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Anna Kohler will lead the UIC team from the Anchorage office and her primary focus is collaboration with the UIC team to develop, analyze, and implement a comprehensive insurance program tailored to meet your organizational needs.
Anna leads the account team in marketing efforts and facilitates teamwork and communication between the client and additional PS&F/IMA resources, including our risk control and claims teams. She is tasked with identifying and understanding client operations, risks, and goals, and clearly communicating those to underwriters and team members during the marketing process. Anna has extensive technical knowledge and works with many of our larger, more complex clients. Anna has worked with Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) for the entirety of her 15-year career in insurance. Her main focus is on ANCs, public entities, and construction.
Anna started her insurance career at Parker, Smith & Feek in 2009 as an associate account manager and worked her way up to her current account executive role. She was born and raised in Alaska. She earned a B.A. from Baylor University in Waco, Texas and spent several years living, studying, and working in Europe before returning to Alaska to begin her career in insurance. She holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) professional designation and will obtain the Occupational Endorsement Certificate (OEC) in Alaska Native Business Management at the University of Alaska in May 2024. She is also working towards her Master’s in Business Management (MBA) at the University of Alaska.
Anna is an active board member of Anchorage South Rotary and Camp Fire Alaska.
Brenda Nolan will manage the administrative support and daily communication with the UIC team. She manages all administrative aspects of the insurance program for some of our largest, most high-profile, and technically complex clients. She is a primary contact for client risk managers and senior-level management and works directly with clients in all aspects of their insurance program needs, providing proactive strategies for placement of coverage, development of policy contracts, and solutions to satisfy their continuing insurance requirements.
Brenda has expertise in public entities, financial institutions, construction, engineering, healthcare, and marine clients, and she has experience managing a diverse cross-section of key accounts. Her skill in coordinating insurance submissions on large, complex accounts is highly valued by our account teams and clients alike. Brenda’s capabilities include strong negotiation skills that result in breadth of coverage and competitive pricing.
Brenda began her insurance career in 1983 with a managing general agent. From 1984 to 1988, she worked on the insurance carrier side before moving to brokerage services in 1989. Prior to joining Parker, Smith & Feek in 2022, Brenda was with a large national firm for 15 years.
Renee Stock will provide strategic support to UIC. She is a 25+ year industry veteran with 19 years of focused expertise in global technology and government contracting firms. Renee provides senior advisory contributions to IMA’s Advanced Industries specialty by creating proactive risk management and comprehensive insurance portfolios for some of the most innovative companies in the world. Renee has been a member of TechAssure, the global association of insurance brokers specializing in technology-related risks, for over ten years.
In her previous role, Renee was a practice leader, with authority for training and engaging business development, public speaking events, authoring papers, and mentoring colleagues. As director of risk management, she provided risk analysis and technical insurance portfolio design for complex government contracting and technology clients.
Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia (IIAV) employed Renee’s training expertise as a cyber instructor for three years, where she was the state’s cyber instructor for Virginia agents and brokers. In 2019, Renee completed the Chubb and Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College (CCIC) master’s course to certify the industry best practices in cyber security risk management, governance, and operations and continues to maintain the education and colleague engagement with the world’s most proficient cyber brokers and carriers.
In 2018 Renee was invited to the “United States Department of Treasury Cybersecurity Roundtable” to collaborate with Virginia brokers, the IIABA Counsel of Federal Government Affairs, and the Department of Treasury to discuss cyber regulations. For these efforts, Renee was nominated for the 2018 Golden Eagle Award by Independent Insurance Agents of Virginia for her outstanding contributions.
Jana Smith will serve as a senior consultant to Anna and the team. Jana joined PS&F in 2006 and has served as the senior account executive to UIC for the past nine years. She was also the Alaska regional vice president and managing partner of the Alaska team. Jana has worked with ANCs and other global clients over the course of her 35 years as a property and casualty insurance broker. She is a specialist in the areas of healthcare, energy, native corporations, and government contracting. She has worked with many of our largest clients with operations that span the globe.
