Patrice is a managing director at CBIZ, co-leads CBIZ’s national ESOP practice and sits on CBIZ’s Fairness Opinion Committee.  Patrice specializes in advising shareholders of middle-market companies on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) transactions, fairness opinions and other consulting advisory services. In addition, Patrice has been instrumental in leading per previous firm’s (Marcum LLP) national ESOP practice. Patrice is on the Valuation Advisory Committee for the ESOP Association, speaks on various topics at national ESOP conferences and regularly publishes for both internal company-wide ESOP newsletters and outside publications.  Patrice also started her career working with construction companies as a surety underwriter in New York City. 

Wilson Denari is a Manager in the Valuation group. He has performed valuations of business interests for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, employee stock ownership plans, gift & estate tax, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder buy-sell agreements, and healthcare transactions. Wilson primarily specializes in completing valuations for buy and sell-side ESOP transactions as well as annual valuation updates to ESOP trustees with existing ESOP clients. 

Prior to his current role, Mr. Denari performed valuations for the purposes listed above, in addition to financial due diligence services for buy and sell-side third party transactions, at a regional accounting and advisory firm located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Prior to appraising privately held businesses, Wilson served as an investment accounting supervisor for a global provider of investment processing, management, and operations solutions in Indianapolis. He also has experience providing assurance services in the financial services sector for a Big Four accounting firm in Indianapolis. 

Mr. Denari’s industry experience includes transportation services, professional services, construction, manufacturing, distribution, machinery/equipment repair and maintenance, market research services, and energy solutions providers. 

Ben is a Principal U.S. Economist with the Hartford’s Global Insights Center, where he focuses on macroeconomic and sectoral trends.

He covers topics that shape the business landscape, including inflation, the job market, interest rates, and construction activity.

Ben has almost two decades of professional experience across the corporate, consulting, and government sectors.

Before joining The Hartford, Ben was an economist at Visa where he covered trends in consumer spending, interest rates, and the credit card and banking sectors. He advised board members and executives and was a frequent speaker at client events.

Ben also held positions at the Bureau of Labor Statistics where he focused on long-term job market forecasting, and at a boutique consulting firm that analyzed the California economy.

Jerry Brodsky is a partner and director of Peckar & Abramson’s Latin American practice. Jerry is trilingual (English/Spanish/Portuguese) and is certified by the Florida Bar as a Construction Law Specialist. Many of Jerry’s matters involve multi-cultural domestic or cross-border transactions and disputes. His practice includes the representation of international and domestic general contractors, construction managers, sureties and other construction professionals in the United States and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, in the preparation of contract documents, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and litigation of construction contract claims, construction and design defect claims, insurance claims, surety bond claims and related matters.

Jerry’s practice and experience includes mega-projects for transportation and other infrastructures, as well as industrial, commercial and residential engineering and construction projects. Jerry also  provides training services and counseling to domestic and international clients in the areas of contract negotiation, compliance and legal project administration/risk management. In 2021, he completed FIDIC Certified Course Module 2: Claims and Disputes Resolution. Jerry represents and has served as project counsel during the procurement, negotiation, implementation, administration and post-completion phases of mega-projects, using both traditional and project finance/ public-private partnership delivery models.

Jerry also serves as referee and dispute board member in international disputes involving construction of infrastructure projects in Central America and has been engaged to develop, implement and administer a program of dispute boards for world sporting events in Brazil.
Jerry is admitted to practice in the State of Florida and the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Florida. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Dade County Bar, and serves as Chair of the International Division of the Forum on Construction of the American Bar Association and Secretary of Region 4 - Latin America of the Dispute Resolution Board Foundation. He received his bachelor of science in industrial engineering from Lehigh University and his law degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Miami.

Roberto Hernandez-Garcia is an accomplished International Construction Lawyer ad the Managing Partner of COMAD, a prominent construction law firm based in Mexico City. With extensive experience advising major players in the infrastructure industry across Mexico, Central, and Latin America, Roberto has earned a reputation in his field. He specializes in FIDIC contracts and is certified by FIDIC as a Dispute Board, Trainer, and Procurement Specialist through rigorous examinations. His expertise has made him a trusted advisor and a highly sought-after professional in the construction law arena.

Greg Veal is a Partner at Bovis, Kyle, Burch & Medlin and is a member of the firm’s Fidelity, Surety, and Construction group with related experience going back to 1982. He has been with the firm since 1993, but he has first-hand experience in both a smaller, boutique construction partnership as well as a 200-lawyer firm. His career began during the time when fidelity and surety claims alike were handled by the same company representatives, and he continues to work in both areas today.  He was born in Augusta, Georgia, has practiced in the Atlanta area for over 40 years, and currently lives in Peachtree Corners with his wife of over 30 years.

Greg has written and spoken often for groups interested in fidelity, surety, and construction law topics, including the Fidelity & Surety Law Committee (FSLC) of the Tort, Trial & Insurance Practice Section of the ABA (TIPS), the State Bar of Georgia’s Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE), the Surety Claims Institute, and most frequently at conferences of the Southern Surety & Fidelity Claims Association (SSFCA).

