Saat Alety

Director, Federal Affairs and Public Policy, Allstate

Saat Alety is the Director of Federal Affairs and Public Policy at Allstate, the nation's largest publicly held personal lines insurer, and heads the company's Washington office. Named to The Hill's Top Lobbyist list in 2020, Alety leads Allstate’s advocacy efforts with Congress, the White House, and federal agencies, in addition to its public policy development at the federal, state, and local level.

Alety previously served as Majority Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development under U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. As Sen. Scott’s senior policy advisor on financial services issues, Alety led efforts that resulted in the enactment of legislation to grow consumer access to banking services, prevent synthetic identity theft, and modernize mortgage credit standards.

Prior to his tenure as a Senate staffer, Alety spent almost three years as Communications Director to U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. While spokesperson, Alety was also a Legislative Assistant to Rep. Royce for his housing and capital markets portfolio on the House Financial Services Committee.

In addition to his Capitol Hill experience, Alety has held positions with the Financial Services Roundtable (now Bank Policy Institute), the leading trade association for the financial services industry, and the Romney 2012 presidential campaign.

A native of Naperville, Illinois, Alety began his career in the office of U.S. Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL). He serves on the boards of directors for the National Network to End Domestic Violence and College to Congress and the grant committee of The Allstate Foundation. Alety is also an alumni advisor to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association and recipient of its Jose M. Montano Jr. Award for "going above and beyond to sustain a pipeline of AAPI Hill staffers and leaders on the Hill."

Jason Berkowitz

Chief Legal & Regulatory Affairs Officer, Insured Retirement Institute

As Chief Legal & Regulatory Affairs Officer at the Insured Retirement Institute, Jason Berkowitz provides leadership and support for IRI member company priorities before federal and state policymakers, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Department of Labor (DOL), the state insurance and securities departments, and state legislatures

Berkowitz leads industry efforts on major regulatory initiatives applicable to the lifetime income industry and is the primary author of IRI’s comment letters regarding various regulatory proposals. He led IRI’s engagement with respect to the DOL fiduciary rule, and he remains at the forefront of IRI’s engagement on standard of conduct activities at the SEC, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and across the states.

Berkowitz joined IRI in October 2012, serving as the association’s Vice President & Counsel for Regulatory Affairs until March 2019, when he was promoted into his current role.

Kathleen A. Birrane

Commissioner, Maryland Insurance Administration

Kathleen A. Birrane was appointed Maryland Insurance Commissioner by Governor Larry Hogan in May 2020.

Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Birrane was a partner in the Insurance Sector and Litigation and Regulatory Practice Group at the global law firm of DLA Piper LLP (US), where her practice focused on insurance and reinsurance transactions, regulatory compliance and related litigation. She represented clients with respect to business-conduct and financial investigations and internal audits; acquisition and asset diligence; corporate reorganizations and restructurings; corporate governance and compliance program design; and the analysis of issues related to the use of technology, predictive modeling/big data, and artificial intelligence in the insurance sector. Commissioner Birrane also represented departments of insurance and receivers in connection with delinquency proceedings.

From 2002 until 2007, Commissioner Birrane served in the Maryland Office of the Attorney General in the statutory position of Principal Counsel to the Maryland Insurance Administration. In that role, she managed all of the legal work of the agency, both in its capacity as regulator and as a unit of state government. During her tenure as Principal Counsel, she served on numerous work groups and task forces of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. After leaving the OAG, and before joining DLA Piper, Commissioner Birrane was a Senior Vice President and General Counsel of portfolio companies owned by major hedge funds that specialized in asset consulting, acquisition, diligence, and the servicing of insurance-linked investments.

Commissioner Birrane began her legal career as a law clerk at the Baltimore law firm Kramon & Graham P.A. which elected her a shareholder in 1995. Her practice at K&G encompassed a broad range of civil, criminal, and regulatory matters, with a focus on complex commercial litigation, insurance coverage disputes, ERISA, and insurance regulatory matters.

