisors (NAPA). She is an adjunct lecturer in the Plan Sponsor University certification program for UCLA’s Anderson School of Business-Executive Education. Greenleaf holds a BA in Business Administration from Delaware Valley College, is a Registered Financial Advisor and is Life and Health insurance licensed. Jamie is also is a Registered Investment Advisor representative and holds series 7, 26, and 63 licenses. Jamie founded HSAgateway now known as TILT  in 2019. Jamie currently resides in Rumson, NJ with her husband and two sons.

Steve leads the relationship management team to create value for HealthEquity partners and top employer customers. He was the first non-founding executive hired at HealthEquity and has been with the company since 2006. In that time he has led the people function, member services, operations, channel sales and now relationship management.

Prior to joining HealthEquity Steve served in and led People functions within FranklinCovey and UnitedHealth Group for 14 years. He pursued a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in Sociology with a minor in business. Steve volunteers at organizations like Dahlia’s Hope and The Road Home that give hope and strengthens individuals and families to become self-reliant despite significant obstacles.

J. Kevin A. McKechnie, is the founder and Executive Director of the Health Savings Account (HSA) Council at the American Bankers Association. He joined ABA in 2000 after serving as the Government Relations Representative for the Affinity Services Division of Marsh & McLennan and also as Director of Government Relations for International Financial Services, a wealth management and insurance consulting firm. He served as Legislative Director to former Congressman William Dannemeyer of California. Kevin holds a BA in History and Political Science from York University in Toronto, Canada.

Scott joined Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group in 2008 and currently serves as Vice President of Health & Welfare Services.  His responsibilities include overseeing client experience, business development, and day-to-day operations for the team. Scott also specializes in plan design and implementation of benefit plans and administrative services, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and COBRA. In addition, he focuses on health and wellness planning for employers coupled with employee engagement strategies.

As Chief Compliance Officer for the Pacific Region for HUB International Limited, Liliana is responsible for addressing public and private employers’ health and welfare responsibilities under federal and state laws and city ordinances. She works closely with HUB’s service teams and clients to develop short- and long-term strategies that will allow clients to remain in compliance while addressing clients’ financial and human capital needs.

Liliana interacts with regulatory agencies such as the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state insurance departments to discuss the applicability of laws and regulations to group health plans.

Liliana possesses 24 years of experience in addressing the compliance and regulatory needs of employers and their group health plans. She actively worked with carriers and clients in ensuring their compliance with the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and HITECH Act rules, GASB 45 obligations, and more recently the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or ACA). Prior to joining HUB, Liliana was National Practice Leader for the Employee Benefits Compliance Practice of Wells Fargo Insurance Services, and Vice President of Compliance for ABD Insurance Services.

Liliana is a regular speaker at national and state conferences sponsored by private and public employers, employee benefit chapters and HR associations, including ISCEBS, SHRM, CALPELRA, PELRA, NAFOA and others and is also a regular contributor to national and regional employee benefit publications.

Due to her contributions to employee benefits and the insurance industry in general, Liliana was the recipient of the 2013 Women to Watch Award from Business Insurance.