SPHERICA - Key Persons
Alex graduated with a master's degree in kinesiology from Arizona State University and completed a master's program at the University of Utah. Alex played professional basketball all around the world for 16 years, and his number is retired in three countries. He also even has a stamp made in his image in Poland. While he is grateful for his basketball career, Alex strives to leave a legacy where people think of him as more than a legend in basketball.
He has been in business since 1999 and had the fortunate opportunity to license his own charity in 2004. His goal as a professional in his field is to achieve the A-train academy campus for the youth to have a safer environment to be successful in life.
Alex is married to his wife, Rebecca, who is his rock. He is also a proud father of his son, Isaiah Austin, who is his hero. He enjoys teaching, training, golfing and working out in the gym. He also is very grateful to his coach for getting him to where he is today.
Brent graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor's degree in design engineering technology in 1985. Since then, he has completed the computer integrated manufacturing graduate training at BYU and continues to stay on top of the latest technological advancements to match the business's requirements. He loves technology, new challenges and problem-solving. Keeping up with technology and finding new ways to help companies become more efficient and productive provides him with this challenge.
As a solutions-driven technology management professional who is able to coordinate, oversee and implement multi-million-dollar projects from conception to successful conclusion, Brent's broad experience includes increasing productivity and providing cost-effective solutions to users at all levels.He has a proven track record of managing a full range of IT operations, projects and software development across multiple platforms and environments. His skill set can help maximize the effectiveness of your IT function.
With over 22 years of collective business strategy and human capital experience, Christine has taken the helm of modern business by marrying human capital, business strategy and financial strategy together through the lens of human behavior. As a thought leader offering big-picture vision while designing comprehensive processes, Christine has synchronized business constructs to incorporate human intelligence as a proactive strategy for sustainability and perpetual impact.
In addition to her accomplishments in the business world, Christine is known for her female workforce development initiatives and her work as a dedicated member of numerous boards. As a Women in Business Highlight in Utah Valley Magazine, Christine has dedicated her career to inspiring and helping the next generation of women in business. After personal experience of facing the working woman stigma in Utah and the obstacles of being a single mother, she has worked tirelessly to break down social and economic barriers to inspire women to work towards their goals of independence, creativity and business development.
Christine is a graduate of Utah Valley University with a Bachelor of Science in business administration and Senior Professional in Human Resources certification from the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Virginia. Christine writes for Forbes Councils and is a decorated member of their human resources council. She and her son, Owen, reside in South Jordan, Utah, where she enjoys training for triathlons and paddle boarding. She is also taking up Olympic skate skiing in nearby Park City.
Christy went to school for dental assisting and worked in dentistry for 25 years before becoming Sandy's assistant here at Spherica. She and her husband have been married since 1983 and have three grown sons and three grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Owner
- Founder and Owner of Dearden & Associates, Inc
Daniel is the founder and owner of Dearden & Associates, Inc. Insurance Group and Spherica Employee Benefits & Risk Management. He studied engineering at Rick's College (now Brigham Young University- Idaho) in Rexburg, Idaho and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He also studied business administration at the University of Phoenix in Salt Lake City, Utah. To continue his education, Dan attends advanced training workshops, symposiums and seminars on partial self-funding of employee benefits and workers' compensation, as well as Rx cost management. These training opportunities keep him in contact with highly qualified experts in the fields of group medical program financing and prescription drug cost containment methods.
He is a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). One of the most important business relationships in Dan's career is Spherica's affiliation with ParetoHealth Captive Services. ParetoHealth allows us to position qualifying clients as members of the strongest healthcare captive in the industry, providing purchasing leverage of a Fortune 500 company.
As a consultant and insurance professional, Dan's goal is to put each client in the best possible position today, with a tactical plan for the next five to ten years. He and the team here at Spherica disrupt obstacles that impede success for clients by aligning multiple factors in favor of each client's best interests stating, "We place the interests of our clients above our own. This is the number one requirement to work in our organization. Is our value proposition and competitive advantage."
Dan married Sandra "Sandy" Tonge Dearden on August 22, 1981, after dating since they were fifteen years of age. They have two sons, Jared and Eric, both of whom work in the family business. They are extremely proud of their four grandchildren, Kylie, Jocey, Ace and Tripp. They are also expecting a fifth grandchild in October 2023. Their daughter-in-law, Melissa, also works in the company, as well as their granddaughter, Kylie, who is the first third-generation family member to join the company.
Outside the office, Dan is an avid skier and loves sharing his love of sports with family and friends. He enjoys fly fishing and lake fishing with his sons and grandchildren. He also loves traveling the backroads and trails of the West on a motorcycle, a 4X4 or by foot. Around home, he and Sandy like completing DIY projects to improve their property: landscaping, gardening and planting lots of trees. Spending as much time outdoors is a priority for Dan in his free time.
Eric has been in the insurance industry since July 2011. He graduated with a degree in accounting from the University of Minnesota. He continues to further his knowledge and skills each year with continuing education courses, along with self-education with a variety of topics. Eric has also had the opportunity to have great mentors in his life, starting with his dad, mom and brother and going on down to the many coaches he has had over the years. His goal is to redefine and disrupt what the market thinks of insurance and how it is delivered to the end user.
Eric is married to his wife, Yara, who drives him every day. She keeps him on his toes with experiences and activities he never would have thought to explore. Together, they have a young son named Tripp, whose simple optimism helps Eric realize the important things in life. He says, "It is amazing what you can learn from someone so young." They also have another child on the way.
