Founders

Rebekah Ratliff

Founder

Rebekah Ratliff is a credentialed former commercial insurance complex claims professional with more than 25 years of experience evaluating, negotiating, and settling casualty claims nationwide and internationally. Seeing disparities in the industry and knowing the importance of representation, she founded CCM Consulting Associates, LLC, a national executive level training and DEI consulting firm. CCM works to enable industry relationships towards equitable inclusion, meaningful engagement, and retention. Ms. Ratliff is committed to using her platform to provide a pathway for attracting students to career opportunities in the insurance, risk management, financial services, and legal industries through HBCU IMPACT.

Ms. Ratliff is a mediator and arbitrator with the Judicial Arbitration Mediation Service (JAMS), the first Black non-lawyer ever to be invited to join the JAMS panel of neutrals. Rebekah credits her career in insurance for the extensive subject matter expertise and transferable skill sets she developed as a claims professional for the success she enjoys as a dispute resolver. After concluding her tenure as the longest serving president of the Atlanta Chapter of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), she was elected to the NAAIA National Board and was appointed as its Secretary. She is the Chair of Governance and Global Relationships Liaison for NAAIA. Ms. Ratliff also serves as an Advisor to the London-based African Caribbean insurance trade association, Equity City. Ms. Ratliff is an influencer in the global insurance market. Her numerous awards include the President’s Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Service Award (Obama PVSA) and a 7th U.S. District (IL) Congressional Award, for her work in alternative dispute resolution. She has been recognized in the insurance industry by Insurance Business America in the inaugural Leading the Change honor (2020), the IBA HOT 100 List (2021, 2022), IBA Elite Women (2021, 2022), Business Insurance Women to Watch (Class of 2021) and Business Insurance Alonzo Herndon Award recipient (2023). Rebekah is a native of Chicago, IL, and graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana, holding a degree in Psychology. She is based in Atlanta, GA and operates in the U.S, Caribbean and London.

Ngozi Nnaji

Cofounder

Ngozi Nnaji earned her Master of Science Degree in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University and graduated Cum Laude from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Actuarial Science. Ngozi is a licensed Insurance Producer. She founded Ako Brokerage Services, LLC in 2017, after a 20-year career in the insurance industry. Ngozi recognized a need for increased representation within the insurance industry, seeing insurance employers continue to struggle with diversifying their workforce and creating inclusive cultures in an industry that has historically struggled to do so. Ngozi launched Ako Insurance Consulting, a firm focused on placing mid-level BIPOC talent in the insurance industry to increase diverse representation. Ms. Nnaji is committed to creating opportunities for Black professionals to enter the industry and thrive financially. She has created various initiatives to drive efforts in the DEI space. Her contributions to HBCU IMPACT have been invaluable.

Sha`Ron James

Cofounder

Sha`Ron James is an Of Counsel Shareholder on the Government Affairs team at Gunster. Sha’Ron received her Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Florida A & M University, a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida, and an Advanced Project Management certification from Stanford University. Sha’Ron formerly served as the Insurance Consumer Advocate for the state of Florida, where she represented insurance consumers and the public before state regulators and the courts. Sha’Ron served as Division Director of the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation, where she directed the operation of over 48 highly complex receivership estates with entrusted assets totaling over $1.4 billion dollars. Sha’Ron has extensive experience as a lobbyist and legislative advocate, having championed key legislation and public policy reforms that have been modeled in states around the country. As a result of her legislative advocacy, Sha’Ron has been cited in national publications such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and Consumers Union. She has also been invited to present to the National Governors’ Association, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

 Sha`Ron was the chartering president of the Florida Chapter of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA).

Yumeko Motley

Cofounder

Yumeko Motley is an attorney with well over a decade of legal experience specific to the insurance industry. She graduated from Florida A&M University (FAMU) with a Bachelor of Science and later returned to her alma mater to receive a law degree. Ms. Motley began her career as a paralegal and later served as Associate Counsel for Conroy Simberg, a statewide insurance defense law firm providing defense of personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, first party homeowners/breach of contract claims and class action litigation. She later joined the American Integrity Company, where she serves as Staff Counsel. The firm touts itself as the premier writer of Florida homeowners insurance, has more than 285,000 customers and is exclusively represented by more than 1,000 independent agents who specialize in this complex and ever-evolving market.

