2025 SPEAKERS
Keynote Presentation: The Power of Change
Speaker: Dave Raymond, The Hero of Happiness, Mascot Guru, and Original Phillie Phanatic
Dave Raymond, Hero of Happiness Biographical Sketch: The Evolution of Happiness!® From college student to an iconic figure in sports entertainment, Dave Raymond broke new ground as the original Phillie Phanatic. For 16 years, his innovative approach to the art of mascots transformed the Philadelphia Phillies and propelled the Phanatic into global stardom, forever changing the mascot industry. But Dave’s true passion goes far beyond the green fur. Building on the insights he gained from this one-of-a-kind experience, Dave transitioned seamlessly into entrepreneurship, founding Raymond Entertainment Group nearly two decades ago. Through his company, he’s reimagined character brands for Fortune 500 companies, sports teams, and universities, and launched the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2005. Yet, it is his dedication to teaching how fun can fuel genuine well-being that truly sets him apart. In his keynote, The Evolution of Happiness, Dave shares how fun isn’t just an idea—it’s a proven process. While many discuss the value of fun, Dave lived it. He introduces his Power of Fun process, a roadmap to sustainable happiness, improving both personal and professional lives with ease. His mission? To inspire others to embrace joy as a critical tool for lasting fulfillment, health, and productivity. Dave is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, author and brand consultant. His work has been highlighted on ABC, HBO, NPR, ESPN, The New York Times and Jimmy Kimmel Live. For more information, please find us at www.DaveRaymondSpeaks.com
Hope Karnes, MD, PhD, is a Board-certified pathologist and Medical Director at ExamOne, a Quest Diagnostics Company. Dr. Karnes completed her residency, chief residency, and fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. Prior to joining ExamOne, Dr. Karnes worked as a general pathologist in both the private and governmental sectors. From 2018-2022, Dr. Karnes worked as a Medical Advisor for Quest Diagnostics, supporting client engagement and education across the Esoteric Laboratories. In 2023, she joined Quest’s Medical Affairs division, where she led payer and reimbursement strategies for the myeloproliferative neoplasm portfolio within hematopathology. Most recently, Dr. Karnes has been providing medical support to Quest’s Diagnostic Services division, including ExamOne. She enjoys teaching and promoting appropriate laboratory test stewardship practices among clinical and laboratory colleagues and was named a “40 Under Forty” selectee for laboratory leadership by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP).
Dr. Hope Karnes, Medical Director, Clinical Solutions at Quest Diagnostics
Session: Drug and Alcohol Abuse Under the Radar
John Allen, Regulatory Compliance Counsel at MIB
Session: A Regulatory Update
John Allen joined MIB as Regulatory Compliance Counsel in 2022. Prior to joining MIB, John served as Counsel and Corporate Secretary for California Casualty Management Company, where he was responsible for corporate legal and regulatory matters impacting the company. Prior to California Casualty, John served as Counsel for Combined Insurance Company of America, a Chubb company, in Chicago, Illinois. John is licensed to practice law in California and Illinois.
Dr. Deborah Van Dommelen, Medical Director at Guardian
Session: A Regulatory Update
Dr. Deborah VanDommelen is the Medical Director at Guardian Life. She has been in the industry for over 15 years, with a diverse breadth of experience including underwriting, claims, innovation, training, and regulatory efforts. Dr. VanDommelen completed an honors degree in genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During that time, she participated in prostate cancer research at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital. She attended medical school in Madison prior to earning her master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. Dr. VanDommelen moved to Milwaukee to complete her residency training in Family Medicine and stayed on as an assistant professor for an additional three years. Before pursuing insurance medicine, she practiced clinical medicine for six years and served on the human subjects committee that supervised research protocols at St. Luke’s Hospital. In her free time, she plays in a pinball league, restores old homes, and is a groupie for her husband’s punk band. In this position, she managed a team of diverse medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, an occupational therapist, and a psychiatric social worker.
Hareem Naveed, AVP, Integrated Analytics at Munich Re
Session: A Regulatory Update
Hareem Naveed is the head of MLOps and AI Governance for Munich Re Life’s North America business. She began her career as a data scientist and has since built an area of practice developing and deploying innovative AI tools to parse medical data and automate underwriting. She holds a Master’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Toronto and was previously a Data Science for Social Good Fellow at the University of Chicago.
