FAIA | Meet Your Education Staff

Meet Your Education Staff

	Tom Ashley, Instructor In 1987, Tom obtained his property-casualty and life & health life insurance licenses and worked as an agent in Vero Beach, Florida. In 1994, he moved to Tallahassee and joined the staff of the Florida Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (FAIFA), serving as VP of Communications and Professional Development and later as senior vice president. Tom served as FAIFA's primary CE instructor where he developed, wrote, and oversaw Department of Financial Services (DFS) approval of FAIFA's CE classes offered to members throughout the state. For several years before becoming FAIA's employee, he graciously provided life and health continuing education at FAIA Conventions. Prior to his insurance and association experience, Tom served as public relations director of Vista Properties, a developer of condominium and golf communities in south Florida. He is a 1978 graduate of the University of Florida where he majored in Public Relations. He is married to wife Laurie, a licensed building contractor who owns Design Point Homes in Tallahassee. They have three daughters: Katie (a student at American University's Washington College of Law), Meredith (FSU), and Elizabeth (Lawton Chiles High School).

	Melissa Champany, CCSR, Young Agent Coordinator Melissa is a 1988 graduate of Florida State University with a BFA in Dance and a minor in American Literature. Her many career paths include dance, management, horticulture, teacher, and mother. She fell in love with insurance in 2000 while working as a licensed agent with an FAIA member agency. It is during this time she experienced FAIA and the rest is history. She is FAIA's Young Agents Coordinator and she runs the Young Agents Council (YAC). If you haven't met her yet, don't worry, she will find you and educate you on anything YAC!
	Teri Clow, CCCR, Administrative Supervisor Teri joined FAIA in January of 2002 as the publications assistant. In April of 2003, she was promoted to education coordinator, where she assumed the duties of meeting planner for the Education Department. She is now the education administrative supervisor and meeting planner for over 300 of our continuing education classes. Previously, Teri earned her Bachelor of Science degree with major in Microbiology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. She then retired after twenty years as a Commander in the U.S. Navy. Teri and her husband, Mike, reside in Tallahassee, Florida. Her two children, Jonathan and Sarah, are actively involved in competitive swimming throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

	Lucy Dugger, Communications Coordinator Lucy joined FAIA in September of 2005. As the Education Department's communication's coordinator, Ms. Dugger is responsible for producing books for FAIA instructors, advertising continuing education classes, and assisting FAIA members with continuing education questions, among other communications-related duties. Lucy discovered a passion for association work when she joined the staff of the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA) as a communications specialist in 2002. In this role, she served as assistant editor of Relay magazine, Florida's only electric utility industry publication. Other duties included assisting with website management, and working closely with Florida's 32 public power utilities and FMEA's 150+ associate member companies to ensure a strong presence in all FMEA publications. A native of Tallahassee, Lucy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1993 and her Master of Social Work degree in 1995 from Florida State University. After returning to school yet again to work toward a degree in graphic design technology, Ms. Dugger interned with Tallahassee Community College, as well as the Zimmerman Agency, Florida's largest advertising and public relations firm.

	Lisa H. Harrington, CPCU, CAE, AAM, AAI, Vice President of Education, Before joining FAIA as Director of Education, Lisa was the operations manager with an FAIA member agency, overseeing three locations. As the daughter of a career Army Lieutenant Colonel, she saw the world, ending up in Indiana, where she attended Ball State University. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with majors in Management and Spanish, and joined the insurance industry right out of college in 1983. Her company experience includes underwriting and field sales for both L&H and P&C carriers. In the agency, she sold commercial accounts as a 2-20 agent, and then moved into management, directing nine agency departments, including PL and small accounts, commercial service, human resources, public relations, education, and training. As FAIA's Vice President of Education she manages your 13 member Education staff. Since she joined FAIA, the Education Department has created your Online CE and ACSR programs; increased significantly the number of On Site classes available; designed the Elite Sales Force Training program, which allows newer agents to earn the Associate in Insurance Production designation from IIABA; piloted the new nine-part AAI program from IIA/CPCU; coordinated the implementation of the web based FIRL; built your "Ops in a Box" and many other services to help keep your staff as up to date as possible in this rapidly changing business. And, if you need sales or agency management consulting, Lisa can help; just give her a call. She and her husband Paul, a claims adjuster, have a house-full of pets. They enjoy the RV camping lifestyle and ballroom dancing at Arthur Murray.

	Stephen R. Hirst, CPCU Industry Relationship Manager Steve graduated from Florida State University in 1985 and began his insurance career in 1987 as an underwriter for a large direct writer. In 1994, Steve entered the ranks of independent insurance agents as the Family and Business Division manager of a large agency. In 1998, Steve accepted a position as the underwriting manager of a newly-formed, Florida-domiciled insurance company. In 2005, Steve played a large role in the formation and approval of a second Florida-based carrier. In July of 2007, Steve joined FAIA in his current capacity. During Steve's diverse career he has gained experience and expertise in insurance company and agency management, product development, and marketing. Steve also has extensive experience in the application of industry-related technology solutions and in regulatory and residual market matters both in Florida and several other southeastern states. Steve is married and has two teenaged daughters. Any spare time not consumed by his daughters is spent fishing, relaxing at the beach, or watching sports. Steve is also very active in supporting the schools in his community.

