Speaker Bios

Chris is a Regional Claim Manager for the Risk and Claims section of the Enterprise Risk Management department at Providence Health & Services.  Chris has a degree in paralegal studies and was a paralegal prior to her work in insurance and claims working in the area of medical malpractice.  For the past twenty five years she has handled hospital and physician professional liability claims on a multistate basis as a primary claim handler and in supervisory capacities.  Currently at Providence she handles professional liability claims in Alaska, Montana and Washington, and is responsible for Directors and Officers (D&O) and Fiduciary claims system wide.  Chris is also a Green Belt and has mediation training through Pepperdine University and the Dispute Resolution Center of King County in Washington state.

Lori Brassell-Cicchini has more than 30 years of industry experience and is responsible for the promotion, development, and service of catastrophe services and crisis management services. She also manages ESIS’ national catastrophe management center in Wilmington, Delaware, which provides third-party emergency response services to clients in the petrochemical, transportation, utility, and product manufacturing industries. Lori assists clients in their preparation of emergency response plans to address their company image, regulatory compliance, and financial concerns in the event of a catastrophic occurrence.

Lori holds a bachelor of science degree in political science and criminal justice from Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Michigan. She also holds both a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and an Associate of Risk Management (ARM) designation.

Patrick Clabby is Vice President in Chubb’s Financial Lines division, where he is the East Coast Zonal for the Professional Liability and Cyber Liability Group. In this capacity, he is responsible for the growth, underwriting and marketing strategies for the Northeast, Midatlantic, New York and Southeast regions. Prior to ACE’s acquisition of Chubb, Mr. Clabby managed the Professional Liability and Cyber Liability offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles for ACE USA. Mr. Clabby has ten years of experience in the insurance arena, specifically in underwriting professional liability and cyber risk exposures

Mr. Clabby is a graduate of The University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Communication.

Steve Crandall, J.D. is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association, past president of the Washington Court Reporter’s Association, and is a member of the Green River Community College court reporting and captioning program’s Program Advisory Committee.  Mr. Crandall holds the Certified Legal Video Specialist certification (CLVS) from the NCRA and serves on the NCRA CLVS Council which establishes standards and oversees testing requirements for legal videographers.  Mr. Crandall is a Trial Director certified trainer, and holds the Certified Multimedia Expert (CME) designation.
 

Grace Crickette, ARM, CGEIT, CCEP-I, CCSA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, is passionate about creating innovative programs that elevate the reputation of the organization, provide a positive employee experience, and result in lasting change and sustainable savings. She is an accomplished Administrator and Financial Executive, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Captive Insurance Officer, with an exceptional record of success in leading institutional strategic business planning, finance and budgeting, administration and operations management, investment and business growth, large scale information technology implementations, and governance and risk management for a variety of industries, ranging from not-for-profit to Fortune 500, and domestic and foreign operations, and the #1 and #2 largest Public Universities and Health Systems in the United States.
 
Throughout her career, Grace has leveraged information technology to bring about transformation.  She has built systems from the ground up and leveraged the power of information to bring about change by optimizing existing data systems.  As a risk professional, she has also had to address the downside of information technology with the creation of breach response frameworks, a Security Enterprise Risk Management Program (SERMP), and innovative insurance programs and products.  Grace is Certified in the Governance of Enterprise Information Technology.

Carl Forsberg is a Shareholder with Forsberg & Umlauf, P.S.  His defense litigation practice emphasizes personal injury, general liability, analysis of first and third-party coverage issues and the defense of alleged insurance bad faith matters.  Carl obtained his undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University and his law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law.  Carl enjoys teaching and regularly participates as an instructor for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, trial practice and deposition skills training seminars, also as an adjunct professor teaching trial practice at the University of Washington School of Law.  In 2011, Carl was invited to teach trial advocacy skills with Justice Advocacy Africa, in Nairobi, at the Kenya School of Law.
Over the past decade, Carl has served on the King County Bar Association’s Judicial Screening, Judicial Conference and Judicial Selection Committees.  Carl is the current Chair of KCBA’s Judicial Evaluation Committee.  He has been AV Preeminent Rated for the past 20 years, has been named to Washington’s “Super Lawyer’s” list the past 14 years and to Washington’s “Top 100” list in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014.  In 2010, Carl received recognition as the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers, Defense Attorney of the Year, and he recently received KBCA’s 2013 Outstanding Lawyer award.

Rima Ghandour is the principal of Ghandour Law, a full-service law firm in Portland, Oregon.  Rima, a Lebanese-American, has practiced in construction defect, insurance defense, commercial and business litigation, and related areas for 15 years.  After working with boutique construction defect firms in California and Oregon and as in-house counsel with Safeco, Rima opened Ghandour Law in 2013.  She earned a B.A. in International Relations from Colgate University in 1994 and a J.D. from the University of San Diego in 1998.  She is admitted to practice in Oregon, California, Washington, and Idaho.  Rima is a on the executive committee of the Owen Panner Inn of Court.  Rima is past president of the Queen's Bench, the Multnomah chapter of the Oregon Women Lawyers Networking Committee and past president of the Multnomah Bar Association. Rima is also active in the community, and is a co-founder of the Arab American Cultural Center of Oregon and current board member.  Rima is also a board member of the Oregon Law Foundation.  In her spare time, Rima enjoys skiing, travel and the outdoors. 

