About

Cowden Advisers Staff

James Bartoszewicz

President & CEO

In the course of any given week, Jim Bartoszewicz, President and CEO of Cowden Advisers, Inc., makes dozens of strategic, well-calculated decisions, and that’s not even counting the ones he makes at his office.

As a junior varsity boys’ basketball coach and athletic director at Saint Alexis Catholic School in Wexford, PA., Jim’s coaching strategies are aimed at winning games while positively influencing the lives of young people.

As an attorney and investment expert with a bachelor of science in applied mathematics and executive vice president of parent company Cowden Associates, Inc., Jim focuses on developing winning retirement investment plans and strategies for his clients.

Jim is equally at home talking about the legal implications of SEC, FINRA and ERISA compliance as he counsels clients on 401(k) investment choices, administrative fees and performance. Before coming to Cowden, Jim was president and chief compliance officer of Invesmart Advisors, Inc., and Investment Securities, LLC. He also worked as an analyst with Mercer.

In the employee benefit field since 1987, Jim is well experienced with defined benefit and defined contribution plans. In addition to qualified plans, he has developed a broad view of retirement planning that includes nonqualified retirement plans and other forms of executive benefits. Jim brings expertise in plan design, technical consulting, retirement plan investing and fiduciary issues.

While he boasts a long list of credentials and valuable experiences, Jim, a husband and father of three, has covered a much longer span of Western Pennsylvania roadways – on a bicycle. He is a seven-year participant in the MS 150, one of many bike tours held each year across the country by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to raise funds for a cure for MS.

In addition to a law degree from Duquesne University and a bachelor of science degree in applied mathematics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Jim is an Associated Professional Member of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA), an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst and a Licenced Security & Investment Advisor Representitive. He is also licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania.

Kathy Colbert

Project Manager

Kathy Colbert joined Cowden Associates, Inc. in 2002 and has been in the employee benefits environment since 1982.

As Project Manager, Kathy is responsible for a variety of activities at Cowden Advisers, including client service, production of monitoring reports, as well as proposal development and research for prospective clients. Kathy supports Cowden Advisers on all levels, from internal administration, budgeting and new business development to marketing and strategic planning.

Kathy holds a Pennsylvania Life, Accident and Health license and is in the process of obtaining her Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (CEBS) designation. She is a member of the Pittsburgh Association of Group Executives (PAGE).

Affiliated Associates

Jere Cowden, CEBS, CMC

Jere Cowden knows what it means to rise through the ranks and the importance of each experience gained coming up. When he graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1969, Jere began his career as a technical writer, trainer and troubleshooter for a software company that sold actuarial and retirement recordkeeping software to major insurance companies throughout the United States and Canada.

Jere is founder and chief executive officer of Cowden Associates, Inc., parent company to Cowden Advisers, Inc. and leading independent actuarial, compensation and employee benefits consulting firm.

The insight and experience Jere gained at all levels of the employee benefits industry over the last few decades has been instrumental in building Cowden Associates to a substantial consulting firm with a mix of clients that include: Fortune 500 companies; national manufacturing firms; governmental entities; Taft Hartley Funds; and regional health systems of all sizes.

Jere, in one of his many career highlights, successfully managed the smooth transition of all employee benefits for a 4,500-employee spin-off from a Fortune 100 company. Knowing that the seamless transition and delivery of payroll and benefits are critical to maintaining high levels of employee morale made the project all the more important and gratifying.

Jere, as a senior employee benefits adviser, worked with several companies as they spun off from Fortune 500 parents. In each instance, Jere helped to ensure that the spin-off companies had a full array of benefits and an administrative infrastructure in place to support them on their first day of independence.

Jere has been turning his vision of the ideal independent employee benefits business – one comprised of integrity, expertise and results – into reality for more than 20 years. He co-founded Innovative Benefit Concepts, Inc., later becoming a partner of Mockenhaupt, Mockenhaupt, Cowden & Parks, Inc. The roots of that firm later became Cowden Associates, Inc.

Jere is known and respected for his understanding of employee benefits throughout the industry. Among his many articles published, two in particular were considered so innovative that they were widely used as training and business guides throughout the industry. The first piece examined defined benefit plans versus defined contribution plans, and the second considered hybrid also known as cash balance plans.

Jere is active within the industry and within his community. He is a member, past president and fellow of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS); a charter member of United Benefit Advisors (UBA), one of the nation’s largest privately held employee benefits advisory organizations; and on the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Chapter of British American Business Council (BABC). He holds memberships in North American Actuarial and Consulting Services (NORACS), the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance. Jere also holds a Series 65 license.

Elliot Dinkin

Elliot Dinkin is equally comfortable whether he is in a courtroom providing testimony or in a CFO’s office providing strategic counsel.

The 23-year veteran of the actuarial, compensation and employee benefits realm continues to make his mark. Elliot's defined contribution expertise is especially critical as companies navigate new legislation and look for creative ways to address the escalating costs associated with employee benefits.

The entrepreneurial spirit that Elliot has is the same that led him to conceive and build Elliot Dinkin and Associates, Inc., where he served as president for eight years. Elliot's insight into the challenges facing the C-suite, as well as his understanding of the global and regional marketplace – honed from a stint at Price Waterhouse – make him a natural at servicing clients and continually finding new ways to meet their needs.

In addition to providing value for clients, Elliot's expert knowledge of management, collective bargaining and pensions has been tapped by publications including The Bankers Magazine and Employee Benefits News. His broad understanding of the issues has also made Elliot a frequent expert witness in legal proceedings on concerns ranging from compensation and collective bargaining issues to retirement.

Vince Wolf

Although his broad national experience is a plus for clients, Vince Wolf’s intimate knowledge of the tri-state’s employee benefits arena is what clients want most. It is not only clients who seek his expertise. Because of his deep understanding of the region’s health and benefits marketplace, the executive vice president at Cowden Associates, Inc. has also become a sought-after expert by the tri-state’s media, too. Vince’s insight on a broad range of health and benefits topics – built over a 17-year career – has been published throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. His work spearheading Cowden’s annual Tri-State Medical Benefits survey has helped to bolster his reputation as a regional expert in the eyes of the press.

His ability to save clients significant money is where his true value lies. By uncovering abuses of a client’s medical plan during one particular engagement, Vince was able to ignite changes in the way an insurer structured its network and administered a specific benefit provision. The result: annual savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars for the client without changing the benefit.

Vince, who has been involved with underwriting, client management and consulting since 1989, joined Cowden in 2001. Prior to that, he served as a consultative client manager with CIGNA Healthcare in Nashville, Tennessee. There, he also gained underwriting experience, as he was responsible for the financial management of multi-line accounts ranging in size from 200 to 75,000 employees. Vince also spent three years as an associate at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Vince is experienced in the application of underwriting methodologies for group life, disability, medical, dental and vision benefits. He has evaluated and developed underwriting methodologies for a national insurance company. He is also experienced in the development and delivery of underwriting training programs.

Vince is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) and the Pittsburgh Association of Group Executives (PAGE). Vince has a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Robert Morris University. Vince also holds a Series 65 license.