About Our Presenters

Keynote Speaker: Herman Moore

Herman Moore is the Founder & CEO of Team 84, LLC, a certified Minority Business holding company. A serial entrepreneur, Moore has put together a family of companies operating as a full suite of services, which include manufacturing, e-commerce, employee incentives, marketing and branding, and business intelligence platforms.

Moore entered into business in the early 2000s after a 12-year career as one of the most productive wide receivers in NFL league history. He spent 11 seasons with the Detroit Lions (1991-2001) and one with the New York Giants (2002), selected by the Lions in the first round (10th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft.

 


Herman Moore, Detroit Lions Legend 3 x All Pro Wide Receiver

 

Stephanie Altman

 


Stefanie Altman

As VP of Marketing at Agency Revolution, Stefanie Altman is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company’s marketing efforts.
 
Stefanie is an accomplished marketing professional with a passion for helping businesses thrive. She has a wealth of experience in developing and executing successful marketing strategies, and she is committed to providing support and guidance needed to achieve goals - for her team, the company, and their clients.
 
Stefanie's journey in the marketing world began over 15 years ago, and since then, she has honed her skills in various industries, including banking, technology, healthcare, and consumer goods. She has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation for businesses of all sizes, from startups to Fortune 100 companies.
 
Stefanie is a strong believer in the powers of collaboration, data, and testing to drive performance and product marketing. She is an accomplished speaker, having served on multiple panels over the years on how to use the right platforms and data to engage with clients across multiple industries.

 

Jared Burkhart, Big I Michigan CEO

 


Jared Burkhart, CAE

Jared Burkhart is currently the CEO of Big I Michigan, the largest association for independent insurance agents in the state of Michigan. In this position, Jared works to foster the sharing of issues, ideas, resources and best practices among independent insurance agents in the state. Jared’s professional motivation is to help others become the best in their chosen fields.

His prior work includes roles as the chief staff executive for the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers.. Jared holds a B.S. from Central Michigan University and an M.B.A. from Michigan State University. He lives in Mason, MI with his wife Katey and 3 children.

 

Jamie Burnett, At-Bay

 


Jamie Burnett

Jamie Burnett is a Midwest Regional Underwriting Manager with At-Bay. He has been with the company since 2021. Jamie has more than 11 years of Cyber/E&O Insurance experience. Before At-Bay, he served as AVP – Team Leader for AON, and as a Cyber/E&O/Media Underwriting Consultant for CNA.

 

Ron Devers

 


Ron Devers, CIC, CAWC, CPIA

Ron is director of agency operations at PSI Insurance Agency. Ron specializes in personal and business property and casualty products, life insurance, annuities, disability income and professional liability.

 

Jacqueline Cook

 


Jacqueline Cook

Jacqueline is Personal Lines Assistant Regional Vice President for Hanover, and currently oversees the marketing and distribution strategy for eastern Michigan. With almost twelve years of experience in Personal Lines insurance, she is passionate about working alongside independent agents. A graduate of MSU, Jacqueline started at Hanover directly out of college and has worked within many of the Personal Lines departments. Outside of insurance, she is a mom of two children, 8 & 11, so watch out for the "mom jokes".

 

Kelly Drouillard

 


Kelly Drouillard, CPA, CPCU

Kelly, a director at INS Capital Group, has more than 35 years in the insurance industry focused on agency M&A, financing, and strategic growth. Kelly has facilitated countless insurance agency acquisitions and sales with a keen focus on success for buyers and sellers. She has long-standing industry relationships with agencies, MGAs and carriers. With more than $1B in insurance industry transactions spanning retail to reinsurance, she enjoys collaborating with industry partners.

As an instructor for various classes, professional development courses, and learning modules, Kelly enjoys sharing her passion of the insurance industry with like-minded professionals and is a frequent presenter at industry events. Kelly is a faculty member for The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. She has served in various industry trade association committee roles. She was instrumental in founding Insurance Networks Alliance, an industry group of insurance networks.

 

Joe Elliott, Accident Fund

 


Joe Elliott, CAWC

Joe Elliott began his career at AF Group in late 2016, returning to his home state of Michigan after spending 21 years in North Carolina. He has many years of professional experience in property and casualty underwriting and training, and curriculum development. Before joining the AF Group Agency Education team, he was a licensed P&C (and Accident Fund-appointed) agent.

 

Alex Houseman

 


Alex Houseman

Alex Houseman is the Director of Government Relations for Big I Michigan. Alex works to build and maintain key relationships with elected officials to ensure members have quality representation within the Michigan Legislature. You will find Alex in downtown Lansing lobbying lawmakers on legislative policy that supports Big I Michigan’s goals and priorities.