Detta Hanson has 30+ years experience in the Claims and Litigation Management field, including Branch Manager, Unit Manager, Supervisor and Field Claims Adjuster with Crawford & Company Insurance Adjusters prior to joining Weyerhaeuser as Liability Claims Manager in 1998.

Jennifer Hills has been the King County Risk Manager since 2003.  King County, which includes Metro Transit, is the 14^th largest county in the nation with a population of 1.9 million and 14,000 employees.  Jennifer manages a staff of 21 in the areas of claims, loss control, risk finance and insurance & contracts.  King County provides law enforcement, 3 correctional facilities, public health services, 4 wastewater treatment plants, and criminal justice through the courts, prosecuting attorney’s office and public defenders.  King County also operates the regional bus service.  King County Metro Transit presents challenging exposures with 120 million annual passenger boardings on over 1500 buses as well as a Van Pool program with a ridership of 3 million and 1,200 vans.   
 
Prior to joining King County, Jennifer worked for the Washington Cities Insurance Authority, a municipal insurance pool providing insurance and risk management services to over 100 cities in Washington.  Before that she worked as a loss control consultant for the Cigna insurance company.
 
Jennifer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington. She is active in several industry groups and is the Past President of the Washington Chapter of the Public Risk Management Association. 
 

Ms. Kalzer practices professional liability, employment and education law with an emphasis on defending complex litigation for communities of faith, non-profits, schools, health care providers and other private employers.  She is a respected and popular instructor for CLM in claims evaluation and ethics.Ms. Kalzer has handled and successfully resolved over 300 claims of employee misconduct by combining tough incisive legal tactics with an empathetic litigation approach and compassionate communication skills. Her practice requires targeted experience in areas of privacy rights, Constitutional issues, mental health, and human development.Additionally, she has tried professional liability, medical malpractice and employment discrimination cases to verdict in District Court and Superior Court and engaged in oral argument in Divisions I and II of the Washington State Court of Appeals and the Washington State Supreme Court. She has practiced in both State and Federal Court. She is experienced in managing complex multi-plaintiff litigation and bringing the matter to a successful and cost efficient conclusion.EducationSeattle University School of Law, Juris Doctor, cum laude, 1995 Top 10% of her classGonzaga University, Master of Arts, Organizational Leadership, expected 2013Universite de Poitiers (France), Certificat des EtudesUniversity of Oregon, Bachelor of Arts, English and Political Science, 1984AdmissionsUnited States Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the State of OregonSupreme Court of the State of WashingtonUnited States District Court for the Western District of WashingtonUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Nicole is licensed in Oregon and Washington, and has been a litigator her entire career. She has tried and arbitrated numerous cases in Oregon and Washington ranging in value from a few thousand dollars to in excess of twenty million dollars. Among her areas of expertise, Nicole has extensive experience handling cases involving sex abuse, employment, professional liability,
liquor liability, and medical malpractice. She is a regular speaker and educator on various topics. Nicole has served on two non-profit boards and is currently President of CLM Oregon. Nicole is AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

Recent Examples of Cases by Practice Area

Employment
Dismissal of employment claim: Sexual orientation discrimination
Motion for summary judgment granted: Age discrimination
Dismissal of employment claims: Race discrimination/sexual harassment/whistleblowing/retaliation
Dismissal of claims: Intentional interference with economic relations/"aiding and abetting"/
retaliation for taking leave protected by the Oregon Family Leave Act

Liquor Liability/Professional Liability/Product Liability
Affirmance in Oregon Supreme Court on liquor liability claims
Dismissal: $8 million personal injury/negligence case
Motion for summary judgment granted: $10 million liquor liability case
Spoliation of evidence sanction against plaintiff in products liability case leads to nuisance value settlement
Punitive damages motion for summary judgment granted

Sex Abuse/Vulnerable Person Claims
Dismissal: $1 million sex abuse/negligence case
Six-week sex abuse trial: Insured found only 15 percent liable and no punitive damages awarded
Motion for summary judgment granted: Abuse of vulnerable person claims/negligent supervision
and retention
Abuse of vulnerable person claim: Defense analysis lead to no contribution being offered toward
settlement by carrier and no suit filed against insured

Medical Malpractice/Medical Intensive Cases
Week-long trial of neck injury/surgery case results in verdict over $900,000 less than plaintiff's last demand
Dismissal: Department of Health complaint against therapist
Dismissal: Nursing board complaint
Dismissal: $2.5 million medical malpractice/wrongful death case
Defense verdict: Brain injury/personal injury claim
Dismissal: Department of Health complaint against physician
Medical malpractice/wrongful death claims: Dismissed on motion for summary judgment
Dismissal: Department of Health complaint against physician

