John Colpean
John Colpean is the General Counsel and Administrator of the Michigan Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association and is also a former member of the NOLHGA Board of Directors. He is also the Principal of Colpean & Associates, P.C., a law firm based in Haslett, Michigan.
Colpean served as legal counsel to the Michigan Legislature from 1978–1988. After entering private practice in 1988, he has concentrated his practice on matters pertaining to insurance regulation, transactions, and litigation, in addition to serving on the Boards of Directors of several insurance companies. He has served on the Insurance Law Committee of the State Bar of Michigan and has also served as counsel to the Deputy Receiver in numerous Michigan insurance company receiverships.
Colpean has served on numerous NOLHGA task forces, including serving as Chair of the Global Bankers Insurance Group and Thunor Trust Task Forces and as a member of the ELNY Task Force, among others. He also served as Chair of the Members’ Participation Council (2012–2015), Legal Committee (1997–2001), and Coverage/Claims Committee (2005 to the present).
Mr. Colpean received his Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where he graduated cum laude in 1978. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 from Michigan State University.
Juhi Dhawan, PhD
As a member of the firm’s Global Macro Strategy Group, Juhi Dhawan leads Wellington Management’s analysis of the U.S. economy. Her work on growth, inflation, interest rates, and economic policy is a core input to portfolio managers and analysts across the firm. She is an active participant in investment strategy groups and works closely with investors to translate her work into investment ideas and themes. Additionally, she is a member of the firm’s Audit Committee.
Prior to joining Wellington Management in 1995, Dhawan held positions at the International Monetary Fund (1991–1992) and the World Bank (1992). She received her PhD (1995) and AM (1991) in economics at Brown University. She also holds a BA from the University of Delhi (1989).
Kevin Griffith
Kevin Griffith represents insurance companies, agents, brokers, third-party administrators, and others in transactional, corporate, and regulatory matters. He is a former insurance agent who has been involved in the insurance industry for 40 years.
Griffith has more than 30 years of insurance insolvency experience and has represented NOLHGA in several major life, annuity, and health insurance insolvencies in which he has assisted in the development, implementation, and performance of coordinated comprehensive plans to deliver guaranty association protection to policyholders. He has also represented the Indiana Insurance Commissioner as rehabilitator or liquidator of several insurance entities.
Griffith also assists in the formation and licensing of insurance companies, HMOs, agents, brokers, third-party administrators, and other entities regulated by state departments of insurance. He represents clients in complex and highly regulated multi-state transactions, including the acquisitions and dispositions of insurance companies and HMOs. He has also served as special counsel to insurance commissioners in their evaluation of proposed transactions requiring regulatory approval. In addition, he helps clients structure alternative risk management arrangements, including creating or participating in existing captive insurance companies and risk retention groups throughout the United States.
Griffith has also represented the Indiana Insurance Commissioner in administrative proceedings involving complex and contested insurance company transactions. He has been appointed as Special Examiner by the Indiana Insurance Commissioner to investigate arrangements that appear to be underwriting insurance risk without the necessary licenses. He also represents clients in matters being addressed by the NAIC.
Griffith assists clients in developing insurance product lines from concept to finished product. He handles matters involving insurance holding companies and their subsidiaries and affiliates, and he assists with regulatory requirements and defending department of insurance investigations and examinations.
Joy Higa
Joy Higa serves as Chief Compliance Officer and Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs for UnitedHealthcare. In this role, she oversees compliance programs for the company’s U.S. and global commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid businesses, as well as regulatory reporting, licensing, and exams. She joined the company in 2006 and has held leadership roles in regulatory affairs, government affairs, and health care reform implementation.
Higa serves on the NOLHGA Board of Directors (where she is a member of the Compensation Committee; Public Policy Coordination Committee; and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Focus Group) and on five state guaranty association Boards. From 2014 to 2022, she served as a Board member of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the country’s largest educator-only pension fund.
Prior to UnitedHealthcare, Higa spent seven years in leadership roles in California state government. She served as Chief Deputy Cabinet Secretary to the Governor; Deputy Director of the California Department of Managed Health Care, the state’s HMO/health plan regulatory agency; and Deputy Chief of Staff to the State Controller.
Higa graduated from Cornell University with an A.B. in biology & society. She lives with her family in Manhattan Beach, California, and serves on the Boards of the Venice Family Clinic and Cornell University Council.
