Advisory Board:
As an AAWCP member, you will also have access to a team of experienced managers with lengthy experience in insurance, practice management and medicine.
Robert Ragolia
In 1980, Mr. Ragolia founded Ragolia & Company Insurance Brokers, Inc., which became the largest privately owned provider for malpractice insurance for eye care professionals (ophthalmologists, optometrists, and opticians) in the United States. Additionally, Mr. Ragolia acted as the malpractice insurance consultant to the State University of New York (SUNY) for the colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, Nursing, and Podiatry, including the Cornell Medical School, along with all other SUNY medical schools throughout New York. Mr. Ragolia accepted, in 1992, an offer from a large publicly traded corporation to purchase his insurance operations. In 1993, he was named as the CEO of Capitol Health Care in Mercer County, New Jersey. Mr. Ragolia's management efforts produced millions of dollars of incremental revenue for the hospital and the hundreds of member physicians of Capitol Health Care. He also initiated the formation of The Corporate Health Center. This integrated delivery system, dedicated to serving the workers' compensation needs of employees and employers, is one of the largest and most profitable occupational health centers in the country.
While at Capitol Health Care he recognized the need to establish a national workers' compensation integrated delivery system and founded Princeton Professional Communication. The company combines multiple professions, disciplines, and providers, along with related ancillary services, into an integrated delivery system. It then promotes the delivery system to the workers’ compensation industry.
Cynthia Cleave (President)
Ms. Cleave has over 22 years’ worth of experience in the day-to-day management of a specialty medical practice…including systems, billing and insurance-related matters. She has also interfaced over the years with representatives and management from pharmaceutical companies. Ms. Cleave manages the day-to-day operations of the Academy.
Bill Cleave
Mr. Cleave has over 25 years of insurance industry experience, including a background in reinsurance brokerage as well as stints in claims & accounting at a run-off insurance firm. He has worked extensively in the area of retail insurance and also in programs and with associations. He has a specialty in the area of Workers’ Compensation insurance.
Since 2001, Mr. Cleave has worked as a retail insurance agent on commercial accounts and also with associations and programs. He has also worked as a risk management consultant in areas of run-off, Loss Portfolio Transfers, reinsurance brokerage and “paper finding” for MGAs. Prior to 2001, he was a reinsurance broker with a specialty in reinsuring Workers’ Compensation insurers. During this period, he reinsured hundreds of millions of dollars of Workers’ Compensation insurance premiums for several large Work Comp insurers.
Before his reinsurance brokerage work, Mr. Cleave worked as a reinsurance accountant and claims examiner. He holds several Insurance designations, including the CPCU and ARe.
Steven G. Crawford, MD, CIME
Dr. Crawford has been practicing Occupational Medicine for over 25 years. Formerly the Corporate Medical Director of Meridian Occupational Health, Dr. Crawford is currently a member of the IMX Medical Management team performing IMEs in New Jersey.
Dr. Crawford graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology at Springfield College in Massachusetts. He attended medical school in Palermo, Italy and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, NJ.
Edward Gulko
Edward Gulko, MBA, FACMPE, FACHE, LNHA is currently a practice management consultant and interim CEO in the field of medical practice management. He previously was the Administrator of Premier Pain Centers and Specialty Anesthesia Associates in Shrewsbury, NJ which provided both independent pain management care and anesthesia services to free-standing ambulatory surgical centers. Prior the Premier Pain he was the Executive Director of Englewood Orthopedic Associates, an orthopedic group in Englewood, New Jersey. He has expertise in the field of medical practice management and is a published author on topics such as business and clinical operations in medical practice management. Mr. Gulko is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Practice Executives and the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has served as a Part-time Lecturer at Rutgers University and on the faculty of the Congress on Administration of the American College of Healthcare Executives and has also spoken at the Annual National meeting of the Medical Group Management Association. He is a past President of the NJ Medical Group Management Association and is a past President of the Orthopedic Practice Assembly of the Medical Group Management Association. He served as a US Naval Reserve Medical Service Corps officer, retiring after twenty-one years of service.
Mike Pierson
MPIERSON CONSULTING, LLC is owned and operated by Michael S. Pierson, AIC. The firm commenced operations in October, 2012 after Mr. Pierson retired as Regional Vice President of Claims for Inservco Insurance Services, Inc., a third party claims administrator specializing in workers’ compensation and liability claims for public entities in New Jersey.
Mr. Pierson spent 30 years with Inservco and its parent company, Penn National Insurance. He is well versed in the administration of TPA, Managed Care Operations, Workers’ Compensation Physician Reviews and Consulting as well as Safety Management. He earned his B.S in Business Administration in Marketing from Monmouth University and his Associate in Claims from the Insurance Institute of America. Mr. Pierson is also the Past President of the Central Jersey Claims Association and a member of the New Jersey Self-Insured Association.
Mr. Pierson works with various medical professional practices, educating them on the NJ workers’ compensation statute and best practices. . He also performs medical chart reviews for these provider groups while promoting best practices communications between the medical provider, the claim adjusters, case managers and attorneys.
Mr. Pierson has also given many seminars and presentations to various entities and organizations on various topics. He is well versed in the dynamics of New Jersey Public entities and the landscape of the different sections within New Jersey. In addition to the claims operations, Mr. Pierson has also provided safety seminars to both current and prospective clients.