Jason T. (Jay) Farley is Assistant Vice President / Assistant Claims Manager At Merchants Bonding Company in West Des Moines Iowa. He is involved in management of Merchants' claims department and resolution of surety bond claims across the country. Before joining Merchants, Jay was a member at the Whitfield & Eddy law firm in Des Moines. He practiced in the firm's Construction and Surety Practice Group, which was rated by Best Lawyers as a Tier 1 "Best Law Firm" in the area of Construction Law. His practice involved all matters related to construction and surety law, with a focus on construction litigation. He represented contractors, sureties, project owners, and architects/engineers in numerous trials in state and federal court, AAA and private arbitrations, and mediations. He was rated by Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in construction litigation. He graduated from Washburn University School of Law (J.D.) in 2008 and the University of Kansas (B.S., Business Administration) in 2004.

Gavin M. Lankford is a partner at the law firm of Harris Beach, PLLC in Rochester, New York. He is a member of the firm's construction and surety practice group. He obtained a B.S. in applied economics and business management from Cornell University in 2000. He obtained a J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in 2003. Mr. Lankford has practiced exclusively in the areas of construction and surety law his entire career. Since the real estate crisis of 2008, a significant amount of his practice has involved defending subdivision claims. He is the co-chair of the New York State Bar Association Real Estate Construction Committee.

Diane Hastings Lewis is a shareholder with Brown & Ruprecht, PC in Kansas City, Missouri. She focuses her practice in surety and construction law, as well as professional liability defense and commercial/business litigation. Ms. Lewis is the Fidelity and Surety Committee liaison to the Women in the Law Committee and the 2018 Publications Chair.

Christy M. Maple is an associate with Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers LLP in Atlanta, Georgia. Christy represents insurers with respect to fidelity claims, as well as CGL and D&O claims. Christy also routinely defends insurers against alleged statutory and common law bad faith claims and extra-contractual damages. Christy earned her B.S. in Mathematics and German from Vanderbilt University, graduating, summa cum laude. She earned her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Kaile L. Mercuri an associate at Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn LLP, in New Orleans, graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science and received her Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She has been practicing with the firm for four years and her practice focuses on both surety and construction law.

Daniel D. (Dan) Pentecost is a licensed Ohio Attorney serving as Surety Claims Counsel with the Westfield Group in Westfield Center, Ohio. At this role for seven years, Daniel manages complex surety claims and contract performance defaults in several jurisdictions. He is also a frequent writer and lecturer on surety and construction law topics. Prior to joining the Westfield Group, Daniel was with Nationwide Insurance in the Office of General Counsel for five years where he specialized in insurance policy drafting and analysis. He is a member of the American Bar Association (Fidelity and Surety Law Committee) & the Ohio State Bar Association. Daniel earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio University and his J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 2006. He has been licensed to practice law in Ohio since 2007.

Jeremy T. Sentman is the Senior Vice President of Surety Claims for the Surety Management Company, LLC. He is the head of claims for the Lexon Surety Group. He obtained a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Illinois in 1994. Prior to working at Surety Management Company, LLC, Mr. Sentman worked for a large real estate developer in the Chicago-area where he oversaw the coordination of land acquisitions and development activities. During his time with the Surety Management Group, Mr. Sentman has handled numerous subdivision claims. He has worked successfully with municipalities all over the country to resolve subdivision claims.

Heather F. Shore is a shareholder with the law firm of Brown & Ruprecht, PC, where she focuses her practice in construction and surety law and commercial/business litigation. She represents sureties, contractors, subcontractors and owners on a wide-variety of construction and surety matters at state and national levels. She also handles default and delay damages claims, payment disputes, bid contests, MBE/DBE challenges, payment and performance bond claims, prevailing wage audits and issues (including Davis Bacon Act), and mechanic's liens. Ms. Shore is a frequent lecturer and author on construction law, surety law, ethics in estimating, and mechanic's liens. She earned her B.S. degree from the University of Colorado (Boulder) and her J.D. degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Ms. Shore has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® in the Area of Construction Law (2013-2017), Best Lawyers, Women in the Law (2017), Best Lawyers in America®, 19th Edition (2013) and 21st Edition (2014). In 2013, KC Magazine named Ms. Shore one of 30 Influential Women – Kansas City's most outstanding female civic and business leaders.

Ryan Springer has been with EMC Insurance Companies, based in Des Moines, Iowa, since May 2013. In his current role as Bond Claims Manager Ryan oversees all EMC surety and fidelity bond claims and indemnity actions throughout the fifty states. Prior to joining EMC, Ryan was in private practice with the firm Gunn Shank & Stover, PC, located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Ellen Sullivan is a claim executive at Travelers in Chicago. Ellen specializes in crime and cyber claims. Prior to going in-house, Ellen worked in private practice in the area of insurance coverage. Ellen earned her B.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned her J.D. from the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Aaron G. Weishaar is a principal and officer of Reinert Weishaar & Associates, P.C. in St. Louis, Missouri. Aaron is a native of the St. Louis area obtaining his bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in 1994 graduating Magna Cum Laude. While in law school, Aaron was a student editor and later became Editor-in-Chief for the Fidelity and Surety News, then a quarterly publication of the Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association. He joined the law firm now known as Reinert Weishaar & Associates after graduating from St. Louis University School of Law in 1999. He was selected to Super Lawyers as a "Rising Star" in Missouri in the areas of Construction/Surety from 2010-2012. Aaron has since been a presenter as well an author to a number of papers and publications in the areas of surety and construction law.

Douglass F. Wynne, Jr. a partner of Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn LLP, graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and received his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. His practice focuses on both surety and construction law.