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Gary O. Johnson, Board Chairman

Gary Johnson joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2003 and was elected board chairman in 2005. He serves on the board's audit, investment, and compensation committees. He is president of Strategic Insurance Consultants, Inc., a company that helps independent agents merge with or purchase other insurance agencies. Johnson has more than 40 years of insurance industry experience. He served for 22 years as vice president and branch manager of CNA Insurance, one of the nation's largest commercial property and casualty insurers. In this role, Johnson was responsible for $90 million in annual premium income throughout Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Nevada. Prior to CNA, he served in a variety of management and marketing roles with Aetna Casualty and Surety.

Johnson brings a thorough knowledge of insurance disciplines to the board, including underwriting, loss control, claims, sales, and administrative processes. A chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU) and member of the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Colorado (PIIAC), he possesses strong working relationships with Colorado independent insurance agencies. Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.

Holman F. Carter, Employee Representative

Holman Carter joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2010. As president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001 and a member of the Colorado AFL-CIO executive council, he brings labor relations expertise to the board. An RTD Denver bus driver since 1980, Carter has also served as a school librarian for the San Luis Valley Board of Cooperative Services and a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. In 1969, he was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps after serving a combat tour of duty in Vietnam. This diverse career background and hands-on experience in employment, labor and workplace safety enable him to represent Colorado employees on a wide range of workers’ compensation issues. Carter serves as a Trustee for the RTD/ATU Pension Fund and for the ATU Health and Welfare Trust. He also sits on the board of the Front Range Economic Strategy Center (FRESC), and he is a member of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Health Care for All Colorado and Environment Colorado. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English at Adams State College in Alamosa.

Ryan Hettich, CPA, CPCU, Employer Representative

Ryan Hettich joined the Pinnacol board of directors in 2006. He serves on the board's investment committee, and is the chair of the audit committee. Hettich is the owner of a Colorado Springs-based company in the business of retail dry-cleaning, textile restoration, and commercial real estate holdings. Previously, he spent more than 20 years in the insurance industry. His last position was the financial officer for an 11-state region of Acordia, a national insurance agency owned by Wells Fargo, where he oversaw $1 billion in premium, multiple profit-center turnarounds, and high-dollar acquisitions and divestitures.

Hettich’s insurance industry background — both in finance and management — is a tremendous asset to the board. A certified public accountant (CPA) and chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU), Hettich earned an accounting degree from the University of North Dakota. He also serves as a board member for the American Bank of Commerce.

Robert J. (R.J.) Jolly, Employer Farm and Ranch Representative

R.J. Jolly has been a member of Pinnacol's board of directors since 2003. He serves on the board's audit, governance and ethics, and compensation committees and has earned his Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ designation. Jolly is co-owner and manager of Barbara Jolly and Sons Ranch, LLC. Primarily a cattle ranching enterprise, the company also raises crops such as wheat, grain sorghum, and hay. Jolly brings to the board extensive knowledge of — and hands-on work experience in — Colorado’s agricultural industry. He has also established relationships in related industries such as transportation.

Jolly possesses a solid background in workers' compensation. In 1993, he helped establish a workers' compensation group dividend plan through the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority (now Pinnacol Assurance), and he remains active in workers' compensation issues in his industry. Jolly earned his bachelor's degree in general agriculture from Colorado State University.

Debra E. Lovejoy, Employee Representative

Debra Lovejoy joined the Pinnacol board of directors in 2003. She serves on the board's governance and ethics committee, as well as the compensation committee. Lovejoy has also earned her Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ designation. She is vice president of Employer's Resources of Colorado, Inc., which provides outsourced human resources services to Colorado businesses. Lovejoy's background is a unique combination of entrepreneurial enterprises, human resources, and health care services. She served as vice president of sales for HR Logic (a division of Fidelity Investments), as well as president and founder of TLC Medical Services, Inc., a surgical instrument manufacturing and refurbishing company, in Atlanta. She was also a physician's assistant with Oak Ridge Gastroenterology Associates in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Lovejoy's expertise includes human resources, workers' compensation, safety, benefits procurement, and payroll and tax procurement — all of which she brings to her position on the board. She is a longstanding member of the Society of Human Resource Management, with over ten years experience in this field. Lovejoy was awarded a bachelor's degree in nursing and health administration, and certification as a physician's assistant after attending Roane College in Harriman, Tenn., and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lovejoy is involved in the National Association for Professional Employer Organizations and TESSA (Colorado Springs' Center for Domestic Violence).

Robert C. McDaniel, Finance/Investment Representative

Robert McDaniel joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2010. He is the managing director of Metrix Advisors, LLC, a management consulting focused on advising companies operating in heavily regulated business environments. McDaniel possesses a strong background in managing complex projects and issues, having held leadership positions in a wide range of business, government and nonprofit organizations. This includes serving as vice president of corporate growth for Policy Studies, Inc, where he oversaw more than $200 million in outsourcing proposals for government health and human services programs, and as a senior financial analyst for Trimble Navigation Limited, where he was responsible for financial reporting and business analysis for a $260 million division. McDaniel brings a true passion for — and deep understanding of — financial strategy, public policy and public/private partnerships to his position on the board. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Paul Suss, Employer Representative

Paul Suss joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2004 and is a member of the board's audit and investment committees. He has also earned his Accredited Investment Fiduciary™ designation. Suss is president of Suss Buick Pontiac GMC, a family owned and operated automobile dealership. He started working at the dealership, then owned by his father, in 1980, learning all phases of the business. He became general manager in 1989 and took over the dealership in 1993.

Suss brings to the board a hands-on approach to business and an understanding of the challenges facing employers, including workers' compensation issues. Additionally, he is knowledgeable about the insurance industry through his dealership's involvement in an offshore, private insurance company. Suss holds a bachelor's degree in business management from the University of Colorado.

Richard Rivera, M.D., M.P.H., Employer Representative

Richard Rivera joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2010. He is the president of Emergi-Medical Care Center in Pueblo and owner of HealthTrac Walk-In Clinic in Canon City, and serves as a staff physician at those two facilities. As a health care provider, business owner and employer, Rivera brings a well-rounded perspective to the board on a variety of workers’ compensation issues, including proper care of injured workers and the challenges of providing workers’ compensation coverage to employees at different worksites.

Rivera is also the founder, president and chief executive officer of HealthTrac Systems, LLC, which provides products and services to health care providers and employers designed to improve health care delivery and lower costs, including an innovative electronic medical charting system. He earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and master’s degree in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Nonie Rivale Willisch, Employee Representative

Nonie Willisch joined Pinnacol's board of directors in 2010. On the board, she represents Colorado employees with an insurance-industry perspective based on her long career as an insurance agent — and a proven track record of keeping employees safe at work. Since 1998, she has sold workers’ compensation and commercial insurance for CRS Insurance Brokerage, Inc. in Denver, focusing on the construction industry. In this role, she works closely with policyholders to manage claims and promote on-the-job safety. She also served as president of the Hispanic Contractors of Colorado (HCC) trade association in 2008 and 2009, and helped organize a workers’ compensation group policy program for HCC member companies focused on safety and lowering workers’ compensation costs. Prior to joining CRS, Willisch served for 10 years as an insurance agent with Liberty Mutual Insurance selling workers’ compensation, commercial, auto, home and life insurance products. She studied liberal arts at the University of Colorado at Boulder.