Jana is an innovative professional, having been instrumental in the creation and implementation of worldwide property and casualty insurance programs. Additionally, on behalf of clients, she has negotiated reinsurance and excess placements for self-insured programs.
Jana is actively involved in her community and serves on the board of The Providence Foundation as well as the Alaska Eating Disorder Alliance.
Even though retirement is on the horizon for Jana, she is committed to the continued high level of service for UIC.
Karen Howick will support Brenda in the administration of the UIC insurance program. She manages several of the administrative aspects of the insurance program and serves as a point of contact for our clients, working directly with them on ongoing insurance needs. Karen works with our account team to develop and implement an insurance program tailored to meet the individual needs of the client. She helps prepare our marketing submission that is used by underwriters to develop the terms, coverages, and pricing of the insurance program. Throughout the policy term, she is responsible for the processing of all necessary documents for any changes, including endorsements, audits, certificates of insurance, invoices, and premium allocations. Karen’s areas of specialty include construction, retail, and builder’s risk. Her expertise includes contract reviews for insurance purposes, and the issuance and review of certificates of insurance.
Prior to joining Parker, Smith & Feek in 2020, Karen worked as an associate account manager for a broker where she specialized in aviation accounts. She began her insurance career in 2019. Karen is actively working towards the Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designation. Karen also helps train other associates in various procedures and makes herself available to help collaborate or answer any questions that she can.
Angela Merrell has served at the lead client executive for the UIC team for the past three years. She is a member of our Commercial Marine Practice Group working from our Tacoma, Washington office. She works with our account teams to design, market, and implement insurance programs that are tailored to the operational needs of our clients with marine exposures. Angela also manages all administrative aspects of the insurance program and works directly with risk managers and senior level management on account marketing plans and ongoing insurance matters throughout the year.
For over 20 years, Angela has been assisting the commercial marine insurance community in identifying and finding insurance solutions to their risk exposures. Angela specializes in hull and marine liabilities across various commercial marine spaces, including shipyards and vessel manufacturers, tug-tow operations, passenger vessels, marine contractors, stevedores, commercial fishing, and more. Her strong presence in the marine underwriting community allows for long-term relationships to the benefit of PS&F/IMA clients, through detailed coverage and pricing negotiations.
Prior to joining Parker, Smith & Feek in 2019, Angela worked for a national brokerage firm servicing marine clients worldwide, with a focus on Pacific Northwest domiciled insureds. Angela has served on the board for the Marine Insurance Association of Seattle (MIAS) and is currently an active member of the marine insurance community.
Theresa assists Angela with the administration of the UIC marine insurance program. As an associate account manager II in our Commercial Marine practice group, Theresa assists the client executive in all administrative duties and processing activities associated with the insurance program.
Working in collaboration with the account team, Theresa assists in the development of our marketing submission that is used by underwriters to develop the terms, coverages, and pricing of the insurance program. She initiates and maintains the documentation that places insurance coverage in force. Theresa also reviews each policy for completeness and accuracy and facilitates any required revisions from underwriters. Throughout the policy term, she processes the endorsements, audits, certificates of insurance, invoices, and other supporting documents that keep the insurance program current.
Theresa works with clients from a wide spectrum of industries, including boating, fishing, and tourism. Theresa has been with PS&F/IMA since April 2022. Prior to joining our firm, she worked as an account manager with Assured Partners of Washington for four years and State Farm Auto Claims for one year.
Shawn Hjort has been providing claims consulting to the UIC team since the beginning of our relationship together. Shawn is a vice president and claims executive, working in partnership with our clients to manage commercial risk. Her role is to see that our claims reporting and processing activities are conducted expediently, and to ensure final resolutions are fair and reasonable. She works directly with our clients to develop and implement claims reporting and claims handling procedures for their companies, and advocates for our clients on workers’ compensation claims.
Shawn assists with implementing new carriers, establishing customized claims handling instructions, and participating in claims review. She takes an advocacy position to assist with claims oversight for high exposure losses and facilitates claims resolution strategies with the insured, the carrier/third-party administrator, and defense counsel. Shawn also collaborates with clients to assist with analysis of loss reports, identifying trends, and determining available resources to address opportunity areas. Helping clients present complex claims to the insurer and subsequent participation in the settlement process is a particular strength for Shawn.