In 2019, Governor Hogan appointed Commissioner Birrane to the University of Maryland Medical System Board of Directors, where she served as chair of the Governance and Nominations Committee before resigning upon her appointment as Commissioner. She is a member of numerous community and nonprofit organizations, including the Baltimore Bar Foundation, Baltimore Area Women in Action, Catholic Charities of Baltimore, and the United Way of Central Maryland where she serves on the Executive Committee of Women United.

Melissa Bova

Vice President of State Affairs, Finseca

Melissa Bova joined the Finseca Government Affairs team in November, 2021 as its first Vice President of State Affairs. Her job is to help Finseca better engage and advocate for the profession and for financial security for all with state policymakers, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the National Council of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL). She is charged with building our Finseca’s state advocacy strategy as well as regularly coordinate with Finseca members on engagement and involvement at the state level.

Melissa has 15 years of state advocacy experience. Her previous roles include work at a statewide lobbying firm that represented clients ranging from Fortune 500 corporations to non-profits, communications director for the beverage industry and, most recently, she spent the 10 years prior to joining Finseca successfully advocating for the hospitality industry. Melissa is a graduate of Gettysburg College and lives in Harrisburg, PA with her dog, Macey.

Dean Cameron

Director, Idaho Insurance Department and President, National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Dean Cameron was re-appointed by Governor Brad Little to serve as Director of the Idaho Department of Insurance, effective January 4, 2019. Director Cameron was first appointed to serve by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter, effective June 15, 2015. Since his appointment, Director Cameron has been active in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), serving as Chair of the Western Zone, Chair of the Annuity Suitability Working Group, Chair the NAIC B Committee on Health Insurance and Managed Care, and the B/E Long-Term Care Task Force. He was voted President-elect of the NAIC during the 2020 Fall Meeting of the NAIC. He currently serves as NAIC President. Director Cameron is a third generation insurance agent working for 32 years, and has 28 years of experience serving in state government with 25 years in the Idaho State Senate. He and his wife, Linda, have three children and six grandchildren.

Michael F. Consedine

CEO, National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Michael F. Consedine serves as the NAIC's Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, he principally focuses on strategic planning, policy development and implementation in the areas of state, federal and international affairs and relations. He advocates for NAIC members and represents their interests before federal and international policymakers, state government associations, and consumer and industry groups. Consedine is also responsible for management of the NAIC's Executive Office and staff.

Consedine currently serves as an Executive Committee Member on the IAIS and speaks frequently on both domestic and international insurance matters. He is also on the advisory board for Plug and Play Tech Center and is very involved in both insuretech and fintech issues.

Before joining the NAIC in January 2017, Consedine served as the Global Head of Government and Policy Affairs at Aegon, one of the world's largest financial services companies with operations in 20 countries serving more than 30 million customers. At Aegon he led government relations in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Concurrently, Consedine was Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Executive Director of Government Affairs of Aegon's U.S. subsidiary, Transamerica. In this role, he oversaw all aspects of the company's state and federal government relations activities.

Consedine has spent his entire career in the insurance industry as an attorney, regulator, and executive. Most notably, he served as the Insurance Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2015. While Commissioner, he was elected by his peers to serve as an officer of the NAIC as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice President and President-Elect. He served on a number of NAIC committees focused on both international and domestic matters, including as Chair of the International Insurance Relations (G) Committee, the Reinsurance (E) Task Force and the Health Care Reform Alternatives Working Group. In November 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department named him as one of the first members of the Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance, which advises the Federal Insurance Office on domestic and international policy. Consedine acted as the NAIC's representative to the U.S.-EU Insurance Dialogue Steering Committee, which was tasked with resolving mutual recognition/equivalency between the two biggest markets in the world. He was also active in the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), where he served on their Executive Committee.

Earlier in his career, Consedine was a Partner at Saul Ewing LLP and was Vice-Chair of its Insurance Practice Group.

Tony Cotto

Director of Auto and Underwriting Policy, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies

Tony Cotto is Director of Auto and Underwriting Policy for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), where he provides strategic counsel on all legislative and regulatory matters related to the auto line, underwriting freedom, and risk-based pricing to more than 1,500 member companies. Before joining NAMIC in 2020, Tony served as an Executive Advisor in the administration of Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, overseeing legislative and regulatory reform efforts across more than 35 agencies and licensing boards, including the Department of Insurance.

