Our People -- Winn & Company

Don Winn has been active in the insurance business since 1982. While attending college in San Francisco, he worked for two insurance carriers--one, a division of Aetna Insurance Company placing hard to insure package programs; the other, a Workers' Compensation carrier. After graduating from Golden Gate University with his MBA in Risk Management and Insurance in late 1983, he returned to Hollister and joined Winn & Co. Insurance Brokers on January 1, 1984. Initially, he served as a producer on small to medium size accounts, and over the course of the next few years, he worked with larger and larger accounts. During the same period, he took on an increasingly active role in company operations while continuing to work with clients on their insurance and risk management programs.

In 1994, Don Winn purchased Winn & Co. Insurance Brokers from his father, John Winn, becoming the fourth generation of his family to own and operate the company. After the purchase in 1994, Don gradually took on all aspects of company management. Today, having delegated operational responsibilities.to an outstanding management team, he spends the majority of his time doing what he loves most--building relationships with clients. He also works with insurance carriers and is active in trade associations and continuing education programs.

Lupe Hernandez has more than 20 years of experience as a claims and loss control professional. She joined Winn & Co. in 1997 as Risk Manager. She oversees all activities related to safety and loss control and works with Winn & Co. clients, helping them meet their internal goals. Lupe also works closely with Winn & Co. Claims Specialists and coordinates the activities of the claims personnel at the insurance companies with which Winn & Co. does business. Her guidance and expertise help our clients stay in compliance with state and federal laws and develop a competitive edge by minimizing Workers' Compensation costs.

After six years as a claims adjuster, she accepted the position of Safety Coordinator for a produce company that employed over 400 people. After leading the company through tremendous safety program improvements and Workers' Compensation cost reductions, Lupe joined California Compensation Insurance Company and served as the Loss Control Consultant for companies throughout Central California. She also assisted the Loss Control Manager, overseeing client operations in Yuma, Arizona and Southern California. Lupe then accepted an offer to go back with an employer as their Safety Director. For the following five years, she managed the safety program of six agricultural companies with a combined total of 800 employees.

Joining Winn & Co. in 1989, Tracey Dattilo has more than 20 years experience in the insurance and risk management fields. As Commercial Insurance Manager, Tracey oversees all aspects of our commercial insurance operations. She provides direction and support to our account managers and technical assistants. She works closely with clients and with insurance company underwriters to negotiate individual placements and overall agency programs. She continues to serve as the account representative negotiating pricing and coverage on behalf of many of our larger clients. Prior to working at Winn & Co., Tracey was a Quality Control Supervisor for 13 years, acting as the assistant to a risk manager. Her duties included overseeing the staff of account coordinators, producing policy summaries, and reviewing, issuing and checking of endorsements and audit verifications of all policies.

Tracey holds a Certified Insurance Counselor designation from the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors and is working toward her certified Risk Managers designation.

Shana Strohn joined Winn & Co. in 1997 and oversees all activities related to the agency operations for our firm. These include accounting, automation, purchasing, facility maintenance and all of the other supports aspects of our operation. She is very capable of supporting our insurance operations due to the fact that she was a commercial account manager at Winn & Co. before taking over as the operations manager.

Shana's prior experience also gives her outstanding experience and perspective for her position at Winn & Co. She spent 13 years as the office manager for a meat processing operation. This gave her insight into the complete field and plant exposures facing this firm. The company later expanded into the real estate development and construction areas. Again, Shana learned about all aspects of this industry. After finishing their development operations, the firm closed its doors.

Shana then moved on to Contempo Realty. She was the administrative assistant for 2 years learning more about the real estate business before joining Winn & Co. in 1997.

She is married and has two children and lives with her family on a cattle ranch. Her family enjoys many outdoor activities.

Chuck Somers joined Winn & Co. in March 1994 and now works as a business insurance producer specializing in the construction, manufacturing, and food processing industries. Chuck has developed an excellent understanding of the risk management needs of these industries and has built relationships with the insurance companies best suited to insure these operations. He regularly attends industry and trade association meetings and maintains a schedule of classes to keep up with industry changes and concerns.

He began his career in the insurance industry in 1983 after graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Finance. Early in his career, he worked for California Casualty Insurance Company in San Mateo. During his tenure, Chuck received formal and on-the-job training in a variety of insurance lines including homeowners, condominiums, apartments, and automobiles. In 1986,

Chuck joined Andreini & Company to produce and service business in their agriculture division, which was sponsored by the California Cattleman's Association and the California Dairyman's Association. Chuck completed a six- month in-house training program that was an excellent introduction to commercial insurance and Workers' Compensation and taught him valuable skills in matching the right insurance products with the needs of clients. He also worked with contractors, gaining extensive experience in addressing their unique insurance needs. He completed Certified Insurance Counselor and Insurance Education Association courses during this period, furthering his knowledge of the insurance field.

In 1990, Chuck joined a national insurance brokerage where he worked with large accounts until joining Winn & Co. in 1994.

Joining the Winn & Co. team in 2007, Craig Miner serves as an Account Executive committed to providing every customer with the attention and expertise they need to reach their goals. Together with the Winn staff, our Workers Compensation, Property, Casualty, and Automobile Liability insurance partners, he’s dedicated to our customers’ financial care and growth.

Prior to joining Winn, Craig worked at a regional insurance brokerage firm headquartered in Sacramento, where he specialized in loss control and risk management. He focused on the service needs of growers, packers, shippers, and processors along California’s Central Coast.

Craig has more than 15 years experience managing the service level commitments of business clients that have ranged in size from the very small to the fortune 100. His Account Management background includes serving the communication needs of the Federal Government and it’s general contractors, Intranet and Internet content hosting needs of the Web development community, and the enterprise network storage demands of fortune 100 companies like Sprint, Ford, Wal-Mart, and Bank One.