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Sharon Klein, Certified FALU, CLU, FLMI, ACS, Executive Director, Large Case Underwriting at RGA
Session: Show Me the Money
Sharon Klein has been employed in the life insurance industry for 30+ years with experience underwriting life and long-term care insurance, reviewing claims, and team leadership. Sharon is currently the Executive Director of the Large Case Unit at RGA. Residing in ND, Sharon enjoys going to hockey games, playing golf, and hanging out with family including her first grandson.
Tom Gangemi, Vice President and Chief Underwriter at New York Life
Session: Show Me the Money
Thomas J. Gangemi began his career at New York Life as an underwriter in 1987 after graduating from Wagner College with a degree in Economics and assumed positions of increasing responsibility in the Underwriting organization throughout his career. In 2014, Tom was named New York Life’s Chief Underwriter, where he is responsible for setting underwriting policy and working with key stakeholders in the company on protecting mortality, while maintaining strong relationships with the company’s field force. Tom is also actively pursuing changes to the underwriting process which will enhance the purchase experience for our Underwriters, General Offices, Agents, Partners, and most importantly our customers. In 2023, Tom assumed responsibility for our Annuity New Business, Teleapp, and Reg 60/Suitability teams. He is working closely with the teams to enhance the purchase experience in these areas as well. Tom is a speaker at numerous underwriting industry meetings and is a current Board Member for the New York Life Nautilus Group.
Dr. Magdalena Kluchko, Medical Director at John Hancock
Session: Clinic Confidential
Dr. Magdalena Kluchko is a native of Germany but has adopted New England as her home for almost 20 years. During her medical training at the Technical University Munich, she was fortunate enough to study all over the globe and experience the different healthcare systems of Europe, China, Africa, and the United States. This inspired her to complete a Master of Public Health degree at Yale University and she remained at Yale-New Haven Hospital for her Internal Medicine residency. After about a decade as a primary care physician in private practice, her love for learning, reading, and puzzle solving led her to a career in insurance medicine, in which she is also board certified. She has previously held positions with Trustmark Insurance and MassMutual and is passionately applying her expertise and out of the box critical thinking skills as the medical director for John Hancock.
Beth Brown, FALU, FLMI, ACS, AVP, Senior Underwriting Specialist at Gen Re
Session: Personalized Age and Amount Requirements
Beth Brown, FLMI, FALU, ACS, is an Assistant Vice President, Senior Underwriting Specialist with Gen Re. After attending Boston University, she fell into an unplanned underwriting career in Bermuda and has relished working in the insurance industry ever since. She has enjoyed exploring the various facets of insurance and reinsurance, including underwriting platform and rules implementation and improvements, risk management and treaty review, new underwriter training and mentorship, auditing, underwriting review of applications for life, health and long-term disability products and claims review. She has served in multiple positions on the Hartford/Springfield Underwriting Association board. When not immersed in underwriting, she enjoys spending time with her family, attempting to learn Mandarin, tap dancing, cooking, and travel.
Anita Yadav, Technical Underwriting Consultant at MassMutual
Session: Personalized Age and Amount Requirements
Anita Yadav, FALU, FIII, MBA, works with Mass Mutual in Office of Corporate Chief, Life UW Risk & Governance team, responsible for enhancing accelerated underwriting program capabilities to support Mass Mutual’s digital underwriting strategy. She carries 14 years of insurance & reinsurance underwriting experience across US, Europe, Middle East & Southeast Asian markets, primarily focused on product/portfolio & digital underwriting, risk management, audit, business development, and underwriting research & development. In her current role Anita works with actuarial, strategic partnerships and data science teams to help drive digital underwriting growth and innovation strategies for MassMutual. She loves to apply & share actuarial perspectives of underwriting and the impact it carries on risk management methodologies. Anita enjoys travelling, and currently lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
Dr. Timothy Meagher, VP & Medical Director at Munich Re Canada
Session: AI in Medicine
Dr. Tim Meagher is Vice President and Medical Director at Munich Re Life, Canada. He is a general internist with over 30 years of experience consulting in the life insurance industry. He is a frequent speaker at conferences in Canada and the U.S. on a wide range of topics, including innovations in Medicine, Covid-19, and artificial intelligence. Dr Meagher is also a regular contributor to the Journal Of Insurance Medicine. He practices as a general internist at the McGill University Health Centre and is an Associate Professor of Medicine at McGill University, in Montreal.
