View the below Meet the Board article as a PDF document.
Diane Martell, FCLS, CIIP, DAE, CLP
PRESIDENT
Diane’s insurance career began in 1992 with Nationwide Insurance Company as a Personal Injury Protection Claims Associate. She moved to Commercial Lines as a Workers’ Compensation Claims Associate and then to Personal Lines as a Bodily Injury Field Claims Associate, Facilities Manager, Personal Injury Protection Manager and currently, Bodily Injury Manager. Diane leads a team of highly skilled and engaged Bodily Injury Claims Associates who handle Maryland, DC, Virginia, Ohio and West Virginia claims. The team has received numerous awards in Customer Satisfaction, Employee Engagement and technical results.
Diane joined IAIP in 1995 and has been very active at all levels of the association. She has held all positions for Insurance Professionals of Anne Arundel County, including several terms as president. Diane was a two-term Maryland Council Director and also Maryland Council Treasurer from 2003 to present, participating in 24 Maryland Council meetings. At the regional level, Diane was Regional Vice President from 2012 to 2013, has served as Marketing Director from 2018 to 2019 and has been the Regional Fund Administrator since 2014. Diane has participated in 26 Region II Conferences, co-chairing the conferences in 2015 and 2019. At the international level of IAIP, Diane served as chair of the Non-Dues Revenue Task Force and the FIT Insurance Professionals, as well as serving on the Regional Realignment and International Nominating Committees. Diane has participated in 24 international conventions.
Diane received the Claims Professional of the Year Award at the international and regional level in 2016. She received the AAMGA Award at council and regional levels. She has obtained an Associate in Arts degree and Bachelor of Science in administrative management. Diane earned FCLS, CIIP, DAE and CLP designations and has insurance licenses in Delaware, Kentucky and West Virginia.
In addition to IAIP activities, Diane is a member of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance and the Nationwide Diversity and Inclusion All Women Associate Resource Group. Diane enjoys supporting and volunteering at the Maryland Food Bank.
Diane’s husband of 23 years, Lon, is very supportive of her involvement in IAIP. For fun, Diane and Lon enjoy weekends at the beach in Ocean City, Maryland and attending Baltimore Ravens football games.
Tammy Wascher, CIC, CIIP, CPIA, CLP, DAE
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Tammy has been in the Insurance business since 1995 when she started working for a direct writer as an office manager and producer. In 1997, she went to work for Frankenmuth Insurance in the Personal Lines department. She has held several positions with the company and is currently a Commercial Lines Supervisor for the southeast region.
Tammy holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from Davenport University and earned her CIC designation in November 2010, her CIIP designation in August 2012, her CLP designation in January of 2014, her CPIA designation in November of 2013 and her DAE designation in 2016.
Tammy has been very involved in IAIP since 2006. She is a member of the Frankenmuth Association which she started in 2013. Tammy served as the Michigan Council Director from 2013 to 2015 and has been Region IV’s Vice President from 2015 to 2018. She has held numerous positions on the local and council level and has been involved in committees on the regional and international level as well. Tammy has been involved with several task forces over the last two years and is assisting with the Property and Casualty Special Interest Community.
Tammy is also very involved in her local Civitan Club in Bay City, MI. She assists with their fundraising activities and special projects for their special needs adults.
Vickie Harmon, CMA, CIIP, PIAM, CLP, DAE, CSCA
VICE PRESIDENT
Vickie began her insurance career in 2001 after transitioning from the State of Tennessee’s Financial and Compliance Audit division. She entered the industry as BSR’s Staff Accountant and worked her way through Operations Manager and Assistant Vice President to become Vice President, CFO, and one of three owners of BSR.
In her educational career, Vickie earned undergraduate degrees in accounting and business administration, and a Master of Accountancy in 2000. She obtained a Tennessee Property & Casualty License in 2007. In 2011 she earned the CMA designation. Subsequently, she has earned CIIP in 2012, PIAM in 2014, and CLP and DAE in 2015.
Vickie joined the Nashville association of IAIP in 2009. Since joining, she has held the positions of Director, Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President, and President and held offices for the Tennessee Council as well including Treasurer, Public Relations Chair, and Council Director. She has served on committees and task forces at the local, council, regional, and international levels. She began attending regional conferences in 2011 and international conventions in 2012. In addition to attending her home council and regional meetings, she has attended many other council and regionals within and outside of Region III. In addition to her IAIP involvement, Vickie is also a member of the Institute of Management Accountants and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.
Away from insurance, Vickie enjoys traveling, cardio kickboxing, reading, running, and volunteering in her local community.