Prior to that, Cotto advised insurers in private practice as a Managing Associate at the law firm of Frost Brown Todd, which followed a 5-year stint as Financial Policy and Legislative Counsel at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. During his decade and a half in Washington, DC, Cotto also served as Counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations advising the ranking member at the time, Dr. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and as Associate General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce in the George W. Bush administration.

Cotto earned his J.D. from The George Washington University Law School and his bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife Becca and daughter Hannah.

Dr. Deborah Curtis

President, Indiana State University

Deborah J. Curtis began her tenure as the twelfth president of Indiana State University on January 3, 2018. She is the first female and only the second graduate of Indiana State to serve as president. She came to Indiana State from the University of Central Missouri where she had served as provost and chief learning officer since 2012.

Prior to becoming provost at Central Missouri, Curtis served as dean of the College of Education at Illinois State University from 2006 to 2012, interim dean from 2005 to 2006 and as director of the Cecilia J. Lauby Teacher Education Center and Clinical Experiences and Certification Processes from 2001 to 2005. She served on the faculty of Illinois State for 26 years, advancing to the rank of full professor.

Curtis earned her Ph.D. from Indiana State University in curriculum and instruction with specializations in secondary education and supervision of instruction. She holds a master’s degree in music education from the University of Illinois and a bachelor’s degree in music education from MacMurray College.

Throughout her career, Curtis has served her community and profession through engagement in a variety of service roles in Illinois, Missouri, and now Indiana. Some of these include the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce Board, Terre Haute Competes, the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, Indiana Chamber Board, Terre Haute Economic Development Corporation Board, Indiana Campus Compact Board, NCAA Division I Presidential Forum, and the Indiana Chamber 2025+ Task Force.

Curtis and her husband, Lynn, are the parents of five children and nine grandchildren. Lynn worked in public education for nearly 40 years as a teacher, coach, athletic director, principal and school district superintendent.

Dr. Terry Daugherty

Dean, Scott College of Business, Indiana State University

Daugherty earned his B.A. at Western Kentucky University, his M.A. at the University of Alabama, and his Ph.D. at Michigan State University.

He was a postdoctoral fellow at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. After that, he went to the University of Texas at Austin as an assistant professor in the Department of Advertising. He started at the University of Akron in 2009 where he served on the faculty and in various administrative capacities, including department chair and assistant dean.

Daugherty’s scholarship is focused on examining consumer psychology and persuasion within digital marketing and advertising. He theorizes and empirically tests how individual characteristics and media properties influence cognitive processing and consumer behavior.

Sue Erhart

General Counsel, Great American Insurance Group

Sue currently serves as General Counsel of Great American Insurance Group and Vice President of American Financial Group, the holding company of Great American. Great American Insurance Group provides their customers with innovative and specialized insurance solutions, designed to serve the niche marketplaces they know well. With 150 years in business, Great American has deep expertise and the financial strength that has helped build their foundation of success.

In Sue’s current role, she is responsible for leading Legal, Risk Management, and Compliance for Great American’s business operations. She is also responsible for Enterprise Risk Management and Enterprise Information Security for American Financial Group.

The Honorable French Hill (R-AR)

Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance, U.S. House Financial Services Committee

A ninth generation Arkansan, French Hill is the 22nd Member of Congress to represent central Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected on November 4, 2014, and began his first congressional term in the 114th Congress on January 3, 2015. He won reelection to serve in the 115th, 116th, and 117th sessions of Congress.

He is a member of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services where he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development and Insurance. Rep. Hill serves alongside Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on the Congressional Oversight Commission established by the CARES Act to monitor the Treasury's response to COVID-19. In 2021, Rep. Hill was appointed as one of two Congressional Representatives to the 76th United Nations General Assembly.

Prior to his congressional service, Rep. Hill was actively engaged in the Arkansas business community for two decades as a commercial banker and investment manager. He was founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Delta Trust & Banking Corp., which was headquartered in Little Rock and merged with Arkansas-based Simmons First National Corp.

