Annual Meeting of Owners

Proposed term 2023-26

Megan is a Principal with Deloitte Consulting’s Higher Education practice with over 15 years of experience working with higher education systems and institutions, helping higher education
leaders to design and implement transformational change. Foundational to the success of Megan’s work have been strong client partnerships and a change management focus.

Megan has worked across the spectrum of institutions to identify new market opportunities, examine the future of work in higher education and redesign the institutional operating model. Megan brings an understanding of how to work across the composite parts of the institution to find the opportunities for collaboration and standardization that enable universities to comprehensively deliver on the mission and vision of the institution.

Megan also currently serves as Vice Chair of the Board for the Vermont State College System (VSCS). In her leadership role on the Board, she is helping to evolve the Board toward data-driven decision-making and accountability as the Chancellor leads the VSCS to a consolidated, centralized approach to supporting the state’s needs.

Megan received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Saint Michael’s College in 1999. She lives in Hinesburg, Vt., with her husband and four young children, where they enjoy spending time outdoors skiing, hiking, and enjoying nature.

Proposed term 2023-26

Greg joined UE’s Board of Directors in 2009 and is Vice Chair of the board and Chair of the Investment Committee. He is Chairman and Founder of Greycourt & Co. Inc., a wealth advisory firm serving substantial families and select endowments on a global basis. Prior to founding Greycourt, he served many years as president of a family office for the Mellon family and as President of the Laurel Foundation.

Greg is the author of 10 books, including A Few Short Poems (2022),Ten Interesting People (2021), Advising the Ultra-Wealthy (2020), and Family Capital: Working with Wealthy Families to Manage Their Money Across Generations (2016), and more than 50 journal articles and white papers on a variety of investment topics. He writes a weekly investment blog at GregoryDCurtis.com/Blog.

Greg has served as a volunteer on several investment committees for family and institutional investors. He currently serves or recently served on investment committees for Carnegie Mellon University, The Pittsburgh Foundation, St. John’s College, Waycrosse Inc., and Winchester Thurston School, among others.

Greg recently chaired the Board of Directors of The Pittsburgh Foundation (the community foundation for the Pittsburgh region); is a past Chair of the Board of St. John’s College and The Investment Fund for Foundations (which he co-founded); and has chaired or served on the boards of many other investment, educational, and cultural organizations.

Greg holds a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and is a graduate of The Endowment Institute at Harvard Business School. He also holds an honorary bachelor’s from St. John’s College.

Proposed term 2023-26

Debi was elected to UE’s board in 2020. She chairs the Compensation Committee and serves on the Governance and Investment committees.

Debi is a seasoned professional in investment management, risk management, and insurance company management. She serves as an independent director on the boards of Oaktree Capital Specialty Lending Corp., Newport Re, LTD, and is a trustee for the Oakwood Strategic Credit Fund. Debi also serves as a director of the not-for-profit Friends of the Brentwood Art Center and on the Investment Committee for Los Angeles United Way.

Other professional experience includes serving as a Senior Managing Director and Deputy Chief Investment Officer of AIG Asset Management, where she was responsible for oversight of investment strategy — for $300 billion of life and property casualty insurance portfolios worldwide. Previous positions at AIG included Chief Risk Officer for the Life and Retirement Division.

Debi’s other experience in the industry includes those of a portfolio manager for $3 billion collateralized debt portfolio, head of asset/liability modeling and management for insurance companies, director of life insurance and asset management company boards, and a key member of insurance company merger and acquisition analysis and deal teams at SunAmerica, Inc. and Conseco, Inc.

Debi has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Proposed term 2023-26

Sharon was elected to UE’s board in 2020 and serves on the Audit and Governance committees. She is Executive Vice President and Chief Administration Officer at George Washington University, where she is an officer of the university and a member of the senior leadership team.

From 2016 until August 2022, Sharon served as Vice President for Legal Affairs, General Counsel, and Senior Advisor to the President at the University of Vermont. She was a member of the university’s senior leadership team, oversaw and directed all the university’s legal affairs, and advised the President on the full range of challenges the university faced.

Prior to joining the University of Vermont, Sharon held leadership positions at the University of Minnesota, including Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Chief of Staff to the Provost, and Associate Dean at the University of Minnesota Law School.

While Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Sharon helped oversee the academic side of a transformative university-wide strategic planning effort — from its inception through to implementation.