Craig’s insurance background includes the deployment of technology to improve efficiencies, behavior-based learning to improve safety, and risk management consulting to the transportation, contractor, financial, and technology industries. Craig is a certified Agribusiness and Farmers Insurance Specialist (AFIS).

Joining the Winn & Co. team in 2000, Tom Franco leads our life, health and financial services department. He helps clients address their employee benefit programs and financial services needs.

Tom has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industries. He was the director of risk management for the Curry Co. in Yosemite National Park for several years. There, he was responsible for the negotiation and administration of employee benefit and 401 K programs, administration of the Workers' Compensation program, and he managed general and auto liability claims activities.

After leaving the Yosemite Park area, he joined the County of Santa Cruz where he served as the occupational safety and health program manager. He administered employee training and CAL-OSHA programs, and oversaw the Workers' Compensation program.

Immediately prior to his position at Winn & Co., Tom was the senior loss prevention specialist for the County of Santa Clara's self-insured and self-administered general/auto liability insurance division. During that time, he also sold various financial services products including annuities, long-term care policies, variable universal life policies and disability income coverage.

Genie has been in the employee benefit field since 2002. She began her career as a Customer Service Representative working to place business on behalf of her customers and to provide ongoing customer service. Genie joined Winn & Company in 2003 and continued to develop her skills as a Customer Service Representative in the employee benefits area. She has expertise in the medical, dental, vision, voluntary products, long-term care, long-term disability, life insurance, and Medicare supplement options.

Genie then became a full-time life and health producer for Winn & Company and she continues in that role today. She works with our clients and prospects in developing programs to meet their individual goals and budgets. She coordinates with the Winn & Company support staff and carrier representatives to build comprehensive and effective programs. She has the knowledge and creativity to find solutions for her clients that others might miss. She designs group and individual plans and can address any coverage need.

Born and raised in Central California, Genie understands the local market. She is active in the insurance community and knows the options available. She is licensed and working on several designations to further her knowledge and expertise. She is looking forward to building her book of business to include clients throughout our Central California marketing region.

Lisa first started working in the Sales and Commercial Lines Departments at Winn & Company in 1977. From 1981 to 1987, she managed the Personal Lines Department expanding the client base and obtaining appointments to new markets to better serve the needs of our client base.

Lisa retired from work in 1987 to care for her young children only to return in 1994. She has continued to provide great customer service while cultivating a partnership with our Commercial Lines' clients to meet their insurance needs as well.

Lisa was named Top Producer in Sales from one of the selected carriers we do business with along with receiving their 2003 Customer Service Award for new business.

Bonnie Stark recently joined the Winn & Company team. Bonnie brings with her 24 years of Personal Lines experience. Of those years, 18 were with California State Automobile Association also known as AAA where she started in the capacity of Material Damage secretary and working her way through to other positions such as Bodily Injury secretary, Customer Service Representative, Customer Service Representative, Renewal Specialist and then promoted as Personal Lines Underwriter in 1995 where she remained until she retired in 1998.

Bonnie chose to continue working and with her wealth of knowledge easily landed at KBK Insurance Brokers in Watsonville, CA as a Personal Lines Account Manager where she provided customer service for next 5 years.

Due to expected growth in the Personal Lines Department, Winn & Company has since been fortunate to have Bonnie join our team. Please call her to discuss your personal insurance needs.

Bonnie Banta has been with Winn & Co. since 1997. During that time, she has worked with our Commercial and Personal Insurance clients helping to settle property and casualty claims. Prior to joining Winn & Co., Bonnie was a Business Litigation Paralegal. After earning her Paralegal certificate from Santa Clara University in 1989, she worked for two large law firms in the Bay Area specializing in corporate business litigation and intellectual property law. This experience gives Bonnie insight and expertise in helping clients to manage claims activity. She understands the coverages involved and the legal process that a larger, complex claim must follow. Working as the facilitator and coordinator between our clients and their insurance carriers, Bonnie manages the process to achieve the best possible results.

Bonnie combines her Paralegal background with her insurance training and practical experience to create strategies that best protect the interests of our clients. She regularly attends seminars on California case law updates. These seminars focus primarily on the insurance industry and how new case law will affect coverage under current and prior insurance contracts. Based on our clients' needs, Bonnie has concentrated her continuing education in several additional areas including construction defect litigation, subjects related to the various insured endorsements used in the market place today, and self-insured retention programs.

Veronica Harrington has been in the Workers' Compensation field since 1984 and she joined Winn & Co. in 2004. Veronica works with our clients to help manage and close Workers' Compensation claims. Her years of experience give her the ability to explain the claims process and provide strategies for specific situations. She plays a leadership role helping us achieve our goal of providing solutions to difficult Workers' Compensation claims.

She began her insurance career with Homeland Insurance Company as a medical only/claims assistant, handling claims in Texas, Oklahoma and California. During this time she completed several professional courses, receiving certificates in Workers' Compensation, medical terminology and permanent disability rating. In 1989, she became a Legal Assistant for the law firm of Salvatore Spano, a firm specializing in Workers' Compensation and personal injury cases. She also completed Paralegal/Secretary courses through Sawyer Business College.

Next, she worked for California Casualty Ins. Co. as a senior Workers' Compensation claims assistant. She continued her training through in-house courses in permanent disability rating, vocational rehabilitation and litigation.

Between 1998 and early 2004, she gained valuable experience as a claims examiner specializing in Workers' Compensation while working with Cambridge Innovative Care Systems, Ward North America, and Keenan and Associates. Prior to joining Winn & Co., she handled claims for the Santa Clara and Santa Cruz County School Districts. During this, time she completed several key training courses including a 12-week Special Investigations Unit Fraud course.