Prior to joining Big I Michigan, Alex was a legislative staffer as well as a lobbyist for the Michigan Realtors®. He lives in Grand Ledge, MI with his wife and daughter.

 

Erin Mattord

 


Erin Mattord, MBA, CAWC 

Erin E. Mattord, manager of Training Delivery and Education, began her career with AF Group in 2018, bringing with her nearly eight years of experience in the insurance industry — including practical training and education knowledge. Erin has a passion for teaching and does so with an engaging style, tapping into her unique combination of insurance and education experience.

In addition to her insurance-specific education and designations, Erin has obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in business management and Master of Business Administration in analytics, technology and innovation from Cleary University.

 

Justin Nockengust

 


Justin Nockengust

Justin Nockengust currently serves as a Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions (“M&A”) at Keystone Agency Partners (“KAP”) after joining in September of 2021. Justin has led over 20 acquisitions, including six new regional platform partners, and has been part of over 70 total transactions while at KAP.

Prior to his role at KAP, Justin spent 10+ years in various strategic finance and M&A functions within various industries in both private equity owned and public companies, with over 7 of these years focused on M&A within the insurance distribution and insurance carrier industry, at MarshBerry and Progressive Insurance, respectively.

 

Rick Pitts

 


Rick Pitts 

Rick Pitts is vice president and general counsel for Arlington/Roe & Co., a leading Midwest managing general agent and wholesale insurance broker with a premium volume that exceeded $140 million in 2012. Rick also serves as general counsel to the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana, Inc. As counsel to the “Big I,” Rick speaks annually at the association’s New Laws seminars and teaches various seminars on insurance and employment related matters. Pitts has also presented continuing education seminars to insurance professionals nationally and in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

Pitts has served as panelist and lecturer on subjects including the Americans with Disabilities Act; “Mold: Issues under the Microscope” for the Indiana Continuing Legal Education Forum (ICLEF); and “Insurance Issues for Builders” for the Indiana Builders Association. He served as chair of several of ICLEF’s seminars including “Advanced Corporate Practice,” “Privacy Law” and “Insurance Coverage Issues.” He has presented seminars on “Insuring Fiduciary Exposures,” “Insurance Coverage Disputes” and “Agency Succession and Perpetuation” for the Big I. Pitts has co-authored articles in the Indiana Law Review.

 

Mat Reardon

 


Mat Reardon

Mat has over 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. He has worked as the Director of Business Development at Sayata since October 2020. Mat has a strong underwriting and business development background having held positions as an Underwriter at Lexington and Rockhill (a State Auto Insurance Company), and Business Development at Beazley and Ultra Risk Advisors.

 

Joe Schubert

 


Joe Schubert

Joe Schubert is a service industry professional with over 30 years behind many bars through the country. The last 20 have been spent bartending in Detroit as a leading cocktail specialist, historian, educator and entertainer. Although Mr. Schubert prefers to avoid terms like “mixologist” or “master”, he is indeed a master of his craft and very well-versed in creating original cocktails (as well as breathing new life into the classics) for nearly every palate with personality plus. Not only has he created a cocktail named for an entire city (The Detroit), the city’s industry professionals have embraced it and it has been featured in several periodicals and publications as Detroit’s first cocktail names for the city in the same spirit of The Manhattan. Joe was also named Detroit’s Best Dressed Bartender in 2016 & 2017 and has inspired a new generation of industry professionals to step up their game and embrace bartending as a legitimate career, just as it was before prohibition decimated the profession in America.

 

Don Shampine

 


Donald Shampine, CIC, CRM

Don is founder of Michigan Insurance Group, an insurance agency in Muskegon - not to mention a past president of Big I Michigan. As a regular user of AI at the office, Don is eager to share his first-hand knowledge of the ins and outs of this cutting edge technology and how it can help you keep track of the many tasks on your desk and save you time.

 

Diane Smith

 


Diane Smith, CLCS

Diane L. Smith brings a wealth of experience, spanning over 30 years, to her role as a Sales and Marketing Manager at Arlington/Roe. As a dedicated member of the Francis Roe Center for Professional Growth, Diane actively contributes by designing and leading engaging webinar sessions, aiming to foster participation and facilitate ongoing learning for associates and independent agents.

