Debra Villar is a manager of disability management resources for The Standard where she leads a team of nurse case managers, vocational case managers, and behavioral health managers to deliver an exceptional claims experience. Debra joined The Standard in 2012 as a behavioral health case manager evaluating conditions, and treatments and making outreach calls to patients during their time of disability. She is a licensed mental health counselor and certified case manager. Her work experience includes a background in individual, group, and family counseling. Prior to joining The Standard, she spent several years providing intensive case management support to individuals in the community who suffered from severe and chronic mental illness and substance abuse issues, as well as jail system experience as a transitional case manager assisting psychiatric inmates to reintegrate into society with the appropriate medical and housing services. Brenda Smith is the Workplace Possibilities Senior Director at The Standard. Growing up in a small Alaskan town instilled a love of the outdoors and an independent spirit in Brenda Smith. Her tight-woven community also exposed her to the ramifications of job loss and disability and the toll they can take on a family. This empathy for others led her to the field of human resources, where she gained experience in benefits, staffing, and overall operations. Her insights into the benefits world and background in customer experience led her to work with the Workplace Possibilities team in 2014, where she is now the senior director of the program. In this role, Brenda helps insurance advisors implement the Workplace Possibilities program with employers and oversees a team of return-to-work, absence and Americans with Disabilities Act consultants.

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Making mental health benefits central to workplace wellness plans

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