Maryland Auto Insurance hosted its third annual Women’s Conference for female insurance professionals on Oct. 16. Tisha Edwards, secretary of appointments for the Governor’s Office, was the keynote speaker, while Acting Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant provided opening remarks.
Edwards spoke about her professional journey and about the state of women in leadership in Maryland.
“At this stage in my career, the thing that I am most focused on is elevating and supporting women in leadership,” she said. “I do believe that women will save the world. I am so excited that Maryland Auto sees women leadership as a priority.”
Secretary Tisha Edwards at the podium.
Grant noted that women are well represented in the industry and play important leadership roles. She shared that she bases her leadership philosophy on the lyrics from a Michael Franti song, “Don’t complicate it, keep it simple, just work hard and be nice to people.”
She also talked about the challenges facing the insurance industry.
“Gov. Wes Moore’s goals are to make Maryland safer, more affordable, more competitive and a state that continues to serve,” Grant said. “I think that the insurance industry plays a critical role in helping our businesses and communities reach that goal. Insurance is a rapidly evolving industry and as a state agency, we have to be thinking about keeping up with skills, expertise and technology.”
The event, held in Linthicum, celebrated women in the insurance industry and was planned and executed by female team members at Maryland Auto. Sessions provided developmental opportunities beyond insurance-related topics, including a panel on female leadership, women’s health awareness and wealth and estate planning.
Speakers included Ayana Johnson, Esq., who presented “Estate Planning: Protecting your Family & Building Wealth;” Sue Rogan, The CASH Campaign of Maryland, who presented “Build Your Financial Future;” and a panel on Female Leadership and Professional Development with Celiane Boston, owner of CBF & I Agency, Mariana Fernandez, owner of Highland Insurance Group, and Suzanne Thompson, vice president/advisor at PSA Insurance & Financial Services. In addition, Katelyn Todd from Medstar Health gave a presentation on women’s health and breast cancer awareness as October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.