About Us

Our Philosophy -
ERISA's reporting and disclosure rules for health and welfare plans are intended to establish that important balance between the employer and the employee: the employee's rights to know his or her benefits and the employer's rights to rely on a uniform body of Federal law, with all its advantages. Yet, the constantly changing laws in this area can seem daunting for an employer trying to stay in compliance.

ERISA Pros is focused on providing a proactive "Best Practices" system that helps an employer get into compliance and stay there.  To do this we are constantly and rigorously training our staff in this concentrated area. It's our promise to be the best at what we do, period.

Good experience is a great teacher, and our founder, Bernard Kearse, has a great deal of it. He is personally involved in staff training and expects them to love knowing their stuff. His philosophy can be summed up as follows: 

"The Wrap-Tight^sm System is to be the 'gold standard' of compliance. If that's what our clients say about us, then we've done our job."

Bernard V. Kearse, III, JD, LLM
Bernard Kearse founded ERISA Pros to assist employers with the complexities of ERISA reporting and disclosure compliance requirements for health and welfare benefit plans. 
 
Mr. Kearse has focused on ERISA for over twenty-five years and has designed, drafted and reviewed virtually every type of employee benefit plan, representing both public and private companies. His work experience includes acting as Employee Benefits Counsel for a Fortune 200 company, as well as practicing law with two national firms and a boutique corporate merger and acquisition firm before forming his own law firm over fifteen years ago.
 
His health and welfare plan experience includes prior representation of a major insurance company, providing assistance and advice on various ERISA welfare benefit matters, including proper drafting for administrative service only (ASO) agreements for self-funded medical arrangements. He has also been engaged as an expert witness and acted as Employee Benefits Counsel in pension and welfare litigation cases.

Honors/Distinctions -

Education -

Michael Eaton, Vice President of Sales, heads up ERISA Pros' sales and marketing efforts with the objective of establishing strategic partnerships with insurance brokers, benefits consultants, and other professional advisors to provide ERISA Pros' compliance programs as a value added service to their clientele. He is a veteran business development executive with 16 years of experience in mobile communications and ecommerce technology sales. Prior to joining ERISA Pros, Michael was president of Powertrade, Inc., a start up company he built into a multi-million dollar business providing internet based inventory disposition of excess merchandise to Fortune 500 companies such as Home Depot, Pep Boys, and Palm. Most recently, he was an internet sales consultant to The PGA Tour Superstore where he built a high-volume production facility, implemented ecommerce software, and employed interactive advertising strategies to sell large quantities of brand name golf equipment through various internet sales channels. Michael's business and sales acumen has earned him recognition from various companies, including Nextel, Philips, and Intellivoice Communications.

Tim Nantz, Director - Major Accounts, Sales, holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and an MS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University. Tim has held executive positions in sales, marketing, product development, product management, customer support and operations in both large, established (Lucent and Avaya) and small, start-up (Raritan and Integral Access) companies. Prior to joining ERISA Pros, Tim was Director – Business Operations and Planning at Avaya, where he led efforts to simplify the product portfolio and develop processes to enhance new product introduction. Tim's expertise is in understanding a customer's needs and bringing them value added solutions. Tim enjoys traveling, reading, learning web design and digital photography.

Tim Gunter, Director - Major Accounts, Sales, holds a BS in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech. With over 25 years of Senior Human Resources Management experience as well as previously leading group benefits production and account management for a small agency in the Atlanta Area, Tim's background provides him a unique perspective and understanding of the complexity surrounding group benefits compliance issues in real world scenarios. In his spare time, Tim enjoys competing in distance running events, traveling, spending time at the beach with his family and is an avid football fan of his alma mater, the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Andrea Goodman is a Senior Compliance Specialist with ERISA Pros. She graduated magna cum laude from Agnes Scott College in the top 10% of her class with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Organizational Management. Honors societies that she is a member of include Omicron Delta Epsilon for achievement in economics and Mortar Board and Phi Beta Kappa, two national academic honors societies. Andrea enjoys reading, traveling, art, crossword puzzles, and spending time with family and friends. She is also an avid fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

Erica N. Cordova, J.D, Compliance Specialist, graduated from Georgia State University and the University of Florida Levin College of Law. She was a recipient of the Chester H. Ferguson Scholarship, a member of the Dean's List, and received honors in Legal Research and Writing. Prior to joining ERISA Pros, Erica worked as a Senate Intern for the Georgia General Assembly Senate Research Office serving as support to its policy analysts and various senate committees and practiced Employment Law, serving clients with a variety of employment-related disputes, including employment discrimination, employment contracts, and workers' compensation. She is licensed to practice law in Georgia. Erica has a passion for helping others in a variety of settings that include work in public interest, federal government, state legislature/public policy, and customer service. Her personal interests include trivia, cooking, movies, documentaries, and spending time with family and friends.

Piara Rich, J.D., Compliance Specialist, graduated from University of Georgia and the Emory University School of Law. She was a member of the Dean's List, and received the Dean's Award for her performance in her Employment Discrimination Law coursework. Prior to joining ERISA Pros, Piara worked as a Hearings Intern at the U.S. EEOC serving as support to administrative judges in investigations of federal employment discrimination complaints, and completed a judicial internship with the Honorable Brenda Cole of Fulton County State Court. Her personal interests include interior design, art, cooking, and traveling.

Farah Waleed, Compliance Specialist, graduated in May 2012 from Agnes Scott College, with a B.A. in Neuroscience. She served on the Agnes Scott Honor Board during her junior year. In Spring 2011, she presented a paper at the Spring Annual Conference titled "The Perceptions of Time," which analyzed how people perceive time differently when stimulated by audio versus visual cues. She was a recipient of the Agnes Scott Challenge Grant and the Hope Scholarship. Farah played lacrosse while in school and is proficient in German. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family.

Holly Lindamood, a Compliance Specialist focusing on Form 5500 preparation, is a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at Georgia State University. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Morehouse College, where she teaches Comparative Politics and International Relations. Her research interests include nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, civil conflict, democratization, and Middle East politics. She is currently working on her dissertation, examining the methods used by civil society to promote nuclear arms control, with a focus on social media. Holly holds an M.S. in International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004, and a B.A. in Political Science, Augusta State University, 2001. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Daisy Alliance, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to improving global security through nuclear arms control. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing with her three dogs.

Chelsea Perdue, Compliance Specialist, attended Agnes Scott College on music and honors scholarships, graduating magna cum laude. Chelsea majored in Political Science and Music Performance and spent her days practicing and performing on piano and flute with the orchestra, flute choir, and piano ensemble. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Alpha Iota, national honor societies. She served as President of the Class of 2012 for four years and President of the Pre-Law Society, Publius. She acted as a member and President of Honor Court, the highest ranking court of the student-run government deciding on the most influential cases on campus. She served on committees such as the Student Government Association Executive Committee, Judicial Review Board, Honorary Degree Committee, Allocations Committee, President's Council, Constitutional Review Committee, and the Alumnae Executive Board. Chelsea spends her spare time relaxing with family and friends.