Whitney Smith is the managing partner of Wilson Smith Cochran Dickerson.  His practice focuses on product liability, construction defect litigation, complex personal injury and commercial litigation.  In the construction arena, Mr. Smith has represented developers, construction managers, general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and manufacturers.  Mr. Smith is licensed to practice in the state and federal courts of Washington.  He has successfully tried cases before juries in both federal and state courts, has arbitrated cases, and has served as an arbitrator.  Mr. Smith is AV rated by Martindale Hubbell and is a multiple recipient of the Washington Law & Politics Super Lawyer designation.
 

Education
•University of Oregon – J.D., 1991
•University of Washington – B.A. in Economics and Political Science, 1987

Bar Admissions
•Washington State Bar Association
•US District Court, Eastern and Western Districts of Washington
 

Shari Spung, CPCU, MPA - Executive Director, Risk, Claims & Insurance for Mercy Health,  one of the top five large U.S. health systems with more than 40 acute care and specialty hospitals, 800 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 44,000 coworkers, and 2100 clinic physicians in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Illinois.  Prior to joining Mercy, Shari was the Director of Claims for the University of Washington's Compliance & Risk Services department where she oversaw all claims and tort litigation in its self insured program.  These included professional liability for its healthcare operations, general, auto, and employment liability, cyber, and environmental claims.  Shari also oversaw the workers' compensation program for the Unversity's 45,000 employees, including claims management and the return-to-work program.  Shari joined the University of Washington in 2003 after spending 19 years at Safeco Insurance Company, where she served in various claims leadership roles in Atlanta, Nashville, Dallas, and their Home Office in Seattle.  Shari’s claims expertise is in casualty lines, having served in several national directorship roles in Safeco’s Home Office over casualty claims. Shari graduated from the Ohio State University with a degree in Business Administration in 1982 and later obtained her Masters Degree in Public Administration in 2005 from the Evans School at the University of Washington while serving in her current position.  Shari got her CPCU in 1995 and has been actively involved in CPCU chapter leadership, including service as a Past President of the Pacific Northwest Chapter.  She has also served in as President of the Washington RIMS Chapter.  Shari is a CLM member and a member of ASHRM (the American Society of Healthcare Risk Managers).

Tom Underbrink has served in the property and casualty insurance industry in litigation and claims management or corporate law positions at both regional and national insurers for almost 30 years.  For the past 11 years he has been the Director of Litigation at Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Company.  He attended USC law school and is an active member of the Colorado Bar Association.  He holds insurance professional designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant.  Tom currently provides oversight for a broad range of tort, contract, extra-contractual and appellate litigation arising from both personal lines and commercial lines insurance for Mutual of Enumclaw and Enumclaw Property and Casualty Insurance doing business in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona.
 

Kris Whitters is a Claims Practice advocate and the HealthCare Practice National Team Leader in Marsh’s Seattle office. Her job responsibilities include directing, designing, coordination, and management of individual claims or entire claims programs, with principal emphasis on clients with significant retentions. She also provides technical claims and risk management expertise for claims coverage analysis. 
During her career of over 39 years, Kris has provided services to a variety of industries including health care, agribusiness, manufacturing, governments, petrochemical, telecommunications, and utilities. She has worked as a liability claims specialist, with emphasis in the areas of litigation management and professional liability. She began her career in 1974, in the area of health care benefits administration. Prior to joining Marsh, she was the brokerage claims manager for Sedgwick James Seattle office.

Mr. Woods focuses his practice in the areas of civil litigation, including personal injury, product liability, premises liability, transportation, construction defect, and appeals. Dennis also serves as an arbitrator for King County, Snohomish County and Pierce County Superior Courts.

Mr. Woods is licensed to practice in the state of Washington and Oregon. He is also licensed to practice in Federal Court, in both Washington and Oregon and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Woods has successfully tried cases in both State and Federal Court, involving personal injury, wrongful death, product liability, property rights and discrimination. He also is an experienced appellate lawyer, having successfully argued cases in both state and federal court. Dennis has been repeatedly recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by Washington Law & Politics magazine.

Mr. Woods has frequently spoken nationally and internationally to various insurers, businesses, trade groups and professional associations on a variety of topics including procedural defenses available to foreign defendants, construction defect litigation, employment law, premises liability, product defect, damages, coverage, cyber liability and resolution of liens. Dennis was a featured speaker at the Washington Defense Trial Lawyers first annual Construction Defect Academy where he spoke about trial tactics concerning expert depositions, cross-examination and related motion practice.

Mr. Woods received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History/American literature from Miami University, Ohio in 1995. In 1998, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Denver where he also was a member of the Law Review.