Holly Mertens, CCP - Past President, RMTRA

Holly Mertens is the Manager of Total Rewards at IFS located in Denver, CO. At IFS, Holly works as the functional lead in the administration and design of global benefit programs including group health coverage, wellness programs, and retirement savings plans. She also assists in the development of a variety of projects including compensation program design, analysis and implementation of new and existing programs.

Holly earned her Bachelors of Business Administration in Human Resources from Grand Valley State University and a minor in Hospitality and Tourism Management in Michigan. She has also earned her Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) Certification.

In her free time, Holly enjoys the outdoors, hiking, traveling and spending time with her husband.

DW Mann - President Elect

DW is an Executive Compensation and Talent Solutions Consultant at Aon in Denver. He has 15 years of experience advising companies on the design and implementation of executive compensation, board remuneration, broad-based compensation, and employee benefits.  DW works predominantly with clients in the industrial, life sciences, and tech spaces.  He joined Aon after 10 years of progressive leadership roles in global total rewards and people operations for high-growth mid-and large-cap public companies.  Prior to that, he consulted to large companies on defined benefit retirement plans as an actuarial analyst at Willis Towers Watson.

DW is passionate about advancing the field of total rewards.  He has spoken at the Texas Total Rewards Conference on the topic of HR analytics, and he has participated in roundtable and panel discussions on topics including compensation strategy and diversity, equity & inclusion.  DW holds an MBA from the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, a BS from Florida State University in Actuarial Science, and SHRM-SCP.  In his free time, DW enjoys live music, travel, and spending time with his wife and dogs.

Nicole Davies - Past President, RMTRA

As the Vice President for Talent Optimization, Nicole helps Valet Living redefine talent and performance management while also building top-tier leadership and development programs. Prior to coming to Valet Living she led a team of Human Resource Business Partners at ADP Inc. ($12B) with a specific goal of realizing human capital potential.  Nicole’s human resources management experience has included for and not-for-profit organizations as well as higher education. 

Nicole earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and her Master of Science degree in Higher Education Administration from Colorado State University.  Nicole also maintains her credentials as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM – Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) and Professional Certified Coach (PCC).  Nicole has a passion for travel and mountain climbing.  When she isn’t working, she can often be found hanging out on a peak somewhere in the world. 

Matt Sarchet- Sponsorship

Matt Sarchet has been a consultant in the Health Insurance/Employee Benefits Industry for more than 15 years. He has assisted hundreds of groups and thousands of employees acquire protection in CO and TX. His current focus is on assisting HR professionals manage benefit programs efficiently using the latest available technology. He lives in Centennial with his wife, two girls and two dogs. He loves being a “Girl Dad” and Matt’s family loves to play Volleyball together and go camping and hiking.

Jim Streifel - Treasurer

Jim has spent 16 years of his career in finance and accounting. As a finance executive, he thoroughly enjoyed the aspects of employee development, culture, and engagement. Jim has made it his mission to impact his clients and their employees in a similar fashion; guiding them through the complex nature of employee benefits and its relationship to the employee experience. A graduate of University of Phoenix with a degree in accounting as well as an MBA, Jim is excited to join the Rocky Mountain Total Rewards Association in the Denver area where he lives with his lovely wife and their 8 beautiful children.

Ashley Nuss- Programs

Ashley is a Colorado native, born and raised in Highlands Ranch. She went to University of Missouri (Mizzou) for college and lived in Kansas City, MO for three years post college. She moved back to Colorado in fall 2020 and started working at Arrow in January 2021, coming up on her two-year anniversary with the Arrow Employee Capability team. Currently, she is a project Manager for Arrow and works with the Sales Comp, Performance, Learning and Succession, and the Talent Acquisition team. She loves reading, spending time with friends and family, and really enjoys meeting new people and trying new things!

Naomi Nichols- Communications & Technology

Naomi Nichols is a Senior Analyst, Global Compensation at Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 150 technology company located in Centennial, CO. Naomi leads and supports global compensation projects, participates in annual compensation planning/merit process, reporting and provides support to HR partners and regional compensation & benefit teams. Prior to joining Arrow Electronics, she worked in Human Resources at American Airlines based in Arizona. Naomi earned her bachelor's degree from Colorado State University and MBA from Regis University, as well as her Society of Human Resources – Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) certification. In her free time, Naomi enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters, reading and traveling.

 Rey Ramirez- Programs

A senior manager with more than 20 years’ experience in technology organizations and international companies. Rey is skilled in leading HR teams, project management, talent acquisition, executing strategies to drive business results, vendor management, facilities management and functional HR. He specializes in change management and communications strategy/execution. He also has extensive experience in end to end Merger, Acquisitions, Integration, Divestitures and Carveout processes and has executed on 45+ global transactions. Rey is Co-founder of Thrive HR Consulting and is focusing on providing fractional HR services to organizations that need critical projects/processes completed. He has served as a Management Consultant for Deloitte and RGP.

He has also been a Sr Director of HR for the Cognizant Technology Solutions operation and is based in Denver, CO since July of 2014. He has lead project teams implementing Workday HCM and ERP systems, ADP and Bamboo HR. He has also led Strategic Deal Teams that focus on global Carveouts and M & A transactions. Rey understands how to work closely with Corporate Development Teams and other Key Functions to ensure employees have a positive transaction experience.

Terry Pickett - Membership/Conference

Terry is a Compensation and Classification Analyst for the State of Colorado. Terry has been with the State for eleven years, of which, ten has been at the Department of Personnel and Administration, and one year at the Department of Human Services.

Terry is a subject matter expert (SME) in compensation, job evaluation, classification, personal services contracts, and reward and recognition programs, providing proactive HR consultation and coaching to other HR staff and leaders of multiple agencies. Prior to working at the State, she started and operated her own company, C Suite Consulting, where she conducted Executive Searches for Manager levels and higher and provided Human Resources Consulting on a variety of topics.

Prior to that she was a Director of Human Resources for a manufacturing company as well as a Manager of Human Resources for a call center in Colorado Springs where she lived before moving back to the Denver metro area in 2012. Terry has a Master’s of Arts degree in Organizational Management (MAOM), a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA), and Bachelor’s Degree in Business with an Emphasis in Human Resources from the University of Phoenix. Terry is currently working on her SPHR and CCP certificates. In her free time, she focuses on spending time with her family, especially her three young granddaughters. She is also an avid Denver Bronco fan! Let’s go Broncos! .

Alex Anderson - Membership

Alex is an Associate Producer at Lockton Companies and enables organizational efforts in the design & execution of strategies involving employee benefits, compensation, and engagement solutions, including the assessment & mitigation of associated risk. Alex joined RMTRA for the learning and networking opportunities. He has been in the industry a long time, but is relatively new to the broker world. He was looking for ways to connect with professionals in the field and acquire new insights to help improve his ability to service clients. Alex is also an outspoken mental health advocate who prioritizes work-life balance; he credits community involvement, nature, and photography to maintain a positive headspace!