Rebekah Ratliff

Founder

Rebekah Ratliff is a credentialed former commercial insurance complex claims professional with more than 25 years of experience evaluating, negotiating, and settling casualty claims nationwide and internationally. Seeing disparities in the industry and knowing the importance of representation, she founded CCM Consulting Associates, LLC, a national executive level training and DEI consulting firm. CCM works to enable industry relationships towards equitable inclusion, meaningful engagement, and retention. Ms. Ratliff is committed to using her platform to provide a pathway for attracting students to career opportunities in the insurance, risk management, financial services, and legal industries through HBCU IMPACT.

Ms. Ratliff is a mediator and arbitrator with the Judicial Arbitration Mediation Service (JAMS), the first Black non-lawyer ever to be invited to join the JAMS panel of neutrals. Rebekah credits her career in insurance for the extensive subject matter expertise and transferable skill sets she developed as a claims professional for the success she enjoys as a dispute resolver. After concluding her tenure as the longest serving president of the Atlanta Chapter of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA), she was elected to the NAAIA National Board and was appointed as its Secretary. She is the Chair of Governance and Global Relationships Liaison for NAAIA. Ms. Ratliff also serves as an Advisor to the London-based African Caribbean insurance trade association, Equity City. Ms. Ratliff is an influencer in the global insurance market. Her numerous awards include the President’s Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Service Award (Obama PVSA) and a 7th U.S. District (IL) Congressional Award, for her work in alternative dispute resolution. She has been recognized in the insurance industry by Insurance Business America in the inaugural Leading the Change honor (2020), the IBA HOT 100 List (2021, 2022), IBA Elite Women (2021, 2022), Business Insurance Women to Watch (Class of 2021) and Business Insurance Alonzo Herndon Award recipient (2023). Rebekah is a native of Chicago, IL, and graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana, holding a degree in Psychology. She is based in Atlanta, GA and operates in the U.S, Caribbean and London.

Sha`Ron James

Cofounder

Sha`Ron James is an Of Counsel Shareholder on the Government Affairs team at Gunster. Sha’Ron received her Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Florida A & M University, a Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University, a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida, and an Advanced Project Management certification from Stanford University. Sha’Ron formerly served as the Insurance Consumer Advocate for the state of Florida, where she represented insurance consumers and the public before state regulators and the courts. Sha’Ron served as Division Director of the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation, where she directed the operation of over 48 highly complex receivership estates with entrusted assets totaling over $1.4 billion dollars. Sha’Ron has extensive experience as a lobbyist and legislative advocate, having championed key legislation and public policy reforms that have been modeled in states around the country. As a result of her legislative advocacy, Sha’Ron has been cited in national publications such as the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Brookings Institution, and Consumers Union. She has also been invited to present to the National Governors’ Association, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

 Sha`Ron was the chartering president of the Florida Chapter of the National African American Insurance Association (NAAIA).

Yumeko Motley

Cofounder

Yumeko Motley is an attorney with well over a decade of legal experience specific to the insurance industry. She graduated from Florida A&M University (FAMU) with a Bachelor of Science and later returned to her alma mater to receive a law degree. Ms. Motley began her career as a paralegal and later served as Associate Counsel for Conroy Simberg, a statewide insurance defense law firm providing defense of personal injury, medical malpractice, products liability, first party homeowners/breach of contract claims and class action litigation. She later joined the American Integrity Company, where she serves as Staff Counsel. The firm touts itself as the premier writer of Florida homeowners insurance, has more than 285,000 customers and is exclusively represented by more than 1,000 independent agents who specialize in this complex and ever-evolving market.

