THANK YOU TO OUR
2026 SPEAKERS
Allan Autry
Partner, Johnson Lambert
Alan Autry is a partner tax division of Johnson Lambert in Raleigh, North Carolina. He is responsible for providing the highest level of service in public accounting. He manages the preparation process of corporate tax returns, insurance tax returns for property and casualty insurance companies, partnershp returns, and S corporation tax returns, among other duties.
Sonya Bergquist
Senior Actuarial Analyst, Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC
Sonya Bergquist is a Senior Actuarial Analyst at Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC, an actuarial consulting firm located in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is passionate about hiking, climbing, and property & casualty actuarial work. Her areas of concentration include reserving and pricing analyses related to workers compensation, professional liability, and general liability. She also provides actuarial services for other property & casualty exposures. She has five years’ experience working with captive insurance companies encompassing both captive feasibility studies and on-going reserving and pricing analyses.
Sandy Bigglestone
Managing Director and Chief Governance, Regulatory & Compliance Officer, Strategic Risk Solutions
As the SRS Titanium Managing Director and Chief Governance, Regulatory & Compliance (GRC) Officer, Sandy brings to SRS a wealth of knowledge and experience. Sandy focuses on providing SRS clients with strategies for regulatory and GRC standards within their captives. Using these strategies will help SRS clients to make the most of their captives for their overall business success.
Eryn Brasovan
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Eryn Brasovan takes a strategic approach to legal representation, carefully considering her client’s business goals in the context of applicable regulatory frameworks and industry trends. She has extensive experience encompassing a variety of transactional and regulatory matters related to the financial services and insurance industries, including consumer and commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance and risk management, and litigation and dispute resolution.
Doug Butler
Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson
Doug Butler is a highly regarded lawyer in the captive insurance industry who has experience in both the management and legal sides of captive insurance. He focuses his practice on insurance regulatory and general corporate transactions, including the formation and management of captive insurance companies, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.
Kevin Doherty
Head of Captive Insurance, Dickinson Wright
Kevin focuses his practices in the areas of captive insurance and insurance regulation and is the head of Dickinson Wright’s Captive Insurance practice. He is the founder and serves as the Immediate Past President of the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association, Inc., and helped to rewrite the captive insurance law in Tennessee in 2011. Since that time, Tennessee has formed more than 1,000 captives and related cells, and it has become one of the leading domestic domiciles for captives. Kevin also practices music and entertainment law and represents recording artists, songwriters, and record and music publishing companies in connection with music agreements.
Jerry Faiella
President, Mebco
Jerry is President of Mebco, Municipal Employee Benefits Consortium, a health benefits program developed by municipalities for municipalities. Mebco provides self-insured, pooled solutions for municipalities. MEBCORP's Local Government Captive program is available in all states, and it provides insurance solutions for local governments.
Victoria Fimea
Chief Captive Analyst, Arizona Department of Insurance
Ms. Fimea is an attorney with over 30 years of insurance and public affairs advocacy experience, including over 20 years in C-suite and senior level positions. Her extensive captive insurance experience encompasses roles such as Senior Vice President with an alternative risk provider where she managed the regulatory, claims, underwriting and captive formation departments, and as a Senior Vice President and General Counsel in the life insurance industry forming captive insurers for reserve financing transactions.
Solomon Feinberg
Consulting Actuary, SIGMA
Solomon is a consulting actuary at SIGMA with 21 years of actuarial experience. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. His experience with SIGMA includes performing and managing reserve analyses for captive insurance companies and corporations with self-retained exposures for an array of P&C exposures. Prior to his consulting work with SIGMA, Solomon’s experience included working for an insurance company with responsibility for reserving and data querying. His previous experience also included working as an insurance regulator reviewing a broad range of P&C insurance company rate filings and reviewing rate and reserve levels for workers compensation self insureds. Solomon graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Physics from St. Louis University and received a M.S. degree in Physics from the University of Illinois.
