President & Chief Executive Officer

Gary is a founder and joint-owner of FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. Along with Steve Porter, he established the company in 1988 to fill a niche in the fringe-benefit industry.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Gary began his career jointly in psychology and probability theory, conducting research and teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels at UCLA and CSPC. In 1972, he founded and directed a residential treatment facility in Los Angeles, specializing in the treatment of substance abusing children and adolescents. He also served as the statistical consultant to Fund Scope, a Stock Market magazine. In 1977 he cofounded Miller-Beckman, a real estate investment and development company. Gary has also been an owner-operater in the restaurant industry.

While studying at At UCLA Gary earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Psychology and was advanced to candidacy for the PhD.

Along with his commitment to FCE, Gary and his wife, Allison devote time to UC Berkeley where they are Vice Chairs on the Parents Fund Board and also mentor in the Cal Independent Scholars Network.

Chief Operating Officer

Steve Porter is the founder and co-owner of FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. (FCE), a Bay Area fringe-benefit administrator that has guided top US defense contractors through the challenging prevailing-wage legislation. Steve honed his expertise in the fringe-benefit and prevailing wage industry over many years while working in all aspects of the industry and studying all areas of prevailing wage legislation. That expertise resulted in FCE becoming the leading administrator serving government contractors subject to the Davis Bacon and Service Contract Acts. Steve works closely with FCE clients to ensure that their employee populations receive a maximum benefit-value within the mandated fringe budget. Steve lent his considerable talents to help stabilize federal projects in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Marshall Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Antarctica. Among the 250 corporations that comprise FCE’s primary clients are Javits-Wagner-O’Day companies (the AbilityOne Program) that provide employment opportunities to disabled Americans and service-disabled veterans.

Since 2013, Steve has served as the co-Vice President of Caminar for the Mental Health Board of San Mateo, CA. Caminar was built on a commitment to improve community-based support services and opportunities for people with disabilities to enable them to live and work in the communities in which they reside. Caminar has over 600 employees committed to serving peoples with mental disabilities, residential programs, job plus employment services and medical clinics. Steve is an active participant in board governance matters and as well as fund raising activities. He was unanimously elected Board Chair effective July 2016. He retired from the position as Board Chair of Caminar for Mental Health in May 2018.
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A native of Alabama, Steve graduated from Troy University with a degree in Business. He thereafter moved to northern California where he gained recognition as an accomplished real-estate developer. He remains active in property development, which includes the purchase and renovation of the historic Highland Dell Lodge, Monte Rio, California. Steve and his family reside in San Mateo, California.

Executive Vice President of Operations

Isaac Domenech brings over 22 years of healthcare revenue cycle management experience to FCE having managed on every level including serving as an officer for a national healthcare company. During his time in the industry, He has managed the successful implementation and maintenance of hospital revenue cycle services at some of the largest Healthcare systems in the country. Over his career he has developed a skill set in the development of organizational infrastructure and has successfully positioned multiple operations and companies in adapting to upcoming changes in both the healthcare industry and government legislation.

Vice President, Legal & Compliance - Chief Legal Counsel

Jeff Stewart is Vice President, Legal & Compliance - Chief Legal Counsel of FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. (FCE). Jeff brings over 25 years of experience to FCE including serving HealthMarkets, Inc. as Deputy General Counsel and Vice President of HealthMarkets’ insurance company subsidiaries. Jeff was Vice President and served on the senior management team of TriPlus Services, Inc., formerly known as Ability Resources, Inc., a third-party administrator located in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Jeff has an extensive litigation and compliance background, including the management of a multi-faceted national litigation docket and budget, while providing oversight and direction of outside counsel enabling the successful resolution of lawsuits through motion practice and/or mediation.

In addition, Jeff served as a legal, compliance, and business advisor to insurance organizations’ senior management, claims, customer care, agency, premium accounting and underwriting departments.

Jeff earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University Hankamer School of Business and Juris Doctor degree from Baylor University Law School in Waco, Texas. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas, a member in good standing of the State Bar of Texas and admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Jeff is also a member of the San Antonio, Texas Bar Association.

Jeff and his family live in Boerne, Texas where he is involved in serving Kendall County and the Hill Country of Texas in many capacities including serving as a fund raising advisor and committee member for the Hill Country Pregnancy Care Centers’ annual Drive Fore Life Top Golf Tournament.

