Six UE Employees Named Emerging Leaders
Bethesda, Md., Dec. 5, 2025 — The American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) selected six United Educators (UE) employees to the 2026 class of Emerging Leaders.
These UE employees are among the high performers from 95 different insurance companies to receive the honor:
- Nikole Alcala, Associate VP of Resolutions Litigation Management and Legal Operations
- Ziad Elharaoui, Manager of Application Development and Support
- Shiran Mack, Senior Financial Analyst
- Laura Olariu, Senior Resolutions Counsel II
- Josh Poltilove, Communications Manager
- Sam Swartout, Manager of Risk Consulting
“Nikole, Ziad, Shiran, Laura, Josh, and Sam exemplify UE’s commitment to excellence in insurance,” said Rick Mills, UE’s President and CEO. “We are proud to support emerging professionals whose skills and dedication will help shape the future of our service to education.”
APCIA describes emerging leaders as making significant impacts on business transformation, data, AI, privacy and tech innovations, the new shape of work, customer service, legal and regulatory issues, societal issues, philanthropic work, and more.
Honorees will attend the 2026 Emerging Leaders Conference from Feb. 1-3 in Nashville. The event is hosted by APCIA, Insurance Careers Movement and AM Best. The conference brings together rising stars in the insurance industry and offers insights on executive leadership, networking opportunities and a focus on professional and personal development.
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About UE
UE provides liability insurance and risk management solutions to meet the unique needs of K-12 schools, colleges and universities. UE serves members from large university systems to small, independent K-12 schools, providing coverage and tools to help institutions confidently manage education-specific liability risks. Founded exclusively for education, UE has received an A (Excellent) financial strength rating from AM Best every year since 1998. UE is among Ward’s 50® top-performing insurance companies.