Alan Fine
Partner, Armanino
Alan has more than 25 years of tax experience and has worked closely with insurance companies for 22 years. He specializes in the taxation of insurance companies and is responsible for serving insurers writing fidelity, personal and commercial lines; medical and life insurance; and other professional malpractice coverage.
Anjannette Fowler
Managing Director and Sr. Vice President, PNC
As a Managing Director and Sr. Vice President of the Insurance and Specialized Industries Group at PNC, Fowler leads a team of professionals who provide customized investment solutions for insurance companies. With over 25 years of experience in the investment management industry, she has a deep understanding of the complex financial and regulatory challenges that insurance clients face, and how to deliver optimal outcomes for them.
Ned Gaines
Nevada Insurance Commissioner
Ned Gaines was appointed as Nevada’s Insurance Commissioner by Department of Business and Industry Director Kristopher Sanchez effective Oct. 6, 2025. He has served as Commissioner in an acting capacity since July 2. In this role, Commissioner Gaines is charged with protecting consumer rights and the public’s interest in dealings with the insurance industry.
Joe Deems
Executive Director, National Risk Retention Association
Joe Deems has over 41 years’ experience as an attorney licensed to practice before both state and federal courts with an emphasis on insurance law. Joe Deems is the Executive Director of the NRRA and leads the organization in providing education, networking, and lobbying efforts related to RRGs.
Kacie Dillon
Attorney, Silver Law
Kacie Dillon represents clients in all aspects of federal and state tax controversy matters, including business, individual, employment and gift/estate tax audit defense, captive insurance, conservation easements, and significant collection matters. Ms. Dillon has significant tax litigation experience. Ms. Dillon was lead counsel in the first litigated 831(b) captive insurance case tried in the United States Tax Court and has tried four additional 831(b) captive cases since. Currently, Ms. Dillon represents several captive insurance companies related to IRS matters including audit defense, settlement negotiations and litigation.
Victor Gallardo
Senior Account Manager, Helio Risk
Prior to joining Helio Risk, Victor worked at the Oklahoma Insurance Department, where he played a pivotal role in regulatory oversight for the Oklahoma Captive Division. His achievements include obtaining the Associate Professional in Insurance Regulation (APIR) designation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Victor’s background is distinguished by his ability to build and maintain strong professional relationships, skills he refined while managing business relations at the Department. This experience enables him to effectively enhance and grow Helio Risk’s diverse client portfolio. Victor is currently pursuing the Associate in Captive Insurance designation.
Cassandra Hand Gallegos
Co-Founder and CEO, CCMS & Associates
Cassandra Hand-Gallegos is the Co-Founder and Chief Claims Officer of CCMS & Associates, with over 35 years of experience in property and casualty claims. She specializes in complex claim management, operational strategy, and alternative risk programs, including SIR and captive program administration. Cassandra is also Co-Founder of ION Insight.Onsite.Now.™, a field intelligence platform delivering real-time claim insights to accelerate coverage decisions.
Maria Ganson
General Counsel, Christus Health
Maria Ganson, based in Texas, United States, is currently a VP and Risk and Deputy General Counsel at CHRISTUS Health. Maria Ganson brings experience from previous roles at CHRISTUS Health, Cooper & Scully, P.C. and Vial, Hamilton, Koch & Knox.
Heather Graziani
VP, Accelerant
Heather Graziani is Vice President of Captive Solutions at Accelerant, where she leads the development and expansion of the firm’s captive practice. She brings over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry, including the past decade focused on captives and fronting solutions. Prior to joining Accelerant, Heather built and scaled the global fronting practice at Starr Insurance Companies, establishing a strong foundation for growth and innovation. She is known for her entrepreneurial leadership, technical underwriting expertise, and deep understanding of risk financing strategies.
Matt Grimes
Chief Insurance Officer, National Psychedelics Association
Matt Grimes is the Chief Insurance Officer at the National Psychedelics Association, where he leads the development of innovative insurance solutions for emerging therapies and organizations within the psychedelics space. With deep expertise in risk management and insurance strategy, he works to bridge the gap between evolving regulatory landscapes and the unique needs of this rapidly growing industry. Matt is recognized for his forward-thinking approach and commitment to supporting safe, sustainable access to psychedelic-assisted care.
