Meet the Team

Mark Vuono serves as Divisional President after previously holding the position of Chief Underwriting Officer since the establishment of Great American’s Environmental Division. Reporting directly to corporate leadership, his primary duties are to oversee the overall strategic goals and objectives of the Division. Accumulating over 40 years of underwriting experience, Mark is an experienced leader and is based out of the Exton, Pennsylvania main office.

Prior to joining Great American, Mark held the position of Senior Vice President and Executive Underwriter for a leading P&C global insurance company. While serving in that role, he had corporate home office responsibilities for all pollution lines of business. His duties included business planning, product development, underwriter training, underwriting audit referral and approval of large or complex accounts and product lines.

He began his professional career in 1980 when he joined one of the nation's major waste disposal firms as an Environmental Specialist and Health and Safety Officer. In this capacity, he developed guidelines and procedures as required by Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and safe handling guidelines for chemicals at a hazardous waste treatment facility. In 1981, Mark joined the pollution legal liability division of a global insurance company as one of its original underwriters. He was responsible for overall profitability and became the youngest corporate officer at that time. His broad responsibilities included coverage and underwriting guideline development, supervision and training of personnel, preparation of risk control guidelines and reinsurance placement.

He later served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for a leading environmental insurance carrier where he was responsible for the overall operations of the company. In this role, he developed and managed the underwriting program which began with 300 accounts and $30 million in volume and grew to 2,500 accounts and over $250 million in volume. Mark later managed an operation that oversaw several commercial ventures including retail businesses, residential and commercial property management and management consulting.

Mark’s education includes a Master of Science in environmental engineering technology from Washington State University and a Bachelor of Science in earth science from Kean University.

Greg Kelder is a Divisional Senior Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division, serving as its Head of Claims. In this role, he manages the Division’s Claims department and serves as a member of its Senior Management team responsible for the overall strategic growth of the Division. With more than 30 years of environmental claim experience, he has developed particular business acumen in matters related to emerging environmental risks as well as broader challenges related to pollution, regulation, climate change issues and water policy. He brings specialized claim support and training to the Division and is based out of the Exton, Pennsylvania main office.

Greg joined Great American from a leading global insurance company, where he was Vice President of Claims with responsibilities including claims training coordination, environmental portfolio leader and participation on the corporate environmental product board. As a recognized leader on environmental and insurance issues, he has been requested to serve as a speaker for numerous corporations, universities and conferences throughout his career.

He is the President of the Steering Committee for the Environmental & Emerging Claim Manager Association (EECMA). In addition, he also serves on the Board for the Global Water Alliance and is a member of the Environmental Claims Journal Editorial Advisory Board, the Environmental Inn of Court, the PA Environmental Council, and the PA Bar Association.

Greg earned his Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School. He is also a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania, holding a Master’s Degree in environmental science and policy. While obtaining his degree at Penn, he was presented the Dean's Scholar Award, the Institute for Environmental Studies Award for Excellence and was chosen as a Wharton Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership (IGEL) participant for an Antarctica Leadership Venture.

Eric McCabe is a Divisional Senior Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division, serving as the Underwriting Director. In his role, he oversees underwriting operations for all lines of environmental insurance products and programs.

An attorney with an extensive environmental background, Eric provides expert guidance to his team of underwriters. Eric has accumulated over 25 years of experience working within the environmental field - with over 15 years in environmental insurance. He is based out of New York.

Prior to joining Great American, Eric worked for a large internationally known insurance company. There, Eric gained environmental claims experience as he progressed within the pollution claims unit. After five years of claims, Eric decided to transfer internally to the underwriting group. This is where Eric honed his underwriting skills, dealing with complex accounts and risk transfer solutions.

Eric began his environmental career as an Environmental Chemist, conducting various organic and inorganic analyses in accordance with EPA and ASTM methods. After earning his Juris Doctorate degree, he started working at the Town of Smithtown’s Department of Environment & Waterways (DEW). At that time, the DEW had the largest environmental budget of any municipality in New York State. Responsibilities of the agency included landfill oversight, State Environmental Quality Reviews (SEQR), environmental enforcement, and oversight for town environmental compliance issues pursuant to federal, state and county statutes and regulations.

Kelsey Hill is a Divisional Assistant Vice President of Communications within Great American’s Environmental Division. In her current role, Kelsey is responsible for all communication strategies of the Division ensuring that its unique culture and distinctive brand are demonstrated consistently, both internally and externally. With her team, she develops marketing initiatives to support various business development strategies including new product development and broker relationship management.