As Associate Dean of the university’s law school, she co-authored three textbooks; taught classes including Conflict of Laws, Trial Practice, Depositions, and Appellate Advocacy; advised the Dean on strategic initiatives; created a civil litigation concentration and a Master of Science in patent law program; supervised administrative operations; and taught law in China and Sweden.

Sharon’s law practice experience includes business and employment litigation at Faegre & Benson (now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath) in Minneapolis, constitutional litigation at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and work as a law clerk for Federal Court of Appeals Judge Harlington Wood, Jr., in Chicago. Board memberships past and present include the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (current), Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, Minnesota Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and the MacPhail Center for Music. In the past seven years, she has engaged in substantial rule of law work in and for the country of Uzbekistan.

Sharon is an elected member of the American Law Institute and the American Bar Foundation, and received the President’s Award from the Minnesota State Bar Association for work on the Task Force on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. She graduated summa cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor’s degree in economics, where she was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received the William M. Massee Award for her senior thesis. Sharon has a J.D. from Stanford Law School, where she received the Board of Editor’s Award for her contributions to the Stanford Law Review.

Term expires in 2025

Janice Menke Abraham is responsible for leading the strategic direction of United Educators (UE) and the execution of our operational plans.

She joined UE as President and CEO in 1998. During her tenure, UE has become known as the premier risk management and liability insurance company serving educational institutions. About 1,600 K-12 schools, colleges, and universities rely on UE’s education-specific expertise. UE has been consistently profitable, producing high return on equity and maintaining the financial strength and stability to earn an AM Best Rating “A” (Excellent) every year since 1998.

Prior to joining UE, Janice served the higher education community as Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer at Whitman College, in various senior positions at Cornell University, and as a staff associate at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). Janice also worked as an international banker for J.P. Morgan.

Janice is on the board of directors of UE and United Educators Management Company. She is also a trustee at American University and Chair of The Campagna Center, a nonprofit organization serving children and families in Virginia.

In addition, she serves on The Institutes’ board of directors, American University’s School of International Service Dean’s Advisory Council, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ (AGB’s) editorial board, and the American Property Casualty Insurance Association’s Executive and Finance/Investment committees. From 2009 to 2010, she was the first woman chair of the board of governors of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

Janice is a former President of the Western Association of College and University Business Officers, trustee emerita at Whitman College, and a past board member of NACUBO and the National Risk Retention Association.

She earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in international service from American University.

She also wrote Risk Management: An Accountability Guide for University and College Trustees, published by AGB, which encourages board oversight of enterprise risk management activities at their institution. The book’s second edition was published in 2020.

Honors for Janice’s contributions to insurance and education include:

• Griffith Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 2012
• One of the Power 50, Captive Review, 2012
• A “Woman in Insurance Leadership,” Insurance Networking News, 2011
• A Rising Star, Reactions, 2011
• A “Woman to Watch” as a Leader of Change, Business Insurance, 2006
• Professional Development Award, NACUBO, 2005
• Great Alumni Award, Mount Lebanon High School, 2005
• Insurance Woman of the Year, The Association of Professional Insurance Women, 2004
• One of the 100 Leading Women in the Field of Insurance, Business Insurance, 2004

In 2011, during a sabbatical leave, Janice worked with LeapFrog Investments, a micro-insurance private equity fund focused on developing and launching microinsurance products in emerging markets. She has testified before Congress and the Department of the Treasury on insurance issues and writes and speaks frequently on strategic issues affecting educational institutions and the insurance industry.

Janice lives in Alexandria, Va., with her husband and two rescue dogs. She enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and knitting.

Term expires in 2024

Irma took office in July 2018 as the President of Marymount University in Arlington, Va. In her first six months, she launched the university’s new strategic plan, “Momentum,” which will guide the university over a seven-year period ending in 2027. The plan calls for Marymount to achieve national and international recognition for innovation and commitment to student success, alumni achievement, and faculty and staff excellence, a goal the university has already achieved in 2022 ahead of schedule.

During her tenure, Irma has introduced several initiatives with effects in support of Marymount’s mission and vision for the future. This includes adding market-driven academic programs that prioritize career preparation, overseeing the transition to a new academic structure, acquiring The Rixey luxury apartment building next to Marymount’s Ballston Center, and improving the university’s IT infrastructure through the implementation of the state-of-the-art enterprise resource planning application Workday. Furthermore, she successfully led the university during the COVID-19 pandemic and kept students learning mostly in person, to remain on track for graduation.

