Meet Our Team
Encompassing an industry leading board of advisory experts, we have a team dedicated to ensuring that your benefit plans deliver tremendous value while exceeding customer service expectations.
We formed BenefitsDNA knowing that employers and their members deserved more for less. Our practice is different because we are different.
We’ve assembled a team of talented healthcare professionals, actuaries, HR directors, project managers, and account managers
Justin Leader
Justin Leader’s career began at Novartis Pharmaceutical in 2008, transitioning to Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor in 2010, specializing in executive wealth, employer 401K and benefits plans. By 2011, Justin was recruited as VP of Business Development at Special Risk Insurance Services, consulting for many notable fortune 500 clients.
In 2014, he established BenefitsDNA, an objective, independent health and welfare benefit plan consulting firm providing compliance oversight, actuarial services, cost mitigation strategies, and traditional broker services to Group Health Plan Sponsors. As a Certified Health Rosetta Chartered Advisor (8th advisor to join nationally), he’s acknowledged for contributing to healthcare solutions in the U.S. both in policy as well as practice and is an avid supporter of Patient Rights Advocate.
In 2016 Benefit Design Specialists hired Justin, growing their business as well as launching the Keep Its Simple Surgery Card (KISx Card) which reached national recognition, both in clientele as well as the Trump Administration. The examples set forth in their work, helped shepherd the Hospital Transparency laws into enactment.
In 2020, Justin co-founded Highlight Health as Chief Growth Officer, aiming to make healthcare accessible for insured and underinsured populations leveraging regulations and rules meant to protect healthcare consumers (TIC, NSA, 501r, etc.).
As a mission driven leader, he and his team are most passionate about fixing healthcare one client, one member and one partnership at a time. Having trademarked We Fix Your Healthcare™ their mission is one that his team takes seriously.
Justin Leader, a Bedford, Pennsylvania native, holds a Biology Pre-Medicine degree from California University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Exercise Science from the same institution, graduating with high honors. His dedication extends to servant leadership, volunteering in the local community including serving on the PA State Council of SHRM since 2016. Justin also is an avid public speaker and owner of Leaders Never Quit where he dedicates his time to inspiring others with a message of hope, humor and resilience. He resides in Elizabethtown with his wife, Kim, and two boys, Cullin and Henry.
Our team and company are focusing on driving proven solutions for our clients.
Marissa Murray
With 19 plus years of professional experience in the healthcare industry, Marissa has a broad perspective having worked clinically as a Registered Dental Hygienist for many years then she transitioned on to working for a large national insurance carrier. Marissa specializes in self-funded, complex, employer groups where she develops strategic benefit solutions and approaches for her clients. She is passionate in thinking outside the box in providing cost containment strategies, wellness programs and improving overall health. Marissa believes that education is paramount and essential to navigating the opaque nature of cost and quality in healthcare. She is attentive to advising her clients to develop a benefits strategy that is individualized and customized to meet the needs of the employer group but also mitigate costs.
Marissa holds a M.B.A. from Eastern University and a Bachelor of Science from Pennsylvania State University and an Associate’s in Dental Hygiene from Pennsylvania State University. She is licensed as a Resident Producer for Accident and Health, Life and Fixed Annuities. She is also active in many industry associations, business chambers, her children’s sports board association and serves on the Central Pennsylvania National Association of Health Underwriters as their Vice President. Outside work Marissa enjoys being with her husband Aaron and their four children Brodie, Ryland, Brielle and Rowan. If she is not working, you can find her cheering on her children, volunteering and soaking up every minute of being Mom.
Paula Segal
Paula Segal is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Human Resources from Jefferson University and a Master of Health Administration from St. Joseph’s University. With over two decades of experience in healthcare benefits and point solutions, Paula has demonstrated skill in diverse areas such as employee assistance programs, advocacy, corporate wellness, medical tourism, direct contracting, and cost containment.
During her tenure at Health Advocate, her abilities were recognized when the Director of Operations selected her to work together in the creation and daily management of its quality assurance program. Later, she was chosen by senior leadership to play a pivotal role in the development and management of Health Advocate’s first dedicated benefits’ service center, tasked with supporting over 70,000 benefit eligible members of a Fortune 500 healthcare organization.
Paula’s career trajectory continued at PriceMDs, where her strong work ethic, inquisitive nature, and commitment to learning propelled her from an Account Executive to Chief Client Officer in less than three years. She takes pride in her collaborative efforts with diverse clients, including school districts, labor unions, and a multi-national grocery store, helping them achieve significant reductions in healthcare costs. Additionally, Paula fostered a strategic partnership with a Healthcare and FinTech organization enhancing PriceMDs’ product suite, boosting case management service and efficiency, and driving substantial client and revenue growth while markedly reducing pharmacy spend.
Before joining BenefitsDNA, Paula served as the VP of Operations at Highlight Health. This is where her interest in healthcare rules and regulations was ignited thanks to the inspiring legal minds she and her team learned from and collaborated with to deliver savings on high-cost medical claims exceeding $10 million. This experience shed light on the fraud, waste, and abuse in our healthcare system and fuels Paula’s commitment to combating these issues for employers and patients.
