Commissioner Lara announces several reappointments to statewide advisory boards

News: 2026 Press Release

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara today announced several reappointments to the California Department of Insurance’s statewide governing boards to help drive forward the Department’s mission to protect California consumers and businesses.

“I am pleased to announce the continued service of experienced leaders across several key advisory bodies that support my and the Department’s work,” said Commissioner Lara. “I have every confidence that these returning board members will serve in the best interest of all Californians. The advice and diverse perspectives of these appointees are critical to continuing my Department’s mission to protect consumers across our state and ensure a robust insurance marketplace in California.”

These reappointments include:

• Robert Sturm to the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) Advisory Panel
• Debra Gore to the California Organized Investment Network (COIN)
• Jesse Dogillo to the Curriculum Board
• Cecil Plummer and Linda Akutagawa to the Insurance Diversity Task Force (IDTF)
• Jeremy Smith to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) Governing Committee

The CEA provides earthquake insurance for California homeowners, condominium owners, mobile homeowners, and renters. The CEA Advisory Panel advises the Governing Board of the CEA on issues including basic insurance coverage issues, CEA’s insurance rates, long-term sustainability and survivability of the CEA, and availability and affordability of earthquake coverage.

The California Organized Investment Network (COIN) was established in 1996 within the Department of Insurance to help guide insurers on making financially sound investments that yield environmental benefits throughout California and social benefits within the State’s underserved communities. Commissioner Lara has prioritized COIN investments which drive affordable housing, support small businesses, combat climate change, and encourage investors to utilize diverse investment managers more. The COIN Advisory Board provides guidance to the Commissioner and the COIN program to meet its mission and chief priorities.

The Curriculum Board oversees the development of pre-licensing and continuing educations curriculum for agents and brokers to uphold professional standards that protect consumers. This includes a list of preapproved courses of study as well as courses of study for professional designations. This Board also develops standards for providers and instructors who offer courses and other training to licenses agents and brokers. 

The Insurance Diversity Task Force (IDTF) advises the Department’s nationally-recognized Insurance Diversity Program (as part of the Office of Insurance Diversity and Innovation), which encourages insurers to expand access and economic inclusion with diverse business owners, such as a woman-owned, veteran-/disabled veteran-owned, historically disadvantaged community-owned, people with disabilities-owned, or LGBTQ+-owned businesses, as well as advance diversity of insurance company corporate boards. The Task Force makes recommendations to the Insurance Commissioner regarding innovative ways to increase diversity within the insurance industry.

The WCIRB Governing Committee sets policy, oversees WCIRB management, and reviews all issues involving pure premium rates, classifications, rating plans, rating systems, manual rules and policy, and endorsement forms. The WCIRB is a private organization licensed by the Department for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and compiling rating data, with funding coming from assessments of its insurance company members. All workers’ compensation insurance companies in California are required by law to be members of the WCIRB.  

Upcoming board meetings:

• CEA Advisory Panel meeting is on June 4, 2026
• COIN Advisory Board meeting is on August 6, 2026
• Curriculum Board meeting is on July 16, 2026
• Insurance Diversity Task Force meeting is on June 10, 2026
• WCIRB Governing Committee meeting is scheduled for April 16, 2026

More details are available at: www.insurance.ca.gov/boards. All positions are uncompensated.

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Media Notes:

Appointed members include:

CEA Advisory Panel:

Robert Strum is Senior Vice President, Chief Litigation Officer for CSAA Insurance Group. Sturm is a longstanding licensed attorney and licensed insurance agent, with more than 18 years of direct insurance industry experience out of 33 total years of legal experience. He is responsible for all litigation practice groups, including Corporate, Employment, Insurance Defense/Internal Staff Counsel, Extra-Contractual/Coverage and Subrogation. Prior to CSAA, Sturm was Assistant General Counsel, Employment Law at JELD-WEN Windows & Doors. He is also an elected member of the Lafayette School District Governing Board. Sturm has been reappointed to the CEA Advisory Panel in the insurance company representative seat with a term ending on March 23, 2030.

COIN Advisory Board:

Debra Gore is on the Executive Team of Self Help Federal Credit Union where she provides strategic investments, partnerships, and community capital absorption that support and amplify underserved market sectors focused mostly in the state of California. Prior to Self Help, Gore also served as the President & CEO of The Greenlining Institute. Gore has over 25+ years of leadership in nonprofit and private research universities and over 10 years of private sector business development expertise having worked in investment banking, international infrastructure development and engineering. She serves on multiple nonprofit and foundation boards that strive to serve communities whose work includes criminal justice, youth life and educational opportunities, youth and young adults in sports, and economic opportunity. Gore has been reappointed to the COIN Advisory Board as a representative with experience seeking investments for low-to-moderate-income or rural communities with a term ending on March 23, 2028.

Curriculum Board:

Jesse Dogillo is Principal and Founder of the Bay Area Financial & Insurance Services, which provides insurance and financial services to individuals and small business owners in Silicon Valley. Dogillo is contracted through the Office of Financial Readiness (OSW) to provide financial counseling and education services to current U.S. military service members. He also taught at the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Risk Management/Insurance Instructor. Dogillo serves as Trustee of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and was President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, is a past President of the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council, and past President of the Asian American Financial & Insurance Professional Association (Northern California Chapter). Dogillo has been reappointed to the Curriculum Board in the life agent representative seat with a term ending on March 3, 2029.

Insurance Diversity Task Force:

Cecil Plummer is Founder of Cecil Plummer Consulting, with more than two decades of executive leadership experience spanning strategic sourcing, supplier diversity, change management, and strategic planning. He previously served as CEO of Fastr.ai (an HR Tech startup) and as President and CEO of the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council (WRMSDC), which works to create jobs and economic impact for low-to-moderate income communities by supporting and promoting entrepreneurs and connecting them with contract opportunities with Fortune 1000 companies and large public entities. Plummer has been reappointed to the Task Force as an advocate/expert of supplier diversity with a term ending on March 23, 2028.

Linda Akutagawa is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP) an organization through which she is committed to developing Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) leaders. She is the past Chair of the Alliance for Board Diversity, a national organization focused on advancing gender and ethnic/racial diversity on corporate boards, of which LEAP is a partner organization. In addition, she is a Board Member of the AAPI Equity Alliance (a co-founding organization of #StopAAPIHate), an Executive Committee member of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of national Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander serving organizations, a member of the Asian/Asian American Institute Advisory Board at California State University at Los Angeles (CSULA) and a Board member of Japanese American Community Services (JACS). Akutagawa has been reappointed to the Task Force as an advocate/expert of governing board diversity with a term ending on March 23, 2028.

WCIRB Governing Committee:

Jeremy Smith is the Chief of Staff at the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California (Council). Prior to his current role, he served as the Deputy Legislative Director for the Council for 10 years. Smith previously worked as a Legislative Advocate at the California Labor Federation and began his career in the organized labor as the Legislative Director of the Illinois AFL-CIO in 2001 after staffing the Senate Labor and Employment Committee in the Illinois State Senate. Smith has been reappointed to the WCIRB Governing Committee in the organized labor representative seat with a term ending on March 23, 2028.