Presenters

Danny is the founder of the Church Plan Workshop and a nationally recognized employee benefits lawyer who has established himself as one of the nation’s preeminent practitioners in the highly specialized area of church and nonprofit organization benefit plan design, administration, and legal compliance. His national client base includes major church denominational benefit plans and programs, large independent churches, religious nonprofits, and related entities. Danny is an elected Fellow of the prestigious America College of Employee Benefits Counsel.

Eric is an experienced employee benefits attorney whose practice is devoted to representing and advising regional and national clients regarding the design, implementation, and administration of employee benefit plans. A significant component of his practice is serving church denominational benefit plans and programs, churches, and ministry organizations. He is a member of the Core Lawyers Working Group for the Church Alliance, a coalition of denominational benefit programs.

Randie has more than 25 years of extensive experience — both in private practice and private industry — in the field of employee benefits law, with a specific focus on health and welfare benefit plan design, administration, compliance and governance. Her broad-based prior career experience includes working as a health and welfare benefits compliance consultant for a global benefits consulting firm and as in-house ERISA counsel for a Silicon Valley-based healthcare technology firm.

Brandon is an employee benefits attorney whose practice is primarily focused on matters involving qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive compensation. In addition to being an elected Fellow of the American College of Benefits Counsel, he is a frequent author and speaker on employee benefits topics nationwide and has played key roles in a number of leading industry organizations, including the SouthWest Benefits Association, Employee Benefits Institute of Kansas City, American Bar Association, and Oklahoma Board on Legislative Compensation.

Since January 1, 2025, Chris Wells has served as the first full-time executive director of the Church Alliance, the only interfaith voice of support for church benefits plans and their beneficiaries in Washington, DC. Since he began in the role, Chris has been focused on adding new dimensions to the Church Alliance’s member relations and advocacy programs. Under his leadership, the organization has refined its public policy priorities, enhanced its member engagement activities, and bolstered its public storytelling capacities, most notably through the launch of a new website at www.church-alliance.org.  Prior to joining the Church Alliance, Chris spent 10 years working for the Personalized Medicine Coalition, an education and advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.

Based in Washington, DC, Karishma co-leads the K&L Gates Public Policy and Law practice. Karishma concentrates her practice on federal legislative and regulatory policy. Karishma develops and implements a variety of advocacy strategies. She leads complex, multifaceted policy campaigns incorporating lobbying, coalitions and third-party advocates, grassroots and grasstops strategies, and traditional and new media. In addition, Karishma advises c-suites and board rooms on navigating political and policy volatility to advance opportunities and mitigate risks, consistent with organizational strategic objectives and mission. Karishma works extensively with church plans, religious institutions, and tax-exempt organizations.

Lauren Flynn is a government affairs advisor at K&L Gates, where she provides strategic advice to clients navigating complex legislative and regulatory issues across the tax, tax-exempt, retirement, financial services, and employee benefits spaces. Her clients include church plans, religious institutions, tax-exempt organizations, Fortune 500 companies, and trade/member associations, among others. Prior to joining the firm, Lauren worked for a senior member of the US House of Representatives. She earned her Master of Public Policy degree from George Mason University and her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame.