Michele Diebold Wins PEP Award

Michele Diebold, HR/risk manager for the City of Gatlinburg, was selected as the East Tennessee Excellence in Risk Management Award winner. 

Michele began her career with the City of Gatlinburg as human resources manager in 2014. Four years later, she was named director of human resources and risk management. In addition to her oversight of all human resource functions for the city, Michele is responsible for the safety and risk management protocols for the city’s 252 full-time and 103 part-time employees.

Since she first joined the City of Gatlinburg, Michele has made safety her priority. She has improved the accident investigation process and the quality and quantity of safety training, and has provided supervisory training to ensure accountability for accidents and incidents that occur in each department. Because of these efforts, the city has seen a decrease in the number of employee injuries, resulting in a 31% loss ratio in workers’ compensation for the past five years.

Michele has also worked tirelessly in her risk management capacity for the city. She implemented a new policy for third-party facility use that includes a release form, replacing the less formal process that was previously used. Additional risk management initiatives she has developed include improvements to claims investigation procedures and documentation inspection programs.

Michele is not shy about sharing her experience with others, and works to provide risk management resources to her peers in her capacity as East Tennessee Vice President for TnPRIMA. She recently hosted a risk management round table for more than 10 Tennessee municipalities, during which she led discussions on professionalism in the workplace, cyber liability and managing contracts, including certificates of insurance.

“We are proud of Michele’s risk management leadership in the East Tennessee region,” said Matthew Marshall, loss control consultant for PE Partners. “She exudes professionalism and dedication to her field, and we’re excited that she is being recognized in this capacity.”

Michele is the epitome of a professional risk manager, which is why she was chosen as an Excellence in Risk Management Award recipient for 2022.