The Embrace Team

Laura has over 16 years of insurance industry experience. She worked for The Canada Life Assurance Company in Toronto, Canada, and Dublin, Ireland, with a number of different leadership roles in asset-liability management, strategic planning, and business development. Her last position was the CFO of the Canadian individual life and health businesses.

Laura holds an honors mathematics degree from the University of Western Ontario, is a qualified life and health actuary, and holds the chartered financial analyst designation. Laura received her MBA, with a concentration in Strategic and Entrepreneurship Management, from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where she graduated with several university and peer awards. She was also part of the team that won first prize in the Wharton Business Plan Competition in 2003 with an entry for a pet insurance company.

She is a wife and mother in her second job, and when she isn't thinking about family or pets, Laura delights in experiencing different cultures though food and travel and allowing others a view into her life through her multiple blogs.

Alex has over 3 years experience in the insurance industry, with roles in direct and internet marketing and product management, and 7 years in construction, where his roles included designing workflow and data mining systems for large, billion-dollar projects. His international experience is extensive and he has worked and lived in England, Chile, the United States, and Australia.

Alex holds an honors degree in chemical engineering from the University of Melbourne and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where he majored in marketing. While at Wharton, Alex was part of a team that won first prize in the Wharton Business Plan Competition with an entry for a pet insurance company. Alex enjoys visiting unusual places around the world with his family and is easily swayed into buying the latest gadgets and digital toys.

Jonathan has spent his career in financial services, and most recently, held the position of Assistant Vice President/Product Manager for National City Bank's Education Finance division. In that time, he managed the development and maintenance of national relationships for the direct–to–consumer channel for private student loans. Previously at National City, Jonathan was the Project Manager for the Retail Investments. Prior to his MBA, Jonathan managed the consumer line of business for Penske Truck Leasing in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, leading it to the highest operating profit in the country.

Jonathan holds a BA from Colgate University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management with a concentration in Marketing. Jonathan’s love for music, travel and skiing with his wife and children keep him busy away from the office. Amazingly, he loves the winter months probably more than most people living in the Cleveland area.

Belinda has spent more than 25 years in the health insurance industry. The focus of her career has been in operations, specifically in claims, customer service, provider service, provider relations, training, quality assurance, mail service, project management, account implementation/management and systems implementations. Belinda's most recent position was Vice President of Operations for an HMO. She has also worked for several large insurance companies including Medical Mutual of Ohio (formerly Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Ohio), Equitable Life Assurance and Lincoln National Life Insurance.

Belinda has been an active member of her church, a member of the church's parish council and was a member of the executive steering committee for Habitat for Humanity.

Belinda has lived in the Cleveland area with her family since relocating from suburban Chicago in 1990. She is extremely proud of her two adult sons. She also has a Yorkshire Terrier, Daisy.

It's often said that you don't find a pet, a pet finds you. Little did Lea know that finding Lyger, her Lab mix, in the street during a thunderstorm would change her career.

Lea started her career studying animal nutrition and behavior. She served in area animal shelters as a foster care coordinator, later helping develop foster programs nationally. Her passion for pets expanded into a role that gives Lea the opportunity to educate pet parents about pet healthcare. She can answer your questions about pet insurance and can also share info about trendy pet products.

Lea enjoys Lake Erie, the music scene, Mexican restaurants she finds with her fiancée, and she also loves to hear about your pets. And that little wet puppy is now six and has a "little sister" - a five year-old rescued Rottweiler named Tahlula. And she would love to hear about your pets.

Chris may emulate the true meaning of Embrace better than anyone here. Last time she was at a dog show, she had as much "fuzz" on her clothes from "Embracing" all of the pets that came near her as the dogs themselves.

Chris's passion is veterinary medicine, and animals and their care have consumed her world for over 10 years. With 3 dogs, two guinea pigs and a thoroughbred, it is hard to imagine she has time for Embrace. However, she is continually reading and learning more about how this industry grows and helps animals in ways they couldn't 10 years ago.

She has a 2-year certificate in an animal care program and experience in grooming and boarding kennels along with most recently working in a vet technician role at the Shaker Animal Clinic.

Chris has spent the last several years answering people's questions which is what brought him to Embrace. If he was going to answer questions, it might as well be about something he loves. And, even though Amadeus (a Collie-Shepherd mix named after the popular 80s song his brother was singing on the way to adopt her) is gone, he's looking forward to the day he takes his son to pick out their new 4-legged family member.

Before joining Embrace, Chris studied Sociology at The Ohio State University. He then worked in a call center for one of the largest manufacturers of promotional products in the country.