IAIABC Ombuds Training 2025

Agenda

All times in Central Daylight Time (CDT).

Speakers

We are pleased to have experienced and knowledgeable speakers facilitate this program:

Lori D’Angelo

Ombudsman, Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission

Lori D’Angelo joined the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission in January, 2021.  She is the first Ombudsman after the Virginia General Assembly created the position to improve outreach to interested stakeholders.  Ms. D’Angelo earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Memphis in 1999.   She practiced law for over twenty years, handling both administrative law and workers’ compensation cases.  She obtained a              broad range of professional experience representing employers, insurers, and injured            workers in workers’ compensation claims.  Ms. D’Angelo is certified by the Virginia                                                                   Supreme Court as a  mediator.  She is a member of the International Association of                                                                  Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, (IAIABC) and is the Chair of their Dispute                                                            Resolution Committee.  She is also a member of the International Ombuds Association,                                                          (IOA), and has passed the Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (CO-OP®) Exam.  

Jay Hicks

 Attorney Advisor, Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation

Jay is a licensed attorney in Tennessee and after law school he began work as a plaintiffs’ attorney. His practice concentrated primarily on representing injured employees in workers’ compensation disputes. Jay began working as mediator for the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in August of 2015 and became the Bureau’s first attorney advisor in August of 2017.

Caitlin Breitbach

Small Business Ombudsman, Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division

Caitlin  Breitbach has worked as the small business ombudsman since March 2024  and previously was the assistant small business ombudsman and reemployment specialist on the Employment Services Team (EST) in WCD since 2019. Before her appointment, she worked at the Building Codes Division as a policy analyst and training coordinator for two years, and at the Department of Administrative Services as a policy analyst specializing in                                                    performance metrics for three years.

Barbra Anderson

Ombuds for Oregon Workers,  Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division

Barbra was named the new Ombuds for Oregon Workers in January 2023. Prior to this new role, she spent 23 years in various positions throughout the Workers’ Compensation Division including: office specialist in the Investigations and Managed Care Organization Program; Reimbursement Specialist in Self-insurance, Registration, and Reimbursements (SIRR); and ultimately moving into managing that same unit. She held other management                                                  positions over the next few years including Field Audit Manager, Employer Compliance                                                          Manager, and Employment Services Team (EST) Manager.

Lorra O'Banion

General Counsel, Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court

Lorra O’Banion is General Counsel for the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court. Lorra received her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law and is a current member of the Nebraska State Bar Association. Lorra is also a member of the IAIABC. She is currently a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee and Ombuds subcommittee as well as the Regulation Committee. 

Libby Rascon PPS, PRSS, PLE

Senior Ombuds, Oregon Health Authority

Libbie Rascon is a Senior Ombuds for the Oregon Health Authority where she provides agency embedded, advocacy-based supports for over 1.2 million Oregon Health Plan Medicaid members since 2016. Libbie’s work with Oregonians helps to elevate Medicaid consumer voice to address access to care systems issues and the policies and programs that affect them. Libbie supports Medicaid members and the Oregon Health Authority     Ombuds Program through her casework, policy work, and by providing mentoring/training
 regarding complex, adult mental health, Ombuds casework and how to best support those   in need of Ombuds advocacy to stay meaningfully engaged with their health care. 

Brian Mak

ADR Director, Minnesota Department of Labor & Industry Workers' Compensation Division

Brian has spent 30 years in the workers’ compensation industry.  He received his bachelor’s degree from Thomas Aquinas College in California and his J.D. from William Mitchell                College of Law in Minnesota, where he later returned as an adjunct professor and taught a   client counseling course for ten years.  He started his career practicing workers’   compensation law representing injured workers, then moved into claims management   positions for several workers’ compensation TPAs.  He joined his current ADR unit initially   as a dispute prevention and resolution specialist, providing informal counseling, and   conducting arbitrations and mediations.  His unit provides dispute resolution services to       all stakeholders.