ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 4, 2013 – InVEST, the insurance industry’s premier classroom to career education program, recently announced that Carol McClelland, CAE, has joined its national board. McClelland is the executive director of the Independent Insurance Agents of Nebraska (IIAN).
“InVEST is proud to announce Carol McClelland has joined our distinguished group of board members,” says Heather Minkler, InVEST board chair and CEO of Clark-Mortenson Agency, an independent agency in Keene, N.H. “Carol brings more than 30 years of experience in the independent agency system and InVEST to our board of directors. She was instrumental in developing one of the first InVEST community college certificate programs at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colo. and we look forward to drawing from her expertise.”
McClelland’s entire career has been in the independent agency system. She worked for two independent agencies in Colorado before joining the Colorado Big “I” as director of education in 1982. She served as Metropolitan Insurance Women, Denver president from 1986 to 1987 and as Independent Agents Association Executives president in 1996. In 1987, she joined the IIAN as executive director. Nationally, McClelland has served on a number of Big “I” committees.
She currently serves on the Big “I” Council for Best Practices and the InVEST board. She is also an American Society of Association Executives member and serves on the Nebraska Society of Association Executives board. McClelland earned a bachelor’s degree in non-profit management from University of Denver and the Certified Association Executive professional designation. She also completed the Management Development Program at University of Nebraska.
“InVEST is critically important not just to the future of the independent agency system, but to the insurance industry as a whole,” says Robert Rusbuldt, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA or the Big “I”) president & CEO. “Survey results from the Agency Universe Study by Future One (a collaboration of the Big ‘I’ and leading independent agency companies) pointed to InVEST as crucial to the future of the industry, with a majority of respondents stating the insurance industry should encourage high schools and community colleges to help students plan for insurance careers. Educators, volunteers, agents and industry leaders, like Carol McClelland, are key to the success of this program.”
As a 501(c)(3) educational trust, InVEST benefits from the support of numerous insurance organizations, hundreds of agencies, brokers and volunteers. The program provides the insurance industry with motivated, talented and intelligent professionals through a support structure of state associations, board members, national staff, teachers and the many industry professionals who work in the field as classroom liaisons.
Founded in 1970 and based in Alexandria, Va., InVEST promotes insurance education in order to attract individuals to pursue a career in the insurance industry. Each year, the program prepares thousands of students for insurance-related careers with a hands-on curriculum taught in high schools, adult education centers and colleges. The high school curriculum is a business-education program that utilizes a hands-on approach which simulates an insurance agency and company operations to prepare students for various business careers and create more knowledgeable insurance consumers. At the college level, InVEST is an information-intensive curriculum of risk management and financial services. These courses provide students with a working knowledge of the basics needed to pursue careers in the insurance industry. For more information, go to www.investprogram.org.
Founded in 1896, the Big “I” is the nation’s oldest and largest national association of independent insurance agents and brokers, representing a network of approximately a quarter of a million agents, brokers and their employees nationally. Its members are businesses that offer customers a choice of policies from a variety of insurance companies. Independent agents and brokers offer all lines of insurance—property, casualty, life, health, employee benefit plans and retirement products. Web address: www.independentagent.com.