Jonathan Habart
Regulatory Compliance and RRG Officer, Marsh
Jonathan is a captive insurance leader and regulatory expert at Marsh where he is the Insurance Regulatory Compliance and Risk Retention Group Officer. He is an ICCIE Board & Faculty. Jonathan is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his ACI designation from ICCIE.
Mark Habersack
Exec. Director/Risk Management, Resorts World Las Vegas
Mark has served four decades as a member, and officer of the Nevada Chapter of the
Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) and is the chapter Delegate for the
Western Regional Conference Committee for RIMS as well as one of the founders of the Nevada Chapter of RIMS and the Nevada Self-Insured’s Association (NSIA), and on the first Nevada Board of the CLM. Mark is a fellow with the Claim and Litigation Management (CLM), as well as the 2021 Winner of the Heart of RIMS award which shows his lifetime achievement of his work in the Risk Management field. Mark joined an all-star team at Resorts World Las Vegas in May 2021 as the Executive Director of Risk Management, in which he has driven over $200 million dollars of tractable savings to the company in the first five years of operations. Mark’s background in risk management is primarily in the resort hotel/casino, and entertainment industry. However, he has also worked as the Senior Risk Manager for the Clark County Nevada Department of Aviation, where he was able to bring millions of dollars in savings and recoveries back to the Department of Aviation.
Diana Hardy
Chief Operating Officer, RH CPAs
Diana Hardy began her career at a Raleigh-based accounting firm, after graduating from North Carolina State University with her masters in accounting. In 2015, she joined RH CPAs as an audit manager. Currently she serves as the managing director of audit services and chief operating officer. She leads the firm’s attestation practice, oversees operations and manages multiple captive and traditional insurance teams.
Martha Hayes
Audit Partner, Larson
Martha Hayes brings over 20 years of captive insurance experience to every engagement, making her one of the most seasoned auditors in the industry. As leader of captive insurance auditing at Larson & Company, Martha has built a reputation not only as a precise and thorough financial statement auditor, but as a trusted advisor and go-to resource for captive managers across the country. Her colleagues know her fondly as "the one with all the answers" — a title she has earned through an exceptional depth of knowledge in insurance accounting, regulations, and audit standards.
Melissa Hollingsworth
Deputy Chief Officer of Risk Management, Los Angeles Unified School District
As the Deputy Chief Officer of Risk Management at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the country, I lead a dedicated team of 80 professionals. With a deep expertise in captives and insurance companies, I drive strategic initiatives, operational excellence, and innovative risk solutions that enhance risk management and claims outcomes. Named "Woman to Watch 2023" by Business Insurance and actively serves on the Board of Directors for the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) as well as Amplify Women Conference committee, demonstrating industry leadership and commitment to advancing diversity in insurance. Recognized public speaker and thought leader, sharing insights on risk management and insurance strategies at various platforms.
Matt Holycross
Palmetto Consulting of Columbia, LLC | FleetShield Insurance Company, a Risk Retention Group
Matt Holycross is a Columbia, South Carolina-based insurance executive whose career spans both traditional and alternative risk markets. Before joining Palmetto Consulting of Columbia, he served as CFO for AM Best-rated carriers, building a foundation in insurance finance, statutory accounting, and carrier operations that informs his work today. He is Managing Member of Palmetto Consulting of Columbia, a boutique insurance management firm specializing in captive insurance, risk retention groups, and specialty program business — and is himself a captive owner through his involvement with FleetShield Insurance Company, a Risk Retention Group serving the specialty commercial transportation market. His expertise spans financial oversight, reinsurance structuring, underwriting management, and claims administration across both sides of the management relationship. Matt holds CPA and ACI credentials and a degree from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina.
Madeline Jacobs
Financial Advisor, Jacobs Coolidge & Co.