Shawn has over 30 years of experience in the claims field and joined Parker, Smith & Feek in 2012. Her experience includes claims adjusting and claims program management for Fortune 500 companies, including workers’ compensation, property, casualty, and marine claims.
Kim is a senior claims advocate responsible for managing client claims and has worked with the UIC team on claims advocacy for the past nine years. She works directly with clients to ensure claims are handled on a timely basis, coverage is applied properly, and all claims will be followed to conclusion.
Kim’s background is in the handling of property and casualty claims. Her breadth and depth of experience allow her to effectively facilitate the claims process for general liability, property and management liability (errors and omissions, directors and officers, and employment practices), and personal lines claims. In addition to overseeing the claims process, Kim works directly with our clients to develop and implement claims reporting and handling procedures for their companies. She has experience with a wide range of industries, including real estate, financial services, hospitality, and technology.
Kim began her insurance career in 1992. She joined Parker, Smith & Feek in 2011, working in the Claims Department as a claims advocate on a temporary basis before joining the Commercial Department as a permanent employee. Kim then rejoined the Claims Department in 2014 as a claims advocate.
Kevin is a vice president and works with our account teams and clients to provide risk prevention and safety control practices tailored to individual clients’ exposures and operations.
Kevin’s role is to assist clients with their accident prevention programs in the workers’ compensation, general liability, property, and auto fleet exposure areas. He has experience working with many industries, including shipyards, marine construction, food processing, professional offices, construction, metal fabrication, and surface mining. Kevin’s background in industrial hygiene gives him a focus on prevention of illnesses and injuries from exposures in the work environment. Through this broad base of experience, he can help find alternatives to hazardous conditions that reduce risk but also work within the client’s operations. He coordinates services with insurance company loss control personnel, serving as liaison and advocate for our clients, and maintains regularly scheduled contact with our largest clients throughout the year.
Kevin joined Parker, Smith & Feek in 2016. Most recently, he spent eight years as the health and safety manager at a shipyard that performs new construction and repair of ocean-going vessels. During that period, he served a three-year term on the NFPA’s Marine Chemist Qualification Board as the shipyard industry representative. Prior to that, he was an industrial hygienist with Liberty Northwest Insurance and Gunderson, LLC in Portland, Oregon. He has been a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) since 2005 and completed the Marshall & Swift Commercial Cost Approach Certification. He holds a B.S. degree in biology from Walla Walla College (now Walla Walla University) and a master’s degree in public health from Loma Linda University.
Kevin is an active member and past chair of the American Society of Safety Engineers Mount Baker Section. He is also a member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), and represents Parker, Smith & Feek at the Puget Sound Shipbuilders Association. Kevin volunteers with the Anacortes Friends of the Forest, a not-for-profit that works to preserve forestlands and an extensive trail system within the city limits.
Sharon joined IMA in 2013 and is the environmental practice leader. Sharon focuses on the design and placement of environmental risk management programs. Prior to joining IMA, Sharon led the Denver Environmental Practice for five years at a large competitor. She also served as an environmental risk specialist for AIG where she underwrote and marketed a full suite of pollution liability products, focusing on large national corporations with revenues over $500M. In addition to her 16 years of insurance expertise, Sharon brings ten years of experience in environmental consulting and sustainability. Sharon received her B.S. degree in conservation biology and environmental studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and her master’s in environmental sustainability from the University of Edinburgh. She was on the marketing leadership advisory board of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a Fellow of the Kinship Conservation Institute, and an associate member of the Environmental Forum Steering Committee for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). In 2016, Sharon was an honoree of Denver Business Journal’s Top Women in Energy.
Karen joined PS&F/IMA in 2023 with the formation of the firm’s government contracting specialty. PS&F/IMA already had a broad spectrum of government contracting clients and this was an opportunity to unify coordination under one umbrella. Karen brings with her over 30 years of experience working with companies across a number of specializations, including but not limited to construction, logistics, base management, security and mission-focused technology solutions. Additionally, she is a nationally-recognized resource for government contractors, including compliance expertise with the Defense Base Act and international management implications for administering the Federal Acquisition Regulations.
