About Us
At Verbena Training, we’re transforming how employee benefits professionals learn, grow, and lead.
Backed by a team of seasoned industry experts, our training programs are thoughtfully designed to deliver technical knowledge, real-world insight, and hands-on experience for benefits professionals.
All of our trainers bring over 20 years of deep industry experience — not just as educators, but as real-world, client facing consultants and team leaders. We’ve risen through the ranks of the insurance and benefits industry, from entry-level roles to Client Service Directors and Benefits Division Leaders. Along the way, we’ve driven growth, elevated service, and built high-performing teams. We've led strategic initiatives across sales, consulting, financial strategy, client retention, communications, compliance, and training. Our experience spans the full spectrum: business development, strategic consulting, financial analysis, renewal negotiation, project management, and communications.
We understand that success in this industry requires both deep technical expertise and strong, trust-based relationships. We’re passionate about developing talent and empowering teams to deliver exceptional results in the complex world of employee benefits.
What Makes Us Different?
Experience That Counts: Each trainer is a seasoned expert with 15+ years of employee benefits and insurance experience.
Flexible Delivery: Self-paced modules + live sessions. Training built for modern, busy schedules.
Industry-Relevant: Built around today’s most critical topics. Updated annually to meet the evolving needs of the employee benefits industry.
Immediate ROI: Results driven programs that make an impact.
Meet Our Founder
At Verbena Training, we believe in empowering employee benefits professionals with the tools, insight, and confidence to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.
We're enthusiastic about the benefits industry and look forward to sharing our knowledge, expertise and passion with our students.
Kim Bubnis
Founder
Kim Bubnis brings more than 20 years of experience in employee benefits with a proven track record of leading teams, advising clients, and developing talent. Her career began in Northern California, where she built HR functions for fast-growing tech startups giving her experience on the client side of the business before moving to the brokerage side of the industry in the early 2000s. The early career client-side experience gives her a unique perspective that few brokerage professionals possess.
Over the next decade, Kim advanced through roles including Account Manager, Account Executive, Client Consultant, Client Service Director, and ultimately Principal of a high-growth brokerage firm. After relocating to Southern California, she joined a leading regional brokerage as Director of the Account Executive team, advised key clients as Executive Consultant, oversaw several specialty teams, and eventually became the Employee Benefits Division Leader and Owner/Partner of the firm.
Widely respected for her leadership capability, ability to grow high performing teams, and her consulting expertise, Kim has contributed to the industry as a board member with the Orange County Employee Benefits Council (OCEBC), numerous advisory roles with national insurance carriers, and a board member of a national community of benefits practice leaders.
Today, Kim is channeling her experience into the work she finds most meaningful: developing the next generation of employee benefits talent. Recognizing an industry talent gap and the evolving needs of brokerage firms, she has committed to equipping emerging professionals with the technical foundation, practical insight, and confidence they need to succeed, and help brokerage leaders strengthen their teams for the future.
When asked about the legacy she hopes to leave, Kim’s answer is clear: to build the next generation of employee benefits talent and strengthen the future of the industry. That vision is now at the center of Verbena Training and every program the company is creating.
