Dawnmarie Black - President Market Development Director - Lloyd's Americas Region
Dawnmarie is an accomplished broker and underwriter who joined Lloyd’s in 2018 from London broker BMS Group. She brings more than 30 years of experience, having served in senior roles with Ascot, Aon, AIG, and Chubb.

Dawnmarie is responsible for leading the Market Development Strategy in the US, Canada, and Latin America and managing a team of market development executives and associates. Lloyd’s stakeholders in the US include retail, wholesale, and reinsurance brokers; program managers; managing general agents; risk managers; and market supporting organizations such as TMPAA/WSIA/RIMS. The US represents over 50% of Lloyd’s total written premium.

Black holds a B.A. from Allegheny College. She is affiliated with several industry groups and insurance industry philanthropic efforts, including the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation; Association of Professional Insurance Women (currently Treasurer and Co-chair of programming); and serves on the Target Markets Women’s Leadership Committee. Her past board roles include Intermediaries & Reinsurance Underwriters Association and Chair of IICF Boston Board. She has been recognized by IBA on their Elite Women, Hot 100, and Business Global 100 lists as well as being recognized by IICF as an Inclusion Champion in 2021.

Kara Owens is a reinsurance executive at Stone Ridge Asset Management working on various (re)insurance initiatives throughout the company. Prior to joining Stone Ridge in 2022, Ms. Owens was the Global Head of Cyber and ESG at Markel Corporation, where she led underwriting, enterprise risk management and product development for Markel’s cyber portfolio. Previously, Ms. Owens was the Global Head of Cyber at TransRe as well as a Specialty Casualty underwriter where she was instrumental in forming TransRe’s Women’s Group. She began her career at Guy Carpenter structuring reinsurance placements across various short-tail and long-tail insurance products. Ms. Owens graduated magna cum laude from Temple University with a BA in Risk Management and Insurance and Marketing and holds her CPCU, RPLU, and ARe insurance certifications. In addition to APIW, she is very engaged with mentoring Risk Management students and volunteering with St. Baldrick’s Organization. Ms. Owens has a sweet little boy and two crazy dogs. She enjoys reading, hiking, animals and traveling the world.

Michelle Yoshida is the NY Casualty Facultative Branch Manager at Gen Re.

Michelle began her career in the insurance industry in 2013 as a member of the NY Casualty E&S Division of General Star Insurance Co (a subsidiary of Gen Re). Interested in Reinsurance, she joined Gen Re in 2018 and became Branch Manager in 2022. As Manager, Michelle is responsible for profitable underwriting results within the NY branch. In addition, her focus includes fostering a cohesive team dynamic that enables both strategic growth of the business and strong underwriting acumen. She mentors women within Gen Re and is a member of Gen Re’s Women and Allies Group and Professionals of Color and Allies Group. Michelle is an active participant in the New York insurance marketplace and regularly attends events held by various organizations in addition to APIW. A student of the business, she has earned the designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and Associate in Surplus Lines Insurance (ASLI).

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and minor in biology from Fairfield University. She was born and raised in Hawaii and is a co-chair of the Punahou Alumni Association of New York, for which she coordinates social and networking events and helps mentor Punahou graduates in the Tri-State area as they navigate their college and career paths.

Nancy M. Mellard is Executive Vice President and General Counsel for the Benefits & Insurance Services Division of CBIZ, Inc.  Nancy has been with CBIZ for more than 30 years! As General Counsel for this Division, Ms. Mellard has responsibility for all legal related matters including transactional legal issues, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and E&O/EPL actions, and negotiations with key customers, insurance carriers and employment related agreements.  She also has oversight for all regulatory, licensing and compliance for the Division.

Having more than 40 years of legal experience and with nearly all of those years in the insurance industry, Ms. Mellard serves as a member of the Division’s Senior Management Team, providing comprehensive strategic-level business counsel.  Nancy is known for her capability of utilizing her legal expertise and sharing complex legal information in a manner that “non-legal experts” understand.  Having a deep understanding of the “business side” of the business, Nancy has become a respected and sought-after partner with all internal business leaders, while also seen as a strong adversary when addressing business and legal challenges.  She is also known for her humor, honesty, generosity and intelligence, Nancy is not only a leader within the legal community, but also in the business community.

In addition to her role as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ms. Mellard was chosen by CBIZ’s Chairman of the Board to build CBIZ Women’s Advantage.  This Program supports CBIZ’s female employee base in multiple professional roles across all Divisions of CBIZ.  The goals of this Program are to recruit, retain and develop female talent within CBIZ and recognize the power of women both internally and externally.  Professional development, talent management, networking, revenue generation, national community outreach and, most importantly, the celebration of successes of CBIZ woman talent are more strategic goals for this Program.  CBIZ Women’s Advantage was responsible for generating and influencing more than $18 million in new business revenue over the last twelve years and was the 2009 recipient of the Dress for Success Worldwide Model of Excellence Award for its continuing support of Dress for Success.  Ms. Mellard received three 2012 Stevie® Awards for her leadership of CBIZ Women’s Advantage:  Gold Award, Maverick of the Year; Silver Award, Mentor or Coach of the Year – Business and Silver Award, Women Helping Women – Business.