Rudy Dominguez is the Senior Vice President of Claims. In his role he oversees the Claims Department at Old Republic Surety. Under his leadership, the department is dedicated to resolving all claims with the highest level of professionalism and expertise.

Dana Thompson is the Washington Representative for Women Construction Owner's and Executives.

"JB" is Vice President with Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies specializing in government affairs with 19 years in advocacy, policy, and strategic initiatives. He began working in the Federal policy arena in October 2001 as an aide to a U.S. Senator. In 2005, JB was hired by John M. Palatiello & Associates, a public affairs consulting firm which merged with Miller/Wenhold in 2018. He is the registered federal lobbyist for the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) and was the first Government Affairs Manager for MAPPS. JB is also the lead staffer for the Council on Federal Procurement of Architectural and Engineering Services (COFPAES) since 2005, the Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC) since 2009, the Digital Coast Partnership and Advocacy Coalition since 2012, the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) Coalition since 2014, and the Coalition for the White House Conference on Small Business (WHCSB) since 2015. JB now lobbies for the Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) Association, the U.S. Geospatial Executives Organization (USGEO), and the Geospatial Equipment & Technology Institute (GETI).

Mike Oscar is the Government Relations Director at the American Subcontractors Association (ASA). 

Mr. Howard is the Director of the Federal and Heavy Construction Division at the Associated General Contractors of America in Washington, D.C. He received his J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and earned his B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) in English and Political Science from Texas Tech University. He is licensed to practice law in the state of Maryland.  

Larry is Director of Government Relations at the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) where he assumed that role in January 2010. Prior to joining NASBP, Larry has advocated for policy interests on behalf of trade and professional associations for over 25 years at both the state and federal level, which includes the American Tort Reform Association, the American Institute of CPAs and the North American Securities Administrators Association. 

In his role as Director of Government Relations at NASBP, Larry is the chief lobbyist for the association on Capitol Hill representing its interest on issues such as the SBA Bond Guarantee Program, preserving the Federal Miller Act, and educating and engaging members of Congress and their staff concerning the importance of the surety bond product.

Larry received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine and his Masters Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  Larry, his wife Barb, and their Welsh Corgi Jack, live in Potomac, MD.  

Based in Houston, Pat is Sompo Surety’s U.S. National Underwriting Officer.  This role encompasses portfolio management and credit modelling responsibilities for the U.S. Surety book, reinsurance placement activities, and other facets of surety executive leadership. Pat brings 15+ years industry experience to Sompo and its broker partners.  This experience includes underwriting and broking a variety of companies within the Fortune 2000 and private company equivalents, energy risks, and all facets of the surety life cycle including complex credit analysis, mergers and acquisitions, private equity involvement, collateral structures, and claims management. 

Prior to Sompo, Pat worked to build JLT Specialty’s surety brokerage practice in the United States with an emphasis in Energy as JLT’s Energy Surety Practice Leader.  Upon Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.’s acquisition of JLT, Pat became a Senior Vice President in Marsh JLT’s Surety Practice.  Prior to Marsh JLT, Pat worked at RLI Insurance Company in RLI’s Surety Group.  

Pat earned a B.B.A. in Finance and a B.B.A. in Economics from Loyola University of Chicago. He also holds the Associate in Fidelity and Surety Bonding (AFSB) certification.  Pat serves on the Houston Advisory Board for Heroes for Children, an organization that advocates for and provides financial assistance to families with children battling cancer.

John is responsible for servicing and consulting on the surety bonds for clients handled by CAC Specialty Natural Resources.

John specializes in oil and gas surety. Originally a surety underwriter, John started his career with Argo Surety before joining Wortham in 2015. In 2017 he was recognized as a top young broker by Insurance Business Magazine primarily for his extensive research and knowledge of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regulations which enabled him to specifically target clients with offshore surety bond needs, limiting risk and countless hours of guesswork. Later, he helped develop and implement the use of the Dual Obligee Bond in the Gulf of Mexico for both BOEM and private obligations. He has a deep knowledge of all aspects of the energy market and their surety needs. Later this year, he will be speaking at NASBP on the State of the Union for Oil and Gas Surety.  Outside of energy, John has a strong grasp of contract surety and all forms of commercial surety.

John has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance with a specialization in Alternative Investments from Fordham University. He graduated with honors and was on the Varsity football team. He is a member of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP) as well as the Houston Surety Association.

Jason joined the Applied team in Jul’23 as the Energy Practice Leader, where he leverages his extensive expertise in risk management and underwriting to lead the company's energy sector initiatives. With a career spanning over two decades, Jason has built a reputation as a strategic leader with deep insights into the complexities of the energy industry. Before joining Applied, Jason served as the Chief Risk Officer at Berkley Surety, where he was responsible for overseeing the company’s risk management framework, while ensuring underwriting best practices, and driving sustainable profitability. His tenure at Berkley Surety was marked by his ability to navigate the volatile landscape of surety and risk, earning him recognition as a key player in the industry. Prior to his role at Berkley, Jason honed his expertise in the energy sector as an Oil & Gas Underwriter at RLI. His hands-on experience in underwriting within this specialized field provided him with the knowledge and acumen necessary to assess and mitigate the unique risks associated with energy operations. Jason holds an MBA from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from the University of Denver and served five years as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces.