W. Brian Ahern, RPLU
T: 858.514.7101
bahern@aherninsurance.com
CEO
W. Brian Ahern, the Founder and CEO/President of Ahern Insurance Brokerage (AIB), created with Edward B. Lee, Ahern | ELT Insurance Services, LLC in 2007 to assist AIB's clients in the areas of Medical, Disability, and Retirement Benefit Plans. Brian brings over 16 years of experience in marketing, management and insurance.
Brian is a leader in the professional liability industry and has lectured and written on various insurance topics including lawyers professional liability and employment practices liability. In addition, he has achieved the professional insurance designation of Registered Professional Liability Underwriter (RPLU).
Before founding AIB in 1997, Brian was Area Vice President and California Program Manager for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., one of the largest insurance brokers in the country. At Gallagher, he was Director of the Professional Liability Division and member of the Branch Executive Committee.
Brian is a graduate of the University of San Diego, where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree. He also serves on the board of the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers Program.
Edward B. Lee
T: 858.514.7126 x 22
elee@aherneltinsurance.com
President
Ed teamed up with W. Brian Ahern to create Ahern | ELT Insurance Services, LLC, to offer Ahern clients a comprehensive group insurance brokerage solution.
Ed is proud to lead a team of dedicated insurance professionals to deliver law firm focused employee benefits. He oversees the organization to help identify new client partnerships, create client benefits strategies, negotiate with insurance carriers to provide specialized benefits offerings, ensure that the highest standards of service quality are maintained, train key staff and maintain a personal involvement in key accounts. He has over 15 years of experience as an employee benefits consultant. Ed earned his Group Benefits Disability Specialist (GBDS) designation and is a Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Qualifying Member signifying his commitment to the highest standards of professionalism.
Ed received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from University of California, San Diego.
Reid A. Middleton, Esq.
T: 858.514.7132
rmiddleton@aherneltinsurance.com
Vice President
Reid is a California licensed attorney and insurance consultant with extensive business and legal expertise in employee benefits, business succession planning and overall risk management.
Prior to joining Ahern | ELT Insurance Services, LLC, from 1995 through 1998, Mr. Middleton served as in-house counsel to UCSD Healthcare where he advised physician groups and hospital systems as to insurance reimbursement, capitation and risk pools, managed care and employee benefit programs. From 1998 through 2001, he served as Senior Corporate Counsel to ALARIS Medical Systems, a $550 million publicly traded medical device and software company with 2,500 employees transacting business in 120 countries. From 2001 through 2004, Mr. Middleton served as General Counsel and Secretary for The Upper Deck Company, one of the largest sports and entertainment publishing companies in the world.
Following his experience at The Upper Deck Company, Mr. Middleton founded an employee benefits practice group providing benefit planning and insurance guidance to a wide range of businesses from leading technology providers to law firms.
He holds life/health and property/casualty licenses and is a registered representative offering securities through Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. He is also a published author and a member of the California and San Diego Bar Associations.
Reid received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctor from The University of San Diego, School of Law.
Tracy L. Podzimek
T: 858.514.7126 x 23
tpodzimek@aherneltinsurance.com
Vice President
Tracy brings over 10 years of employee benefits consulting experience and provides unparalleled support to our firm administrators. She supervises our Account Executive and Client Services personnel to structure new client partnerships, design benefits strategies, market accounts, implement new plans, communicate with employees, resolve claims, billing and service issues. Tracy applies her superb attention to detail and proactive planning approach to minimize the amount of time that law firms must spend on benefits and consistently exceeds expectations.
Tracy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Andrea M. Durazo
T: 858.514.7126 x 25
adurazo@aherneltinsurance.com
Vice President
Andrea has over 7 years of employee benefits consulting experience with the past 2 years focused on law firm benefits. She has broad experience working with law firms of all sizes, and is a great resource for firms interested in improving their benefits packages. Andrea implements new client partnerships and oversees ongoing service and renewals. She consistently strives to find proactive and creative solutions for our law firm clients.
Andrea received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications- Public Relations from California State University, Fullerton.
Kim A. Kawai
T: 858.514.7126 x 26
kkawai@aherneltinsurance.com
Account Executive
Kim brings over 6 years of employee benefits experience as a benefits manager for publicly traded companies K2 and Callaway Golf. She was responsible for administering the benefits open enrollment process, educating employees on their benefit plan choices, and assisting with the implementation of new health and retirement plans. This invaluable experience has helped us hone our services to be able to offer our law firm clients the highest levels of benefits expertise and support.
Kim received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California Santa Barbara.
Lisa Bernales
T: 858.514.7126 x 20
lbernales@aherneltinsurance.com
Account Executive
Lisa's diverse background includes over 12 years working with executives of highly regarded publicly traded companies in a variety of roles. Her breadth of experience and training allows her to provide our clients with the highest level of service excellence.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.