Madeline Jacobs is a Financial Advisor with Jacobs, Coolidge & Co. and is third generation working in the family business. Madeline earned her MBA from the University of Florida and currently works with individuals & businesses to determine their goals and priorities. This is accomplished through a thoughtful and effective planning process to develop customized financial strategies that incorporate investment, business continuation, and succession planning. Madeline is a driven professional who takes great pride in helping clients achieve a secure financial future.
Blake Kerr
Owner and President, ENDVR CPAs
With a deep background in insurance, finance, business consulting, and accounting, Blake leads a team of CPAs and accountants to provide solutions for clients. Blake is also a Partner in Helio Risk, where he is Chief Financial Officer and leads the accounting division.
Steve Kinion
Captive Director, Oklahoma Insurance Department Captive Insurance Division
Previously, Steve served as director at the Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products with the Delaware Insurance Department. Prior to his Delaware appointment in July 2009, he was the senior adviser for regulatory policy for the then Insurance Commissioner, Karen Weldin Stewart. When he became the captive director, the bureau had only 38 captive insurance companies. Today, Delaware ranks as the world's fifth largest captive domicile and the third largest US domicile. Mr. Kinion is very involved in regulatory matters concerning captive insurance companies. This involvement includes active participation in matters before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Sam Komo
Captive Insurance Manager, Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance
As the Captive Insurance Manager at the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI), Sam Komo leads a team of dedicated professionals who monitor and regulate 55 licensed captive companies with $8.6 billion in gross written premiums and $16.2 billion in assets. With over 20 years of experience in various government and private sector roles, Komo has developed a strong expertise in risk management, leadership, team development, process alignment, and regulatory oversight.
Charles (Chaz) Lavelle
Partner, Dentons
Chaz Lavelle focuses his practice on tax controversy work, primarily before the Internal Revenue Service and US Tax Court. He has over 40 years of experience in tax law matters, with an emphasis on the taxation of captive insurance companies. He has resolved scores of cases with the IRS relating to federal income, estate, excise, gift and estate taxes, penalties and interest. Chaz's clients may be individuals, corporations or owners of captive insurance companies who have been selected for audit or who are facing appeal.
Kristen Lawler
Tax Partner, Crowe LLP
Kristen has over thirteen (13) years of experience within the financial services industry with a specialization in insurance tax. She has served many clients, including life insurance property & casualty insurance, health insurance, reinsurance and captive insurance companies. She has worked on a range of projects including ASC 740 tax provision attest services, financial service company federal tax return preparation services and formation, qualification and tax advisory services for captive insurance companies. Kristen helps to lead Crowe’s Captive insurance tax practice, identifying captive tax and regulatory solutions and strategies for clients across various industries.
Stephanie Liu
Deputy Director Captive Division, Utah State Department of Insurance
Stephanie Liu has been the assistant director of the Utah Captive Division since October 2022, after serving the division as an insurance financial analyst since 2016. Prior to her career as an insurance regulator, she was an individual income tax auditor at the Utah State Tax Commission and a junior accountant at a local CPA firm.
Renea Louie
Chief Executive Officer, Sotera Global Management
Renea Louie has served as a captive manager for 20 years with the same firm as COO. In late 2024, she was named CEO of her firm and rebranded to Sotera Global Management. Mrs. Louie has 38 years’ experience in senior management, operations, IT, marketing, administration, and extensive experience in captive feasibility, formation, licensing, and ongoing management for all forms and types of captives. Her unique and wide range of skill sets, and experience nationally and globally has enabled her to become an engaged leader in the industry. She is a frequent speaker, MC and commentator at industry conferences, meetings and in articles. Louie serves as the current Western Region Captive Association Chairwoman, Nevada Captive Insurance Council as a Director and Officer, Captive Insurance Companies Association two terms and past Chair and Director since 2018, Oklahoma Captive Insurance Association director and serves on many other state and federal committees and Boards. She has consistently been voted one of the top 50 most powerful and influential industry leaders.
