Team Members

Executive Management

Jeffrey Sutton
Jeffrey Sutton
President/Underwriter

Jeff graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a B.S. in Aeronautical Science in 1988. He also has his J.D. from Seattle University School of Law and is a Commercial pilot with his MEI ratings. Upon graduation from ERAU, Jeff started out on the direct writer side with Avemco. He has also held positions at Fidelity & Deposit Company and Falcon Insurance Agency, Inc. Jeff joined LAU in 2005 and quickly proceeded through the ranks to become a Vice President and Claims Manager in 2006 and then finally the President of LAU in 2008. Jeff’s favorite part about his job is working as a team to come up with the vision for LAU’s future and imparting it to the employees. He enjoys spending his spare time with his friends and family, reading, exercising, and playing sports.

Dale Bennett
Dale Bennett
Senior Vice President/Underwriter

Dale is a 1970 graduate of Normandale Junior College and a 1972 graduate of Pacific Lutheran University. He is a Commercial pilot with his CFI, MEI, Seaplane, and Glider ratings. Dale was an Air Traffic Controller at the very congested Minneapolis and Seattle centers before becoming a LAU underwriter in 1982. He was the previous claims manager for LAU and became a Senior Vice President in 1992. Dale’s favorite part about his job is creating the terms and conditions on transition pilots and difficult risks. In his free time, he enjoys playing as much golf as he possibly can.

Melissa Pelham
Melissa Pelham
Executive Vice President/Underwriter

Melissa has a B.A. in Finance from Washington State University. She started in policy issuance at LAU in 2004 and learned the aviation insurance industry while working as a Service Underwriter. Melissa is now a LAU Underwriter. She had a brief stint on the broker side but realized quickly that LAU is the place to be. Melissa’s favorite part about her job is that everyday brings something new and different as there is just something unique about each risk. In her spare time she enjoys doing yoga, reading, and spending time with her family.

Underwriting

 
Brian McGinty
Brian McGinty
Assistant Vice President/Underwriter

Brian began his aviation underwriting path at AVEMCO in 1990 before joining LAU in 1998. He wears many important hats at LAU other than underwriting. Brian submits and follows up with states regarding company rates and forms. Without Brian, LAU would not be able to write aviation insurance in 49 states. Brian’s favorite part about his job is being able to reflect on his mentorship from the founder of LAU, Michael Charlesworth, and using that knowledge to make sure the insureds have the coverages they need. In his spare time, the Washington native enjoys spending quality time with his wife and is very involved with his church.

Peter Barnes
Peter Barnes
Assistant Vice President/Underwriter

Peter has been working in the aviation insurance industry now for over 35 years. He joined LAU in August 2020 and is operating the company’s first East Coast branch office located in Frederick, MD. He has extensive experience dealing with aviation risks in all categories - simple to complex - and enjoys trying to develop solutions to insuring viable, but hard to place accounts. Peter has a B.A. Degree in Journalism from California State University, Northridge (Los Angeles) and is a Private pilot. A new resident to the East Coast, he likes to hike with his family and dogs on weekends and explore the various historical sites and Civil War battlefields that are near his home. Peter also enjoys reading and relaxing and loathes doing yard work.

Kathleen Vogel
Kathleen Vogel
Assistant Vice President/Underwriter

Kathleen has a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington. Following graduation, she worked as a Communications Officer and 911 Dispatcher for the Washington State Patrol. After getting her fill of crashes and emergency situations, for the next 5 years she then was fortunate to work in risk management at Expeditors International Inc. handling claims and becoming a leading member of their cargo insurance brokerage team. In January 2018 she joined our LAU team as one of our Underwriters. From being a fast paced 911 dispatcher, to production driven broker, and then to a conscientious underwriter - Kathleen is surely capable of handling complex situations with a "roll up your sleeves" sort of attitude and a determination to get things done. Kathleen's favorite part of her job is working with one of the most knowledgeable underwriting teams in the Aviation industry to best serve our agents. In her free time she enjoys playing softball, soccer, tennis, gardening, and spending time with her family.