David Schraub, Founder & CEO at David Schraub Actuary
Session: Semi-Political Public Health – Choices and Consequences
David Schraub is a consultant with 25 years of actuarial experience, bringing the actuarial lens to innovation and technology for the insurance industry. He advises clients on how to implement AI use cases while mitigating unwanted regulatory attention. David chairs the American Academy of Actuaries AI Committee, perform research with the SOA on AI regulatory frameworks, and frequently speak on AI and Ethics at SOA, CAS, AAA, and other events.
Al Klein, Principal and Consulting Actuary at Milliman
Session: Semi-Political Public Health – Choices and Consequences
Al is a principal and consulting actuary with Milliman’s Buffalo Grove / Chicago office. He joined the firm in 2009. Al’s primary responsibilities involve industry experience studies and mortality, longevity, and underwriting issues. Al’s expertise includes traditional products, simplified issue, final expense, COLI/BOLI, older age, preferred, and accelerated underwriting. Al also has expertise on COVID-19 and led the Milliman COVID-19 Claims Survey. Al has helped several InsurTech companies enter the life insurance market.
Jean-Marc Fix, VP, R&D Biometric Risks at Optimum Re
Session: Semi-Political Public Health – Choices and Consequences
Jean-Marc is Vice President, Research & Development-Biometric Risks for Optimum Life Re in Dallas TX. Jean-Marc is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries as well as a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He has way over 25 years of experience in the life insurance industry, including an extensive background in life and critical illness insurance product development. About two decades ago, he came to the conclusion that actuaries and underwriters could learn a lot from working together which was quite radical at the time. He is currently active in several SOA committees centering on mortality and underwriting. Jean-Marc was the initial chair of the SOA Research Institute Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program Steering Committee. He is a member of SOARI’s Research Executive Council. He is also a member of ACLI’s Risk Classification Committee. Finally, he was selected in 2024 as one of SOA’s Outstanding Volunteer of the Year. He has spoken on a variety of underwriting, product design, claims, reinsurance and innovation topics as they relate to actuaries, underwriters and medical directors. He has written articles for On the Risk, the Journal of Insurance Medicine as well as various actuarial publications. He received a BA summa cum laude in Mathematics with minors in Chemistry and Computer Science from Whittier College in California.
Kimberly Sapre, DMSc, PA-C, Medical Consultant at Millman IntelliScript
Session: New Frontiers in Obesity. Insights Challenging Traditional Perspectives in the New GLP-1 Era
Kimberly Sapre DMSc, PA-C, Medical Consultant at Millman Intelliscript. After spending over a decade as a physician associate (PA) in emergency medicine, there are few conditions that Kimberly hasn’t evaluated, diagnosed, and treated. In her role as a Medical Consultant on IntelliScript’s clinical team, she combines her medical expertise with prior experience in computer science. Whether adapting IntelliScript’s solutions to match clients’ underwriting guidelines or consulting on the newest trends in medicine, she layers nuance and human insight into our data-driven approach. Kimberly is also an advocate for diversity in the PA profession, and the founder of the Virginia Association of Minority PAs. She lives in Alexandria, VA, and enjoys reading fiction and birdwatching in her free time.
Dr. Jessica Braswell, Medical Director at New York Life
Session: New Frontiers in Obesity. Insights Challenging Traditional Perspectives in the New GLP-1 Era
Dr. Jessica Braswell is the medical director for New Business and Underwriting Innovation at New York Life Insurance Company. She graduated with her medical degree from Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed residency training in Washington, D.C. Dr. Braswell is board certified in Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine. Prior to joining New York Life in 2018, she practiced primary care in community health centers in New York City. In her current role, she provides clinical and medical underwriting expertise on initiatives that improve the customer experience, including accelerated underwriting programs. She also provides case consultation and teaching in medical underwriting.
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Dr. Elyssa Del Valle, Chief Medical Officer at Swiss Re
Session: Looking Back: Critical Thinking to Prevent Early Claims
Elyssa Del Valle joined Swiss Re in January 2020 as Chief Medical Officer L&H Americas. In this role, Elyssa represents Swiss Re across the industry to interact with clients' underwriting and medical leadership. Prior to joining Swiss Re, Elyssa was Medical Director for RGA's US Division. In 2013 she transitioned into the life insurance market as AVP, Medical Director for MetLife, ending a 30-year career in direct patient care, which included private practice, emergency medicine, hospice, geriatrics, physician for Wittenberg University and Trinity college, as well as teaching critical reasoning at University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Quinnipiac University's athletic training and physician assistant programs. She was also former host of a live talk-radio show entitled “House Calls with Dr Lissy." She serves on the American Academy of Insurance Medicine (AAIM) scientific program committee, the Metropolitan Underwriting Discussion Group (MUD) and Northeast Home Office Underwriter Association (NEHOUA). She is board certified in insurance medicine.
