Her Story
About Nichole
Nichole Ellis serves as the Workers' Compensation Program Director at PAM Health, a national post-acute hospital system. In this role, she oversees the workers' compensation program for the Colorado market, handling marketing and promotion of the program while working with carriers, nurse case managers, attorneys, and patients to bring in work comp cases and advocate for patients throughout their stay. With 26 years in the industry, Nichole began her career after earning a business marketing degree, starting as a work comp policy underwriter for 14 years. She then transitioned to the broker side, selling work comp insurance, followed by the employer side where she managed risk, claims, and developed company-wide safety programs and training. She now operates on the provider side, bringing a comprehensive perspective across all facets of workers' compensation.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nichole
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say mentors, for sure. I've had a handful of really amazing mentors who I've leaned on my entire career. There's always gonna be people who are not looking out for your best interest, so I would say the mentors who I knew had my back, and those people who spoke well about me when I wasn't in those rooms, and I really just had to humble myself a lot of times and just really lean on my mentors. And find, seek those mentors out in each position I've had.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I would say, you know, same as before, you know, like, make yourself stand out, make yourself valuable. I think that's probably the best advice. So, instead of coming in and just doing, you know, the basic day-to-days and 9 to 5, really just look for the avenues that are going to make you stand out and make you valuable in your position, and that creates trust and credibility. So, you know, make yourself valuable so that people trust you, and then, therefore, they'll trust whatever organization that you're working for.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say, just stay confident in who you are, and be true to yourself, because in insurance, there's a lot of male influence, and there's a lot of pressure on the money side, and I would say if you're true to yourself, you're always going to be successful if you're looking out for all the best interests, everybody's best interests, I guess, if that makes sense.
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