Lisa Kamuf
Lisa Kamuf
Underwriter

Lisa has a MA in Urban and Region Planning from the University of New Orleans. She has worked as a pollution liability underwriter for AIG and Great American Insurance Company. Prior to LAU, Lisa was working in risk management at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center. She also has several years of insurance agency experience. She is enjoying exploring Washington state and volunteering at a local goat rescue.

Caroline Yearwood-Waterhouse
Caroline Yearwood-Waterhouse
Pleasure and Business Underwriter

Caroline earned her B.A in Mathematics from Reed College in 2019. After graduating, an interest in Actuarial Science introduced Caroline to the insurance world, as she pursued exams with the Society of Actuaries. Now working with LAU, Caroline is eagerly learning all she can about aviation, and enjoys putting her insurance and statistics knowledge into this context. Caroline began as a service underwriter, and now as an Associate Underwriter is beginning to learn the ropes of quoting and writing aviation risks. Caroline also assists with the statistics and rate monitoring for the company, as she is enthusiastic about using math to manage risk, and finding effective ways to communicate data. In her spare time, she is an avid rock climber, spending her weekends camping and enjoying all the rock that Washington has to offer!

Linda Tapia
Linda Tapia
Associate Underwriter

Linda graduated with her B.S. in Business Administration and Marketing at Western Governors University. She graduated from Green River College with an Associate of Arts degree in 2018 after serving a mission in Mexico. Linda started at LAU helping with data entry. She currently is an Associate Underwriter and works on the marketing team. Linda’s favorite part of the job is being able to work with great people every day and putting her degree into practice. When she is not at work or studying, Linda spends her time playing and listening to music, cooking, or walking and hiking with her dog and husband.

Carly Jones
Carly Jones
Associate Underwriter

Carly graduated from Central Washington University in 2018 with a B.S. in Aviation Management. Just before graduating from college, she started her career as a Remote Pilot Operator in the training department for the Seattle TRACON facility for just over 2 years. Carly's favorite part about her job is working with incredibly talented people who share the same passion of providing great service in this industry. You could say aviation is in Carly’s blood. Her dad was a pilot and air traffic controller for 28 years. Her mom was a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. In her spare time, Carly coaches club volleyball, enjoys fishing and boating, and cuddling up with her dogs Jonah and Loki after a long day.

Nicholas Wagner
Nicholas Wagner
Associate Underwriter

Nicholas is a proud native of the Pacific Northwest and obtained his B.A in Economics from Western Washington University. Bringing nearly a decade of experience as a personal lines insurance broker, he joined London Aviation Underwriters in 2022 as a Service Underwriter and has enjoyed building an understanding of the aviation industry and policy generation process. Much of Nick’s free time is spent outside in nature, hiking, playing disc golf, and supporting live music and the arts as much as possible.

Service Underwriting

 
Zena Contrades
Zena Contrades
Assistant Vice President/Service Underwriter

Zena began handling personal lines with an insurance company in Hawaii. She moved to Seattle and joined LAU in 2005. Zena started out at the front desk and in policy issuance. She is now a Service Underwriter handling all aspects of each policy including pre-quote, binding, and endorsements. Zena’s favorite part about her job is the unique challenges that can pop up every once in a while that she needs to solve. In her free time, she enjoys taking trips with her husband, playing with her dog, and trying out new recipes to cook.

Amanda Hillquist
Amanda Hillquist
Senior Service Underwriter

Amanda started as an intern with LAU in 2001 and the following year she became a full-time part of LAU. Amanda has worked in many departments of the comany including running the front desk and pre-quoting the numerous submissions LAU receives for the underwriters. She now works in policy issuance producing our product for the insureds. In Amanda’s free time she enjoys decorating cakes, completing arts and crafts projects, and being a supportive sports mom to her kids.

