Board of Directors
President
Abby Tamura
Windward Risk Managers
Abby Tamura, CPCU, AU-M, is the 2025–2026 President of the Los Angeles CPCU Society Chapter, where she has been an active board member since January 2024. A passionate advocate for the insurance profession, Abby is committed to driving membership growth, deepening member engagement, and building meaningful industry partnerships across the greater Los Angeles community.
With over 13 years of experience in the P&C insurance industry, Abby brings a rare combination of sales leadership, underwriting expertise, and strategic vision to everything she does. She recently joined Solara Specialty Insurance (Windward Risk Managers) as Regional Sales Manager, where she is leading the California launch of a new E&S homeowners (HO3) product—bringing innovative coverage solutions to a market that needs them most. Prior to this role, Abby spent more than a decade at GEICO, where she rose through the ranks from Sales Agent to Agency Sales/Operations Manager, overseeing a $50M+ P&C agency portfolio across California and western territories.
Abby earned her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 2023, followed by her Associate in Commercial Underwriting Management (AU-M) the same year. She is currently working on her ASLI.
President Elect
Ron Pierce, Jr
Auto Club Enterprises Ins Grp
Ron Pierce serves as President-Elect of the CPCU Society Los Angeles Chapter and has been an active member of the Board of Directors since 2024. In this role, he is focused on advancing the chapter’s mission, strengthening member engagement, and supporting the professional development of insurance leaders.
Ron is a Senior Product Management Analyst for Commercial Multi-Peril insurance at Mercury Insurance, where he leverages data analytics and strategic insight to drive product performance and support profitable growth.
He brings over 15 years of experience with Auto Club Enterprises, where he held key roles across product management, claims, and audit, including Senior Analyst within Personal Lines Product Management. During his tenure, he was recognized for his ability to translate complex data into actionable strategies and to drive data-informed decision-making across cross-functional teams. He also demonstrated strong leadership by leading a Business Resource Group and fostering a culture of collaboration and development.
Ron holds the CPCU designation, along with an Associate in Data Analytics and an Associate in Marine Insurance Management. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and is currently completing a master’s degree in business analytics.
He brings deep expertise in data analytics, claims, and strategic execution, and is committed to continuous learning and creating opportunities for others to grow and lead within the industry.
Vice President
Sona Sefcikova
JLK Rosenberger, LLP
Sona is an Audit Manager at JLK Rosenberger, LLP, where she specializes in financial audits of property and casualty insurance companies. Her experience spans a range of insurance products, including homeowners, commercial multiple peril or professional liability. Sona holds an active CPA license and earned her CPCU designation in July 2025. Outside of work, Sona enjoys spending time with family and friends and staying active through sports - most recently pickleball.
Immediate Past President
Francis Escalante
Travelers
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 now a Managing Account Executive 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.
Director
Sarika Bansee
Sarika Bansee is our chapter's first ever Student Board Member. She is a senior student studying Business Administration at the University of Southern California with an academic interest in risk management and insurance. She is involved in student organizations like Gamma Iota Sigma that emphasize leadership, professional development, and engagement with industry professionals. Through her studies and extracurricular involvement, Sarika has developed strong analytical and communication skills while exploring how global companies assess and manage complex risks with experience in wholesale brokerage at RT Specialty. She is particularly interested in the evolving role of insurance and reinsurance in supporting economic stability with a career interest in property and casualty underwriting.
Director
Alexis Garetz
Marsh McLennan Agency
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
Jeffrey Garrick
Mitsui Sumitomo
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
Rose Mejia
Marsh
Rose Mejia, CPCU: Casualty Placement Specialist at Marsh with over 10 years of experience. She specializes in negotiating and binding casualty coverage for clients and earned her CPCU designation in 2024. Rose actively supports the CPCU Society’s mission and the insurance industry.
Director
Janelle Price
Chubb Limited US
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
Chikara Sakoda
Ori-Gen
Chikara Sakoda is currently the Managing Director – Head of Japan Practice for Ori-gen. Other positions include Executive Vice President and Head of Insurance at Redac Advantage Insurance Services, LLC; Head of Commercial Operations at Coface, Japan; and the Executive Client Director (and the National Business Development Leader) of Asian Corporate Solutions (ACS) -AIG, which oversees AIG’s Asian businesses in the U.S. Before joining AIG, Sakoda was the Client Executive and Sales Leader of Marsh Asia Client Services (ACS), which oversees Marsh’s Asian businesses in the west coast, based in the Marsh Los Angeles office. He is also a self-employed consultant with Sakoda Business Solutions and visiting lecturer of Kwansei Gakuin University in Hyogo, Japan.
Sakoda earned a B.A. in economics from Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, and an MBA specialized in risk management and insurance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He has achieved the following designations: chartered property and casualty underwriter (CPCU); associate in risk management (ARM); associate in reinsurance (ARe); associate in surplus lines insurance (ASLI); associate in insurance accounting and finance (AIAF); associate in insurance services (AIS) , and cyber risk management (CYB). He also holds a Japanese P&C Broker License, and a California State P&C Producer License.
Sakoda’s articles include “Yearning of the Vanguard,” Risk & Insurance, 2005; “RMI Education in the U.S,” Hoken Mainichi Shinbun, 2006; “How to Acquire a CPCU Designation,” Hoken Mainichi Shinbun, 2008; and “Spread the Word in Japanese,” CPCU Society, 2008.
Director - Education Committee Chair
Tessa M. Lucero
Marsh Risk & Insurance Services
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.
Secretary
Christopher Um
USI Insurance Services
Christopher has been in the insurance industry for 9 years and has been with USI Insurance Services since 2023 as a Commercial Lines Casualty Consultant helping to deliver expert casualty insurance and risk management advice and best-in-class service to USI's customers. Prior to USI, Christopher worked at 3 different Property and Casualty Wholesale Insurance Brokerages specializing in commercial casualty placements in excess and surplus lines. Christopher first began his career at Burns & Wilcox before serving as an Associate Broker for Brown & Riding Insurance Services and Amwins Insurance Brokerage specializing in casualty lines of business in construction, real estate and product liability verticals. He received his CPCU in 2023.