Joe Marcantel
Director, Talisman Insurance
Joe Marcantel is a Director at Talisman Insurance Company, Inc. Talisman is a protected cell captive insurance company domiciled in Oklahoma that serves the specialty insurance sector by offering protected cells to underwriters who have seasoned books of business and need a regulated vehicle to transfer risk and direct access to capacity through reinsurance and alternative risk finance markets. All coverage provided by Talisman is commercial and is only available to those businesses who participate in an underwriting cell.
Heather McClure
Managing Partner & General Counsel, Helio Risk
As Managing Partner of Helio Risk, Heather oversees teams of professionals designing, building, and maintaining captive insurance and reinsurance companies; consulting on comprehensive risk programs; and executing on game-changing solutions for businesses. Prior to joining Helio, Heather was Chief Risk Advisor for the national healthcare practice at Aon, and previously spent 20+ years as a captive owner/chief risk officer at major health systems directing risk, claims, captive operations, and commercial insurance structure. As a captive owner, Heather was voted Captive Review's US Captive Risk Manager of the Year. As a service provider now, she is regularly voted to the Power 50 list and named to the Influential Women in Captive Insurance designation.
Jack Meskunas
Executive Director - Investments, Oppenheimer & Co.
In his role as Executive Director – Investments at Oppenheimer, Jack Meskunas brings over 35 years of comprehensive experience in advising qualified institutional clients on a diverse range of investment strategies. His expertise extends across offshore banking, brokerage firms, insurance, captive insurance and reinsurance companies. Jack's recommendations cover hedge funds, fixed income instruments, managed equities, and structured products. Moreover, he provides executive services tailored to the needs of senior managers and high-net-worth individuals, ensuring personalized attention to their financial objectives.
Josh Miller, KeyState
CEO
Josh Miller joined KeyState in 1998 and has served as CEO since 2011. Under his leadership, KeyState has grown its registered investment advisory business to over $18 billion in assets under management and expanded into two additional business lines. In 2008, KeyState launched its captive insurance management practice, providing clients with alternative risk transfer solutions. More recently, KeyState introduced SOLCAP, its
renewable energy tax credit platform, which has deployed and committed over $1 billion tax credit investments for community banks.
Alison Mullikin
Associate Director, Aon
Alison Mullikin is an Associate Director with Aon’s Captive & Insurance Management team. She is the lead contact for a large, international captive program, overseeing the daily operations of a team of professionals, ensuring timely and accurate reporting both internally and externally. Alison has 15 years’ experience in financial operations and reporting, the last 9 in the captive insurance industry. She has significant experience managing captive insurance companies for small, mid-size and Fortune 500 companies across a handful of domiciles with specific focus in the Western region.
Glen Mulready
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner
Glen Mulready serves as Oklahoma’s 13th insurance commissioner. A former state legislator and longtime insurance professional, he is in his second term as insurance commissioner. Commissioner Mulready was first elected to the state-wide position in 2019. Commissioner Mulready started his insurance career as a broker in 1984 and later served in executive roles for Oklahoma’s two largest health insurance companies. In 2010, Mulready entered public service and was elected to represent West Tulsa, Jenks, and Glenpool in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. During his tenure in the house, Commissioner Mulready became a policy leader on many transformative insurance issues and held several roles, including, Insurance Committee chair and House Majority Floor Leader.
Laura Phillips
Sr. Wealth Advisor, Wilmington Trust
Laura is responsible for providing comprehensive wealth management advice to high-net-worth individuals and families, entrepreneurs, business owners, and foundations and endowments. She leads a team of advisors to develop financial strategies to help clients protect and grow their assets for future generations, succeed in their business ventures, or prepare for the unexpected. Laura guides her clients every step of the way.