Paula serves on the board of a Philadelphia community mental health center. She values humor, humility, continuous learning and growth, and kindness. In her spare time, you might find her playing tennis, woodworking, reading, or connecting with family and friends.
Kristen Miele
Kristen Miele graduated from the University of Michigan in May 2019 with a degree in Actuarial Mathematics and Statistics and a minor in Business. Driven by her passions for helping others and solving problems, she found her path to consulting. During her time at Michigan, she interned at Willis Towers Watson in the retirement practice, and then after graduation, she started at Aon full-time as a Health Solutions actuary. After spending the last 2.5 years at Aon, she joined the BenefitsDNA team, excited to continue making an impact in healthcare.
At Aon she gained experience in the healthcare industry, working mainly on accounts for large employers. Her role included the evaluation of plan design components, budget development, and the reserving of liabilities, looking for opportunities to improve benefits while maintaining costs. She believes that by developing solutions for benefits through an analytics lens, she can create more effective results that will help reform issues in healthcare.
Looking to continue growing in her career, she comes over to the BenefitsDNA team, eager to expand upon their initiative to provide value to their clients through data-driven results.
We are built on a foundation of communication, transparency, and integrity, delivering quality and lower costs with appropriately aligned incentives.
Max Milano
Max Milano graduated from Villanova University in May 2021 with a degree in Finance and minors in Business Law and Management Information Systems. To add to his eclectic college experience, he found that he had a passion for consulting, specifically helping companies solve big-picture problems using innovative ideas. Max had two experiences during his undergraduate studies working with local businesses in a strategy consulting capacity through the Villanova School of Business. These opportunities led Max to continue down the consulting path to eventually end up with our team today.
Following graduation, Max worked a ten-week internship with BenefitsDNA over the summer and subsequently joined the team full-time in the Philadelphia office. Max is eternally curious, always looking to further understand ways in which he can provide value and continue providing top-notch service to our clients. As Max continues to grow with the company and learn the industry, he hopes to effectively manage clients while working towards disrupting the current status quo in healthcare.
Outside of the office, Max is an avid Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Dolphins fan (it doesn’t make sense to us either). He is a proud sneakerhead and continues to add pairs to his current collection frequently. Max loves to travel and is always looking for new places around the globe to visit one day.
Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith is a seasoned business development consultant with BenefitsDNA located in West Hartford Connecticut. With a robust background in the insurance industry, Jeff has built a reputation as an experienced employee benefit specialist by working collaboratively with both his team and clients by listening closely to the concerns and challenges the clients have.Jeff has industry experience with the Casino and entertainment space. The casino group had over 15 locations in the United States. He also helped design and implement a technology solution for Brooks Brothers in order to improve employee communication and benefit engagement.
Before joining BenefitsDNA, Jeff started his Insurance career with the old New England mutual insurance company in West Hartford, Connecticut. Over the last 25 years he has maintained that relationship with his customers as New England transitioned to Met life and eventually Massachusetts mutual life insurance
Jeff served as Co- founder and CEO of Compass Total benefits solutions for over a decade. Compass was founded as a result of the Affordable Care Act being established. His team was tasked to put together various insurance programs for the American healthcare association AHCA and national centers of assisted living facilities NCAL, Jeff sold his interest in 2022. During his time he traveled through out the country assisting many nursing home owners and their facilities.
Jeff holds a bachelors degree in international business from Ohio Wesley University, Further enriching strategic approach to business development.
The BenefitsDNA brand is in my humble opinion a group I want to assist with their mission. I look forward to helping Justin and his team continue to build the brand with the relationships I have over my 35 years in the insurance industry.
Real value exists in educating and advocating for our clients and their members.
Advisory Board
Mike Miele
Mike is a health care actuary with significant experience in all aspects of employer health and welfare benefits with a specialty in PBM audit and procurement, provider capitation, data analytics, and medical management.
Mike held many senior leadership positions during the last 12 years at Arthur J. Gallagher including the formation of the National Pharmacy Practice. Prior to joining Gallagher, Mike was the founder of PatientCentrix in 1995. PatientCentrix was a medical management and data management provider which was sold to SHPS Healthcare in 2004.
Mike is one of the founders of predictive modeling as it applies to health care medical management and health insurance underwriting. Helping self-funded employers radically reduce Medical and Pharmacy costs to optimize human capital investments, Mike continues to change healthcare advising and leading companies to do just that.
Julie Selesnick
Julie Selesnick has been practicing law since 2001, and has over twenty years of experience in complex dispute resolution forums representing plaintiffs and defendants. Julie has a wide variety of litigation, arbitration and mediation experience, including first chair jury and bench trial experience, representing some of the largest companies in the US as well as small companies, labor unions, individuals and classes of plaintiffs.
Julie’s current practice is a mix of class litigation on behalf of individuals, union funds, and employers, and a legal consulting practice on behalf of self-funded health plans and service providers to health plans related to ERISA and CAA compliance, including negotiating service provider contracts and BAA agreements, helping health plans gain access to their own participant claims data and helping service providers draft and plan fiduciaries obtain 408(b)(2)(B) compensation disclosures & conduct MHPAEA Comparative Analysis reports.