Accumulating over a decade of experience in marketing a variety of technical products and services, she leads her team of professionals in crafting editorial content and creating educational platforms to showcase the Division’s distinct environmental insurance products and services throughout the industry. In addition, her team is responsible for training efforts of the Division’s staff and brokers which includes identifying learning & development opportunities and developing its corresponding resources. Kelsey is based out of the Great American headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Prior to joining Great American, Kelsey managed executive and strategy communications for leading multinational independent investment bank and financial services company. During her tenure, she developed and managed communications strategies for a variety of the firm’s cross-organizational efforts including quarterly financial earnings, business growth initiatives, acquisitions, crisis management, technology enhancements and regulatory changes. She has also served in various roles within marketing and corporate communications for several industries including public utilities, nonprofits and travel technology.

Kelsey earned her Bachelor of Science in public relations and Master of Science in business management from the University of Florida. During her academic career, Kelsey served as President of the Public Relations Student Society of America and obtained a certificate in Tourism and Hospitality Business Management.

Sara Brothers is a Divisional Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division, serving as a consultant for the Claims Department. In her role, she provides expertise in loss control consulting to support the underwriting and claims units. She is responsible for identifying and communicating emerging environmental regulatory and technical trends as well as understanding how these emerging issues may affect Great American and its insureds. Sara is based out of the New York office.

Sara is a recognized environmental industry expert, who brings over 30 years of environmental consulting and construction management experience to Great American. Her background includes working as a Senior Geologist with extensive consulting and industry experience in the petroleum, industrial, commercial and government sectors.

Before joining Great American, she was a Senior Vice President of a highly respected consulting and engineering company, where she managed the unit responsible for the remediation and assessment of complex closed facilities and oil refineries. During her tenure, Sara formed and led the company’s environmental insurance practice, which specialized in providing underwriting and claims support to the environmental insurance industry. Prior to this, Sara worked in the consulting industry, managing Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action and closure projects in the U.S. and Canada for an international waste management company as well as leading teams responsible for semiconductor facility construction at a multinational corporation and technology company.

Sara obtained her Master of Business Administration from UNM Anderson School of Management, her Master of Science in geology from University of New Mexico, and her Bachelor of Science in geology from Harvard University, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

Paul Scian is a Loss Control Manager with Great American’s Environmental Division, serving as head of the Risk Engineering Department. In his role, he oversees all technical initiatives and provides expertise in loss control consulting to support the underwriting and claims units. Paul and his team contribute specialized technical guidance and training to the Division. Bringing over 30 years of environmental and pollution insurance consulting experience to Great American, Paul is based out of our New York City office.

Prior to joining Great American, Paul served as national engineering manager for a leading global insurance organization, where he managed the environmental engineering and underwriting support for the New York region while working closely with underwriters, claims analysts, actuaries and IT teams on implementing new systems.

Paul’s background includes extensive technical engineering, environmental insurance, risk assessments and environmental consulting experience, focusing on all aspects of due diligence, insurance placements, real estate projects, M&A financial transactions, product operations, site remediation and liability transfer opportunities. Through his work with environmental risk quantification, he has developed risk profiles for evaluating risk probabilities associated with property transfers, environmental remediation and investment opportunities. Paul also has detailed experience in prospect evaluation, risk management, crafting endorsements, claim and policy negotiation, policy re-writes, environmental consulting and remediation both in the United States and internationally.

Paul received his Master of Science in hydrogeology from the University of Massachusetts, Bachelor of Arts in geology from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Ramapo College. Paul is a licensed Professional Geologist and New Jersey UST Subsurface Evaluator and Closure. He also attended the United States Air Force Academy’s engineering program.

Kirk Davenport is a Divisional Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division, serving as program director and an executive underwriter. By leveraging his technical expertise with his underwriting experience, he develops best-in-class solutions for unique environmental liability accounts. He also spearheads the development and management of the Division’s program initiatives. He has accumulated over 25 years working within the environmental insurance field and brings specialized guidance to the underwriting team. Kirk is based out of the Exton, Pennsylvania main office.

Prior to joining Great American, Kirk worked for a leading global insurance company where he most recently held the position of Senior Underwriter and underwrote environmental liability insurance related to fixed facilities throughout North America.