Prior to his community banking work in Arkansas, Rep. Hill served as a senior official in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. From 1989 until 1991, Rep. Hill served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Corporate Finance, where one of his key assignments was representing the United States as a negotiator in the historic bilateral talks with Japan known as the Structural Impediments Initiative (SII).

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Rep. Hill led the design of U.S. technical assistance to the emerging economies of eastern and central Europe in the areas of banking and securities. In 1991, at the age of 34, President Bush appointed Mr. Hill to be Executive Secretary to the President’s Economic Policy Council (EPC), where he coordinated all White House economic policy. For his leadership and service at the Treasury and the White House, Rep. Hill was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas Brady in January 1993. Prior to his Executive Branch Service, from 1982 until 1984, Rep. Hill served on the staff of then-U.S. Senator John Tower (R-TX) as well as on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs.

Throughout his career, Rep. Hill has been active in civic affairs. He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Little Rock and served as the 2013 chairman of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

He has received numerous awards and recognition for his long-time support of the Boy Scouts of America, the arts and humanities, tourism, and historic preservation in Arkansas. He is an avid outdoorsman.

Rep. Hill is a magna cum laude graduate in Economics from Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Martha, have a daughter and a son. The Hill family resides in Little Rock.

Kate Kiernan

Vice President of State Affairs, Zurich North America

Kate Kiernan, Vice President, Government & Regulatory Relations has been with the Zurich North American since August 2021. Zurich has over 148 years of experience managing risk and supporting resilience. Founded in Switzerland in 1872, Zurich expanded to North America in 1912 and grew into a leading provider of commercial property-casualty insurance solutions and services in the U.S. and Canada. Today, we serve more than 25 industries, from agriculture to technology.

Prior to joining Zurich, Ms. Kiernan worked for over 11 years with the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) where she co-managed the State Relations department, a 26-member team of state legislative advocates and regulatory compliance service professionals and led industry legislative and regulatory relationships in a number of states as well as with the National Conference of Insurance Legislators (NCOIL) and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Ms. Kiernan also served as Deputy of the Policy Development Team and staffed the ACLI Privacy Committee charged with ensuring that legislative and regulatory developments on issues related to the confidentiality and security of data and personal information were responsive to member company information needs.

Ms. Kiernan previously worked as Assistant Vice President & Counsel for MassMutual Financial Group. In this position she represented the company before legislators and regulators in the company’s domestic jurisdictions of Connecticut and Massachusetts; worked with associations including the NAIC, NCOIL, Republican Governors Association (RGA) and ACLI; led the company’s relations with several state insurance trade associations; and served on the Boards of 3 guaranty associations.

Ms. Kiernan also worked for the Connecticut Insurance Department, Connecticut Office of Policy & Management, Connecticut Department of Public Health, and the Connecticut General Assembly’s Senate Republican Office.

Ms. Kiernan received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College and her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Keri Kish

Director of Government Relations, Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association

Keri Kish has served as the Director of Government Relations for WSIA since August 2017 and joined NAPSLO in July 2012. She is responsible for implementing the membership’s government relations and legislative advocacy program and helping interested firms become new members of WSIA. Keri is a liaison and advocate for the association to federal and state legislative and regulatory entities, as well as acting as a compliance resource for members.

Keri joined the association after six years with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). While at the NAIC, Keri served as Antifraud Counsel, providing legal and staff support to various regulatory task forces and working groups, including the Antifraud Task Force, Investigations of Life/Annuity Claims Settlement Practices Task Force and Limited Medical Benefit Plan Working Group She worked closely with state insurance regulatory officials, federal agencies and other insurance related associations on behalf of NAIC and its members.

Prior to the NAIC, Keri worked for Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger as a staff attorney. During her time at the Kansas Insurance Department, Keri was responsible for administering the Kansas Workers Compensation Fund, working with 100 contract attorneys concerning 4,000 open cases involving the $50+ million-dollar fund. Keri started her legal career as a prosecuting attorney in Dodge City, KS as an Assistant Ford County Attorney. She was responsible for the prosecutions of adult and juvenile offender criminal cases, gang-related crimes and the care and treatment of impaired individuals. Keri also presented oral arguments in appeals on behalf of the State of Kansas before the Kansas Supreme Court.

