David J. DePaolo
Summa Comp Laude® - Winner with highest honor
This year, in memory of our founder, David DePaolo, WorkCompCentral declares the Summa Comp Laude® Award, with highest honor, shall be renamed the David J. DePaolo Award.

See the details of this winner here.

Richard Victor
Summa Comp Laude® - Winner with highest honor
The Sedgwick Institute has named workers' compensation expert Richard Victor, Ph.D., as its first senior fellow. Sedgwick established the institute earlier this year to bring together an interdisciplinary community of thought leaders dedicated to elevating the dialogue around issues affecting the risk and benefits industry. As a senior fellow of the Sedgwick Institute, Victor will receive a grant from Sedgwick to pursue research and provide thought leadership on industry issues.

See the details of this winner here.

Mark Pew
Magna Comp Laude® - Winner with great honor
Pew has more than 35 years experience in property and casualty, healthcare and technology industries. He created PRIUM's Medical Intervention Program in 2003, Intervention Triage in 2010, Texas Drug Formulary turnkey solution in 2011, Centers with Standards in 2012, and TaperRx in 2014.

See the details of this winner here.

Dwight Johnson
People's Choice Award
Dwight was one of seven presenters selected by committee to deliver an engaging and inspiring story. He presented his inspiring story to an audience who then cast their votes after hearing all seven Comp Laude® People's Choice presentations.

See the details of this winner here.

Jeremiah Bentley
Service Provider
Bentley has managed the marketing and communications team at Texas Mutual Insurance Company since 2007. He also manages the company's advertising and public relations program, online and social media invitations, community outreach programs and production of company publications.

See the details of this winner here.

Anabel Velázquez
Nurse Case Manager
Velázquez has over 20 years of Catastrophic Nurse Case Manager experience and is Co-owner of Workers Rehabilitation, Inc. in Florida. Velázquez had been regarded by peers as one to truly go above and beyond for injured workers.

See the details of this winner here.

Dawn Getchell
Pharmacist
Dawn Getchell joined Injured Workers' Pharmacy (IWP), a specialty home delivery pharmacy, in September of 2009 as a self-motivated and service-oriented pharmacist with a passion for facilitating the healing process of patients. Proficient in clinical pharmacology and patient medication therapy management, Getchell demonstrates strength in drug utilization review.

See the details of this winner here.

Gina Sandoval
Physical Therapist
Dr. Gina Sandoval, winner of the 2016 Comp Laude® Physical Therapist Award, has been working as a physical therapist for over twenty years. Dr. Sandoval has traveled all over the U.S. for her work and gained exposure to a variety of educational and clinical approaches to physical therapy.

See the details of this winner here.

Michael Choo, MD
Physician
Michael Choo, MD, is Paradigm's Chief Medical Officer. He maintains the company's relationships with its network of consulting physicians and centers of excellence, and is responsible for enhancing clinical operations while also leading research and development.

See the details of this winner here.

Christina Hurtado
Claims Professional
Christina Hurtado was given the exclusive management of injuries of San Bernardino County employees following the San Bernardino terrorist attack on Dec 2, 2015.

See the details of this winner here.

Richard Rubenstein
Plaintiff Attorney
According to one of his nominators, Richard Rubenstein is the "dean" of New Jersey Workers' Compensation. He is the attorney that the younger attorneys in the industry go to for guidance and advice.

See the details of this winner here.

Stuart Colburn (tie)
Defense Attorney
A certified continuing education provider by the Texas Department of Insurance, Colburn is extremely active in the education of attorneys, adjusters and employers for workers' compensation and bad faith allegations.

See the details of this winner here.

William Anderson (tie)
Defense Attorney
Mr. Anderson has taken the lead at State Compensation Insurance Fund as Appellate Counsel in such high impact cases challenging the constitutionality of UR and IMR as: Frances Stevens v. WCAB and Outspoken Enterprises / State Compensation Insurance Fund - currently pending a Petition for Certiorari in the US Supreme Court; CHP v. WCAB and Dorothy Margaris; Baker v. WCAB and Sierra Pacific Fleet Service; Daniel Ramirez v. WCAB and California Department of Health Care Services, 3rd DCA.

See the details of this winner here.

Michael McKnight
Work Comp Philanthropy
Michael played an instrumental role in establishing Kids' Chance of South Dakota. McKnight is now currently President of Kids' Chance South Dakota.

See the details of this winner here.

Cosentino's Food Store (Aaron Greer)
Employer
In just four years, Cosentino's has revolutionized their approach to managing employee health from "Hire to Retire" through the innovative leadership of Aaron Greer, Risk and Benefit Manager.

See the details of this winner here.

Target (tie)
Employer
As a leading retailer, Target knows the meaning of customer service. Similarly, the Target risk management team strives to provide a positive experience for its customers - the company's 341,000 employees, known as team members.

See the details of this winner here.

Isabel Bartol
Injured worker
Isabel Bartol, a 65-year old Social Worker with Miami Dade School Board, was involved in a motor vehicle accident driving between schools.

See the details of this winner here.

James McConnauhhay
Industry Leader
When the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation announced that it would no longer produce a Florida workers' compensation educational conference in 1988, McConnaughhay formed a board that stepped into that resulting education void.

See the details of this winner here.