Vice President of Sales and Marketing

Chris Porter is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for FCE. In this leadership role, he has successfully expanded the company’s footprint in both the CRP/AbilityOne segment of the federal contractor community and in the for-profit community; to this end, he has strategically cultivated numerous relationships among brokers serving the Fringe-Benefit market. As the Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Chris has a strong work ethic and believes it is very important to maintain a hands on approach for the care and guidance of his clients even after finalization of a service agreement. This means that Chris himself coordinates the significant administrative aspects of plan implementation, thereby ensuring that each client enjoys a seamless transition to FCE Benefits as well as monitoring the clients’ on-going day-to-day Administration.

In addition, Chris works extensively with Government Contractors and Consultants relating to the SCA design structure of benefits, funding strategies, communication and education of their employee benefit plans. In particular, Chris is an expert on Health Care Reform and provides guidance to clients regarding how the Affordable Care Act will impact their businesses and how it overlaps the Service Contract Act’s (SCA) many rules and laws

Chris earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the prestigious Denison University in Granville, Ohio, graduating in 2006.

Vice President, FCE Technology Division

Having joined FCE in his current role in 2014, Tony brings more than 20 years of IT experience to the company, spanning Non-Profit, Banking, Manufacturing, Education, and Insurance.

Tony earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Technical Management and his AAS in Network Administration. He is a certified Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE), Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA). Tony has served in the U.S. Air Force and is a Desert Storm veteran.

Director, Plan Building and Education

Donald Shackelford joined FCE as the Director of Plan Building in May 2016. He brings more than 40 years of leadership and management skills to FCE with an extensive background in training, evaluation and operations management.

Don first served our nation in the United States Air Force as a human resources specialist and recruiter. After earning an officer commission, he was certified as a missile combat crew commander in the Minuteman III missile system and later served as the Chief of the Instructor Branch and Chief of the Operations Training Division, where he was responsible for the weapon system training of over 200 combat crew members. He also served as the Chief of the Instructor Branch in the Ground Launch Cruise Missile System and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation in the Airborne Launch Control System.

Don was the Chief of Protocol at the Air Force’s largest operational base where he was responsible for the planning and execution of visits by foreign dignitaries and our government leaders to include the Secretary of the Air Force, Secretary of the Defense and the President of the United States.

Don retired from active duty in 1995 and entered public education as the senior instructor at the world’s largest high school Air Force Junior ROTC program. During his career his competition teams were honored with nine national championships and eighteen Texas state championships. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Columbia College and a Master of Arts in Management from Central Michigan University.

Director, Account Management

David Velke, RHU®, ChHC®, brings many years of experience in the Insurance industry to FCE. He started his career in 1999 as an Executive Council Agent at a large Life Insurance company, and has held a variety of roles including Financial Advisor, Registered Investment Advisor, as well as an Independent Insurance Broker.

Starting as an Account Executive at FCE in 2011, David was promoted in 2015 to Director of Account Management, overseeing the daily leadership, management, and strategy of the department.

David has a strong passion for development, and is skilled at breaking down complex issues and explaining them to diverse audiences. He respects the uniqueness of each Client and strives to be a valued business partner, allowing Clients to focus on their core business.

David resides in Northern Virginia with his family. He has a Life & Health Insurance license and holds the Designation of Registered Health Underwriter and Chartered Healthcare Consultant from The American College. The RHU® designation demonstrates a high level of knowledge about the principles and practices governing the disability income and the health insurance business. The ChHC® designation is considered the most comprehensive credential available for healthcare consultants and financial advisors interested in providing clients with cutting edge information. ChHC® designees are well equipped to provided clients expert advice on a broad range of health insurance related topics including state exchanges; medical loss rations; ERRP’s, FSAs, HSAs, HRAs, Cafeteria Plans and more.

Director, Customer Care Center

Janet Peterson has been with FCE for eighteen years and currently serves as the Director of the Customer Care Center.

Janet is a seasoned professional with a dynamic background in Health & Welfare benefits, fringe benefit and payroll administration. She has held positions in Payroll, Account Management, and Accounting. During her tenure with FCE, Janet has held leadership positions in Membership, Auditing, and Premium Accounting. She brings to the position proven leadership abilities, as well as team building and personnel management skills.

Janet attended New England Banking Institute with a concentration in Accounting and Finance.