Keri is graduate of the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Political Science and Pre-Law. She obtained her J.D. from The Washburn University School of Law and is a member of the Kansas and Missouri bars. She completed the Association of Corporate Counsel Mini-MBA program at Boston University. She was a member of the inaugural class of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Excellence in Public Service Series and was twice selected to attend the U.S. Department of Justice National Advocacy Center in Columbia, SC.

Tracey Laws

Senior Vice President & Head of Government Affairs, Athene

Ms. Laws has over 20 years of experience providing legal, strategic, and lobbying counsel and services. She is responsible for establishing and advocating the RAA’s public policy positions.

Tracey has advocated to Congress to streamline industry solvency regulation, resulting in favorable provisions in the Dodd-Frank Act and elevating the organization’s impact. She oversees all legal matters in the association, including drafting of amicus briefs, legislation and regulations, and handling antitrust, administrative, corporate, political action committee and personnel issues.

Tracey previously was a partner at the law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP concentrating on reinsurance matters.

Ms. Laws is a member of Mealey’s 2006 Insurance Advisory Council, the AIDA Reinsurance & Insurance Society Law Committee and the ABA’s TIPS Federal Involvement in Insurance Regulation Modernization Task Force. Ms. Laws is also a Board member of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies.

Ms. Laws received her BA from the College of William and Mary and her JD from the University of Virginia. Ms. Laws is licensed to practice law in Texas and District of Columbia.

Rep. Matt Lehman (R-IN)

Majority Floor Leader, Indiana House of Representatives

Rep. Matt Lehman has been an independent insurance agent for over 30 years and is a partner with Bixler Insurance Inc. in Berne, IN.

Rep. Lehman was first elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 2008 after serving 14 years on the Adams County Council. He represents the 79th district which includes all or parts of Adams, Wells and Jay Counties.

Rep Lehman has served as the House Majority Floor Leader since 2015 having served prior as the Deputy Speaker Pro-tem and the Chair of the House Insurance Committee. He currently serves on the Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee, Public Policy Committee and the Public Health Committee and is an appointed member of the Legislative Council.

Rep. Lehman has been an active member of NCOIL (National Council of Insurance Legislators) since 2010 serving as chair of multiple committees and in 2021 finished a two-year term as President and currently is on the executive committee as Past President.

Representative Lehman is a lifelong Hoosier and lives in Berne, IN with his wife Joye. They are the parents of three grown daughters and two grandsons.

Pat Reeder

Deputy General Counsel, American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI)

Pat Reeder is the Deputy General Counsel of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) He is a trial lawyer, business leader and national lobbyist with more than 30 years of experience in government affairs, litigation, regulatory compliance and strategic business transactions with a focus in highly regulated industries. Over his career, Pat has used his deep and diverse business experience and personal advocacy skills to help clients resolve complex business and regulatory problems.

Pat received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Broadcast Journalism from Penn State University and he earned his Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, from Widener University School of Law. Pat and his wife, Renee, live in Washington, DC. They have two children and one grandson. In addition to providing pro bono legal services to children and families in need, Pat serves as the music director of a youth-based community theater and is an accomplished worship leader and musician.

Steven E. Seitz

Director, Federal Insurance Office, U.S. Department of the Treasury

Steven E. Seitz is the Director of the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and leads FIO’s domestic and international work.

FIO monitors all aspects of the insurance industry, including access to affordable insurance for traditionally underserved communities and consumers, minorities and low- and moderate-income persons. FIO also coordinates federal efforts and develops federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including representing the United States at the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and negotiating covered agreements with foreign governments and authorities. FIO also administers the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program. Additionally, FIO is authorized to collect and disseminate data and information on and from the insurance industry.

Steven serves as a non-voting member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. At the IAIS, Steven is a member of the Executive Committee and is Vice Chair of the Macroprudential Committee. Steven also represents FIO at the Network for Greening the Financial System, the Sustainable Insurance Forum, and in other bilateral and multi-lateral international insurance matters.

Steven previously served as the Deputy Director of FIO. Among other roles, Steven worked in Treasury’s Office of the Assistant General Counsel (Banking and Finance) prior to joining FIO.