	Ashlee Jessup, CCSR, Registrar, Staff Assistant Ashlee joined FAIA's Education Department as a staff assistant in December of 2005. She offers a wealth of knowledge in the area of continuing education and licensing due to her previous experience as an education specialist with Florida's DFS. Ashlee looks forward to continuing to apply this knowledge toward a long and varied career with FAIA. Ashlee and her husband, John, reside in Crawfordville, Florida. The have two dogs, Roxy and Luke. They have a beautiful daughter McKinlee and might even expand their family in the future.

	Dawn Korzen, LUTCF, AIP, Instructor After 15 years of teaching piano and voice lessons, Dawn began her insurance career in 1986 as an Executive Secretary to five senior vice presidents of a large Salt Lake City life insurance company whose parent company was Allstate. In this position, she learned the management styles and detailing of every department of the company, which gave her an appreciation of the company perspective. One thing was first and foremost—the company knew their agency force was the reason they were in business. After being transferred with that company to Lincoln, Nebraska in 1994, Dawn decided to jump to the agency side of things becoming an agent with Mutual of Omaha. Seeing the need to become a trusted advisor, even before that terminology was made popular, she obtained not only her life/health/annuity licenses but her P&C and securities as well—hoping to get a foot in the door with clients one way or another. Ultimately, she would own an Allstate agency and work in a large independent agency doing some commercial lines work. In 2003, she joined Nebraska's Big "I" as their marketing rep., which has given her the wonderful opportunity of recruiting, meeting, golfing with, planning conventions for, and teaching (through the Elite AIP program as well as life/health classes) many of Nebraska's finest agents. She is a mother to four and Gramma to seven (so far) and enjoys golfing, music, golfing, travel, and, well...golfing.

	Robin Mattheiss, ACSR, AIAM, CPIW, Information Resource Specialist Robin started in the insurance industry in 1991 in Pensacola, Florida after several years as a licensed cosmetologist. Beginning as an agency assistant, Robin later became a customer service representative, obtaining her 4-40 license & ACSR designation in Personal Lines in 1993. In 1996, she joined FAIA as information specialist. She was a member of Insurance Professionals of Tallahassee and has held the offices of secretary, treasurer, editor, president-elect, and president as well as chairing several committees. Robin won the Rookie of the Year award with Insurance Women in 1998. In 1999, she received the ACSR designation in Commercial Lines. Robin has been an asset to FAIA members, answering and researching dozens of questions daily about insurance coverage, licensing, products, markets, and many other topics.

	Jeff Odom, Insurance Analyst Jeff graduated from Florida State University in 1988. He began his insurance career by working as both a general lines and life and health insurance agent with an independent insurance agency. He then moved to the education side of insurance by taking a position with the DFS (formerly Department of Insurance), working in the continuing education section. Jeff spent the last four years as the administrator of continuing education before joining FAIA. Jeff's duties as an insurance analyst are writing, teaching, and updating and revising FAIA's Florida Insurance Research Library. He is married with two children. He spends his free time involved with the local Little League and attending every one of his daughter's ballet recitals.

	William H. Perkins , AAI, Instructor Bill graduated from Loyola University of the South and later joined a family-owned insurance agency in Orlando, Florida. After 12 years as a commercial insurance sales agent, Bill was hired by FAIA in 1993 as a commercial lines instructor. In addition to teaching the principle commercial insurance disciplines of business auto, commercial general liability, property, and workers' compensation, Bill also specializes in longshore and maritime employment coverage issues. In addition to teaching these subjects, he also is responsible for FAIA's annual Legislative Roundup sessions. Perkins is recognized as a certified trainer by the Institute for Global Ethics and is the primary instructor for FAIA's ethics courses. Bill's additional responsibilities include membership on the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers Association (IIABA) Technical Affairs Committee and the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) Florida Appeals Board. Bill has earned the Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI), the Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designations. A frequent speaker at International Risk Management Institute's Construction Risk Conference, Perkins received IRMI's Words of Wisdom (WOW) award in 2001.

	David A. Thompson , CPCU, AAI, API, ACSR, Instructor David graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia and then served seven years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard. David began his insurance career in an independent agency in Vero Beach, Florida, where he was a licensed agent selling all types of insurance for over 10 years. He taught insurance pre-licensing and continuing education classes at a local community college before joining FAIA in 1996. David is a well-rounded instructor with a specialty in personal lines. His classes are upbeat and hands-on, so you can apply the information in real life situations with customers. Being a marathon runner and bar-b-que connoisseur, he always finds a way to work those topics into his seminars!

	Jay K. Williams , AAI, AIP, CIC, CRM, ACSR, FMS Managing Director Jay is a veteran of the insurance industry. He began his career as a licensed agent in 1979 as an independent contractor for a direct writer. In 1987, he moved to the independent insurance agency force. As an independent agent, he fine-tuned his management, sales, and training skills as a producer, marketing and underwriting manager, and an agency operations manager. In addition to many FAIA classes, Jay has taught the 200 hour pre-licensing course for the Florida property & casualty 2-20 license. Jay is an animated instructor, which makes his classes fun and entertaining as well as educational.