Lisa R. Hardin, CPCU, CPIW, AIC, AIS, ACS, AINS, SCLA, DAE, CLP
SECRETARY
Lisa graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point with a B.S. in Business-Administration-Finance. After a brief stint in retail customer service, started her insurance career with Sentry Insurance in 1990 as a Commercial Lines Rater. In 1994, she moved to claims. She is currently a Claims Specialist handling large exposure liability claims for Sentry’s National Accounts area responding to claims in all 50 states and maintaining 15 adjuster licenses.
Lisa joined IAIP in 1994 as a member of Mid-Wisconsin Insurance Association in Region V and immediately became involved. She participates in several local United Way events including the Portage County Cultural Festival, Project Fresh Start, and Walk Wisconsin. She has taught classes on community building and ethics through Junior Achievement and trained as a trishaw pilot for Cycling Without Age.
Lisa and her husband Jon have been married 36 years. They love traveling, biking, and hiking and martial arts. Lisa is a third-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She has two children Rachel and Ryan, and two cats Leo and Lola.
Jonel Leake, CPCU, ASLI, AAI, CPIW, DAE, CLP
REGION I VICE PRESIDENT
Jonel obtained her insurance license while still a college student. She has been employed in the industry full time for almost 40 years and works in a small agency as a commercial lines agent.
Jonel started her insurance education by asking to take the INS series that she heard about from attending her local association meetings. After completing that and earning her CPIW designation, she went on to obtain her AAI, ASLI and CPCU designations. She has taught insurance as a guest instructor at a local college and as a volunteer licensing instructor.
Jonel has participated in IAIP on the local, council, regional and international levels since joining in 1985. She was a multi-term president of her local and served as the New Hampshire Council Director for three terms. In addition, she has served on or chaired various committees at the local and council level. She has co-chaired two regional conferences as well as served on other regional committees. She recently served as the Region I MAL Liaison.
On the international level, Jonel has been a member of the international nominating committee and has also served on task forces. Jonel has been recognized as Insurance Professional of the Year on the local and council levels and as the AAMGA Unsung Hero on the council and regional levels. She is currently a Member at Large in the State of New Hampshire.
Jonel lives on the coast of Maine with her husband and her cat, Liberty. She is the parent of an adult son. She enjoys walking, the outdoors, reading and riding her tandem bike.
Donna Whited, CLP
REGION II VICE PRESIDENT
Donna served in the life insurance industry for over 45 years. She is a member of the Charleston Association of Insurance Professionals and the West Virginia Council of IAIP and has been a member of IAIP since 1991.
She has served in several leadership positions in her local association and Council. Donna has served on numerous committees for her local association, WV Council and Region II and chaired several Region II Conferences. She has also served as Region II fund caretaker. She has taken several IAIP classes and earned her CLP designation and is currently pursuing her CLP A designation.
She has taught CWC classes for her local association. Donna was presented the Insurance Professional of the Year Award for Region II in 2017. She has attended virtually every local and WV Council meeting and several Region II Conferences. She has also presented during IAIP Town Halls and served as Co-Chair for the first HUB Regional Conference.
Donna resides in Charleston, WV, with her husband, Mike, and her fur baby, Bella Sue. She is the mother of two grown children and is blessed with two grandchildren and two step grandchildren. She enjoys reading, the beach and spending time with her family.
Rachel Shubert, CLP
REGION III VICE PRESIDENT
Rachel joined Auto-Owners Insurance Company in 2007 as a Commercial Lines Underwriter assigned to the West Florida Underwriting Branch. In 2008, Rachel accepted a transfer to the Missouri Regional Underwriting Branch. In 2009, she accepted the position of Underwriting Field Service Representative. In 2012 she transferred back into Underwriting as a Commercial Lines Underwriting Specialist. In 2018 she accepted a transfer to the Florida Panhandle as an Underwriting Field Service Rep. In 2021 she accepted a transfer to the Orlando, FL territory with Auto-Owners Insurance Company to be the Field Premium Auditor.
Rachel holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of South Florida. She is currently active as a member at large from Florida. Rachel has held various position within IAIP including past President of Insurance Professionals of Mid-Missouri, Council Director of Missouri, and Region V Marketing Director. Rachel has been on various committees on the international level with IAIP including past Co-Chair of the YNP Committee, various International Convention planning task forces, Legacy Foundation Task Force, etc. Rachel has completed multiple IAIP related education classes and her CLP designation. Rachel has won the following awards: 2015 Insurance Professionals of Mid-Missouri Professional Underwriter of the Year, 2017 IAIP Region V Professional Underwriter of the Year, 2017 Insurance Professionals of Mid-Missouri Young New Professional of the Year, 2018 Region Young New Professional of the Year and 2018 International Young New Professional of the Year. When Rachel is not working, she loves to spend time with her friends and family. She also loves to spend time at the beach.
