BIP Summer 2024

W When Minnesota’s chapter president had to step down early, Riedl stepped in, serving nearly double the typical term. She did it again just a few years later with the Region IV vice presidency. Riedl consistently shows up in every facet of her life. She became a Red Cross instructor after

“What does it mean to be a leader? It’s about showing up,” says incoming NABIP President Alycia Riedl . And she would know.

accomplishments will be, but it'll be more than we could ever expect. We will have been moving at a steady pace every day from the day she takes over ‘till the day she finishes.” Family and service first Benefits and insurance are in Riedl’s blood, having spent much of her childhood with her family’s agency, EMEX Benefit Systems, in the home’s basement. Her father, David Wiest, was highly involved in the Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters (MAHU), as it was known then, and remained a mentor and industry confidant

her father’s heart attack, testified about the essential role of agents and brokers as Minnesota formed its state exchange, acted as a guardian ad litem for children in the juvenile court system, and served on a task force to develop a long-term strategic plan for NABIP. After nine years on the

until his death in 2018. “That became a thing for us where we could communicate about the insurance and healthcare world,” says Riedl. Family continues to be the foundation of everything Riedl does. Although she is not directly involved with EMEX, her brother and sister-in-law Cory and Courtney Wiest run it now, Riedl has framed who she is around setting a strong example for her children, son Dylan Lindgren, daughter Aryanna Riedl, and bonus children Noah and Zoe Rothschild with her husband, Cary Rothschild. Family is about more than blood, she says, “It is where you choose to spend your time, where you choose to give your energy, where you choose to be your best self. That is the most fundamental aspect of my life.”

NABIP Board of Trustees, the principal at Mercer and resident of Maple Grove, Minnesota, begins her term as president with an extensive track record of professional, community, and familial service. You may not know Riedl as well as other NABIP leaders — “I’m not a super ‘sit at the bar and talk to people kind of person,’” she quips — but you will feel her impact, says Jen Berman, incoming legislative chair at NABIP. “She's not one of those outgoing, loud leaders. She's very focused on everything that she does, and she knows her stuff. She's a quiet force,” says Berman, CEO of MZQ Consulting. “I don’t know exactly what her

KEY POINTS

▶ Alycia Riedl has a strong family foundation, emphasizing the importance of setting an example for her children.

▶ During her term as president, Riedl aims to enhance NABIP's

collaboration with other organizations and provide valuable resources for agents and brokers. ▶ Her leadership approach includes fostering transparency within NABIP and using the Healthcare Bill of Rights to guide NABIP's future direction.

24 bip magazine Summer 2024