Diane dedicates a generous amount of time each month to guide new Arlington/Roe agents through their onboarding process, assisting them in navigating the intricacies of working with a wholesale broker. She also ensures effective communication by providing updates to agents with the valuable assistance of her underwriting and brokerage peers, emphasizing the importance of collaboration within the industry. She also collects agent feedback and effectively communicates it with various internal teams. Diane willingly shares her insights as a guest speaker for various state associations and groups, covering a diverse range of insurance topics.

A graduate of Indiana University, Bloomington, holding a degree in Communications and a Teaching Certification, Diane began her journey in the insurance sector as a retail insurance agent. With an award-winning career that includes working with companies such as Liberty Mutual, The Hanover Insurance Group, Nationwide Insurance, and Arlington/Roe (from 2001-2004 and again from 2016 to present), she consistently demonstrates proficiency in property & casualty insurance.

Diane holds a CLCS designation and possesses licenses in P&C, Life and Health, and Annuities. Committed to continuous learning and professional growth, she channels her passion for teaching and communication to contribute actively to the growth of others, thereby defining her accomplished career in the insurance industry.

 

Matt Sprang

 


Matt Sprang

Matt, a director at INS Capital Group, has more than 25 years of commercial banking experience. He has 16 years solely focused on the insurance agency channel. Matt's experience gained national scope, partnering with agents, carriers, associations, and aggregators to provide capital totaling $750MM on transactions of more than $1B. Matt brings his expertise in connecting, analyzing, calculating, coordinating, and completing deals to INS Capital Group to help clients successfully navigate the complex process of mergers and acquisitions. Matt is known for his strategic thinking and ability to identify opportunities that others may overlook. He is highly respected in the industry for his integrity, professionalism, and commitment to delivering exceptional results for his clients.

 

Squirrel

 


Squirrel

Squirrel is a professional bartender from Kalamazoo, Michigan, with over 15 years in the food and beverage industry. He has bartended in Kalamazoo, Chicago, and is now in Detroit. Squirrel is owner and operator of the Pink Squirrel Bartending Academy, a business he started to bring a more personable and professional experience to events. Watch him in action at Fast Track Session: Mixology.

 

David Walker

 


David Walker, AAI, CIC, CAWC, LIC, CRM

David (Dave) Walker began his insurance career in 1979 as an agent with Guarantee Mutual Life Insurance Co. In 1981, he joined Hartland Insurance Agency as a producer, rose through the ranks, and currently serves as president and principal of the agency.

During his career he has taught many classes at the state and national level - for CIC, CISR, and at numerous conventions. He is an instructor on Agent Ethics and Professional Liability and acts as an expert witness throughout the United States.

Dave has also served on many boards and committees throughout the years, and is a past MAIA President and IIABA (Big “I”) Director.

 

Jason Walker, Agency Revolution

 


Jason Walker

Jason leads Agency Revolution, which provides a suite of digital marketing solutions and a proactive service team that help agencies sell and retain clients.
 
Prior to Agency Revolution, Jason spent more than a decade connecting agencies, carriers, and technologies through his consulting firm Agency Insurtech, the agency technology directory InsurancePlayground.com, and as co-founder of Smart Harbor, which built digital marketing tools for agencies before being acquired by a private equity-backed insurtech.
 
A recipient of the Smart 50 Award for Innovation, Impact and Sustainability, Jason has conducted speaking engagements and workshops for InsureTech Connect, Nationwide, State Auto, Keystone, Pinnacol Assurance, BroadStreet Partners, Agency Nation Elevate, the Big I, and the Ohio Insurance Association. He is also published in Insurance Journal, Property Casualty 360, IA Magazine, Rough Notes, Insurance Thought Leadership, The Meeting Magazines, Carrier Management, and Insurance Business America and featured on the Insurance Closing the Gap, Agency Nation Radio, and Insurance Marketing Brain Dump podcasts.

 

Brandon Wheeler

 


Brandon Wheeler, CPCU

Brandon is Small Commercial Portfolio Underwriting AVP at The Hanover Insurance Group. He has had wide-ranging leadership roles during his 13 years at company. Currently Brandon provides direction through a broader team of underwriters to manage the national Small Commercial portfolios in the CL Customer Service Center and the Affinity & Niche programs. He also manages the Small CL renewal portfolios of the Midwest & Great Lakes states of MI, IN, OH, IL, WI, and MN. Brandon has an MBA from Western Michigan University and his Bachelors from Central Michigan University. He has had prior career leadership experience at insurance carriers Liberty Mutual, Safeco and Sentry Insurance. Brandon is a resident of Michigan and resides near the Ann Arbor area.