Thad Johnson
Thad Johnson is Chief Legal Officer of UnitedHealthcare. In this role, he has overall responsibility for UnitedHealthcare’s legal, regulatory affairs, and compliance functions, as well as UnitedHealthcare’s internal and external communications. Previously, he also led the external affairs function for UnitedHealth Group. Prior to this, he was General Counsel of UnitedHealthcare’s Employer & Individual business, with oversight of legal, compliance, regulatory affairs, and health care reform implementation.
Johnson joined UnitedHealth Group in 2000 as an Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, supporting corporate development, treasury, and finance. He has held various legal leadership roles, including network, pharmacy, clinical services, transactions, vendor and strategic partnership contracting, and corporate governance and licensing.
Prior to joining UnitedHealth Group, Johnson was with Dorsey & Whitney, where he advised private and public companies on securities law, mergers and acquisitions, debt and equity offerings, private equity placements, corporate governance concerns, and other general business matters.
Johnson received a Bachelor’s Degree in electrical engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Minnesota and earned a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the United Health Foundation.
Tamara Kopp
Tamara Kopp is the Executive Director for the Missouri Insurance Guaranty Associations, where she manages the Missouri Property & Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association and the Missouri Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association. Previously, she served as receivership counsel for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, supervising receiverships of Missouri-domiciled companies. She serves on the Boards of Directors for the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds (NCIGF); Guaranty Support, Inc. (GSI); the International Association of Insurance Receivers (IAIR); and Scouting America – Great Rivers Council.
Kopp earned her JD from the University of Missouri – Columbia School of Law and BS from Northwest Missouri State University.
Carter Lawrence
Carter Lawrence serves as the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance and the State Fire Marshal. Before his appointment to Governor Lee’s cabinet, Lawrence served in a variety of roles in the department, including Chief Deputy Commissioner, Chief Operating Officer, and Assistant Commissioner. He has spearheaded initiatives to lower fees on licensed professionals and increase customer service through better tools for customers, and he has advocated for the removal of overly burdensome regulations.
As Tennessee’s Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance and State Fire Marshal, Lawrence is responsible for the divisions of insurance, fire prevention, and regulatory boards—including 26 regulatory entities, TennCare Oversight, Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, Tennessee Police Officer Standards and Training Commission, and the administratively attached Tennessee Emergency Communications Board.
On behalf of the Governor’s administration, Commissioner Lawrence has served on several initiatives, including the Tennessee Economic Recovery Group, Law Enforcement Training Advisory Council, and the historic economic development announcement of Ford Motor Company’s Blue Oval City.
Commissioner Lawrence is an attorney who studied law at the University of Tennessee, where he also obtained a Master of Business Administration. For undergraduate studies, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College in Illinois. He is a Nashville-area native. He and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of three children and attend Nashville’s Church of the Redeemer.
Commissioner Lawrence remains focused on leading Commerce and Insurance to protect Tennesseans through balanced oversight of insurance and regulated professions while enhancing consumer advocacy, education, and public safety.
Nancy Margolis
Nancy Margolis became Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association (PLHIGA) in March 2020. In this role, she is responsible for protecting Pennsylvania policyholders in life, annuity, health, and long-term care insolvencies.
Prior to joining PLHIGA, Margolis practiced as an attorney for 20 years, where she specialized in insurance products, coverage litigation and regulatory counsel. From 2012 to 2020, she worked as an attorney and association management executive. In addition to her role at PLHIGA, Margolis also serves as Chair of NOLHGA’s PHL Variable Insurance Company Task Force and is a Board member for LTC Reinsurance PCC.
Margolis graduated magna cum laude from George Washington University and cum laude from Temple Law School. She is a passionate music fan and volunteers at her local dog rescue.
Gerrie Marks
Gerrie Marks joined Prudential Financial, Inc., in September 2015 as Vice President, Government Affairs, covering regulatory and legislative activity in nine Western states. She is also the External Affairs relationship manager for Prudential’s group and long-term care insurance businesses. Marks is the Chair of the NOLHGA Board of Directors and is a member of five state guaranty association Boards, including serving as Chair of the Arizona Life & Disability Insurance Guaranty Fund. She is a member of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, serves on ACLI task forces and work groups, and represents Prudential on the Board of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Marks was with the Arizona Department of Insurance from 1997–2015; in 2012 she was appointed Director of Insurance. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director for nine years and the Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs for six years. As the Arizona Director of Insurance, she oversaw the department’s financial and market regulation of over 2,000 insurers and 200,000 licensed insurance professionals. She actively participated in the NAIC, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Western Zone and as a member of the Executive Committee.