Associate Vice President of Operations

Jennifer Rocha is a valued employee with over 15 years of dedicated service to FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. During her tenure, she has served in leadership positions in multiple departments. As Associate Vice President of Operations, Jennifer oversees the daily functions of thee departments: Auditing and Compliance, Implementation, and Carrier Relations. These departments provide support company-wide focusing on strategic planning, implementing new and renewing clients, evaluating the accuracy of all department functions, and administering our relationships with carriers and vendors. Providing our clients with the highest level of excellence in benefit services to their employees is also a top priority. A staunch supporter of quality assurance, her policies and procedures led to FCE-wide implementation of measurement tools within all departments to make keen adjustments to daily processes. These new processes resulted in keeping our organization on track with current goals and upcoming advancements to ensure consistent benefit services and the future growth of FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc.

Jennifer is also responsible for overseeing FCE Operations and works closely with our Executive Vice President of Operations, Isaac Domenech, to ensure FCE is at the cutting-edge in benefits we provide our clients. Through their efforts, our clients have the best selection of benefits and services to include compliance assurance with all State and Federal legislation and SCA requirements.

Jennifer earned her Bachelor of Business Administration, Human Resources Management from the University of Our Lady of the Lake in San Antonio, Texas in 2012 and will complete her Master’s degree in Business Administration in December of 2017 from the same university.

Director, Claims

Laura Sanchez’ diverse background brings over 20 years of extensive experience in managing the full range of administrative, logistical and operational duties in a wide variety of program areas to include healthcare, staffing, support services, hospitality, human resources, retail, legal and customer service. Throughout her career, Laura has repeatedly proven her ability to lead through diverse and challenging situations.

She is an excellent agent of change and has a documented track record of accomplishments that include the turnaround of struggling operations; start-up and management of new facilities; creation and launch of new and improved operational programs; and growth and expansion of mature, established operations. She seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of errors and minimizing variability in business processes while maintaining a focus on meeting customer requirements.

Laura has experience managing multi-million dollar budgets, providing daily support for companies and is instrumental in implementing workplace policies and procedures and organizational development. Her extensive experience managing teams ranging from 5 to 150 direct and indirect reports with entry-level to management level positions.

She is astute in identifying areas in need of improvement with the vision to develop and implement successful action plans. Laura approaches each new business challenge with her intrinsic flair for innovation, creative problem-solving, and measured risk-taking to drive consistent bottom-line improvements. Laura has Six Sigma Training and an Associate in Applied Sciences from San Antonio College.

Manager, Human Resources

Correlle Ferlance-Noel is the Human Resources Manager at FCE Benefits. She joined FCE in November 2014 and brings with her 12 years of Human Resources (HR) experience, having worked in the manufacturing, insurance, and tourism industries. Correlle is a driven leader with a desire for continued success and professional growth. Her passion for HR has helped shape her career and builds relationships with internal and external clients.

Throughout her career, Correlle has demonstrated increased experience in employee management, health and welfare benefits, recruiting and onboarding, employee relations, payroll administration and process improvement. Having worked in HR for larger corporations, Correlle also gained extensive knowledge in areas of health and safety, document management, employee training, and HR Generalist activities.

In her role as an HR manager, Correlle is the bridge for communicating human resources policy between executives and operational units. She partners with various departments within the company to help reach strategic operational goals. She ensures effective utilization and employee development of human resources, while focusing to achieve a high employee morale and efficiency of business groups.

Correlle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication from Midwestern State University and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from Texas A&M University-Central Texas.

Director, Business Systems

Sandra De Los Santos joined the Business Systems Department of FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. in September 2015, performing as an analyst prior to her selection to her current manager position. Sandra has a unique background combination which includes over twelve years of experience in the healthcare industry and eight years of experience in information technology.

She earned a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Information Technology in December of 2009, followed by a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems in December 2010, both from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Sandra oversees the Business Systems Team that consist of talented programmers, developers, and analysts who are responsible for delivering subject matter expertise and operational support to both internal and external clients that enable FCE to achieve its goals. She has a passion for leading, managing, and facilitating activities pertaining to the development and completion of organizational objectives and is committed to collaborate with her team to enrich understanding by thorough deliverables development and reviews.

Director, Premium Reconciliation and Invoicing

Stuart Socks began employment at FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. on August 10, 2015, as a Premiums Department Analyst where he reconciles monthly invoices for FCE clients. A year later, Stuart transitioned to the Carrier Relations Department where his ability to identify and create effective solutions to administer and enhance FCE’s newest carrier relationships led to a highly-deserved promotion to Manager. His understanding of the specific details of each individual carrier FCE has partnered with in the past year continues to provide a concise and clear path to meeting client requirements and receivables each carrier expects monthly. He is currently the Director, Premium Reconciliation and Invoicing.

