About Rael & Letson We understand your plans

Joshua Allmen is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries (and nearly a Fellow), an Enrolled Actuary and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Josh graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a B.A. in Statistics (2002) but not before working as a student instructor and establishing UC Berkeley’s first courses focusing on Actuarial credentialing. Before joining Rael & Letson in 2008 he began his actuarial career in 2001 with the pension practice of an international employee benefits consulting firm and later served as an actuary for a nationwide insurance company while researching the improvement of actuarial and business processes. With over 22 years in the actuary profession, in addition to general retirement consulting Josh’s areas of expertise include innovative plan designs, collaborating with government agencies on new regulations/private letter rulings, pioneering new actuarial technology/methodology and related consulting materials (such as for innovative variable benefit designs, pension enhancement options, projection modeling systems, stochastic modeling, retirement adequacy modeling and withdrawal liability). 

Bruce Cable is a consulting actuary and has practiced in the pension field for more than 40 years. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in early 2010, Bruce worked for a large international firm and its predecessor companies where most recently he led that firm’s multiemployer retirement business nationally. From his 30+ years of multiemployer experience and his leadership roles, Bruce has developed a strong understanding of the multiemployer marketplace and multiemployer consulting. He also possesses broad and deep technical skills in the multiemployer retirement arena including less common expertise in plan mergers and plan insolvency. Bruce has been active with the IFEBP where he led his previous firm’s multiemployer participation, including serving on the actuary and consultant’s committee, and often speaking at the annual conference. He graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a B.S. in Economics and Math and has an MBA from Purdue University. Bruce is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and an Enrolled Actuary.

Jeff Frizzell is an actuary who began his career as a pension analyst for multiemployer pension plans and now has over 14 years of experience in the industry. Jeff’s experience includes all aspects of actuarial consulting for pension plans, including funding valuations (including mass withdrawal-terminated plans), government filings, PPA zone status projections, and experience studies. He also has extensive experience working on de-risking plans, from variable plan design to cash-flow matching and annuitization. He worked on single employer plans at a large national consulting firm before joining Rael & Letson in 2016 and returning to his multiemployer roots. Jeff graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in Business Finance. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Paul Graf began his actuarial career in 1986 with a large international actuarial and consulting firm. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics & Actuarial Science (1986), Paul also did some graduate level studies in Finance at Seattle University. His extensive experience with multiemployer, single employer and public plans has focused on the actuarial and financial management issues faced by plan sponsors in managing their pension programs. Paul’s recent experiences include Pension Protection Act studies, asset/liability forecasting studies, benefit suspension analysis and filings under MEPRA, demographic and economic assumption experience reviews, plan design studies and implementations including variable defined benefit designs, withdrawal liability policy reviews, pension plan merger due diligence and implementation, non-discrimination testing and determination letter filings. He joined Rael & Letson in 2008. Outwardly, Paul has been a speaker at the Enrolled Actuaries meeting where he presented on Critical and Declining Plan Benefit Suspensions and at the IFEBP Annual meeting where he has presented on Financial Management of Pension Plans, Variable Benefit Designs and Withdrawal Liability. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries where he serves as a member of the Multiemployer Plans Committee.

Jonathan Hassen graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a B.S. in Mathematics/Applied Science (Actuarial Plan). Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2009, Jonathan worked at international employee benefits consulting firms serving defined benefit plans of all sizes in the Los Angeles area. He also worked in the special projects actuarial unit of a large public employer in California. Jonathan has over 26 years of experience in the pension industry. His areas of expertise include consulting to multiemployer pension plans, actuarial valuations, financial and government accounting standards, plan design studies for pension and postretirement health & welfare plans including actuarial methodology and sensitivity analysis studies, and plan compliance issues. Jonathan is an Enrolled Actuary, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Brian Harper is a consulting actuary with more than 25 years of experience in consulting to multiemployer and single employer pension plans. During this time, Brian has consulted with clients on wide range of actuarial topics, including strategic plan design and risk management issues, targeted education and analysis around emerging regulatory changes, plan mergers, withdrawal liability issues, and funding rehabilitation and improvement plans. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics & Actuarial Science. Brian is an Enrolled Actuary, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and Rael & Letson’s internal research actuary.

Mike Kaplan worked for two life insurance companies, as manager of the group actuarial department for one and as manager of the annuity department for the other, before joining the actuarial department of a multi-national consulting company’s New York office. Mike became a senior vice president in 1976 and also served as a consulting group head. He served as one of the consultants to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation in their undertaking to revise Title IV of ERISA and he has spoken before meetings of Enrolled Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries, and the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. In 2002 Mike joined Rael & Letson’s Pasadena office as a Senior Consulting Actuary, where he worked with multiemployer health & welfare and retirement clients in addition to public entities. He graduated from City College of New York with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Mike is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.