Jon Pike
Utah Insurance Commissioner
Jon Pike has served as Utah Insurance Commissioner since January 5, 2021. Pike worked in several positions with Intermountain Healthcare from 1990 through 2020, including 26 years as the southwest Utah operations director for SelectHealth, the health insurance division of Intermountain Healthcare. In 2007, Pike was elected to the St. George City Council and in 2013 he was elected mayor of St. George, where he served until January 2021. Pike currently serves on the boards of Encircle St. George, the Southwest Utah Symphony and Orchestra, the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, and as a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Lisa Poulin
Consultant, Milliman
Lisa Poulin is a Consultant with Milliman with over 35 years of property and casualty actuarial experience. She specializes in the alternative market, including captive insurance, self-insurance, and risk retention groups. Lisa assists clients from the formation process through the annual ongoing actuarial needs. Her experience covers a wide variety of actuarial work, including loss reserving, ratemaking, and financial modeling. Lisa is an Associate in Captive Insurance. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE), is the current Chair of ICCIE’s Development / Alumni Committee, is a member of the Membership and Marketing Committee for the Vermont Captive Insurance Association and is co-chair for the NRRA Conference.
Sam Raphael
Milliman
Sam Raphael’s experience in property and casualty work includes loss reserving,
prospective funding and ratemaking, data analysis, and feasibility studies. Sam supports the ongoing actuarial needs of numerous clients, including multiline property and casualty insurers and reinsurers,
Luke Renz
Captive Consultant, Captives.Insure
Luke is a Consultant for Captives Insure (“C.I.”), an award-winning global captive insurance consulting and underwriting firm headquartered in Tennessee. C.I. works with sophisticated captive managers, brokers, and business owners to provide turn-key captive insurance solutions designed to maximize control and premium retention for high-performing businesses around the world. Luke holds his Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) from ICCIE and helps insurance brokers provide their insureds wholly-owned captive insurance solutions for Property, Excess and Umbrella Liability, Workers' Compensation, General Liability, and Auto.
Mike Reynolds
Captives Analyst, Nevada Division of Insurance
Michael serves as a Management Analyst for the Nevada Division of Insurance’s
Captive Insurance Program. In this role, he conducts financial and regulatory reviews and actively contributes to the development of policies and regulations to support the state's captive insurance industry. Michael studied accounting at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nevada. He began his career with the State of Nevada in 2009 and has held a variety of administrative and regulatory positions across several state agencies, including the Nevada Department of Employment and the Nevada System of Higher Education. He joined the Nevada Division of Insurance in 2023.
Andrea Monterotti
Consulting Actuary, Milliman
Andrea Monterotti is a consulting actuary with the Boston office of Milliman with over 10 years of experience. Her experience covers a wide variety of property and casualty work, including loss reserving, ratemaking, and financial modeling. Andrea specializes in alternative market issues. She assists numerous clients with the formation and ongoing actuarial needs of captive insurers and risk retention groups.
Bailey Roese
Tax Partner, Dentons
Bailey Roese has over a decade of experience representing and advising taxpayers in federal, state and local tax matters. Bailey regularly advocates for clients in state courts, administrative tribunals, the United States Tax Court and US federal courts, including the US Supreme Court. Bailey also has broad experience working with the Internal Revenue Service, including IRS appeals, and state and local tax departments to settle disputes on behalf of taxpayers. Bailey focuses much of her practice on captive insurance taxation, advising captives and their insureds on tax compliance and defending them during audit. Bailey appears at number 43 on the 2025 Captive Review “Power 50” list, and was included in Captive International’s 2025 “Forty Under 40” list. Bailey frequently speaks on captive insurance taxation, including at the Captive Insurance Companies Association (“CICA”) International Conference, the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (“VCIA”) Annual Conference, the World Captive Forum, and the Cayman Captive Forum, among many others. She is the current co-chair of CICA’s NEXTGen Committee and is an active member of its Amplify Women initiative. She serves on the Self Insurance Institute of America’s Captive Insurance committee.