With his help, FCE has grown stronger relationships in providing the best service possible. His current responsibilities focus on meeting carrier requested reporting deadlines and maintaining carrier relationships. As a manager, Stuart works closely with internal departments to support the company’s objective of providing excellent service to its carriers. Stuart is instrumental in the reconciliation process of carrier accounts while streamlining new ways to automate best practices through the auditing process. This, in turn, has built a strong rapport with our carriers.

Stuart has a vast knowledge of all contracts from carriers while working closely with our Legal Department to process changes/amendments of existing contracts and communicates this proficiently to all concerned.

Stuart graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas on August 7, 2015. While there, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management with a focus in Entrepreneurship. Stuart is a native of San Antonio where he attended Tom C. Clark High School.

Manager, Implementation - Fully Insured Clients

Elisha Bryand is the Manager of Implementation - Fully Insured Clients. She joined the FCE Team in September of 2015. Elisha has over ten years of wide-ranging experience and knowledge of providing customers the best opportunities for their medical insurance services in and out of the hospital setting.

Elisha’s problem solving skills and cultivating nature allows her to enhance our internal procedures to find a customized method for our clients’ unique plans. Elisha works closely with her colleagues from various departments along with her superiors to strategize and develop policies and procedures which facilitate managing the structure for our clients. This also includes implementing policies and procedures to ensure that the methods are functioning to its full effect.

Elisha enjoys working with her team to make certain our clients are managed accordingly to the latest regulations in the ever-changing world of benefits for government contracts. She brings a positive energy to the work field, along with a full understanding of the responsibilities and challenges of benefit management. Elisha’s professional approach allows her to engage successfully in communications with all levels internally and externally.

Elisha and her husband enjoy spending time with their two children outdoors at sporting events, church events and family bar-b-ques.

Director, Financial Reporting

Hope Berg, CPA®, joined FCE in March of 2017 bringing with her substantial experience in both public and industry accounting. Hope is an experienced accounting professional with excellent analytical, organizational, and leadership skills. During Hope’s professional career with KPMG, she participated and led several Fortune 500 company audit engagements. As the Director of Financial Reporting, Hope oversees the accounting function for over 150 clients and solves escalated and complex accounting situations. She is responsible for working closely with ownership and executive leadership for any financial related government filing and reporting. Under her leadership, the accuracy and timeliness of financial reporting have improved significantly.

Hope holds the designation as a Certified Public Accountant from the State of Texas since 2011. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting and a Master Degree of Accountancy with a concentration in Auditing from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Hope is an active member of Texas Society of Certified Public Accountant (TSCPA), American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). In her free time, she enjoys traveling with her husband.

Senior Executive Administrator

David Rudd is the Senior Executive Administrator for FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. and has been with the company for over 16 years. Prior to FCE, David served as a Customer Service Manager and then Nevada Operations Manager for a litigation assistance firm.

David’s role with FCE requires that he work closely with the President & CEO, Gary Beckman, to ensure that our clients’ urgent and unique issues are resolved with the attention they deserve. In addition to daily administrative duties such as schedule coordination, C-level customer service, management support, research and document production, David enjoys working with the staff of each department to troubleshoot and find creative and efficient solutions to irregular situations.

David was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. He attended Serra High School and the College of San Mateo. David enjoys spending his free time outdoors with his family.

Manager, Stop Loss

Carmela Perez joined FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. (FCE) in May of 2017 and is currently the Manager, Stop Loss.

Carmela’s vast experience in the healthcare industry, ranges from revenue cycle management, internal auditing for provider’s offices and benefit administration at Humana Military - administrator of the Department of Defense TRICARE contract in the South Region.

Her experiences also include administration of the Texas Health and Human Services 1115 Medicaid Waiver for Regional Healthcare Partnerships 8 & 17, anchored by Texas A&M University Health Science Center (TAMHSC) in College Station, Texas.

Carmela received her Bachelor of Health Administration degree from Texas State University in 2012 and completed a Master of Business Administration with a Healthcare Concentration at Texas A&M University - San Antonio in 2015.