Wendy Londa is a consulting actuary with over 32 years of experience in consulting to multiemployer, single employer and public sector pension plans. During this time, Wendy has consulted on a wide range of actuarial topics including actuarial valuations, plan design issues, withdrawal liability, plan termination, experience studies, suspension filings, determination letter filings and plan compliance. Prior to joining to Rael & Letson in 2006, she worked for a large global employee benefits consulting firm in their pension practice. Wendy graduated from Denison University with a B.S. in Biology, and from the University of Rochester, Simon School of Business Administration with an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting. She is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Dan McLellan is a Senior Consulting Actuary with over 30 years of experience providing actuarial consulting services to multiemployer, single employer and public retirement plans. During this time, Dan has provided actuarial consulting services on a wide range of topics, including traditional and hybrid plan design, plan merger support, union negotiations, oversight and management of client teams and projects, and public speaking on retirement topics. He received his MBA from the University of Texas and is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, a Fellow of the Consulting Actuaries, and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Dan was the founder of a successful actuarial consulting firm prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2024.

David Broome has over 30 years of managed care health plan experience in the West, including Alaska. Before joining Rael & Letson, David accrued broad and deep health plan experience through various client service, compliance, and financial analysis roles with national and regional health insurers, third-party administrators, and consulting firms. He has been serving large multiemployer health funds in addition to commercial, municipal, state, and school health plans. David advises clients intending to optimize health plan administration, including overall design, renewal, bid analysis, income-expense and reserve analysis, vendor negotiations, and client advocacy. His professional knowledge includes evaluation of funding, patient management programs, pharmacy programs, and vendor performance management. David is a San Diego State University graduate with a B.S. in Finance. After serving as a jet engine technician and flight crew, he is a U.S. Navy veteran.

Andrew Desa is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Andrew is currently a consulting actuary where his work has involved benefit plan design, proposals and bid analysis, financial projections, reserve calculations, vendor management and renewal analysis. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2017, he worked for a large actuarial consulting firm based out of San Francisco. Andrew also has experience in the retirement practice having worked with defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and OPEB plans. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Pete Fake began his career in the employee benefits field in 1995 working for a large national consulting firm, where he gained experience in the development of summary plan descriptions, financial analysis, budgeting, proposals and analysis of bids, and employee communications. Pete’s subsequent employment gave him extensive managed care and underwriting experience, having worked for health maintenance organizations for eight years, as Underwriting Manager at a large Los Angeles based carrier managing their HMO and PPO mid-size and large group Southern California block of business. He specializes in health & welfare multiemployer consulting services that include preparing budget projections, contribution rate calculations, carrier renewal negotiations and underwriting analysis, retiree welfare strategy, as well as benefit plan design for self-funded and insured group programs. Pete has attained a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) professional designation. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Pete joined Rael & Letson in 2004.

Joseph Feliciani has over 21 years of experience in pharmacy benefit management. Joseph’s career began in several pharmacy settings, retail, home infusion, hospital and mail order. He further refined his skills in state Medicaid Programs handling monthly reporting, analytics and identification of plan setup issues. Joseph furthered his experience with a large auditing firm specializing in PBM Audits and Pharmacy Network Audits/Fraud, Waste and Abuse identification. He has held director and vice president level positions in, networks, analytics and client relations departments at regional Blue’s plans and several PBMs both large and small. Joseph has a deep understanding of the pharmacy supply chain and how best to engage clients in a full understanding of the benefits they have, what the market is doing today and where benefits are moving towards. He graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Natural Sciences and a Master of Business Administration with a focus on Health Care Management. Joseph is a licensed Life, Accident and Health insurance producer in several states. He joined Rael & Letson in May of 2023.

Wang Li has over 30 years of extensive actuarial experience. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2006, Wang was employed at an international employee benefits consulting firm where he advised large corporations on active and retiree health benefit strategy and plan management. He has also consulted for school districts, public entities and Joint Powers Authorities (JPAs). Wang’s client work includes actuarial valuations for Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) as required under FASB ASC 715-60, FASB ASC 965, and GASB 75, as well as accrual rate projections, contribution strategies and development, and vendor procurement. In addition, he has experience in pricing and financial reporting of various insurance products during his initial employment at an insurance company. Wang is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Statistics and an emphasis in Computer Science.

Wayne Mendez has over 30 years of experience in the multiemployer industry. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2015, Wayne managed several multiemployer trust fund clients for a regional third party administrator before becoming a senior consultant for a global actuarial consulting firm with clients in the Western Region. He specializes in providing comprehensive consulting services to multiemployer and public sector health & welfare and retirement plan clients, which include such services as preparing budget projections, self-funded cost estimates, managed care studies, vendor renewal analyses, and compliance related initiatives. Wayne is an active member of the IFEBP and has spoken at the IFEBP conference, as well as on various retirement and health & welfare plan related topics to union groups and associations. He is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in Finance.