Leon L. Rives II
Chief Visionary Officer, RH CPAs
Leon L. Rives II is the Chief Visionary Officer in RH CPAs. Leon co-founded the firm and is an investor in several different businesses. Leon has authored more than 15 courses on insurance, insurance accounting, and governmental accounting. Leon is a regular speaker at board meetings and brings his 20 years of experience combined with the ability to communicate complex matters in an easy to understand practical approach. Leon has also assisted in drafting legislation pertaining to insurance in multiple jurisdictions. Leon also provides consulting services to a multitude of Risk Bearing entities across the United States and abroad, ranging from Workers Compensation, Property & Casualty, Life and Health, and Captives of all types. He spends most of his time on complex tax and accounting consulting.
Lynn Sessions
Partner, Baker & Hostetler
Lynn Sessions leads the Healthcare Privacy and Compliance team and serves as the Houston office lead in the Digital Assets and Data Management Practice Group, as well as national co-lead of the Healthcare Industry team, demonstrating a career of advising healthcare industry clients across multiple areas of the law. She focuses her practice now on healthcare privacy and data security, breach response, regulatory defense and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance. Having previously served as in-house counsel and director of several departments at Texas Children’s Hospital, Lynn collaborates closely with healthcare clients and approaches her legal representation from a client’s perspective.
F. Hale Stewart
Of Counsel, Dickinson Wright
F. Hale Stewart JD, LL.M is of counsel with Dickinson Wright and a fifth-generation lawyer who has been practicing in the captive space for nearly twenty years. He has advised companies on all aspects of captive transactions, from formation to shutting down. He has also advised litigators in Tax Court on the transaction’s intricacies. He is the author of two books (US Captive Insurance Law and Designing a Risk Financing Program) and numerous articles and presentations.
Joe Streck
AVP, Consulting & Management, Innovative Captive Strategies
Joe Streck has been with Innovative Captive Strategies (ICS) since 2017. As AVP of Consulting & Management, Joe is responsible for leading the ICS domestic captive consulting & management team which includes accounting and financial reporting, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, coordinating with services providers, and various other activities for captives under management. Additionally, Joe works on captive feasibility studies, financial modeling, and leads the formation and licensing process for new captives and provides ongoing captive consulting services to clients. Joe has over 9 years of experience in captive consulting & management and over 17 years of experience in insurance accounting, regulatory compliance, and financial reporting. He has expertise in both property & casualty and employee benefit captives. Joe enjoys guiding and developing new and creative ways to leverage the capabilities of captives to best assist clients with unique needs.
Tim Svoboda
Vice President - Alternative Risk, Conner Strong & Buckelew
Tim Svoboda is an insurance professional with an emphasis on the captive and alternative insurance industry. Background in alternative risk financing, quantitative analytics, and consulting on efficient program design.
Kyle Sweet
Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Helio Risk
Kyle is a captive owner of CCW Safe, a company providing firearms education, safety training, and support. He is also a commercial insurance company owner, lawyer, and a Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Helio Risk. Kyle is Past Chair of the Mercy Health Foundation, former General Counsel of the Lone Survivor Foundation and Emergency Responders Assistance Program, and current Board Member of the University of Washington College of Medicine, Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement where he also Chairs the Attorney Alliance Committee and serves on the Nominating Committee.
Shawn Tarwater
Kansas State Representative
Sean Tarwater is a politician and business owner serving as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 27th District since 2017. Born on February 25, 1969, in Kansas City, Kansas, he is a third-generation Kansan and a graduate of the University of Missouri–Kansas City, where he earned a business degree. Tarwater was first elected to the legislature in 2016 and has been reelected multiple times. During his tenure, he has held key leadership roles, including chair of the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, and has served on committees related to appropriations, education, pensions, and workforce development.
Dakota Terry
Captive Insurance Analyst, Montana Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance
Dakota Terry is the lead captive insurance analyst with the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Securities and Insurance, overseeing licensing, financial analysis, and compliance for Montana-domiciled captives. She first joined the captive team as an intern five years ago and now leads the analytical work for the state’s captive portfolio, helping shape Montana’s practical, relationship-focused approach to regulation.