Carmela’s combination of health administration experience and academic background is well suited for the Implementation department at FCE. Carmela is also an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Manager, Premiums Accounting

Sonia Smith is the Premiums Accounting Manager for FCE Benefit Administrators, Inc. (FCE). She joined FCE in May 2016, with over 15 years of experience and knowledge in the accounting field. Sonia’s problem-solving skills and attention to detail allow her to provide outstanding service to our clients. Her professional career is highlighted by working closely with audit controls in varying types of businesses as well as managing the accounting functions at a five-star hotel where she was instrumental in helping to create policies for the accounting department and recovering over $500,000.00 in payments owed to the hotel.

Sonia earned a Bachelor degree in Business Management from Palm Beach State College in 2013. She is currently completing the requirements for a Master degree in Finance.

Originally from Florida, Sonia relocated to San Antonio in 2014. She enjoys traveling, attending church functions and spending time with her family. Sonia is the proud mother of two sons who are serving in the United States Army and a daughter who is in her first year of college.

Director, Benefit Eligibility

Stephanie Ramirez began her career at FCE in June of 2015 as an underwriter. She is currently the Director of the Benefit Eligibility Department.

Stephanie’s extensive underwriting knowledge of fully insured, self-funded and limited healthcare benefits brings an understanding of all industry standards and guidelines to her department. Auditors can access her valuable experience and knowledge in data analysis and claim utilization to ensure their daily practices are compliant with strict Affordable Care Act guidelines.

Her knowledge of federal legislative acts, such as the Service Contract Act, Davis Bacon Act and the Affordable Care Act, are a valuable resource to her department and FCE.

Stephanie earned her Philosophical Doctrine Candidacy in Biological Anthropology, a Master’s degree in Biological Anthropology, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Manager, Underwriting

Glafiro Benavides joined FCE as an underwriting analyst In February 2016. Glafiro successfully transitioned from analyst, to coordinator and to manager of underwriting. As the manager, he oversees the daily operations of the department and provides guidance and training to the underwriting analysts. Glafiro ensures timely completion of renewals and designated tasks. He also assists in maintaining of relationships with FCE’s carrier partners and manages the requests from our sales and account manager teams.

Glafiro created the training program for the underwriting department, spearheaded the transformation of the client-facing marketing material, and assisted in the restructure and reorganization of the department. Glafiro plays a key role in the direction and progression of the department and FCE.

Glafiro possesses a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics and a Master of Business Administration from Texas State University with a focus on management and Business Theory. Prior to his tenure at FCE, Glafiro worked in the banking and retail industries along with being a professional musician.

Software Development Manager, Project Manager

Kevin Roark joined FCE in January 2018 bringing to the company over 12 years of Software Management experience. Kevin manages the development of FCE custom software and Web applications. Before managing software projects, Kevin was a software engineer working on Web applications, Windows applications, and Web services for private, academic and governmental clients. Kevin worked for the Department of Defense and was the Corporate Systems Development Manager for a large industrial engineering company overseeing enterprise applications.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, two Master’s degrees (Computer Science and Information Systems Strategic Leadership), and a Master’s certification from Villanova in Information Technology Project Management. Kevin is a Project Management Institute certified Project Management Professional and holds a Lean Six Sigma certification from Dartmouth College. Kevin is currently in the dissertation phase of a Doctorate of Technology.

Kevin is a past board member of the Alamo Federal Executive Board and a recipient of Civilian Supervisor of the Year as for the United States Air Force. Additionally, Kevin has taught classes as an Adjunct Professor at DeVry University, Palo Alto Community College, Southeast Oklahoma State and an Associate Professor at Grayson College.

Director, IT Operations

Ernesto Couso joined the FCE family in 2015 bringing 17 years of experience creating strategic solutions related to infrastructure, wireless communications, PC systems, local networks and mobile environments. He excels at interacting with the Information Technology Staff, project managers, engineers and network administrators to align technical goals. Offering a diverse background with knowledge of various technology disciplines including network engineering and administration, systems administration, engineering, datacenter management, and technology consulting.

Before joining FCE, Ernesto earned his Bachelor degree in Computer Engineering and a Master in Science and Innovation Management in Havana, Cuba. He went on to manage multiple datacenters in Latin America serving thousands of end users, and then became Chief Technology Officer of NetPC, responsible for the management of 15 data centers covering a national infrastructure over fiber, copper, wireless, and satellite links. Ernesto has earned multiple industry accolades including Certified Ethical Hacker, Cisco Certified Network Professional, as well as certifications for administration of Linux systems and Amazon Web Services. He is a member of the Hispano-American Linux Association, Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and Internet Society (ISOC).