Steven holds a B.A. from Cornell University and a J.D. from The University of Chicago Law School.

David F. Snyder

Vice President, International Policy, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI)

David F. Snyder is Vice President, International Policy, for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) in which capacity he covers international and domestic insurance regulatory and trade issues. He represents PCI members before numerous international, federal and state legislative and regulatory bodies. Mr. Snyder graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dickinson College and earned his law degree from the George Washington University Law School. He is admitted to practice in three jurisdictions and is a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter.

Previously, Mr. Dave Snyder served as the vice president and associate general counsel of public policy for the American Insurance Association (AIA). His portfolio specialized in international trade, insurance regulatory issues, transportation insurance and legal reform. In addition to his leadership at AIA, Snyder worked for both Nationwide Insurance and State Farm Insurance Company. Prior to these positions, he served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in a number of legal and legislative roles.

His state and federal government experience includes appellate and civil litigation as well as administrative law. David is serving his sixth term as a Falls Church, Va. City Council Member, having served as mayor and vice mayor. He chairs the National Capital Region Emergency Preparedness Council and has chaired Washington, DC metropolitan region transportation and environmental boards. In 2010, he received the Washington Metropolitan Area's highest award for regional leadership, having chaired transportation and environmental bodies and served on the Emergency Preparedness Council.

Thomas R. Sullivan

Senior Associate Director, Federal Reserve Board

Thomas Sullivan is a Senior Associate Director of the Federal Reserve, Board of Governors. Mr. Sullivan is a regulatory veteran who has a long record of achievement in public service and the private sector.

Mr. Sullivan’s core responsibilities include input into the strategic direction and development of the Board’s policies for the regulation and supervision of banks, holding companies, and their affiliates. His areas of responsibility include Mergers & Acquisitions, Accounting Policy, Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Policy, Insurance Policy, and Systems and Operational Resilience Policy sections. He is also responsible for the Policy group’s talent management, communications, and other operational activities, and serves as a member of the S&R Group Coordinating Officer Team. He briefs the Chair and other members of the Board, and senior officials on matters of relevance in regulation. Mr. Sullivan has testified before Congress numerous times and is the Fed’s key spokesperson on insurance industry matters having appeared in broadcast and print media, as well as, at numerous industry events and forums.

Previously, Mr. Sullivan was a Partner in the financial services regulatory consulting practice at one of the world’s largest professional services firms.
Most notably, Mr. Sullivan served as Connecticut’s 30th Insurance Commissioner beginning in 2007. As Commissioner, Sullivan, successfully guided his agency through the depths and challenges of the financial crisis, a time of significant stress for some regulated financial institutions within his dominion. Commissioner Sullivan was also an active member of the NAIC. He was instrumental in leading the NAIC’s post crisis introspection and further strengthening the regulatory regime design.

Mr. Sullivan has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. He began his career at The Hartford, advancing through various positions of responsibility in management, leadership, and finally as an executive in the firm.

Karima M. Woods

Commissioner, District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking

Karima M. Woods was appointed Acting Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking on January 21, 2020. The Council of the District of Columbia confirmed Woods as Commissioner on July 28, 2020.

Woods previously served as the Director of Business Development and Strategy in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), where she provided strategic leadership, stakeholder engagement and global outreach to the business community. Ms. Woods has held several positions within DMPED, including Deputy Director of Business Development and International Business Manager, where she helped to shape signature business development initiatives, attract foreign direct investment and establish new business relationships with international markets. Her leadership has led to the successful execution of the Mayor’s economic strategy and helped to drive the District’s business attraction and retention efforts across key business sectors.

Her work has also contributed to several policy outcomes, including increased investment in underrepresented entrepreneurs to address the human, social and financial capital that entrepreneurs need to grow and expand. Ms. Woods has served on several boards and commissions, including the Mayor’s Innovation Technology Inclusion Council, Washington DC Economic Partnership, Destination DC and the Greater Washington Board of Trade Council on Economic Development Officials.

Woods holds a M.B.A. from George Washington University and B.A. in law and society from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Woods is married and lives with her husband and two daughters in Washington, DC.