Kirk’s career began as a Laboratory Technician, conducting various analyses in accordance with EPA and ASTM methods. He then transitioned to an environmental consulting and emergency response company where he conducted and managed a variety of site investigation and remediation activities pertaining to brownfields, industrial facilities and underground storage tank sites. He was later hired by a leading provider of emergency response, environmental remediation and waste management services where he implemented and managed all aspects of maintenance and remediation activities for industrial clients.

Kirk obtained his Master of Business Administration in environmental management from University of Texas at Arlington and his Bachelor of Science in microbiology from Penn State University.

Rick Ringenwald is a Divisional Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division. In his role, Rick’s primary responsibilities range from product line management to contributing to program development and underwriting unique specialty accounts. He is a dynamic member of the Underwriting team, managing a number of key initiatives while focusing on supporting the strategic business of the Division and is based out of the Exton, Pennsylvania main office.

He joins Great American from his previous position as Executive Vice President and regional team leader for a leading global advisory, brokering and solutions company. During a successful 15-year tenure there, he directed all environmental brokerage and business development efforts in the Northeast and Atlantic regions.

Rick began his career as an Environmental Consultant, with his efforts focused on conducting environmental due diligence for clients in the mid-Atlantic. He then transitioned to a role as corporate environmental manager at a Fortune 500 company where he was responsible for environmental, safety and health compliance along with environmental due diligence of facilities that were being acquired. He eventually spearheaded the beginning of his environmental insurance career as a regional manager focused on site pollution coverage. The longevity and environmental experience Rick has gained throughout the years has made him a recognized leader within the industry.

Rick obtained his Master of Science in environmental health from Temple University and his Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from University of Vermont.

Heather Boyd is a Divisional Assistant Vice President with Great American’s Environmental Division. In her current role on the Underwriting team, Boyd works to provide best-in-class environmental insurance products and services to current and prospective clients. Heather has taken on a valuable leadership role within the Division, managing an experienced team of underwriters while actively participating in the business and budgeting process. With over 20 years of environmental knowledge, she combines her industry experience with best practices to deliver custom insurance solutions to clients and is based out of the Boston, Massachusetts office.

Heather began her career with a leading environmental consulting firm in Massachusetts as an environmental consultant. She later joined a multinational energy corporation, where she served as Site Manager and Environmental Consultant managing remediation and related claims concerns across the Rockies and West Coast. She continued her environmental career with an environmental and social risk management consulting company, consulting on extensive oil and gas development projects in developing countries. Before joining Great American, Heather began underwriting environmental exposures with a global insurance company, drawing from her extensive prior experiences which also include environmental compliance and environmental impact assessments. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in environmental affairs with an English minor from the University of New Hampshire.

Patrick currently serves as a Divisional Vice President for Great American’s Environmental Division. In his role, Patrick works directly with the Underwriting team as an underwriter. Patrick also has the role of manager over all of the Underwriting team’s associate underwriters, helping to ensure high-quality products and efficiencies for the Division. Patrick has accumulated 20 years working in the insurance field and has been with Great American’s Environmental Division since 2008, served as the regional manager for the Division’s Midwest region until 2017 and is based out of the Exton, Pennsylvania main office.

Patrick entered the insurance field as a Personal / Commercial Lines Underwriter with a fortune 500 mutual insurance company and has also worked with a large, publicly traded property and casualty insurance company as a multinational underwriter where he underwrote commercial property and casualty coverages for numerous global companies. Prior to Great American, Patrick worked for a multi-line reinsurer as an environmental underwriter underwriting pollution legal liability and real estate lenders pollution policies. Patrick earned his Bachelor of Science in conservation biology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He holds the CPCU designation.

Richard Viglianese is a Divisional Assistant Vice President for Great American’s Environmental Division. In his role on the Underwriting team, he provides unique solutions for key clients by analyzing and implementing environmental liability insurance while also managing a group of experienced underwriters. Rich is a skilled leader dedicated to coaching his team of experienced underwriters and is based out of the New York office.

Prior to joining Great American, Rich began his career at a leading multinational finance and insurance company as an Environmental Claims Assistant working with Secured Creditor and Cost Cap policies. He held various positions of increasing responsibility and ultimately became an environmental underwriter for the New York region. His underwriting focus was initially geared towards small business environmental service and construction industries across the U.S. and Canada. After which, he transitioned his focus to larger national and corporate accounts placing insurance in the Northeast. Rich earned his Bachelor of Science degree in environmental policy, institutions and behaviors with a focus in United States environmental and resource policy from Rutgers University. Additionally, he went on to obtain an Associate’s Degree in risk management from American Institute for Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriters.