President
Brittany Hale Sokolow
Brittany Hale Sokolow, CPCU, was born and raised in Alaska and introduced to insurance at an early age, as the Hale family owns an independent retail brokerage. Brittany received her BA in Accounting and Italian from the University of Arizona in 2012 and then a Masters in International Business from Hult International Business School. Brittany has earned the CPCU and AINS designations. In Brittany’s spare time she loves to travel, volunteer and spend time with her family.
President Elect
Tuan Le
Tuan is a San Diego native who moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA and obtain a degree in Mathematics / Economics. He has worked in the insurance industry for 12 years and is currently a Senior Underwriter at Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, focusing on property, general liability, motor and worker’s compensation for Japanese commercial accounts. Tuan obtained his CPCU in 2016 and is a passionate supporter of continuing insurance education and the technical knowledge that the CPCU provides.
Vice President
Francis Escalante
Francis Escalante, CPCU, started her insurance career as an Agent for the Commercial Transportation Division of a retail agency. She was there for 10 years and decided it was time to try something else. She was hired by HSB as a Production Underwriter and was later promoted to Underwriting Team Lead. She worked for HSB for 5 years and moved over to Travelers in 2020, where she is SoCal’s Account Executive Officer for Boiler & Machinery. She has a P&C license and completed her CPCU in June of 2022. In Francis's spare time, she enjoys traveling, good food and spending time with family & friends.
Immediate Past President
Alexis Montgomery
Alexis Montgomery, CPCU, CIC is a Senior Client Manager at Marsh & McLennan Agency. She has over 6 years’ experience in Commercial P&C lines for Middle Market and Global accounts in various industries. Prior to 2020, Alexis was at Willis Towers Watson as a Risk Management Analyst and later as a Client Manager. She received her CPCU in May 2019 and is pursuing the ARM designation in 2021.
Director
Clark Sheffield
Clark S. Sheffield, CPCU is currently Assistant Vice President of Commercial Underwriting at Wildfire Defense Insurance Services. He previously held the positions of Senior Underwriter at Seneca Insurance Company, Underwriter at United States Liability Insurance Group, and Sales & Client Services Supervisor at Amica Mutual Insurance Company. Clark received his CPCU in 2013 and has over 13 years of experience in the insurance industry working in both commercial lines and personal lines. He also serves as an Advisory Council Affiliate Member for the USC Risk Management Program.
Director
Janelle Price
Janelle Price, CPCU is a Claim Director at Chubb where she specializes in Workers Compensation. Janelle received her degree from UC Berkeley and began her career at ESIS a Chubb company. Janelle holds several workers compensation designations and received her CPCU in 2022. In Janelle’s spare time, she loves to cook and travel.
Director
Jeff Garrick
Jeff Garrick, CPCU is an Underwriting Specialist at Mitsui Sumitomo - Industrial & Global Property. He received his CPCU in 2012 and has been a board member since 2016. He serves on the All Industry Day Committee and was the 2019 President of the LA Chapter. Prior to joining Mitsui, Jeff was a property underwriter at Liberty Mutual, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, and AXA XL Reinsurance.
Director - Education Committee Chair
Tessa M. Lucero
Tessa M. Lucero, CPCU is a Marine Client Advisor at Marsh & McLennan. She joined the insurance industry in 1985 and earned her CPCU designation in 1989; she also holds the ARe, AIT, AMIM, AIAF, and AINS designations. She has been a member of the Los Angeles Chapter since 1989 and served on the board from 1999 to 2013. She leads CPCU courses live for the Insurance Educational Association and online for The Institutes. Prior to joining Marsh in 1998 Tessa was with the Sullivan Companies for 13 years.
Director - Candidate Recruitment and Development Committee Chair
Lisa Chen
Lisa Chen, CPCU, is Managing Director of Aon Chinese Business Group (CBG). She leads the team in coordinating experts to deliver risk management and insurance services in meeting the needs of Chinese companies doing business in the US. Lisa began her insurance career in 1993. She has worked at Aon for over 20 years. Her professional experience expands from servicing multinational US clients to leading country operations as CCO of Aon China. Lisa’s expertise is in identifying clients’ risk management needs and deliver insurance transfer solutions; including insurance program design, marketing negotiation and implementation of insurance programs.
Secretary
Niels Espinoza
Niels Espinoza, CPCU, ARM has 17 years of experience in the insurance industry, particularly in commercial retail brokerage. He is currently a Vice President at Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. where he specializes in construction broking and risk management. Niels began his career at Lockton, and served as risk manager for a real estate investment advisory for five years prior to returning to the construction insurance arena with Aon and Alliant. He received his CPCU in 2015.