Irma has expanded educational access for students and targeted programming to meet societal needs and changing demographics. Her academic career, as student and professional, has blended mathematics, engineering, and systems thinking and processes in her studies, teaching, and administrative leadership. An educator who began her career in the private sector and the holder of four patents and copyrights, Irma is an ardent advocate for a STEM-educated workforce and holds the mindset of a trained scientist and seasoned entrepreneur. Catholic-educated throughout her primary and secondary years, she believes in the importance of faith-based instruction and plans to raise Marymount’s profile and spur growth in enrollment and academic programs. This will be accomplished, in part, through innovative partnerships, scholarship opportunities, and broad initiatives.

A Cuban-born American, Irma immigrated to the United States with her parents when she was an infant, living in Puerto Rico through high school. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Miami and became the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Florida International University (FIU).

She served as Provost and Chief Academic Officer at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla., and spent three decades at FIU in positions including Vice President, Vice Provost, Entrepreneurship Center Director, and tenured professor in Management Information Systems. She founded FIU’s Knowledge Management Lab and led major projects as Principal Investigator at the National Science Foundation, NASA (Headquarters, Kennedy, Ames, and Goddard Space Flight Centers) and the Air Force Research Lab. She was also a Sloan Scholar at MIT’s Center for Information Systems Research.

Irma has authored four books and numerous journal articles in the areas of knowledge management and business intelligence. Her original research includes enterprise systems, disaster management, and IT entrepreneurship.

Term expires in 2025

Al joined UE’s board in 2007. He is Chair of the Audit Committee and sits on the Investment and Compensation committees. He holds the position as the Michael Kevaney/XL Professor of Insurance and Actuarial Science in the School of Risk Management at St. John’s University.

In 2006, Al retired as President of American Re-Insurance Company’s (now Munich Re America’s) strategic business units, where he was responsible for the underwriting and marketing functions of American Re’s risk bearing entities, including Direct Treaty, Direct Facultative, American Re Credit and Surety, American Re Broker Market, and Munich-American Risk Partners. He also served as Executive Vice President of American Re Corporation; as Chairman, President, and CEO of American Alternative Insurance Company; and as Chairman, President, and CEO of the Princeton Excess and Surplus Lines Insurance Company.

Prior to joining American Re in 1992, Al was Chief Actuary and Director of Alternative Risk for the Skandia America Group, where he established a reputation as an internationally recognized expert in the development of the alternative market.

From 1984 to 1989, Al was a partner with the consulting firm Tillinghast — a division of Towers, Perrin — and held management positions in the Actuarial and Risk Management practice areas. Between 1976 and 1984, he was Professor of Actuarial Science at The College of Insurance, where he was voted Professor of the Year three times.

Al is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Manhattan College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He also received a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Colorado.

He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and has served as the society’s President. He also has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the American Academy of Actuaries.

From 2007 to 2013, he served as a member of the Actuarial Standards Board, the entity responsible for promulgating standards of practice for the actuarial profession in the United States. He was Chair from 2010 to 2011. In 2021, he was appointed Vice Chair of the Actuarial Board of Counseling and Discipline, the body established in the bylaws of the American Academy of Actuaries to strengthen the adherence of members of the five U.S.-based actuarial organizations to the recognized standards of ethical and professional conduct. Also, in 2021, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the International Actuarial Association.

He serves as a Trustee Emeritus of the board of The Actuarial Foundation, a philanthropic organization sponsoring research, education, and communication initiatives designed to use actuarial talent to address societal issues. In addition, Al serves on the boards of two other insurance companies: Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited and Aspen Bermuda Limited (Audit Committee Chair).

Term expires in 2024

Bronté is CFO, Vice President, and Treasurer at American University. She is a frequent presenter on a variety of topics including finance, accreditation, communication, leadership, and diversity at NACUBO, American Council of Education (ACE), and AGB conferences.

She often is called upon to be a presenter for the NACUBO Fellows Program, as well as a contributing author for their Business Officer magazine. In 2017, she received NACUBO’s Professional Development Award for her extensive volunteer service to the association’s professional development activities and publications programs.