Lauren Thomas
Executive Director, CICA
With over 20 years of experience with nonprofit and membership organizations, Lauren provides strategic guidance to client leadership and board of directors ensuring long-term growth, membership development, and sustainability of associations. Her background includes integral roles in model legislation drafting, industry research analysis, development of regulatory resource guides, and high-level event planning. Lauren joined the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) in 2022 and works closely with the board of directors to carry forward the mission of being the premier global domicile-neutral captive insurance association.
Grace Topete
Director of Business Operations, Helio Risk
As Director of Business Operations and Senior Account Manager at Helio Risk, Grace manages all aspects of an organization’s captive journey, from exploration of a captive solution to fully operational captive company. Grace is particularly focused on nonprofit clients. Before joining Helio, Grace worked in nonprofit consulting, where she spearheaded the launch of the Nonprofit Impact Institute at SVP Dallas, a best practices resource for board members, nonprofit leaders, and social impact consultants in North Texas. She also ran the Dana Juett Residency, a hands-on capacity building training program for young professionals of all industries to contribute their expertise to social impact organizations. She is a Licensed Consultant for the Standards for Excellence. Before working in social impact, Grace worked in education at various levels. From teaching freshman biology to joining an educational video game startup, her work has focused on finding innovative ways to foster growth and self-determination in individuals as well as companies. Grace was a Eugene McDermott Scholar at UT Dallas, and the inaugural graduate Charles Butt Scholar at SMU. Grace is deeply involved in community service, currently as the President of the McDermott Alumni Association, a member of the UT Dallas Executive Board, a City of Richardson Community Inclusion and Engagement Commissioner, and UT System Centurion.
Travis K. Wegkamp
Captive Insurance Director, Utah Insurance Department
Travis Wegkamp, a Utah native, joined the Utah Insurance Department’s Captive Division in April 2011. Prior to joining the Department, he was an Audit Assurance Associate for McGladrey & Pullen in Las Vegas, Nevada. Travis holds an Associate of Business degree from Dixie State College, and both a Bachelor’s degree with a major in Accounting and a Masters of Accountancy degree from Southern Utah University. Travis was appointed Utah’s Director of Captive Insurance in August 2016.
Ben Whitehouse
Partner, Butler Snow
Ben Whitehouse is an attorney and partner with the law firm of Butler Snow LLP and is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Ben is a member of the firm’s Regulatory and Government Relations practice group focusing on captive insurance and tax matters. He currently serves as the chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Captive Insurance Committee. He also serves as a course instructor for the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) teaching the Business Ethics in the Captive Insurance Industry and Government Relations courses. As part of his duties with Butler Snow, he serves as a captive insurance regulatory consultant to the Insurance Board of the Federated States of Micronesia. Previously, Ben served as the attorney for the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s Captive Insurance Section. He also proudly served in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps.
Mark Wiedeman
Director, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance
Mark Wiedeman is Director of the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance. A Utah native, Mark is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor of arts in history and a master’s in public administration. He began his regulatory career working as a valuation analyst for the Utah State Tax Commission. He joined the Utah Insurance Department in 2012 as an auditor before being promoted to senior examiner and eventually rising through the ranks to become assistant division director. In 2022, he left the Utah Insurance Department to start a business in contract insurance examinations and captive insurance consulting.
Melissa Wiley
Partner, Kostelanetz LLP
With more than 20 years of experience in tax law, Melissa has represented a diverse range of clients, from large corporations to high-net-worth individuals, in complex disputes with federal and state taxing authorities. Known for her calm, empathetic style, Melissa excels at distilling intricate tax issues into clear, actionable insights — helping her clients efficiently resolve disputes and focus on what matters most in their businesses and lives.
Jeff Wilson
Captive Insurance Director, Iowa Department of Insurance & Financial Services
Jeff Wilson is the Captive Insurance Director with the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Prior to joining the department in 2024, he spent more than 25 years working for a regional property and casualty insurer based in Iowa. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Northern Iowa and a master's degree in risk management and insurance from Florida State University. He has earned the Associate in Captive Insurance (AIC), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designations.