Our Team

Led by the firm’s two founding principals, our senior professionals are among the best in the industry.

Flora Acosta, Operations Manager, Health & Welfare Plan Administration
Flora Acosta joined Cornerstone in 2004 with 15 years of experience in health and welfare plan administration. In her current role as Health & Welfare Operations Manager, Flora manages a staff of 19 and oversees all areas of operations pertaining to Flexible Spending Plans, HRAs, COBRA Administration and Retiree Billing. Prior to joining Cornerstone, she spent more than a decade with a third party administrator where she was responsible for drafting plan documents and amendments, handling compliance issues and IRS Form 5500 filing. Flora received her Bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies from Johnson & Wales University.

>back to top

Robert F. Calise, Principal
Rob Calise is a founding partner of Cornerstone Group. He helps clients control the costs of employee benefits by focusing on consumer driven strategies and on how to best utilize the tax savings tools the government provides. Rob is a board member of the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of RI Broker Advisory Board, United HealthCare of New England Broker Advisory Board and the Rhode Island Business Healthcare Advisors Council. He is also a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), American Health Insurance Association (AHIA) and the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC), as well as various human resource associations. Rob is a graduate of Bryant College with a BS in Finance.

>back to top

Joseph E. Cardello, Principal
A founding partner of Cornerstone Group, Joseph Cardello works with small and large employers to develop strategies to control the cost of healthcare coverage for their organizations. Joe also works with many of our personal clients to solve their life, disability and long term care insurance needs. Joe has worked in the industry for more than 20 years and offers a unique perspective on problem solving through his municipal experience: Joe served for 6 years as a councilman in North Providence, Rhode Island, and recently served for two years on the town council in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Joe is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a BS in Accounting.

>back to top

Paula Flaherty, Legal Counsel
Paula Flaherty is legal counsel for Cornerstone Group. She has 27 years of experience in the Employee Benefits field, including 16 concentrated in the Flexible Benefits area. Flaherty began her career with the US Department of Labor in Boston and since then has worked for a large insurance company, a major bank and three benefits consulting companies. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College and obtained her legal training at Boston University School of Law. In 2000, Flaherty qualified with honors for the designation of Certified in Flexible Compensation (CFC), which is presented by the Employer’s Council on Flexible Compensation.

>back to top

Amy Gallagher, Senior Benefits Consultant
Amy Gallagher has over 15 years of healthcare industry experience. In her current role at Cornerstone Group, she is responsible for developing and managing client relationships in the large group market. She focuses on providing clients with long-term cost-containment strategies, often coupling consumer-driven products with results-driven wellness programs. Her special areas of expertise include health savings accounts and
wellness consulting. Prior to joining Cornerstone, Amy worked for three of New England's largest carriers in various sales and account management roles: UnitedHealthcare of New England, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare of New England and Delta Dental of Rhode Island. Amy speaks regularly in the business community on a variety of healthcare-related topics, is a frequent contributor to NBC 10's Sunrise Show with Frank Coletta and is an occasional guest columnist for the Providence Business News. She holds an MBA and BS in Business
Administration/Marketing from Bryant College and is a member of the Worksite Wellness Council of Rhode Island, Human Resource Management Council of Rhode Island, the Southern Rhode Island Human Resource Council and the Rhode Island Business Group
on Health.

>back to top

Lawrence Grudzien, JD, LLM, Attorney of Counsel
Larry is an attorney practicing exclusively in the field of employee benefits. He has more than 28 years’ experience advising on all aspects of employee benefit law including: drafting and reviewing individually designed and prototype retirement plans, performing due diligence on employee benefit issues for merger, acquisition and outsourcing transactions, and advising on administrative and design issues. Mr. Grudzien has a B.A. in history and political science from Indiana University, J.D. from Valparaiso University School of Law, and LL.M. in tax from Boston University School of Law. He is a member of the Indiana and Illinois bars and a published author and law professor.

>back to top

Amy Hamilton, Health & Welfare Plan Consultant
Since 2004, Amy has served as Cornerstone’s key client contact for client acquisition and product implementation of Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Accounts, and COBRA Administration. Previously, she worked in account management at New Hampshire’s largest healthcare purchaser, assisting municipal clients with medical and dental insurance as well as flexible spending plans and COBRA administration. Amy received her B.S. from Plymouth State College and is completing her studies towards the Certified Employee Benefits Consultant designation.

>back to top

Andrea Lawton, Director of Client Service
Andrea joined Cornerstone in 2005 with 18 years of management experience. Her sole focus is to guarantee that our clients receive the highest level of service. She manages our eight-member group benefits client service team who are responsible for the most important function that we provide: client service. We pride ourselves on becoming “your benefits partner” and Andrea supports that vision and goal that we strive for. She graduated with a B.S. in Management from Rhode Island College.

>back to top

Ryan Alan Lax, Benefits Consultant
Ryan has been with Cornerstone since 2003 and is responsible for providing a full range of personal financial and group benefit services to small and mid-sized businesses. Previously, Ryan spent eight years in the payroll business working with ADP and Payrolls Plus. He graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Lynchburg College and holds series 6 and 63 licenses.

>back to top

Jennifer Siefert, Account Manager
Jennifer Siefert brought with her a decade of health insurance experience when she joined Cornerstone in 2005 as an account manager specializing in the 1-9 employee market segment. In this role, she advises clients on group health benefits, including Medicare options and consumer-driven plans, and assists with large group open enrollment. Previously, Jennifer served as an account representative with some of the area’s largest insurers, including Tufts Health Plan and Aetna, where she focused on both small and large groups. A graduate of Boston College, she holds a producer’s license for health and life insurance in the state of Rhode Island.

>back to top