Advisory Board

Michael holds over 42 years of insurance industry experience, beginning his career in 1982. He is trained in all lines of claim investigation with a focus on both commercial and personal lines claims.He held various positions including Field Investigator, Claim Supervisor, Assistant Claim Managerand Regional Claim Manager. He became the Operations Manager for an independent consultingfirm in 1993. He spent the next 20 years as the Vice President of Claims at the A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Companies. He is considered an expert in the area of workers’ compensation claim
handling, and is a frequent speaker on the worker’s compensation claim process.

Michael holds both an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and an Associate in Claims (AIC) designation from the Insurance Institute of America. He has been an instructor at the Insurance Library Association of Boston for over sixteen years. He is a former member of the Workers’ Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau (WCRIB) Claim Committee, as well as the Board of Governors of the Insurance Fraud Bureau of Massachusetts. In 2015, the Governor of Massachusetts appointed him to be the Insurance Industry Representative on the Workers Compensation Advisory Council at the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents. He has dedicated his career to improving the workers compensation system and reducing the impact of
claims on both the employer and employee community.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Merrimack College where he majored in accounting.

Phyllis’ work experience includes 10 years as the senior Administrative Law Judge for the Vermont Department of Labor’s Workers’ Compensation and Safety Division, a stint as co- owner of a Vermont-based workers’ compensation insurance company, and some years as a partner in a Burlington law firm. Currently she maintains her own mediation practice, helping to resolve disputes across a wide range of both legal, personal, and employment-related disputes. She is a Fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers and a Diplomat of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals.

Phyllis has two grown children, both of whom are now pursuing their own life journeys. She has been touched on a deeply personal level by substance use disorder and is passionate about reducing stigma and exploring more holistic ways to address this disease. She was a member of the Vermont Department of Health’s Uniform Pain Management Advisory Council, and currently serves on the board of Jenna’s Promise, a community-based substance use treatment program headquartered in Johnson, Vermont.

Dr. Winters leads a team of board- certified occupational health physicians and other clinicians who provide remote and onsite clinical leadership and consulting for employee and occupational health programs in hospitals, universities, research institutions, biotech, manufacturing, insurers, municipalities and other organizations throughout New England and nationally. Since 1999, Dr. Winters has served as Chief of Occupational Medicine at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston. He is also Medical Director of Employee Health, including animal and research Labs at Dana Farber Cancer Institute and at Boston Children’s Hospital Occupational Health Department and is a member of the Institutional Biosafety Committees at both hospitals. Dr. Winters also provides Medical Director services at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Employee Health Department. Since 2009 He has been Occupational Health Officer of the Boston University Research Occupational Health Program and the National Emerging Infectious Disease Lab (NEIDL), one of the few BSL 4 Labs in the United States. Additionally, Dr. Winters provides Medical Director oversight for Harvard University BSL 2 and 3 Laboratories.

Since 1995, Dr. Winters has been a Visiting Scientist of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Harvard School of Public Health and a Visiting Lecturer at Harvard Medical School. He is a member of the Harvard School of Public Health Residency Advisory Committee.

His areas of interest and expertise include developing and implementing standard operating procedures at hospitals and research facilities, musculo-skeletal disease, toxic tort, radiation exposures, occupational and infectious diseases and corporate medical consulting. He has provided training and published numerous articles in these areas.

Dr. Winters is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and is a Certified Independent Medical Examiner, Medical Disability Manager and Medical Review Officer.

Dr. Winters is devoted physician, who believes strongly in wellness and practices what he preaches by exercising regularly 5-6 times per week, biking to work, hiking, skiing, and basketball. He has also embarked upon his new passion – owning and flying an ultralight craft.