Karen has created and hosted conferences focused on bringing government and industry together to solve common problems and has also been the keynote speaker for a variety of other conferences.
Karen develops content for companies, spanning the evolution from those considering overseas operations to those that have sophisticated multinational infrastructure. Her articles, advising government contractors about strategies for mitigating risk, have been published by Washington Technology, and she founded an annual conference called “Overseas Federal Contractors: Requirements Risks and Opportunities.”
She works out of the Washington, D.C. area, in the heart of all things government, be they federal, state or local. She holds a degree in International Business and Marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.
As the national director of PS&F/IMA’s National Construction Specialty Group, Michael has multiple responsibilities. He is responsible for coordinating the overall efforts and resources of the firm to make PS&F/IMA construction clients business better. Part of his duties include leading the mission for PS&F/IMA to have deep knowledge of our construction client’s industry, promote strong risk and insurance expertise within the teams, search out emerging risk issues for contractors, and continue to find ways to increase PS&F/IMA’s value to construction clients. A significant part of his duties involves Michael working closely with individual clients in the service of their risk and insurance needs in the enterprise risk management space.
Having started in the insurance business as a construction underwriter in 1990, Michael went on to work in Zurich’s North American Home office in Schaumburg, IL before a twenty-one-year stint with a top ten broker, serving the last ten of those years as the team leader of the Construction & Design Group.
Michael has worked with some of the largest most diverse national construction clients in America ranked in ENR’s Top 100 for both general contractors and specialty contractors. He personally led the day-to-day service for 5 of the ENR top 100 general contractors located in the North and Southeast and 7 of the largest specialty contractors in America. He has a unique background in coverage, construction enterprise risk management, insurance, loss sensitive programs, claims, and strategic risk management.
As way of giving back to the industry, Michael taught a risk and insurance class at the Henry Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri – Kansas City for four years. He has co-taught enterprise risk management to the accelerated MBA program at UMKC. Michael is a regular presenter at insurance and construction conferences.
Nicholas joined PS&F/IMA’s Construction Practice as an account executive in 2021, and in this role, he helps clients understand and manage their exposures to loss. Since beginning his insurance career in 2006, Nick has been devoted to servicing construction and real estate management clients, including general contractors, subcontractors, developers and property managers, with an emphasis in developing and marketing insurance placements for large construction projects for over a decade. Nick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business management/organizational leadership from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Anne Maiers is a vice president and data and analytics specialist in our Commercial Department. She provides expert analysis on loss trends, rate analysis and premium ratios, risk financing, financial review of collateral obligations, and benchmarking, before presenting the data in a meaningful and intuitive format for review.
Anne uses her extensive experience with all aspects of commercial insurance to provide high level analyses of our clients’ data, including program marketing and renewals, claims and workers’ compensation programs, general coverage issues and contract review, premium allocations, large property programs, loss control/safety/OSHA compliance, and multiple facets of insurance reporting/audits/analysis. Her analyses allow our clients to easily identify problem areas and develop strategies to mitigate risk and minimize losses. Her years working with brokers have given her a broad understanding of different industries, making her an extremely valuable resource to a wide range of clients.
John is president of Parker, Smith & Feek and leader of the Northwest Region for IMA. He leads our seven offices in four states from our Bellevue headquarters. John focuses on maintaining and improving our client and team experiences and maintains overall profit and loss responsibility for the region.
Before joining Parker, Smith & Feek in 2019, John spent over 20 years in the industry, including management and executive roles in start-ups, third-party administrators, carriers, and brokers. In his most recent role at Cigna, he was responsible for overall growth and profitability in companies with fewer than 500 employees across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. With this breadth and depth of experience, John has a well-rounded perspective on customer needs and the insight to assist in finding unbiased solutions to match. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in psychology.
John is the current board chair of the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific, assisting in their work to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through research, education, and advocacy. He has also held multiple other volunteer and board roles, including president and board member of the Princeton Club of Western Washington.