Vicki Garrett, Vice President, Underwriting Client Relationship Lead at Swiss Re
Session: Looking Back: Critical Thinking to Prevent Early Claims
Vicki Garrett is Vice President and an Underwriting Client Relationship Lead on the North American Underwriting Team at Swiss Re where she works directly with Swiss Re's valued clients to optimize serviceability and efficiency. Vicki has extensive experience with high net worth underwriting and foreign markets, working in both the direct and reinsurance markets over her 30-year career. She has been a speaker and panel member at various industry meetings. Vicki was the 2019 recipient of the Rick Weaver Award for her article 'Lifestyle Disease: A Growing Epidemic' and has authored articles for industry publications such as 'On the Risk'. Vicki graduated cum laude from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, KY with a degree in Psychology. Vicki resides in Nashville, TN.
Robyn Wallner, VP, Underwriting Solutions at SCOR
Session: Behavioral Economics and Life Insurance Application Innovation Workshop
Robyn Wallner is with SCOR in the role of VP, Underwriting | Partnerships Robyn has over three decades of insurance and financial services experience serving in roles including individual life and disability income underwriting, underwriting guideline development, compliance oversight, product development, reinsurance, technology development/underwriting rules/engines development, vendor negotiation, claims review and analysis, underwriting representation for litigation, quality oversight, co-creation of solutions with distributors, carriers, TPA’s, and insurtech’s, new business administration and underwriting leadership, and Chief Underwriter. Robyn has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Management from College of St Benedict. She also holds the Fellow, Academy of Life Underwriting (FALU), Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations and Emergency Medical Technical (EMT) certification. In her free time, Robyn enjoys volunteering as an EMT and Alpine Ski Patroller, playing pickleball, golfing, hiking, and spending time with her husband, Steve, and three children, Paige, Megan and Matthew.
David Peters, Director of Underwriting Strategy at Bestow
Session: Behavioral Economics and Life Insurance Application Innovation Workshop
David is Director of Underwriting Strategy at Bestow, where he helps clients implement innovative solutions to age old industry problems. He has a Masters degree in Behavioral Economics and a FALU. Prior to working in insurance, David worked running political campaigns in the UK.
Patrick Smock, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Deputy Chief of Legal Services at Rhode Island Department of Business Services
Session: Transgender and Non-binary Applicants: The Customer Journey and Other Considerations
Patrick Smock, he/him/his Deputy Chief of Legal Services Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation Financial Services Division Joining the Division in April of 2021, Patrick works with the consumer relations and market conduct teams to resolve compliance issues with producers and companies. His duties include tracking statutory changes during the legislative session and updating the Division’s regulations. Patrick participates in many of the NAIC committees, work groups and task forces including representing Rhode Island on the Member Diversity Leader Forum. Patrick is a licensed attorney with a law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law and is a graduate of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.
Cynthia Edwalds FSA, ACAS, MAAA, Actuary, Diversity Advocate, & Mortality Expert
Session: Transgender and Non-binary Applicants: The Customer Journey and Other Considerations
Cynthia T. Edwalds, FSA, ACAS, MAAA, Actuary, Diversity Advocate, Mortality Expert Cynthia Edwalds is a diversity advocate and a mortality expert with 44 years of experience as an actuary and is now retired. Most recently she was a Clinical Professor of Finance at DePaul University and the Executive Director of the Fred Arditti Center for Risk Management from 2014 - 2021 Prior to 2014 she had 36 years in the insurance industry, including 13 years at Munich American Re, 7 years on staff at the Society of Actuaries, and 6 years at Health Care Service Corporation. She remains active as a volunteer for the actuarial profession. She chairs the Society of Actuaries Research Communications Oversight Group. She also serves on several other Society of Actuaries committees including the Individual Life Experience Committee, the Valuation Basic Table Team, the Mortality Improvement Life Working Group, the Committee on Living to 100 Research Symposia, the Committee on Knowledge Extension Research, and several subgroups of these committees. She also serves on The Actuarial Foundation Board of Directors and is the president of the Chicago Actuarial Association. She was recognized for a decade of leadership in Society of Actuaries research initiatives with an Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2011. Cynthia’s research interests and expertise include mortality risk, longevity risk, and extreme event risk. Some of her published research is under her former name, Thomas P. Edwalds. She holds both B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.