John Stephens
Chief Executive Officer, Keenan and Accretive Insurance Solutions
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John is the Chief Executive Officer of Keenan and Accretive Insurance Solutions, responsible for leading the companies and driving strategic vision. John is a recognized leader in wholesale, specialty, and program development, having played a key role in building some of the largest public agency workers’ compensation, property and casualty, and construction wrap-up pools in the United States. John leads the reinsurance placement for the Schools Association for Excess Risk Joint Powers Authority which protects nearly 600 California Public Agencies, $130 billion of total insurable values, 2.7 million students as well as the Protected Insurance Program for Schools (PIPS) JPA which insures over $18 billion workers’ compensation payroll and the Statewide Educational Wrap-Up Program (SEWUP), a rolling OCIP that has insured over $10 billion in construction values.
John graduated from California Lutheran University, is married, has three daughters, and is a competitive CrossFit Athlete.
Keenan has been the preeminent insurance leader for California insurance for public educational entities and healthcare organizations since 1972.
Accretive represents over 50 companies, 40 brands with operations around the U.S., United Kingdom and Ireland and is nearing $1 billion in annual revenues.
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Eric Preston
Senior Vice President of Property & Casualty, Keenan
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Eric is a Senior Vice President of P&C and has been with Keenan & Associates since 2004, where he started as a Loss Control Consultant. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and Human Resources, with emphasis in Human Resource Management, from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Eric earned his Associate in Risk Management for Public Entities (ARM-P) designation in 2008, his P&C broker license in 2011, his Certified Schools Risk Manager (CSRM) designation in 2014 and his Certified Practitioner in Workers Compensation (CPWC) designation in 2021. Eric works closely with Keenan’s Super Pool JPAs to help them build and implement safety and risk management initiatives, manage their losses, and implement risk management best practices both directly and through the Loss Control department’s staff of 54 Safety and Risk Management professionals. Eric has expanded specialties in the areas of campus security, school site design, fire sprinkler systems, aerial lifts, behavior-based safety, psychological safety, vocational art shop safety, as well special education safety.
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Michelle McKay Underwood
Vice President, School Services of California Inc.
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Michelle has been with School Services of California Inc. (SSC) since 2006 and provides legislative advocacy services on behalf of SSC clients by representing their interests in front of the Legislature, Administration, and various state departments in Sacramento. She is actively involved in advocating on behalf of school districts and associations, including serving as the lead advocate for the California School Funding Coalition, the Coalition for Adequate Funding for Special Education, Schools For Sound Finance [(SF)2], and the Association of California Community College Administrators (ACCCA).
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In 2014–15, Michelle led an effort to resolve the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) membership eligibility issues for community college administrators in collaboration with CalSTRS and other statewide K–12 and community college associations. Over two State Budget cycles, the Coalition for Adequate Funding for Special Education succeeded in securing nearly $700 million in ongoing special education equity funding. Other advocacy efforts focused on securing minimum state aid for community-funded school districts through the largest education finance reform in decades and fending off an attack on school district property taxes to fund a tax break for heavy equipment rental companies.
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Prior to joining SSC, Michelle served as Membership Director for the California Coalition for Youth, an advocacy association of a diverse group of youth, youth advocates, and youth-serving agencies from throughout the state. Michelle received a Bachelor of Political Science and Psychology from the University of California, Davis.
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Paul Z. McGlocklin
Attorney, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo
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Paul represents school districts, community college districts, and county offices of education, focusing on classified and certificated employment matters and other labor and employment issues. He also handles governance and facilities issues, administrative law matters such as PERB hearings, arbitrations, and dismissal proceedings, and any subsequent litigation that may arise.
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During law school, Mr. McGlocklin participated on the National Environmental Moot Court team, clerked for the Cancer Legal Resource Center, and served as a full-time extern for the Honorable Robert N. Kwan, United States Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California.
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Robert Recatto
Director of Personnel (Risk and Safety), Lake Elsinore Unified School District
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Robert is the Director of Personnel (Risk and Safety) for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District where he has served in this role for 4 years. Prior to working in Personnel, he was an elementary site administrator for 10 years and a middle school site administrator for 3 years.