In his free time, Eric is an avid golfer. Golf has helped feed the competitive spirit that can be hard to satisfy once you quit playing college sports. He and his brother, Jared, also live for backcountry snowmobiling.
Jared has been with Spherica since 2001 and constantly participates in continuing education and training whenever he can. He was published and recognized by North America Company for Life and Health Insurance as a top producer. Jared has also received an award from Sentinel Security Life and has been recognized by Brokers Alliance® with an award for affecting the most lives over a decade award. His goal as an insurance professional is to find solutions for all his clients that align with their insurance expectations and exceed them. He also wants to prove and have the opportunity to offer a high level of service.
Jared and his wife, Melissa, have been married since 2006 and have three children together, Kylie, Jocey and Ace. Kylie is the oldest child and has incredible drive. Joey is the middle child who is sweet and spicy. Ace is the youngest, who Jared already admires in so many ways. Jared's favorite hobby is backcountry snowmobiling. He truly enjoys the scenery and the challenge it brings and says that "it is a blank canvas that is impossible to master."
Judi attended Brigham Young University and took business management courses at Utah Valley University. Since then, she has gone on to gain her insurance license in life and health benefits and is currently taking three courses with Stanford University, which are for project management, finance for nonfinance managers, and how to navigate the workplace: managing up, down and across.
She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the Underwriters Association and Worksite Wellness. Her goal as a professional in her field is to educate and improve the health of participants with functional and traditional medicine.
Judi is married with five children, two sons and three daughters. She enjoys all sports, travel and furthering her education whenever she can.
Molly has been an agent since 2011 and works hard to help existing and potential clients learn what is available to them to cover their insurance needs. She is a graduate from Idaho State University, where she majored in secondary education and minored in biology. She earned a producer of insurance license from the state of Montana in 2011 and continues to receive training every two years to better serve her clients. Molly has served on the Family Service Foundation board in Billings, Montana, since 2007. Their mission is to prevent hunger, homelessness and poverty in Yellowstone and the surrounding counties.
Molly and her husband have four grown children and nine grandchildren that all ranch and farm in Idaho and Montana. She likes to travel, ski, garden and enjoy time with family.
Rosa graduated from Colorado State University in 2003 and continues to further her education and training every year. She has gained licenses in life, health, and primary and non-contributory insurances, and she works hard to ensure clients are knowledgeable about the different choices available to them. Rosa is from Guatemala and takes much pride in her culture and the ability to bond quickly with those who speak her native language of Spanish. She and her husband have four kids and three dogs. They are a multicultural family that enjoys traveling and experiencing different cuisines.
Outside the office, you can find Rosa cooking and exercising. Both hobbies help benefit her mental health. Rosa also loves being a mom and helping her kids become better people every day.
Rosie has been in the self-funded client area since 1978. Rosie has been in the self-funded client area since 1978. She has held positions within the administration of claims processing, customer service, stop loss and the supporting departments of a third-party administrator, and she later joined the marketing and sales departments. She continues to further her education every two years and has been licensed in health and accident insurance since 2001. Rosie joined Dearden & Associates, now known as Spherica, as a broker in 2019 and supports the self-funded clients in sales administration of the benefit options they offer their employees.
Her expertise is developing strong relationships with clients to better understand the inner workings of the benefits they are paying for employees. She enjoys working with both small and very large accounts to help support the goals of each individual client and their employees. Since every client is driven by their own goals and objectives, it is important to learn and become an extension of their organization. This includes and is not limited to the client knowing the reporting of financials to manage the plan and for every member of the team to have access to the services they need.
Rosie enjoys spending time outdoors and having fun in the sun. Her favorite activities include camping, hiking, rafting and boating.
Ryan received a Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University after graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in history from Colorado State University in 2003. He continues to pursue his education every year and has gained licenses in life and health insurance. He has been a part of the business since 2010 and seeks out clients who are in need of advice and knowledge about the health care industry.
Ryan and his wife have been married since 2000 and have four kids. He also has a very large extended family who have become adopted children to him and his wife at times. Ryan is a fluent Spanish speaker and loves traveling, particularly in the National Parks, volleyball and following most sports.
Sandy has been in the insurance industry since 2000 and also has worked in the medical field since 2006. She completed a year of college at Bryman College in 1980 and is a proud mother of two and grandmother of five.
Steve attended the University of Montana Western and graduated with his bachelor's degree in secondary education at Brigham Young University in 1990. He then went off to earn a Master of Arts in counseling from the University of Arizona in 1994. Since then, he has become a certified high-performance coach in 2021 after finishing the no. 1 HP training program in the world. The framework was tested in over 10,000 coaching sessions via a University of Pennsylvania study with participants ratings equaling just over 9 on a 1-10 scale.
Steve's professional development career in public education was ongoing annually for 32 years. During his career, he received three Coach of the Year awards from newspapers and the Arthur Braithwaite Award, and he received an award by the Utah High Basketball Coaches Association. He has also been awarded Teacher of the Year by the South Valley Chamber of Commerce, Utah Zero Fatalities, and the Utah Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association. He currently works as a high-performance coach, which involves an annual recertification training and two professional development events each year in addition to his daily and weekly personal development routines. His goal is to become a world-class high-performance coach to indirectly help thousands of people by directly helping hundreds of individuals and teams transform their lives.
He and his wife, Stephanie, have been married for 36+ years and have four children, Steven, Jordan, Heather and Amber. He also enjoys reading, triathlons, hiking, traveling, music, spectator sports and anything family oriented. He is also a two-time Ironman Triathlon finisher.