FINREP Florida , 2026

Art has been in the insurance industry since 1998 and has been consulting since 2001. His consulting career has focused on medical professional liability (MPL), homeowners, commercial property, workers’ compensation (WC), commercial and personal automobile, general liability, commercial multiple peril and title exposures.

Art provides actuarial consulting services to property and casualty (re)insurers, self-insured entities, risk retention groups and captive insurers. His core services include reserving, ratemaking, risk transfer testing, funding allocations, and developing experience rating plans.

Art serves as appointed actuary and/or loss reserve specialist for numerous (re)insurance carriers, captive insurance companies and self-insured entities. He advises numerous self-insured entities and (re)insurance companies on matters related to financial reporting of unpaid claim liabilities, routinely presenting to boards of directors and executive committees charged with financial reporting.

Allison Weisnicht, CFA is a Principal and Senior Portfolio Manager at AAM with 18 years of investment experience. Allison is responsible for constructing portfolios based on client-specific objectives, constraints, and risk preferences. She is also responsible for communicating market developments and portfolio updates to clients. Allison’s previous roles at AAM include Investment Operations Specialist and Assistant Portfolio Manager. In addition, she is a CFA Charterholder. Allison earned a BS in Finance and Business Administration from John Carroll University.

Dave Newell is a seasoned insurance professional with a career spanning several decades. He graduated from the University of North Florida in 1984 and began his insurance journey in 1987 as a claims representative with a major property and casualty insurance carrier. In 1990, he relocated to Tallahassee to further his career as a field claims representative. Dave earned his property & casualty license in 1997 and transitioned into a producer role with a leading local independent insurance agency.

In July 2008, Dave joined the Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) as Citizens’ Liaison. By September 2011, his role expanded to include the position of Director of Education. In May 2017, his responsibilities grew once again to encompass workforce development and management of the Good Works Fund. In September 2020, Dave was named Vice President of Membership and Industry Relations, rising to an officer position within the association.

Outside of his professional life, Dave is married with three children. He enjoys spending quality time with family and friends, particularly with his grandson, Maverick.

Wes Strickland serves as outside counsel to the Florida Property & Casualty Association. Mr. Strickland is the founder of Strickland Law, PLLC, where his practice focuses on insurance regulatory and corporate transactional matters.

With over twenty-five years of experience handling insurance regulatory law and complex corporate transactions, Mr. Strickland provides counsel to both domestic and international insurers and reinsurers, managing general agencies, insurance producers, insurance holding companies and their investors. Mr. Strickland routinely counsels clients regarding a wide array of insurance regulatory matters, including formation and startup of new insurance entities, multi-state licensing and compliance, insurance holding company act compliance, affiliated transactions, and market conduct and financial examinations.

A member of The Florida Bar, Mr. Strickland is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law and Florida State University.

Andrew is the Vice President - Controller for Citizens and has over 20 years of financial and accounting experience within the insurance industry. His primary duties at Citizens include directing the accounting policy of the organization, oversight of financial reporting and related regulatory filings, budget, treasury and investment operations, and management of the external audit process. Prior to joining Citizens, Andrew served as an assurance services manager with a public accounting firm providing audit, advisory and consulting services to a variety of Florida‐domiciled insurance carriers primarily within the property and casualty sector. Andrew holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Valdosta State University and a Master's degree in Accounting from Auburn University. Andrew is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Florida and is a CFA® Charterholder.

Since joining Thomas Howell Ferguson in 2014, Nick has been providing tax compliance and consulting services for a large variety of Thomas Howell Ferguson’s diverse clients.
Having a broad foundation in various fields, Nick’s primary focus and professional development has been concentrated on Thomas Howell Ferguson’s large corporate clients, predominantly within the insurance industry. Specifically, Nick has experience in federal and multi-state tax return compliance, premium and excise tax return compliance, preparing income tax provisions on the statutory basis of accounting, preparing consolidated income tax provisions on the GAAP basis of accounting, and providing tax representation to both federal and state examiners.

Charles Nyce is a Professor and Florida Surplus Lines Insurance Director of the Risk Management and Insurance Center. He has been at FSU since 2009 when he joined as the Associate Director of the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center.

