Jeff grew up in the rural Finger Lakes area of New York, over 20 miles away from the nearest movie theater. He walked back and forth to school (in the snow, uphill both ways of course) and enjoyed hiking around the countryside exploring anything and everything that crossed his path. This curiosity and desire to learn what things are and how they worked served him well in his future endeavors.

After earning an Engineering degree at Boston University, Jeff began his first career as a safety professional in the Navy on the USS Kitty Hawk, based in San Diego. Deciding he preferred the sunny San Diego weather to the frigid climate from whence he came, Jeff stayed and continued working here at several manufacturing and production facilities across the county ranging from Otay Mesa to Poway.

Realizing how fulfilling it was to help his workfellows as the Safety Supervisor at an airline caterer based at San Diego International Airport, he expanded his role to include Human Resources activities, first managing the workers’ compensation function, then assisting with recruitment needs. Eventually he completed his full immersion in the HR field by adding benefits and compensation responsibilities and earning his SPHR certification. Jeff served on the San Diego SHRM Board for five years in a variety of positions.

A chance encounter at a conference led Jeff into his next challenge: Risk Management. Knowing that the best injury is one that never happened, he started exploring ways to assess and control risk, and ultimately develop strategies to prevent injuries by combining the principals of risk management and his background in safety and workers compensation.

Jeff currently works as the Director of Safety & Workers’ Compensation at Corovan Moving & Storage, a San Diego County-based, state-wide leader in corporate relocation, facilities services, and storage services. He also has responsibilities at Corodata, a sister company that specializes in records management and destruction services.

Not content with limiting his risk management efforts to two-legged recipients, Jeff hones his “feline resource” skills by regularly volunteering at the Feral Cat Coalition’s monthly free spay/neuter clinics, thus helping the county’s "strategic cat-force planning” efforts. When he is not tending to the 10 cats that either live in his home or backyard, he enjoys live music, dance, yoga, card games and travel. When he visits a new city, Jeff will often forgo public transit and walk across the area instead, still exploring everything he comes across. He has been lucky enough to have walked through cities on five continents thus far.

Jeff will be a new member of the San Diego RIMS Board, serving as Director-at-Large starting in 2025. His time with the chapter has allowed him to steadily expand his knowledge of risk, specifically in the field of commercial insurance. He enjoys connecting and commiserating with Risk Management professionals who understand his job and the challenges he might face. Fun fact: Current SD RIMS President, Cheryl Berman, strong-armed him into volunteering on the Board at the top of a skyscraper at the National RIMS conference in San Francisco. And we are so glad she did.