Insurance Cares Awards Spring 2024 ‘DEI on the RISE’ Scholarships

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Insurance Cares, a nonprofit organization born out of RISE’s DEI committee that is dedicated to providing equal access to insurance education through scholarships and free educational resources, is proud to announce the recipients of its second round of DEI on the RISE scholarships. These scholarships are designed to support diverse students pursuing careers in insurance by providing funds for tuition, books, and general day-to-day financial needs, as well as mentorship opportunities and access to the insurance community.

The DEI on the RISE scholarship recipients will be paired with mentors who will provide guidance and support as they navigate their careers in the insurance industry. Additionally, the recipients will gain valuable access to the insurance community through networking opportunities, paid internship opportunities within the insurance industry, attendance at industry events, and learning the fundamentals of insurance.

“Receiving this scholarship would significantly impact my ability to continue my educational pursuits and achieve my career goals. Financial constraints often pose a major challenge for students, limiting their access to necessary resources and sometimes forcing them to compromise on their educational aspirations. This scholarship would alleviate some of these financial burdens, allowing me to focus more on my studies and less on financial worries. Ultimately, the support provided by this scholarship will be instrumental in helping me achieve my ambition of making a meaningful impact in the risk management and insurance industry,” says Kenisha Davis, student at Georgia State University.

The insurance industry provides prime career opportunities for students right out of school. It’s no longer for people who love pocket protectors and corny coffee mugs. Careers in insurance are stable, rewarding, limitless, dynamic and offer work-life balance, and we are so excited to provide the funds, tools, and mentorship for rising diverse talent to become the insurance stars of the future!

Mileinie Sanchez, student at Bentley University shared, “Bentley University has provided excellent opportunities through its Actuarial Science major and industry networks. However, I am aware that many individuals from lower-income neighborhoods lack access to such resources. This lack of access often prevents minorities from considering Actuarial Science or the insurance industry as career options. I’m committed to representing minorities by volunteering and speaking at community events attended by high schoolers, particularly those with a variety of diverse backgrounds.”

Insurance Cares is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the insurance industry by providing support and opportunities to underrepresented communities. Through the DEI on the RISE scholarships, Insurance Cares aims to empower and uplift diverse students to excel in their insurance careers, contribute to the industry, and help create a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit www.insurancecares.org

 

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The Balance Between Setting Business Goals and Personal Development Goals

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Charlotte Rheingold

Instructional Designer, AmTrust Financial Services, Inc.

When thinking about career development, striking a balance between your company’s objectives and your own professional growth can be challenging. However, prioritizing both can help you achieve happiness and success at work. I found myself in this exact situation about a year ago. I had just joined a new company and was tasked with outlining my business goals while also trying to determine my overall career path. Since then, I’ve reworked my business and personal goals, and here are a few things that helped me.

Creating Business Goals

When crafting business goals, start by understanding the “why” of the company – what is the main purpose? What are the top objectives? Why is this what we’re all striving to achieve? Then, think about how your team or department goals contribute to the overall company vision. (If you are ever unsure about what these goals are, ask your leader!)

Once the larger goals are clear, then think about your role and why it matters to the business. Even if your impact isn’t immediately obvious, every individual contributes to the company’s broader objectives. Begin with the big picture, and then zoom in to your specific role and what you do daily. This approach can help connect the dots to how your regular work duties actively contribute to the overall success of the business.

Utilize SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) criteria to track progress effectively. When it comes to making your goals measurable, think about metrics that are important to your team. Do you have sales numbers, service level agreements, customer portfolios, satisfaction surveys, etc.? Is there a metric that you are looking to increase (e.g. number of claims handled per month) or decrease (e.g. employee turnover)? Think about which goals can be achieved through your regular work and how you can measure them through key metrics.

For my project-based role as an Instructional Designer on a Learning & Development team, this meant thinking about how each of my training projects related to larger department and company strategic goals. My team has our goals posted in a centralized location, and anytime I start a new project, I ask myself how it aligns with them. If it doesn’t support these goals, I recognize that I either need to realign the project objectives or it’s likely not something I should prioritize.

To share a personal example, last year one of our main team goals was to increase the value of the new employee experience to build a strong culture of inclusivity to retain top talent and drive business performance. I contributed to this goal by working on various new hire training programs. It can be easy to send a new employee some documents and consider their onboarding complete, but I pushed beyond that to create a well-rounded, welcoming, and structured experience for our new hires. I wanted to make sure they felt that they belong here, were set up for success in their role, and would be supported throughout their tenure.

Creating Personal Development Goals

While business goals are important, your personal growth also matters. Development goals can be anything you want them to be: skill development, a promotion, creating an entire new role, becoming a leader of an employee network – the sky is the limit! They can be directly related to your current role or focused on growing into something totally different. This is both exciting and challenging because you have to decide for yourself what you want. Take time to reflect on the skills, knowledge, experiences, and type of work-life balance you want to acquire.

I started my reflection by identifying my values, and I was surprised by how deep and introspective an experience it was. Defining my values helped me better recognize and make the most of situations where I can embody these values in my work. By further thinking about what these opportunities looked like, I was then able to determine what skills I need to execute on them. This helped me develop a roadmap of the skills I want to learn, which I can apply to both personal development and business goals.