Nancy’s contributions extend far outside CBIZ.  In addition to serving in various capacities (including Chairperson) on multiple not-for-profit Boards in the Kansas City community, Ms. Mellard was the 2021-2022 Board Chair of the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), located in Washington, DC, served on the Executive committee of its Board of Directors and is also a member of the Board of Directors for the CIAB’s Council Foundation.  She is also past Chair of the CIAB’s Council of Employee Benefit Executives Advisory Board (CEBE) and past Chair of the CIAB Legal Counsel’s Working Committee.  Nancy currently serves on the Association of Professional Insurance Women Board of Directors and the USLAW Labor & Employment Client Practice Committee.  She was Chair of the Board of Directors for Central Exchange (2014-15) and currently chairs the Central Exchange Foundation Board.

Nancy has received a number of other awards and recognition including a First Chair 2017 Top General Counsel Award, Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s 2017 Women in Justice – Enterprise Award, and the 2016 Stevie® Bronze Lifetime Achievement Award.  She was named a 2016 Baron of the Boardroom by the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association and one of the Elite Women in Insurance, by Insurance Business America Magazine.  In 2013, Ms. Mellard was named one of Kansas City’s 50 Most Inspiring Women by 435 South Magazine and one of the Top Women in Insurance by American Agent & Broker Magazine.  Ms. Mellard was a member of Ingram’s Magazine’s 2012 class of weKC (Women Executives – Kansas City) which honors the most influential and accomplished women executives in the Kansas City area and received the Women Who Mean Business Award in 2010 from the Kansas City Business Journal, Influential Women Award in 2010 from the Kansas City Business Magazine, Legal Leader of the Year Award in 2008 from the Midwest In-House Lawyers Weekly and was named a Woman to Watch in 2006 by Business Insurance.

CBIZ is a national provider of integrated business services including Employee Benefits and Property & Casualty Insurance Services; Payroll Services; Human Capital Advisory; Retirement Plan; Accounting, Tax & Advisory; Business Valuation and other professional services to small and medium sized companies and individuals.  CBIZ is a public company, listed on the NYSE as CBZ.

Renata Bauer-Saville is dedicated to fostering and maintaining strategic relationships within the commercial property and casualty insurance market. With over a decade of experience in insurance, her network encompasses a broad spectrum of clients, including Fortune 500 companies, Risk Managers, CFOs, retail and wholesale brokerages, claims professionals, and underwriters both in the US and internationally.

As the Vice President of Major Accounts at McLarens, Renata drives territory growth and new business development on the East Coast. She plays a key role in leading major accounts team strategy and developing new processes that are essential to McLarens’ long-term success. Renata is also passionate about supporting and mentoring women in the industry. Beyond her role on the APIW Board, she serves as the Director of Memberships for YRP North Florida.

Born and raised in Brazil, Renata is fluent in both Portuguese and English. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ, where she was recruited for their Division 1 Volleyball team. After graduating, Renata completed a certificate in Public Relations and Image Management from NYU and participated in Wharton Executive Education’s program on Driving Strategic Innovation: Leading Complex Initiatives for Impact. As a proud mother of twin girls, she continues to navigate the balance between work, life, and motherhood. In her free time, Renata enjoys traveling with her family, practicing pilates, and occasionally trying her hand at golf.

Kathleen Alicks, Chief Compliance Officer for Seneca Insurance company, has been with the Crum & Forster (C&F) organization for over 20 years. After holding several field leadership positions at C&F/Seneca, she created and developed the Home Office Underwriting Group of Product Line Management in 2016. Shortly thereafter she assumed responsibilities for Regulatory Compliance. She has been instrumental in helping shape the future leaders and underwriters at Seneca by developing various training programs and mentoring several women in the organization.

Kathleen is known to be an ambassador for Seneca in the C&F group and currently participates in cross-functional guilds, including the Enterprise Risk Officer guild as Seneca’s Risk Officer.  Her passion for DEI has given rise for the opportunity to serve on C&F’s DEI council, participate as an ally in several Employee Resource groups including PRIDE & ABES (Advocates for Black Equity), and is currently serving as an Executive Sponsor for the Women’s ERG, WAVE (Women Amplifying Value & Equity).  In 2022, Kathleen was the recipient of The Extraordinary Women in an Extraordinary Year award from APIW (Association for Professional Insurance Women) for her work in the DEI space, contributions during the pandemic, and her work as a member of the Board of Trustees for Birth Haven, a homeless shelter providing services for young pregnant women in Newton, NJ.

Prior to her arrival at C&F/Seneca, she spent the early years of her career honing her underwriting skills at General Star Management, a subsidiary of General Reinsurance. Kathleen is currently a council member of the APIW New Jersey Network.  She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Fairfield University where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.

Tracey Vasile is the Senior Vice President of Client Strategy at Verisk, where she leads a team of Managing Directors dedicated to driving innovation, developing strategic initiatives, and fostering enterprise-wide collaboration with the company’s most strategically significant insurance clients. She also played a key role in establishing the Executive Sponsor Roundtable and works closely with senior executives at both Verisk and its carrier partners on a range of strategic initiatives. Since joining Verisk in 2010, Tracey has held multiple leadership roles, including National Account Executive and Assistant Vice President of Sales, before stepping into her current position overseeing the Client Strategy Team.

Before Verisk, she spent 16 years at LexisNexis in sales and sales management, partnering with corporations to align data solutions with both tactical and strategic business objectives.

Tracey holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MBA in Marketing from Sacred Heart University. She is also an active member of the Planning Board in her hometown of Foxboro, MA.