Karen English is Alera Group’s National Absence Management Practice Leader. She has over 25 years of experience in the absence, disability, absence, PFML, and workers’ compensation market with an emphasis on product design, benchmarking best practices, and process improvement. Karen is currently the lead consultant for the State of New Hampshire’s PFML program and was the lead consultant for the Maryland Study of the FAMLI Program and Hawaii’s PFML Impact Study in accordance with Act 109, Session Laws of Hawaii. She is also the lead consultant for our work with the DMEC, developing educational content for state and federal leave plans, surveying employers on their practices for leave management, and managing benchmarking for leave and disability plans. Prior to joining Alera Group, she was a founder and Senior Consultant of Spring Consulting Group, led the regional risk & insurance practice for a small consulting firm, held the role of Assistant Risk Manager for one of the nation’s largest banks, and was a casualty broker for two of the world’s largest insurance brokers. Karen has her BBA in Risk Management and Human Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her MBA in Finance from University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management. She has also earned the designations of CPCU, ARM, ACI, and AU and is a licensed insurance broker.