Adam Miller has extensive experience advising multiemployer funds on effective financing and efficient delivery of employee benefits. Adam has worked for over 25 years in multiple professional capacities and roles, including consultant, trustee, and service provider, and brings strategic, operational and practical expertise to fund decision makers. His professional expertise includes evaluation of care/utilization/disease management programs, pharmacy benefit management services, and vendor performance management. Adam has evaluated predictive modeling methodologies and is familiar with population health best practices. He has a master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a BA in Humanities from Michigan State University. In addition, Adam is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist through the International Foundation and has taken advanced courses in survey research and pharmacoepidemiology. He joined Rael & Letson in 2019.

Keith Ouye has over 24 years of experience working as a Consultant for multiemployer health and welfare trust funds and association-sponsored plans in Hawaii. Keith has an M.D. from the University of Hawaii. He started his career at the Hawaii Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate, HMSA and then became the Director of Medical Operations at a small Hawaii insurer/claims administrator (Delta Dental affiliate, HDS Medical / University Health Alliance). Since 1998, Keith has worked as a multiemployer health & welfare Consultant – and specifically working with clients with extensive self-funded benefit plans. He has also done consulting in the areas of large systems project management, health plan reporting, medical claims data analytics and medical management programs. Keith joined Rael & Letson in June 2020 and is located in Hawaii.

Jim Rhein graduated from the University of Colorado in 1985 with a B.S. in Recreation Therapy and earned an M.B.A. in Health Services Administration from Golden Gate University (1993). Jim has six years of managed care experience working as Reimbursement Specialist for a San Francisco area hospital. He joined Rael & Letson in 1995. Since that time, Jim has provided clients with consultation that has included managed care and indemnity medical and dental plan analysis, detailed income-expense and reserve analysis and provider negotiations. His consulting expertise includes a wide array of innovative plan designs including child care and eldercare benefits, domestic partners benefits and supplemental sick and vacation benefits. Jim also provides legal fund and retirement consulting.

Kirsten Shaffer began her career in the employee benefits field in 1977. Kirsten has over 41 years’ experience in the health & welfare benefits field and has served as consultant to multiemployer Taft Hartley trusts and public entity clients. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2000, she worked for several major national consulting firms and has extensive experience and expertise in benefit program underwriting, evaluation and negotiations of insurance carrier and HMO premiums, financial projections, funding alternatives, benefit plan designs and legislative compliance issues.

For the past 12 years, Jessica Siperko has worked exclusively with multiemployer health & welfare funds. Prior to that, Jessica worked as an analyst for a large worldwide consulting firm in their large single employer group. Her primary clients include UFCW and retail industries, teamsters, construction, and transportation industries. Jessica has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Claremont McKenna College. She is also a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) as of November 2011 and is pursuing an actuarial designation. Jessica’s background in mathematics and analytical work gives her a strong technical foundation to excel in data analytics, underwriting and liability calculations.

David Westengard began his career in the Employee Benefits field in 2014. David worked extensively in the Third-Party Administration field, managing Taft-Hartley Trust Funds during the past nine years. David earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of San Diego in 2013. David earned a master’s in Public Health Policy and Leadership from University of San Francisco in 2024. Before joining Rael & Letson in 2021, he worked with a large Third-Party Administrator in the San Francisco Bay Area as a Senior Account Executive, fostering client relationships, and overseeing all aspects of Trust Fund administration. Additionally, David has worked as a PBM Consultant, focused on cost containment, and contracting with prescription drug benefits. Prior to focusing his career on Multi-Employer Trust Funds, his background was primarily in operations and leadership roles throughout various industries. David holds insurance licensure in six states (CA, ID, UT, OR, WA, and CO). David has earned a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation from the IFEBP and Rael & Letson’s internal compliance specialist. He is also working to complete his project management profession (PMP) certification later this year. 

Jim Whelpley is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA with over 30 years of experience in retiree health and pension consulting. Jim is currently engaged in producing postretirement welfare valuations under FASB ASC 965 for multiemployer trust funds and under GASB 75 for public entities. Prior to joining Rael & Letson in 2004, he was employed by several other large national and international benefits consulting firms. Jim’s recent public sector work includes GASB 75 postretirement welfare valuations and funding studies for several northern California school districts and City/County governments. He has also been involved with vendor searches and various other health-related analyses for CalPERS. Jim’s private sector work has been in the areas of corporate pension and postretirement welfare funding, FASB ASC 715-60 valuations, and the setting of claim reserves and employee contribution rates. On the professional volunteering side, he has been involved in writing several OPEB-related actuarial practice notes for the American Academy of Actuaries as well as a revised Actuarial Standard of Practice No. 6 for the Actuarial Standards Board. Jim graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Mathematics and Computer Science.