Marks received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a J.D. from the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She is an avid Nebraska football fan.
William O’Sullivan
William O’Sullivan serves as chief legal officer for NOLHGA and manages NOLHGA’s Legal Department. As Senior Vice President and General Counsel, he is responsible for advising NOLHGA’s Board of Directors, senior management, Members’ Participation Council, and individual guaranty associations on legal issues and policy matters germane to the operations of the organization. He also serves as the staff contact for NOLHGA’s Legal and Coverage/Claims Committees and as the staff contact/project manager for a number of insolvency task forces, including the Global Bankers Insurance Group and Executive Life Insurance Company (California) Task Forces.
O’Sullivan joined NOLHGA in 1995 as Vice President and Counsel and was named to his current position in 1998. Prior to joining NOLHGA, he was employed in the corporate law departments of Prudential Capital, a subsidiary of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, and KTI Energy.
O’Sullivan received his B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.
Ann Patchett
Ann Patchett is a celebrated author, devoted reader, and a champion of literary culture. She has written 13 books and has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including England’s Orange Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
In 2011, when the last of Nashville’s bookstores had been shuttered, Patchett declared, “I have no interest in living in a city without a bookstore.” And so, in November of that year she opened Parnassus Books and has since become a spokesperson for independent booksellers. In 2012, TIME named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for her efforts on behalf of the literary community. Writing of her friend on the occasion of that event, novelist Elizabeth Gilbert described Patchett as “a woman of wisdom, determination, generosity and courage.”
Patchett published her first story in The Paris Review while still a student at Sarah Lawrence College. Her novel, Bel Canto, was awarded the Orange Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award. The world-renowned Lyric Opera Company of Chicago commissioned a production based on the novel that The Chicago Tribune called “a thought-provoking production worthy of a world-class opera company.” In 2016, she released her seventh novel, Commonwealth. It was selected as a New York Times Best Book of the Year, a TIME Magazine Top 10 Selection, and an NBCC Award Finalist.
In 2019, Patchett published her first children’s book, Lambslide, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, as well as a novel, The Dutch House, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and has sold more than 1 million copies. Her latest novel, Tom Lake, is a #1 New York Times bestseller; in its review, The Guardian wrote “Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” Her previous book, These Precious Days: Essays, is a deeply personal collection that reflects on home, family, friendships, and writing. Oprah Daily writes, “To read this collection is to be invited into that sacred space where a writer steps out from behind the page to say Hello; let’s really get to know each other. Stoic, kindhearted, fierce, funny, brainy, Patchett’s essays honor what matters most ‘in this precarious and precious life.’”
There’s a pink brick home in Nashville, Tennessee with a wide porch surrounded by old trees. It’s Ann Patchett’s favorite place, and it’s where she lives with her husband Karl, their dog Sparky, and lots of books.
Katharine Wade
Katharine L. Wade became President of the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) in August 2023. She is responsible for leading NOLHGA to fulfill its mission to support state guaranty associations in protecting policyholders in multi-state insolvencies and promoting the values and interests of the guaranty association system.
Wade is an insurance executive with more than 30 years of experience in insurance operations, compliance, public policy, and regulation. In her more than twenty-year career with Cigna, a Fortune 100 global insurer, she oversaw federal and state government affairs, public policy, and compliance for the health and group life and disability businesses.
After Cigna, she served nearly four years as Connecticut’s 32nd Insurance Commissioner, responsible for consumer protection and the regulation of an industry that generated $170 billion in written direct premium in one of the nation’s top insurance markets. As Commissioner, she chaired the Health and Managed Care (B) and International Insurance Relations (G) Committees and served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). She represented the state insurance regulatory system in testimony before Congress. In addition, she served as a member of the Executive and Policy Development Committees of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and on the US Treasury Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance.
Prior to joining NOLHGA, as a Principal at Dunraven Strategies, Wade worked with large global insurers and start-ups to navigate regulatory complexity and understand how insurance markets work. Her work included launching companies and products, managing the risk of various regulatory issues, and providing strategic counsel on emerging business or regulatory issues.