As president of Baybenefits, John focuses on designing, implementing and managing benefit strategies for our valued clients. He also assists in developing strategic relationships throughout the California marketplace so that we can better serve our clients. He has been actively involved in the insurance and benefits arena since 1993. Baybenefits clients are well served by John's extensive background in client service, sales and management, both as an employee and entrepreneur. He understands the demands of running a business, which makes him the perfect strategic partner for your business.

John has consistently been recognized as one of the Top 50 Producers by Anthem, Blue Shield and Delta Dental, and is in Kaiser Permanente's Top Producer Group in Northern California. He is a board member and legislative chair for the Golden Gate Association of Health Underwriters. Armed with a degree in business and finance from the University of Arizona, John is pursuing graduate studies in Employee Benefits from the American College. He lives in the Oakland hills with his wife and three children, and loves to relax by playing soccer and golf, working out, reading and traveling.

Mary Ann has been in the insurance industry since 1975. Before joining Baybenefits in 2005, she was Director of Operations for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in San Jose and then San Francisco. In addition to managing a busy office, she provides outstanding customer service to clients and assists our clients with their individual insurance needs: health and Medicare supplemental insurance, life, disability and long-term care. Mary Ann resides in Alamo where she enjoys spending time with her husband and friends. She also loves traveling, swimming, walking, cooking and reading.

Tony comes to Baybenefits with 15 years experience in the telecommunications and high tech industry. Previously, he was a successful business owner of Diablo Wholesale Hardware in Walnut Creek. Tony excels in identifying a customer’s needs and coordinating the resources to design creative, cost effective solutions for his clients. He enjoys building and cultivating long-lasting relationships with his customers so that he understands their business, their benefits requirements and their employee base, and can anticipate their future needs. Tony is a licensed Property & Casualty and Life Health benefits advisor. He lives in San Ramon with his wife and two active young children.

Julia joins Baybenefits as a group benefits consultant, specializing in group insurance and compliance for CPA firms, nonprofits and technology companies. She began her career in the insurance industry in 2003 with a focus on individual insurance products for consumers and small business owners. In 2006, Julia moved on to a TPA (third-party administrator) and was instrumental in rolling out their Northern California group health insurance division. Her focus was on building company credibility within the carrier community, networking for new business acquisition and consulting with mid-size companies on group insurance programs and compliance with local ordinances. She has worked extensively with business partners to provide comprehensive solutions to shared clients, including retirement programs, HR compliance, business insurance and payroll. Julia also is experienced in providing web- based solutions for management of tax-advantaged programs, including HSA, HRA, FSA, Section 132, wellness programs; and retirement solutions and Medicare coordination for large companies with 5000 + employees. Julia lives with her husband in San Francisco where she enjoys running, cycling and entertaining friends and family.

Phil Palmer is directly responsible for providing property and casualty and consulting services to NFP's West Coast partner affiliates. NFP, the ninth largest insurance broker in the world, offers comprehensive employee benefits, and property and casualty commercial lines for companies of all sizes.

Palmer, who has been a commercial lines property and casualty broker in the Bay Area for 20 years, offers such services such as comprehensive policy analysis along with recommendations, loss-control insurance and business disaster planning. Palmer steps in to assist clients as an extension of their management team by providing value-added services, including working with clients to ensure they are in compliance with legal regulations, implementing risk-control programs to reduce frequency and severity of losses, disaster contingency planning and performing detailed policy reviews to ensure comprehensive coverage at a competitive price.

Palmer is a product of the Bay Area. Raised in Alameda, he graduated from St. Mary's College in Moraga, where he played on the varsity basketball team. He and his wife now live in San Mateo.

Palmer's NFP office is co-located in the offices of Baybenefits Insurance Services.

Blair Stientjes is directly responsible for Baybenefits' retirement plan services offering.

He has 19 years of experience, all within the retirement plan services industry, including positions with Charles Schwab, Merrill Lynch and Union Bank's Institutional Services and Asset Management division. In addition, he has also has worked for a retirement plan TPA (third party administrator).

At Baybenefits, Blair manages retirement plan client relationships for both corporate and not-for-profit clients. He assists those clients with plan and vendor evaluations, fiduciary audits, contract and fee negotiations, new vendor implementations, investment selection, as well as monitoring educational strategies for participants.

A graduate of UCLA with a BS in political science and a concentration in business, Blair is married and has three children.