Wes Yoder has 28 years of experience working in health & welfare benefits consulting. For the last 23 years Wes has worked exclusively with multiemployer funds throughout the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. During that time he has served a diverse set of clients ranging in size from 500 employees to over 15,000. Wes’ clients include construction, retail, service and transportation/trucking industries. He is a 1995 graduate of Gonzaga University with a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science. Wes started his career at a worldwide consulting firm working in a group dedicated to actuarial and underwriting services, including underwriting of self-funded plans, reserve calculations and retiree medical liability valuations. In 2001 he turned his focus to multiemployer plan consulting. Although financial analysis and plan underwriting continues to be a passion, Wes has been in a client facing consulting role for the last 15 years. Clients appreciate his attention to detail, technical expertise and ability to communicate complex issues. Wes joined Rael & Letson in September 2011.

Megan Aukema is a communications executive with nearly 30 years of experience as a communications consultant and more than 15 years of experience providing strategic communications consultation and customized participant outreach to multiemployer retirement and health and welfare plans. In 2002, Megan founded Aukema & Associates, a strategic marketing communications consulting firm serving a variety of clients and industries, with a special focus on health-related organizations and employee benefit programs including Taft-Hartley trusts. The company was acquired by Rael & Letson in August 2023 and Megan now leads a division focused on developing and implementing effective employee benefits communications that increase participant engagement and improve experience. Prior to founding Aukema & Associates, Megan held leadership positions in both for-profit and non-profit healthcare organizations, including serving as Vice President of Marketing of an online health services company. Megan graduated from Grinnell College with a B.A. in Political Science and French.

Charity Gourley is a strategic communications consultant with more than 20 years of communications, marketing and public relations experience. With Aukema & Associates since 2010, she manages strategy development and creative initiatives and oversees client accounts. Charity is a creative problem solver who specializes in brand development and management, comprehensive communication plans, and strategic planning. She has experience in multiple industries—from healthcare to technology to maritime transportation—with her primary focus working with multiemployer health & welfare and pension plans. She is a strong believer in what effective communications can do for a client and is committed to creating compelling messages that engage and inspire. Charity graduated from the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in English, with a secondary certificate from the University of Washington in Public Relations. 

Cynthia Peterson is a strategic consultant with more than 20 years of experience developing comprehensive communications and marketing strategies for large and small organizations. She has extensive experience in brand management, website development, and communications planning. Cynthia has expertise developing benefit communications for a variety of multiemployer plans including health & welfare, pension, retirement, and retiree health plans. She has a history of successfully implementing digital technologies to increase participant engagement and improve their experience. Cynthia is an experienced mentor and coach, with expertise breaking projects down into manageable and achievable tasks. She graduated from Western Washington University with a B.A. in English.

Talia Aukema-Gray is a marketing communications specialist with a focus on digital marketing strategy. She is associate consultant on several multiemployer plans, creating content for benefit communications such as campaigns and newsletters that are tailored to the specific needs of each plan. Through compelling social media strategies and dynamic content, Talia helps clients promote participation and strengthen their organizations, while also gathering crucial analytical data to better refine and define their messages. She completed her degree in Business Administration with a Marketing Concentration at Western Washington University. Talia is certified in Google Analytics 4, Inbound Marketing from HubSpot, Spotify ad studio, and Hootsuite platform.

Arnav SenGupta is a digital marketing specialist and works as an associate consultant for Rael & Letson. Arnav leverages his skills in paid media, content creation, and data analysis to help our clients communicate their benefits and provide value to their organizations. Before working at Rael & Letson, Arnav was able to gain foundational experience at a digital marketing firm, where he worked with over 30 clients to manage their paid media advertising.

Arnav received his bachelor’s degree in business administration at Western Washington University. His coursework allowed him to gain practical experience in developing and presenting several marketing proposals. Arnav was a member of the winning team during Western’s 10th annual student marketing case competition. For his final project, Arnav developed a marketing research study for Spotify’s advertising academy and presented his findings to Spotify executives.

Megan Mowrer is a skilled graphic designer with experience in UX/UI, digital and print design. She has expertise developing visual identities and brand guidelines, designing responsive and highly accessible websites, and creating engaging health- and retirement-related educational materials including print and online newsletters, mailers, flyers, brochures and other materials. Megan has a special focus on designing benefits communications that drive plan participant engagement through approachable, easy to read content and appealing design. Megan comes from a fine arts background and is passionate about creating effective, aesthetically pleasing designs. She is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a degree in Graphic Communications.