Vikki Angelo, AIC, ITP, CLP, CPIW
REGION IV VICE PRESIDENT
Vikki has been in the insurance industry for 42 years. She started as a multi-line outside claims adjuster in Texas in 1980 and quickly moved into a supervisory/management role. She has served in management or leadership roles for most of her career. In 2021, she moved out of claims to serve as Lead Talent and Training – Customer Operations in the Human Resources department and is responsible for corporate as well as claims training.
She has been a member of IAIP for 26 years and served on many committees, task forces, and taught many IAIP classes. She has also held most offices, including President at the local level as well as served as Ohio Council Director.
Dean Besaw, CPCU, CLU, ALMI, AIC, AIS, AINS, DAE, CLP, CIIP
REGION V VICE PRESIDENT
Dean has 32 years of experience in the Information Technology field, with the last 13 in the insurance industry as a Project Manager at Shelter Insurance in Columbia, Missouri. He has previously held positions of Senior Software Developer and Systems Analyst. As a Project Manager, Dean meets with the business partners to determine their current needs. A project will either enhance a current system or process or fill a new need facing the business community.
His work entails meeting with the various participants involved to gather requirements and to understand the overall big picture and what problem is trying to be solved. Dean enjoys the work of collaborating with co-workers and breaking down a complex process into its basic components to successfully implement the project and deliver value to the end-user. These skills will prove helpful in his role as RVP and the challenges facing Region V and IAIP.
Dean has a passion for education and life-long learning and has consistently demonstrated this through his continued commitment and accomplishments. He has earned a BS in Computer Information Systems and an MBA in Entrepreneurial Leadership. He has earned numerous insurance designations and is currently completing his LOMA designation with only one course to go. He has also attained all IAIP designations and is a certified trainer for the CLP classes and several others.
Dean is married and has three children aged 11 to 15. He has several pets including a Bearded Dragon and a Ball Python, and enjoys swimming, playing hockey, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Angi Gentry, AFIS, ACSR, CPIW, AINS, DAE, ARM, CLP
REGION VI VICE PRESIDENT
Angela entered the insurance industry in 1991 starting out as a file clerk. She quickly learned the business and soon started working in personal lines where she spent the first ten years of her career before moving to commercial lines. She has always worked on the independent agency side and is passionate about customer service and educating her clients.
She joined IAIP in 2000 and has held many positions on the local, state, regional and international level. She was awarded Rookie of the Year in 2007 while a member of Tri-City Plus Association of Insurance Professionals, a local association out of Arizona. In 2014, she became more compelled to further her insurance education and since 2014, has obtained the following designations: CLP, DAE, ARM, AFIS, ACSR, CPIW, AINS. She is a CWC graduate and competed and won her Region VI CWC competition in 2020 and competed internationally at the first virtual Convention that same year. She was awarded Region VI’s Risk Management Professional of the Year in 2019, Region VI’s Client Professional of the Year 2021 and the International Client Service Professional of the Year 2021. She is passionate about IAIP and looks forward to this new, challenging role.
Christine Chandler Tillett, aPHR, CDP, CLP, CRIS, TRIP, MLIS, CIIP
REGION VII VICE PRESIDENT
Christine has been in the insurance industry for over 35 years. She joined IAIP in 2005 and is a dual member of Insurance Professionals of Los Angeles, Inc. (IPLA) and Insurance Professionals of Orange County (IPOC),
Christine has been recognized for various awards from local, council and regional levels, such as the 2019 International Risk Management Professional of the year, 2021 International Insurance Professional of the Year, CRIS scholarship from International Risk Management Institute (IRMI), was recognized by Insurance Business America (IBA) as one of the Top 100 Insurance Professionals Movers & Shakers and 65 Elite Women in Insurance, and in 2022 was awarded an educational scholarship from the Legacy Foundation.
During her time in IAIP, she has served in several leadership capacities at the local, council, regional and international level. She is a recognized instructor for Department of Insurance (DOI) and a Professional in the Human Resources Association (PIHRA) with her emphasis in conflict resolution, diversity and inclusion and multiple generations in the workplace.
Christine started her insurance career as an entry level underwriter and worked her way up to be a Vice President before the company was sold. For the past six years, she is the Human Resources Director and Risk Manager at Charles Dunn, where she is responsible for the corporate insurance programs, benefits, safety, employee relations, training and talent development.
Christine has resided in Long Beach, California for over 25 years with her son Nathaniel and “granddoghter” Bella Luna, a boxer/pit mix. Christine enjoys watching TCM classics and listening to country and western music.