Kayla Wallace
Kayla Wallace
Service Underwriter/Claims Assistant

Kayla has a B.A. in Sociology with an emphasis in organizational studies from University of California Davis. After graduating she began a career in social work with at risk youth in the Snohomish area. Although this was rewarding work, she decided to move on from social work and enter the insurance industry. Kayla started at Allstate working in the auto claims department and eventually moved over to the agency side as a customer service representative. This led to her starting at LAU in the beginning of 2020 as a Service Underwriter, using her prior insurance knowledge to learn the expansive and fast paced aviation industry. In Kayla’s free time she loves to tend to her house plants, spend time with her black Lab , and watch true crime documentaries.

Lydia Rosenauer
Lydia Rosenauer
Service Underwriter

Lydia began her insurance journey handling auto policies; gaining additional experience with renters, homeowners, and commercial policies along the way. She gained just over 3 years of experience before joining LAU on the aviation side, which she finds much more unique and exciting. Lydia is a service underwriter with a thorough eye for binding and issuing policies, creating certificates, and reviewing applications and potential new risks. She enjoys the everyday aspects of being challenged and having to think outside the box at work. A Washington native, Lydia enjoys the outdoors, bird-watching with her beloved cat, and (almost) beating her husband at video games.

David Purviance
David Purviance
Service Underwriter

David began his career in insurance in February of 2015 as an Insurance Service Representative in Costa Mesa, California.  After being recognized for his performance, David was entrusted with the development of new hires and was accepted to the Agency’s supervisory team, where he would handle employee training and escalated client matters. After showing a proficiency in Homeowners Insurance Policies, David accepted a role as a Homeowners Insurance Underwriter in 2018. After a change in priorities and in search of adventure, David and his family moved to Washington State where he accepted the position of Service Underwriter at London Aviation Underwriters where he enjoys applying his insurance knowledge to his newly discovered passion of aviation. David spent most of his childhood in Germany and Virginia. In his early 20s, he moved to Los Angeles, where he sold guitars before taking a big step into the mortgage industry in 2008. He enjoys camping and mountain biking in the summer, snowboarding in the winter and painting when the weather keeps him indoors.

Brennan Smith
Brennan Smith
Service Underwriter

Brennan started in the insurance industry back in Virginia as a customer service agent for auto and homeowner’s insurance in 2012. He also picked up valuable experience in sales, retention, underwriting and beta testing new systems before making the cross country move in 2021 to join London Aviation Underwriters and be closer to his family. Brennan applies his insurance experience from his earlier years to his career now as a service underwriter, taking on any responsibilities asked of him and enjoying the challenges of learning new aspects of aviation insurance. Brennan aspires to being more involved with the underwriting process and being a part of LAU’s future for years to come. He loves the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, doing home DIY projects, and spending time with his wife and two sons.

Jessica LaValley
Jessica LaValley
Service Underwriter

Jessica has over 20 years of experience working in property and casualty insurance, starting as a policy services auditor and business analyst for Mutual of Enumclaw before becoming a claims specialist at State Farm. She finds her work at London Aviation Underwriters to be professionally satisfying and has been enjoying this new chapter of her insurance career. Jessica is a service underwriter with responsibilities such as data entering, issuing certificates, binding policies, and anything else that demands meticulous attention. One of her favorite things about being at London Aviation Underwriters has been the many knowledgeable coworkers surrounding her that have been willing to educate and help her as she is navigating this new industry. As a PNW native, Jessica enjoys reading, impromptu road trips, game nights with her friends/family, and creating projects with her Cricut during her free time.

Marquel Blackburn
Marquel Blackburn
Service Underwriter

Marquel began her career in the insurance industry as an Allstate agent for auto, home, and life insurance policies. She gained two years of insurance experience before joining London Aviation Underwriters as a Service Underwriter. Her favorite parts of the job are that she is constantly learning new things and she is challenged to find new ways to come up with solutions. As a Washington native she enjoys the outdoors & finding unfamiliar places to explore.