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Josh Mativa
Assistant Director of Maintenance & Operations, Lake Elsinore Unified School District
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Scott Merrill
Director II of Security & School Safety, Lake Elsinore Unified School District
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Scott is the Director II of Security & School Safety for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District. This is his 2nd year with LEUSD. Prior to working with LEUSD, Mr. Merrill worked for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for 26 years and retired as the Captain of the Criminal Investigations Bureau. During his career with OCSD, Scott worked Custody Operations, Patrol Operations, Traffic, and Investigations. He worked these positions as a Deputy, Investigator, Sergeant, Lieutenant, and a Captain. As a Captain and Chief of Police Services for the City of Aliso Viejo, Mr. Merrill was the initial law enforcement incident commander for the Coastal Fire in Laguna Niguel on May 11, 2022. Throughout his career, he had the opportunity to serve multiple roles in the incident command system and has brought that experience with him to the Lake Elsinore Unified School District.
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James Judziewicz
Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations, Lake Elsinore Unified School District
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James is an Executive Cabinet Member for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District as Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operations. This is his 29th year in education. Prior to his current position, Mr. Judziewicz has served as a classroom teacher, school site principal, and district office administrator for the Lake Elsinore Unified School District.
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Dianna Poulin
Director of Loss Control, Keenan
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Dianna has been with Keenan since 2007. As a risk management consultant with extensive experience in schools and community colleges, she has provided hazard assessments including logical and realistic solutions. She has provided direction and assistance with Southern California Regional Liability Excess Fund and has helped districts develop board policies and procedures. Dianna has expansive knowledge of Keenan SafeSchools, an online employee training and tracking system, including implementation throughout school districts. Dianna was instrumental in developing, marketing, and implementing Keenan’s Special Education Academy and Comprehensive Injury Prevention Plan. She has also played a key role in the development of the Supervisor’s Academy content.
Having entered the insurance industry in 1985, Dianna has vast experience in helping districts manage their liability and property exposures. She has helped develop and test property and liability insurance management systems and has extensive knowledge of insurance rating for all lines of property and casualty coverage. Dianna is an active member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (#43465) and has been a licensed Property and Casualty Agent/Broker since 1990. She holds the Certified Insurance Counselor, Certified Risk Manager, and Certified School Risk Manager designations from the National Alliance, a globally recognized authority in insurance and risk management education. She has also earned a Certified Office Ergonomics Evaluator designation from Humanscale Corporation.
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Michael J. Marlatt
Partner, Thompson & Colegate
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Michael joined Thompson & Colegate in 1984 and became a partner in 1991. Michael attended USC and Cal Poly Pomona. He received his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law. Michael has extensive court and jury trial experience, and he is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates. Michael has been nominated as the CAL-ABOTA Trial Lawyer of the Year for the years 2018 through 2023. He is “AV” Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Michael has been selected as America’s Top 100 Civil Defense Litigators for Southern California. He has also served on various charitable boards and foundations.
Michael has 40+ years in practice which include Civil Litigation Defense, Healthcare Provider Law, Medical Malpractice, Public Agency Representation, Torts, Personal Injury and Wrongful Death.
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Tim Femister
Principal, Firestorm Global
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Tim is the Managing Principal of Firestorm Global, a trusted cybersecurity firm. He is an experienced industry executive and thought leader with deep domain expertise in information security, specifically in public education. As a frequent speaker and presenter, he is comfortable addressing large audiences on complex and emerging topics. He has been featured in Forbes, NBC, Lifetime, CRN, CIO Dive, and other media outlets, as well as at various industry conferences. Tim’s most recent Forbes article is entitled “The Rising Threat of Cyber Attacks on K-12 Schools.” Previously, he was the CEO of a private equity-backed technology services firm and a corporate executive for a ~$2 billion IT solutions provider. A southern California native, Tim is fiercely passionate about helping K-12 organizations establish secure digital experiences that empower safe learning.
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Jessica Blushi
Vice President of Property & Casualty Marketing, Keenan
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Jessica has been helping California public agencies manage their risks for over 20 years. She specializes in the areas of insurance, re-insurance, self-insurance, risk management, and risk pooling. Jessica works with insurance markets to deliver quality ancillary coverages to Keenan’s JPAs and their members and to provide traditional brokerage service to Keenan’s non-program clients.
Prior to joining Keenan, Jessica’s industry experience included serving as an insurance account manager specializing in large municipal accounts. Jessica’s experience in the risk pooling and risk management areas was further developed when she served as the underwriting manager for a large property and casualty risk sharing pool. In her capacity as underwriting manager, Jessica supervised an underwriting staff, provided oversight of prospective member underwriting and cost allocation models, and also provided risk management consulting and other member services. Jessica has also served as a contract pool administration and risk management consultant for multiple California JPAs. Jessica studied Business Administration at California State University, Fullerton, and maintains a Fire and Casualty Insurance Broker’s license and an Associates in Risk Management for Public Entities designation.