One goal that I have been consistently working on is developing self-promotion and networking skills, which supports my long-term aspiration of becoming a Learning and Development (L&D) team leader. I want to promote our training programs and highlighting the value of continued learning to the business. Additionally, having a strong network is beneficial to tune into business needs and create impactful training. One thing I am doing to build these skills is serving as the co-chair of one of our internal employee networks for young professionals. This is helping me to develop my voice, executive presence, and build key relationships across the company. Plus, it gives me a platform to share all the great work our L&D team does and help others benefit from these programs.

Even with a well-defined plan for my personal development, I am open to changes along the way. I know that my professional priorities will evolve and when I achieve one goal, I will replace it with a new one. If I find that one of my goals no longer works as intended, I’ll reevaluate it. This is why having clearly defined values helps inform the adjustments to my plan over time.

Finding a Balance

Your business and personal development goals don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the more they can complement each other, the better. If you notice a large gap between the two, maybe that’s a sign that you need to consider a role where they can be more aligned, which is absolutely okay. We all start somewhere.

We all come to work to do a job that supports the success of the company. But we should also prioritize work that supports our own personal success.

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RISE Announces 2024 ’35 Under 35′

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dania Beach, FL, April 2, 2024 – RISE is proud to announce the recipients of the 2024 “35 Under 35” award, a prestigious honor recognizing exceptional rising talent in the insurance industry.

The RISE Awards “35 Under 35” celebrates rising stars who have demonstrated outstanding achievements and contributions to their companies, communities, and the insurance sector as a whole. This year, we received a significant number of nominations from across the industry, highlighting the wealth of talent and innovation present among young professionals.

 

The 2024 “35 Under 35” recipients are:

  • Andrew Adams – President, River Valley Underwriters Inc
  • Aqil Kurji – Founding Associate & Actuary, Zoë Foundry
  • Ashley Walker – Director, Aon
  • Breck Seitz – Healthcare Broker, Risk Placement Services
  • Chris Gutierrez – CEO, Stryke National Investigations
  • Cody Pavlat – Manager, Content Design & Knowledge Management, AF Group
  • Colleen O’Brien – Director of National Accounts, Partner Relationships, SageSure
  • Connor James Thomson, CPCU – Law Clerk, Stickley Law, LLC
  • Daniel Osei-Agyemang – Head of Claims, Prime Insurance Company Limited
  • Don Mahone – RVP, Commercial Surety, Allianz Trade
  • Gracemarie Mende – Director – Auto Claims, Arch Insurance Group
  • Jake Doman – Consulting Director, Axion
  • Jeff Weber – Executive General Adjuster, PURE Insurance
  • Jessica Lei – Casualty Litigation Specialist III, Cincinnati Insurance Company
  • Jessica Rosenow – Director, Data and Analytics, Coterie Insurance
  • Jose Hernandez – Senior Unit Manager, NARS
  • Joshua Williams – Campus Recruiting & Program Lead Manager, TruStage
  • Kayla Pigeon, Esq. – Assistant Vice President, MSP Compliance, Sanderson Firm
  • Krista Scott – Senior Underwriter, The Hartford
  • Marques Brown – Senior Director of Membership Experience, GradGuard
  • Mercedes Peil – Director, Strategy, Selective Insurance
  • Molly Niswander – Medicare Compliance Unit Manager, Westfield
  • Paria Esmaeelzadeh – Associate Director, Carrier Relations, Willis Towers Watson
  • Quron Berry – Claims Supervisor, Utica National Insurance Group
  • Rakesh Kumar Dhawan – Founder & CEO, DHA-1, Inc
  • Rick Holtz – Chief Technology Officer, Seek Now
  • Rocio Luna – Insurance Producer, Modern Reign Insurance Brokers
  • Ryan Brichetto – Senior Property Claims Representative, Westfield
  • Salena Chaudhry – Claim Technical Consultant, The Auto Club Group
  • Sara Cummings – Accounting Manager, Preferred Mutual Insurance Company
  • Shante Delgado – Operations Manager/Agent, American Benefits Specialists
  • Taylor Nelson – Business Generation Consultant II, AmTrust Financial Services Inc
  • Thomas Lynch – Senior Vice President, Jencap Group
  • Tony Petrucci – Claims Specialist, Amerisure
  • Tyler Ross Gehbauer – AVP, Commercial Officer, CNA Financial Corporation

The winners will be honored at the 2024 RISE Awards Gala, taking place on June 18-20th in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

This prestigious event celebrates excellence in the insurance sector and honors individuals who have made significant contributions to the industry.

For more information about the 2024 RISE Awards Gala and to reserve your tickets, visit the event site

 

About RISE:

RISE® is a vibrant insurance community committed to empowering early-career professionals, attracting new talent, offering networking opportunities, and providing access to invaluable resources. 

For more information about RISE and our initiatives, visit RISEprofessionals.com

Contact:

Tori Snoddy | Director of Operations

tsnoddy@riseprofessionals.com

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