70. Redefining Benefits Leadership w/ Stephanie Porrino & Kristina Ewing

70. Redefining Benefits Leadership w/ Stephanie Porrino & Kristina Ewing

January 29, 2026 · 51 min

About this episode

Chelsea Ryckis interviews benefits leaders Stephanie Porrino and Kristina Ewing about innovative strategies in employer health plans.

In this episode of The Business of Benefits, host Chelsea Ryckis sits down with two trailblazing benefits leaders, Stephanie Porrino, Director of HR at Hendry Marine Industries, and Kristina Ewing, Director of Health and Wellbeing at Shoestring Valley Holdings at the Best of the Best Florida Healthcare Alliance event. Together, they share their journeys of transforming employer health plans through innovative strategies, data-driven decision making, and bold vendor partnerships, offering actionable insights for employers ready to take control of their benefits and deliver real value to their people. From self-funding and reference-based pricing to no-cost care alternatives and fiduciary governance, Stephanie and Kristina reveal how they navigated complex challenges, disrupted traditional models, and built multi-year benefits strategies that prioritize both financial sustainability and employee wellbeing. Time Stamps: 00:00 – Welcome to The Business of Benefits 01:02 – Introduction to Guests and Episode Overview 02:19 – Stephanie and Kristina’s Backgrounds and Company Profiles 04:10 – Stephanie’s “Aha” Moment: Discovering Healthcare Pricing Discrepancies 07:19 – Kristina’s…

People in this episode

Host: Chelsea Ryckis

Guests: Stephanie Porrino, Kristina Ewing

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hendry Marine Industries, Shoestring Valley Holdings, Best of the Best Florida Healthcare Alliance

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