Ngozi Nnaji

Cofounder

Ngozi Nnaji earned her Master of Science Degree in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University and graduated Cum Laude from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU), with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Actuarial Science. Ngozi is a licensed Insurance Producer. She founded Ako Brokerage Services, LLC in 2017, after a 20-year career in the insurance industry. Ngozi recognized a need for increased representation within the insurance industry, seeing insurance employers continue to struggle with diversifying their workforce and creating inclusive cultures in an industry that has historically struggled to do so. Ngozi launched Ako Insurance Consulting, a firm focused on placing mid-level BIPOC talent in the insurance industry to increase diverse representation. Ms. Nnaji is committed to creating opportunities for Black professionals to enter the industry and thrive financially. She has created various initiatives to drive efforts in the DEI space. Her contributions to HBCU IMPACT have been invaluable.

Board of Directors

Leslie Carr currently serves as Vice President, Excess Casualty for the Southeast Region for Chubb. She joined Chubb in 2008 and is responsible for direct management of Chubb’s monoline Umbrella book of business while providing general direction and oversight for package umbrellas. Leslie, a graduate of Livingstone College, began her insurance career with Aetna in 1987 as a Casualty underwriter. In 1994, she accepted a position with Atlantic Mutual in New York City as a Special Accounts Senior Underwriter handling large deductible and retro programs. In 2001, Atlantic Mutual made Leslie a Team Leader. In 2003, Leslie accepted a VP Casualty Facultative Reinsurance position with Swiss Re where she remained until 2008 when she joined Chubb. In addition to her current responsibilities as VP, Excess & Specialty Casualty for the Southeast Region, Leslie also served as a Regional Connector for Chubb Mosaic, which is an employee-led, business supported resource group focused on accelerating the development and advancement of multicultural talent within the company. In December 2020, Leslie was invited to the National Mosaic Board as a board member. She is also the Co-Chair for Mosaic Black Alliance where she leads the Alliance’s HBCU Recruiting initiative. Leslie served as the Dean of the 2021 Spring and Winter CAP (Trainee) Co-hort.

Outside of Chubb, Leslie is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Cobb County NAACP, and Cobb County Democrats. Leslie was also included for two years in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta for her catering business Let’s Eat Gourmet Catering Corp. She is in leadership at her church,
Shaw Temple AME Zion Church and sings with a 6-woman gospel group called Chosen who has traveled on tours and opened for numerous National Gospel recording artists and recorded 4 CD projects. In 2022, Leslie was inducted into the Livingstone College Leaders Hall of Fame and was also crowned their National Alumni Queen. She was elected President of the Atlanta Metro Alumni Chapter of Livingstone College in January 2024. Leslie and her husband, Timothy Robinson operate a reentry program for men coming out of prison called Man in the Mirror as well as a non-profit for that same cause called the Royce Foundation.

Krishna Lynch is the head of ZRS Casualty Risk Engineering for the Midwest Region. She leads a team of risk engineers while managing a diverse portfolio of customers with complex risk exposures in the manufacturing, food, entertainment, professional services, and technology industries. Her team provides an array of loss control services and solutioning for domestic, excess, and international commercial casualty customers designed to improve their total cost of risk. Krishna leads Zurich North America (ZNA) African Ancestry Alliance Employee Resource Group and serves on the Executive Diversity and Inclusion Council (EDIC). She was recognized by Insurance Business America as one of the 2022 Hot 100, the industry’s best and brightest, for her leadership and business acumen. Krishna was recently profiled by Insurance Business America, showcasing her technical expertise, thought leadership, and career journey from nursing to risk management.

Adrian Davis is Principal Owner of UCG Staffing, providing hand crafted staffing services for all insurance, legal and finance organizations. UCG is dedicated to working with C level Executives for eetained and contingency searches. The firm’s focus is Property and Casualty, Underwriting, Claims, Healthcare, IT & Tech, Compliance, Finance, Wholesale, Risk Management, Legal and Diversity and Inclusion. Adrian is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, with over two decades of experience in his industry.