Bronté has more than 30 years of experience in financial and facilities management in higher education. She previously served as the Vice President for Finance and Administration at Dickinson College, where she oversaw all areas of finance and campus operations. Before joining Dickinson in 2013, she served as Treasurer of St. John’s College and Vice President for Administration and Finance and Dean of Enrollment Management at Huston-Tillotson University. Prior to her roles in higher education, she served as Senior Project Manager at the Texas State Auditor’s Office and Assistant Controller at the National Headquarters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Bronté is the immediate past Board Chair and former Treasurer for the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Institute for Women in Higher Education. She is also a member of the Appeals Board of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, where she previously served as a commissioner and member of the Finance Committee.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and an MBA from American University, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Texas. She is a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Higher Education and the HERS Institute at Wellesley College.

Term expires in 2025

Courtney joined UE’s board in 2022 and is a member of the Audit Committee. As the Assistant Vice President of Risk Management and Resilience Planning at the University of Chicago she provides leadership and direction to senior managers, working to identify, evaluate, and plan strategies for enterprise-wide insurance programs. She focuses on maximizing protection of assets at the most economical rates and minimizing the effects of fortuitous loss.  She develops and directs risk management strategies and policies that identify, assess, and mitigate the impact of risks originating from, or impacting, the enterprise’s portfolio of activities/interests. The enterprise consists of the University of Chicago, UChicago Medicine and its clinically integrated network, UChicago Ingalls Memorial, the Marine Biological Laboratory, University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, UChicago Charter Schools, and several global centers and institutes.

Courtney also leads resilience planning across the university to anticipate potential threats, cope effectively with adverse events, and adapt to changing conditions.

Previously, she was an Account Executive at Arthur J. Gallagher and Vice President of Educational Placement Specialist at Marsh. Courtney is the Immediate Past President for the University Risk Management and Insurance Association (URMIA) and a member of the Board of Directors for the Trulen Insurance SPC Limited captive.

She holds a B.S. in marketing from Northern Illinois University and earned the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management, and Associate in Risk Management-ERM designations. She is an Executive MBA candidate at Chicago Booth. Courtney received the RIMS 2022 Risk Manager of the Year, 2020 Business Insurance Women to Watch, the 2017 Business Insurance Break Out, and 2015 Risk & Insurance Power Broker awards.

Term expires in 2025

James Gault was elected to UE’s board in 2022 and sits on the Investment Committee. Jim spent much his career as a leader at Gallagher Global Brokerage. Prior to retiring in March 2021, he served more than four years as Chairman of Gallagher Global Brokerage and reported directly to Pat Gallagher, Chairman.

Jim started as a Gallagher intern in the summers of 1972 and 1973 while attending Washington University, St. Louis. He graduated in the spring of 1974 from the Olin School of Business with a BSBA degree and began his sales career producing and servicing commercial Property and Casualty accounts.

Within a few years, Jim was a top-10 producer specializing in risk management and self-insurance. In 1981, he was promoted to his first sales management position and was named Area Vice President of the Chicago Branch. In 1984, he moved to the Risk Management Division as a Production Manager and Vice President. In 1986, he relocated to White Plains, N.Y., and became Area President, Arthur J. Gallagher-New York.

Jim returned to the corporate office in 1990 when he was promoted to President of National Risk Management Sales. In 1992, he was named an officer of the company and Regional Manager of Gallagher’s Chicagoland operations.

In July 2001, Jim became Executive Vice President, Brokerage Service Division, Gallagher’s largest operating unit. One year later, he became President and Chief Operating Officer of the Brokerage Services Division. During Jim’s tenure as the leader of retail P&C broking (2002-17), the Brokerage Services Division grew from $545 million revenues/3,000 employees to $2.4 billion revenues and 10,000 employees.

Term expires in 2025

Kimberly was elected to UE’s board in 2010. She chairs the Governance Committee and is a member of the Compensation Committee. Kimberly is Secretary and Vice President for University Life at Yale University. She is responsible for the university’s work to further diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in service of the university’s mission, and ensures the alignment of policies and procedures to maximize support for all students. She also oversees the university chaplaincy and the conduct of official university functions, including commencement.

Kimberly leads Belonging at Yale. This initiative includes the university’s DEI efforts and fosters a learning environment and campus community in which everyone feels a sense of belonging. In this role, she works closely with deans and other university leaders, committees, students, faculty, and staff.

Before returning to Yale, Kimberly was Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students at the University of Chicago. She also served as the Dean of Students at Wellesley College and as Chief of Staff to the President and Director of Planning at Lesley University.

Kimberly graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School. After several years in private law practice, she became an assistant dean at Yale College and Director of the Afro-American Cultural Center.

