Bob Brown - Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Companies, and Chief Executive Officer of Countryway Insurance Company

Bob joined Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance as Senior Vice President of Product Development & Actuarial in June 2012. Prior to joining Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance, he began his career at Travelers Insurance where he spent 20 years in a variety of Actuarial and Product Management functions.

Bob graduated from Clarkson University with a degree in Mathematics in 1992. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society. In addition to his responsibilities at Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance, Bob also serves on the Board of Directors of National Independent Statistical Service (NISS) and Aon’s Regional Client Advisory Board.

Bob resides in Chesterfield County with his wife Carole, daughter Skyler, and son, Mitch.

Mary Farrell - Senior Client Underwriter on Swiss Re’s Property & Casualty Reinsurance team

Mary began her career with Employers Reinsurance/GE Insurance Solutions in 1993, which later became part of Swiss Re. She started as an Insurance Agent E&O assistant before advancing to Associate Treaty Underwriter and subsequently to Casualty Treaty Underwriter.

Since 2012, Mary has served as a Senior Client Underwriter on Swiss Re’s Property & Casualty Reinsurance team, where she is responsible for client management, business development, underwriting, pricing, and contract review for regional reinsurance programs.

Todd Jones - Certified Fire Investigator and Certified Insurance Fraud Investigator with Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance

Todd holds both a B.S. and M.S. from Radford University and previously served as a Patrol Sergeant Detective with the Radford City Police Department.

With 28 years of experience in the insurance industry, Todd has worked extensively in Claims and Special Investigations, specializing in insurance fraud, vehicle and property theft, and fire investigations. He has served as adjunct faculty in Radford University’s Criminal Justice Department since 1993 and currently teaches at Virginia Tech, as well as with the Virginia Department of Fire Programs and the Virginia Fire Marshal Academy.

Todd is also a dedicated volunteer firefighter/engineer with the Blacksburg Fire Department, where he has served for over 40 years.

Carla Keesee - Virginia Farm Bureau Investigations Department

Carla has been with the Virginia Farm Bureau Investigations Department since 2004, following 10 years as a Virginia State Trooper. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor for the Virginia Fire Marshal’s Academy, the Virginia Basic Law Enforcement Academy, and Central Virginia Community College.

In 2024, she was appointed by Governor Glenn Youngkin to the Virginia Fire Services Board, where she serves on the Live Fire Structure Training and Fire Education Committees. Carla holds degrees from Richard Bland College and Virginia Commonwealth University.

She considers her greatest accomplishments to be her two sons—one a 2024 West Point graduate, and the other set to attend West Point this fall, where he will also play football.

Carl Mitchell - Associate Director of Advancement for Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI)

Carl fosters industry partnerships and supports strategic investments that advance transportation safety and mobility. He also serves as Associate Director for Business Development for Virginia Tech’s Link + License + Launch.

Previously, Carl spent nearly a decade with Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering as Senior Director of Major Gifts. A triple Hokie, he holds two B.S. degrees and an M.S. from Virginia Tech. Carl resides in Radford, Virginia, and is the proud father of six children.

Matt Moore - Chief Insurance Operations Officer at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute

Matt oversees HLDI operations and is responsible for delivery of services to member companies, outreach to the insurance industry as a whole, and strategic direction to build these relationships.

Mr. Moore has been closely involved in HLDI research since joining the organization in 1999. He has authored numerous research papers and spearheaded several studies that were world firsts on topics such as legal recreational marijuana, antilock braking systems for motorcycles and collision avoidance technologies. In particular, his early work showing the benefits of front automatic emergency braking laid the groundwork for near-universal adoption of the technology.

Mr. Moore holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania.

Shariq Shafi - Director of Reinsurance Underwriting at AmericanAg®

Shariq is responsible for leading the underwriting team; managing and monitoring all aspects of reinsurance underwriting; and advancing the department’s in-house capabilities and resources, for the benefit of its Farm Bureau® insurance company clients.

Shariq joined AmericanAg® as an Underwriting Manager in 2020. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from University of Illinois at Chicago, and a Juris Doctor degree from The John Marshall Law School.

Zuhairah Tillinghast - Deputy Commissioner of the Property and Casualty Division at the State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Insurance

In this role, she has oversight of Property and Casualty market regulation including forms, rates, consumer assistance and market conduct. Zuhairah joined the State Corporation Commission in 2021, serving as Manager of the Consumer Services Section in the Property and Casualty Division. Prior to her time at the Commission, Zuhairah spent twelve years in the private sector as a Claims Manager, Training Instructor, Claim Specialist and Field Adjuster. Zuhairah earned her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Yale University and holds the CPCU, AIC, AIM, AIS, API, AINS, AIDA, CLMP, APIR and AIE designations.

Jamie Terry - Vice President of Organizational Development, Mountain West Farm Bureau

Jamie began her career with Mountain West Farm Bureau in 2008 as a Training Specialist, where she earned and accepted several promotions during her career through her most recent position of Vice President of Organizational Development, which she has held since 2019. In this role, she focuses on driving results toward company goals for the organization in Talent Development, Human Resources, Organizational Change

Management, Enterprise Risk Management and Strategic Planning functions. She holds her AIS and AINS Insurance designations and is currently working to complete her CPCU.

Recently, Jamie launched Nyra Consulting, under which she delivers custom workshops and facilitation for organizations and non-profits across the United States.