Tomasso Campisi
Tomasso Campisi
Service Underwriter

Tomasso began his insurance journey in 2018 after almost twenty years of government service in New Jersey that focused on intricate investigations. With a high attention to detail and being an “aviation geek,” London Aviation Underwriters was a natural fit and he loves coming to work every day! His favorite part about this job is being presented with unique situations and having a fantastic team to help get things resolved.  On his time off he enjoys cooking, hiking, and fitness. After a long hike, he loves making dinner combining his Italian heritage and putting a Pacific Northwest flair to it; like homemade pasta with Washington pink scallops.

Hannah Breuler
Hannah Breuler
Service Underwriter

Hannah joined LAU as an Assistant Service Underwriter in 2022. She is currently working on her bachelor's degree in aviation business at Embry-Riddle and is enjoying learning more about the Aviation Insurance industry. Hannah brings experience from her time spent at Boeing and working with local aviation ventures in the Seattle area. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dogs Maggie and Dash, reading, traveling, and exploring new places with friends.

Aimie Reese
Aimie Reese
Assistant Service Underwriter

Aimie is new to the aviation insurance industry, but has 20+ years of experience working in various roles ranging from Account Representative to Office Manager. Aimie works at the front desk at London Aviation Underwriters, fielding incoming emails and documents. She is excited to continually learn new skills and advance in her career here at LAU. Aimie's favorite part of her job is working with the LAU staff helping out where she can. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, doing different crafts and projects, playing video games, reading and watching movies.

Haley Farrell
Haley Farrell
Assistant Service Underwriter

Haley has many years of experience working in an office setting. She is one of the newest members of the LAU team and is working as an Assistant Service Underwriter. Haley is hoping to work her way up the chain of command and further her career at LAU. Her favorite part of her job is her ability to learn new things and to assist the service underwriters and underwriters. She is eager to learn as much as she can about the business and is always willing to lend a helping hand. In her spare time, Haley enjoys working on arts and crafts, baking, listening to music, and spending time with her friends and family.

Claims Administration

 
Anna Jacobs
Anna Jacobs
Claims Administrator

Anna has made it her career to be able to successfully manage the stressful situations that insureds go through during the claim process. She started out at Travelers in 1978 and was also a member at USF&G, Hartford, and Fireman’s Fund handling auto and general liability claims before switching to aviation claims with LAU in 2006. Anna is involved with every aspect of each claim at LAU from start to finish. Her favorite part about working at LAU is working together as a team to achieve a common goal of giving the client excellent service and closing the claim file in a timely manner. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Accounting

Sonja Ng
Sonja Ng
Treasurer/Accounting Manager

Sonja graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. degree in business. She worked for over 10 years in the financial/banking industry and began as an intern at LAU while in college. She was hired full time as an Assistant Accounting Administrator after completing her college degree. Sonja is now the Senior Accounting Manager handling all day-to-day operations of the accounting department. She also manages the agency license compliance. In her spare time she enjoys travelling/sightseeing, reading books and magazines, and watching scary movies.

Natalie Galindo
Natalie Galindo
Vice President/Accounting Administrator

Natalie is a graduate of Green River Community College with two accounting certificates and also received a B.S. from Brigham Young University – Idaho. She started working as a summer intern when she was in high school and college and started full time with LAU in 2012. Natalie began working at the front desk and is currently an Accounting Administrator. She handles our accounts payable and accounts receivable. Her favorite part about her job is getting to dig into the books if something is not adding up and solve the problem. In her free time she enjoys hiking, doing community service, and traveling.

Information Technology

 
Thomas Breuler
Thomas Breuler
IT Operations

Thomas takes great joy in providing the right hardware, software and security solutions for his London Aviation Underwriter associates. He started at LAU in 2015 and has inhabited a variety of IT roles which involve providing his compatriots with top notch solutions and the least amount of downtime. In his free time, he is a voracious soccer fan, enjoys video games, and considers himself to be the undisputed champion of trivia.