Kimberly is a commissioner for the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. She is Chair of the Audit Committee, and a member of the board for the International Festival of Arts and Ideas. She was a member of the 2020 NASPA — Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Annual Conference Leadership Committee and chairs the Vice Presidents of Student Affairs initiatives.

Term expires in 2025

Heather was elected to UE’s board in 2022 and she serves on the Audit Committee. She has been Executive Director and CEO of The Enrollment Management Association (EMA) since 2011. In that capacity, she has grown the organization’s membership by 30% and modernized its approach by creating new assessment and enrollment tools and increased professional training. The organization acts as a thought leader advocating for improved enrollment management practice and theory. 

A frequent voice advocating for independent schools to embrace the “business” of enrollment management, Heather sees the development and execution of enrollment strategy as critical to all independent schools’ long-term success. She has supported numerous national research studies and think tanks during her EMA tenure; all have been commissioned to assist independent school leaders with data and insight to inform their long-term strategies. Heather is interested in enrollment trends and is a national/international resource on this topic for the independent school community. 

Before leading EMA, Heather served in numerous roles with The Association of Boarding Schools and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and was Vice President at NAIS overseeing key revenue channels (membership, annual conference, grants making, corporate relations). During her 22-year NAIS tenure, she presided over the largest conferences in NAIS history, as well as significant growth of the association’s membership and philanthropic and corporate giving.

She began her career as a teacher and admissions officer for George School in Pennsylvania, and her alma mater, Westtown School, also in Pennsylvania.

Heather has provided board service and advisory support to numerous schools and organizations during her career: Westtown School; Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart in New Jersey; Friends Council on Education in Pennsylvania; New Jersey Association of Independent Schools; Association of Independent School Admission Professionals in Connecticut; National Business Officers Association in Washington D.C.; The Character Collaborative in New Hampshire; Mastery Transcript Consortium in Ohio; and LearnCollab in California.

Heather earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Mount Holyoke College and a master’s degree in educational administration from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. 

Term expires in 2025

Morgan has served on UE’s board since 2007. Since 2015, he has chaired the board and sits on every committee. He is Executive Vice President, Treasurer, and CFO at Arizona State University (ASU) and also holds an appointment as Professor of Practice in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Morgan’s responsibilities at ASU include overseeing the treasury and financial management functions, capital projects, real estate, facilities planning and management, human resources, police, audit, environmental health and safety, and business and auxiliary services at the university’s four campuses. He is the President of ASU Research Park, Inc. and chair of the ASU Athletic Facilities District board. He also serves as a member of the board of ASU Enterprise Partners, the ASU Foundation, and the Arizona Golf Community Foundation.

In 2018, Morgan received the NACUBO Distinguished Business Officer Award. He is a former Chair of the NACUBO Board of Directors and a past President of the Central Association of College and University Business Officers (CACUBO). The Arizona chapter of Financial Executives International awarded him its CFO of the Year award for nonprofits in 2017.

Morgan joined ASU in November 2008 after serving as Executive Vice President and Treasurer of Purdue University. He previously served as Vice President for Business and Finance at Southern Methodist University, Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer and Associate Professor in the College Student Personnel program at Eastern Illinois University, and as Vice President for Fiscal Affairs at Emporia State University in Kansas.

Morgan earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of North Dakota, where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a Ph.D. in higher education from the University of Kansas. He served as acting executive budget analyst for the North Dakota Office of Management and Budget before entering university administration in 1985.

Term expires in 2024

Bill Poutsiaka was elected to the UE board in 2021 and currently sits on the Audit and Investment committees. He is a former senior executive with considerable experience and accomplishments, including successful strategic and operational transformation, as CEO, Chief Investment Officer, and board member for global insurance and asset management businesses. He is currently consulting, doing board work, data science research, advising fintech firms (finals judge) and startups, career coaching, publishing and speaking at conferences/universities.

Bill has served as an active director on boards of public, mutual, private and nonprofit organizations. These organizations have included global, domestic, large, small, multiline and highly specialized insurance and investment entities. His executive roles have included Chief Investment Officer & SVP of AIG Property Casualty following the financial crisis; CEO of quantitative firm PanAgora Asset Management, and CEO Arkwright Mutual Ins. Co. which he merged to form FM Global. He began his career in the investment department of the Liberty Mutual Ins. Co. Bill received a B.A. from Muhlenberg and an M.B.A. from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management where he was later the first recipient, and commencement speaker, of the Distinguished Achievement Award for managerial excellence and community service.