Making the leap from criminal justice to benefits management may seem like a major career change, but for Angela T. it was a natural progression. Angela’s career began by utilizing her criminal justice degree in social work for neglected children. However, she quickly burned out, which led her to rethink her career strategy.
“In social work, I learned so much about how mental health, benefits, and insurance regulations impact the lives of families,” she says. “I thought about opportunities to continue to work with people, educate individuals on benefits, and to stay up to date with the ever-changing regulations that govern the way benefits are offered.”
She earned her Master’s in Human Resources Management and has never looked back. Since 2004, all the facets of compliance, benefits, and providing customer service excellence for associates have been an integral part of her career.
Angela started at Availity in 2018 as a Senior Total Rewards Analyst, and in 2022 was promoted to Benefits Manager. She has also been an online human resources (HR) adjunct professor at Ashford University. It has helped her stay on top of HR-related trends and topics from other professionals around the country.
Angela loves working at Availity because of the emphasis on wellness programs for associates. She is proud of how her engagement has helped the programs evolve over the past four years. She believes bringing the “whole-person” wellness initiatives Availity offers to every associate is key in making them feel supported.
“Associates have many choices related to their health and wellbeing, and this encourages an environment focused on a great work-life balance, “ she explains.
Angela is a true advocate for preventative care to help detect serious diseases and medical problems early. She has seen first-hand how annual check-ups, immunizations, and important tests and screenings can make a huge difference.
| “I love Availity’s culture. I love how associates are engaged in in all aspects of the organization. I love that we have groups highlighting diversity and inclusion making their mark on the company and our community. I love the flexibility Availity provides, so that associates can realistically achieve a successful work-life balance. I also love my very talented HR team-mates!” |
Personal satisfaction for her means closing the annual benefits enrollment because there is so much work that goes into planning for the following year. All the moving parts to the process are time-consuming and when it is complete, she has a huge feeling of accomplishment!
Angela’s tips for success at Availity include being a good team-mate, getting involved in activities, and volunteering. Most importantly: never stop learning. “A curious nature is essential because it makes the process of developing skills much more enjoyable,” she explains. She advises associates to be proactive in taking advantage of all the educational opportunities, such as Degreed. The tools and resources that Availity provides are also very helpful (i.e., articles, books, software, etc.). For her personally, legislative changes assist in developing her skills because of the ever-changing regulations that create the knowledge to effectively do her job.
Angela lives by the work-hard, play-hard mentality. Her work success is inspired by knowing that her perseverance helps to achieve results for Availity associates, and she always loves a good challenge! She achieves her personal life balance with walks on the beach, four- wheeling, and finding new experiences with her family, such as visiting national parks. She says, “Whether it’s being outside in the fresh air, mountain air, or ocean air, it’s all good for the soul.”
Some fun, personal info to share:
Pets: Maggie (Beagle Bassett), Dixie (Shitzu), Ruby (German Shepherd). Several years ago, I owned fainting goats. Their names were Fred, Barney, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby. If you are interested in finding out more about fainting goats, click here Top 10 fainting goats (funny fainting goats) – Bing video
Favorite food: Mexican
Favorite travel destination: A Baltic Sea cruise. I visited 7 different European countries. Northern Norway (Hammerfest) was my favorite country on this trip. It was cold, but it had a WOW factor of beauty that I cannot put into words.