Officers & Directors
President
Gary Caudill
TK Elevator
Gary Caudill is a graduate from Indiana University’s Department of Applied Health Sciences. In 2010, Gary began his career in the insurance industry when he started working at Sedgwick Claims Management Services as a claims adjuster. His career has evolved and he is now a liability administrator where he manages liability and risk for an international company that manufactures, installs, and services vertical transportation devices. Gary’s risk management and insurance knowledge has expanded to include the CPCU (2016), AIC (2018), and ARM (2020) designations. He has been an active member of the Chicago Northwest Suburban CPCU Chapter since 2016.
Immediate Past President
Catherine LaPorte
Unemployed
Cathy began her career in commercial banking. She has held positions in audit and treasury. Cathy has been in the insurance industry for over 20 years, largely in Financial roles most recently at Zurich North America. In 2008, she earned her MBA from DePaul University and in 2016 her CPCU designation. Seven years ago, she moved into a Risk Management position and is currently the Enterprise Risk Senior Manager.
Cathy joined her local Chapter in 2016 and has enjoyed serving as a Board member since 2020.
Treasurer
Ryan Suby
Zurich
Membership Chair
Sarah Bennett
Skyward Group
I fell into the insurance industry by chance after earning my business degree from Northern Illinois University, beginning my career on Allstate’s Catastrophe Team in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The work quickly proved both challenging and meaningful, laying the groundwork for my transition into commercial and specialty markets at Zurich Insurance, where I continued to grow professionally while completing my MBA. I now serve as Director of Property Claims at Skyward Group, focusing on specialty and excess claims, and I continue to deepen my expertise with advanced industry education, including earning my CPCU and AIC designations in 2025.
Good Works
Lisa Lugenbill
Sedgwick
I received my BA in Communications from Aurora University in 2002. I worked in real estate for several years before starting my claims career in 2008 with Sedgwick. I’ve held several positions within the company, most recently managing work comp programs as a Client Services Manager. I obtained my CPCU designation in 2016, celebrating Conferment in Hawaii. I have been an active member of the Chicago Northwest Suburban CPCU Chapter.
Good Works
Ann Pechloff
AON Corporation
I have been in the insurance industry for 40 years in August. I like to say that over the years I have done everything other than claims. I earned my masters in training in 2017, CPCU in 2018 and ARM in 2019. I have been with Aon since 2007 and I am a corporate trainer. One of my responsibilities is to onboard new hires, I feel it is my job to get the new hires excited about working in the insurance industry as well as working at Aon. They are the industries present and future, I am proud to have some part is sharing my passion for the industry.
Scholarship Chair
Katy Hoffman
Great American Insurance Companies
Katy Hoffman is the Underwriting Manager at Great American Insurance in the FIS Division. She has worked for Great American for 15 years. In her current position, she guides the underwriting team for her division at both her local office in Grayslake and at the corporate office in Cincinnati. She has implemented a new training system as her team is continually growing. Katy earned her CPCU in 2022.
Scholarship Chair
Kelly Perkins
Zurich American Insurance
Kelly received her BS in Accounting and MBA from DePaul University. Her career has focused primarily in the financial services industry in both IT and Operations roles. She has worked at Zurich Insurance for 10 years and obtained her CPCU in 2021. Her other designations are ARM and AINS. Kelly also serves as a Board Member for Leaders in Transformational Education (LITE), a non-profit organization focusing on opportunity youth and early career programs in the Aurora area.
Chapter Webmaster
Patrick Barrick
Zurich American Insurance
I graduated from Northern Illinois University with a degree in Computer Science and a Minor in Business Administration. I have worked in the IT department in various industries. I started my career in Insurance in 2002 with Zurich Insurance in the IT department supporting the Underwriting area. I started my CPCU journey as a way of learning more about the business in support of large transformational projects. I obtained my CPCU designation in 2020. I joined the Northwest CPCU Society Chapter in 2021.
Social Media / Marketing and Communications
Jason Nikowitz
Zurich North America
Originally a high school math teacher, Jason has an AA in Education from Harper College, as BS in Mathematical Teaching Purdue University, and an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from North Central College. After teaching high school math for five years, Jason decided to pursue an actuarial career path and started work at Zurich North America in 2015, where he has worked since. Along with being a CPCU, he is also a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a Certified Specialist in Predictive Analytics (CSPA). When not working passionately in the insurance industry, he is likely found spending time with his wife and three children.
Jason obtained his CPCU in 2019 and has served as a board member for the Chicago-Northwest Suburban Chapter since 2022.
At Large
Rose Anne L Caboor
Marsh Agency
RoseAnne received a BS in Management from Northeastern Illinois University. She began an insurance career at Liberty Mutual as an underwriter and later moved to Kemper Insurance also as an underwriter. Seeking a change, RoseAnne switched to Product Training and Development for 4 years before moving to the Broker side working for Assurance/ MarshMMA as a Senior Account Manager. RoseAnne completed the CPCU designation in 2016 and attended commencement in Hawaii. RoseAnne joined the chapter board of directors in January 2017. She is currently the membership director for our chapter and also serves on the National Membership Committee.