His main research areas are catastrophic risk pricing/financing and traffic safety/auto insurance.  He joined the Center in 2009 after serving as Senior Director of Knowledge Resources for the American Institute for CPCU.  He has authored numerous articles on a variety of risk management and insurance topics, including the relationship between insurance premiums and housing values, mitigation, demand for insurance, distracted driving, and catastrophic risk financing.  He has his PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has taught risk management and insurance at LaSalle University, the University of Hartford, and the University of Georgia. 

Mark Wilson serves as president and chief executive officer of Florida’s largest and most influential business advocacy organization. He leads the Florida Chamber and its political, lobbying, grassroots advocacy and economic research operations focused on strengthening Florida’s competitiveness, free enterprise system and economic mobility.

Under his leadership, the Florida Chamber unites business leaders around the Florida 2030 Blueprint, a strategic roadmap born out of the Florida Chamber Foundation, which guides efforts to grow Florida to a top 10 global economy through the Six Pillars of Florida’s Future Economy: Talent Supply & Education, Innovation & Economic Development, Infrastructure & Growth Leadership, Business Climate & Competitiveness, Civic & Governance Systems and Quality Places. Wilson also created the Florida Business Agenda, which supports the Blueprint and mobilizes the business community on issues ranging from taxes and talent, to insurance, lawsuit abuse reform, to infrastructure and AI policy.

Major legislative victories during his tenure include lawsuit abuse reform, workers comp reform, union modernization, Florida Chamber-backed elimination of the business rent tax, significant constitutional amendment reforms and multiple defeats of the recreational marijuana ballot initiatives.

Earlier in his career, he served as the first president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, a Florida Chamber created organization focused on reducing frivolous lawsuits and improving Florida’s legal climate. In addition to his legislative successes, Wilson is also the architect and advisor to numerous statewide political, issue and voter education campaigns. He also served as treasurer and co-chair of the Vote No on 4 campaign opposing what business leaders described as a no-growth constitutional amendment proposal, helping lead one of the most successful voter education efforts in Florida’s history.

In 2023, Florida Trend Magazine named Wilson Floridian of the Year. He is a past chair of the National Association of State Chambers and serves on the boards of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals, SelectFlorida, Leadership Florida, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Chamber Foundation. He also participates in the Florida Council of 100, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. A native of Illinois, Wilson received his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and has earned the national designation of Certified Chamber Executive (CCE). Before joining the Florida Chamber, Wilson served as vice president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and previously served with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Jane Nelson is a seasoned insurance professional with over two decades of experience in financial analysis, insurance company regulation, and agency operations. Since September of 2025, she has served as the Deputy Commissioner of Property & Casualty at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), where she oversees the regulation and supervision of property and casualty insurance markets in the state, ensuring compliance with laws and policies while safeguarding consumer interests. In this role, Ms. Nelson actively analyzes market trends, reviews insurance company filings, and collaborates with industry stakeholders to promote a balanced and effective regulatory environment.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy Commissioner, Ms. Nelson served as Director of Property & Casualty Financial Oversight where she led regulatory efforts to ensure the financial stability and statutory compliance of property and casualty insurers operating in Florida.

Throughout her tenure at OIR, Ms. Nelson has held various leadership roles within the Property & Casualty unit. She has managed teams of analysts and examiners, overseeing all aspects of their professional development—from recruitment and training to the review of their work for accuracy, thoroughness, and regulatory compliance. Her responsibilities have included evaluating internal processes, ensuring insurer compliance with Florida Statutes and Administrative Rules, and assessing reinsurance programs for adequacy and risk mitigation.

Early in her career, Ms. Nelson developed a strong understanding of the Florida property and casualty insurance market at Brown & Brown of Florida, Comp Options Insurance Company, and Willis North America. These experiences contributed significantly to her expertise and professional growth within the insurance industry.

Ms. Nelson holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Risk Management and Insurance from Florida State University. She also earned the Professional in Insurance Regulation (PIR) designation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in October 2020.

Trevor is a senior reinsurance broker working out of the Gallagher Re Tampa office and focuses on marketing, producing, and servicing of property and casualty clients.  He uses his extensive financial background to help clients work through complex problems and business issues.

Prior to joining Gallagher Re, Trevor was the Chief Financial Officer of Cypress Group Holdings, Inc., a property and casualty insurance holding company.  He joined Cypress in 2020.  Prior to that, Trevor held similar roles at other insurance companies, including American Strategic Insurance, where he started in 2004.

Trevor graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.S. degree in Accounting and from the University of Florida with an M.B.A.  Trevor is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.