Our People

Avemco Employees

Michael Donovan – President
Michael began his career with HCC in 1983 as an assistant aviation underwriter and since that time has served in various positions including Director, Executive Vice President and President (of HC Aviation). He has been an officer of Avemco since 2007 and currently serves as President and Executive Vice President of Avemco. Michael is from Lewisham, England where he attended Bromley College before focusing on aviation insurance as a career. He is a member of the Helicopter Association International as well as the Aviation Insurance Association.

Mike Adams - Vice President of Underwriting

Mike Adams – Vice President, Underwriting
Mike first learned to fly in Hillsboro, Oregon. That interest in aviation led him to a position at the local office of National Insurance Underwriters, which eventually led him to join Avemco. While Mike's job is to decide what Avemco will insure his goal is to help customers understand why these decisions are designed to keep them safe. "I want customers to understand that buying their aircraft is a transaction. But buying their aircraft insurance is a partnership. And when they partner with Avemco, we're in this together with them to make sure they're protected if something bad should ever happen."

Lauretta Godbey - Vice President of Marketing

Lauretta Godbey – Vice President, Marketing & Public Relations Director
A native of Maryland, Lauretta received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, Texas. After returning to Maryland, she became a member of AOPA's marketing department from 1990 to 1997, which included managing the association's aircraft insurance program marketing communications. The experience gave Lauretta a deep appreciation of the importance of loss prevention. "I quickly developed a passion and commitment for the safety and wellbeing of the pilots I admired so much. And that enthusiasm has grown exponentially since I began working here at Avemco in 1999."

Michael Kerwin - Vice President of Underwriting

Michael Kerwin – Vice President, Analytics
A third-generation insurance professional, Mike earned his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation - the industry's highest achievement - in 1984, and has since taught several thousand hours of insurance courses, including more than 40 lectures around the country. However, he likes to think of himself more as an aviation insurance historian. "My job is to create a mathematical picture of the company's claims over the past 10 years. That's because you look to the past to predict the future." But Mike's first passion is a winged subject of a different kind: birds. He's currently regarded as one of the country's top amateur ornithologists.

Tom Fraley - Assistant Vice President of Operations

Tom Fraley – Vice President, Support Operations
Tom started at Avemco in 1997 and has continually watched the complexity of Information Technology become greater and greater. "My favorite part of this job is tackling the challenges associated with ever-evolving technologies and applying them to make Avemco a more efficient company." That can-do attitude has helped Tom successfully manage the complete IT needs of the company along with related general operations tasks. Tom's other interests include spending time with his wife and four children, as well as coaching area baseball and softball teams.

Marci Veronie - Assistant Vice President of Sales

Marci Veronie – Vice President, Sales
A graduate of the Bradford School of Business in Pittsburgh, Marci is still unabashedly fanatical about her job after 25 years with Avemco. "There isn't a day I haven't jumped out of bed and been happy to come to work. I'm like a cheerleader. My job is to help the underwriters help our customers. And I'm proud of what we offer. I'm passionate about representing the company that stands for aviation insurance." Marci is an active member of Women in Aviation and the local DC chapter. Marci's other passions include travel, fashion, art, and spending time with her husband, son and pet bulldog.

Lesly Potts - Senior Aviation Underwriter

Lesly Potts – Aviation Sales & Service Underwriter Senior
Lesly first joined Avemco from 1985-'88. She took a nine-year hiatus to raise two children in her native Frederick, Maryland, returning to Avemco in 1998. And she's been a proud employee ever since. "I love getting people excited about becoming a part of the Avemco family. That's because I feel great about our product and enjoy helping pilots understand the value of our policies. Once I show them the benefits, it just opens their eyes right up." When not helping Avemco customers, Lesly can be found helping out in her church community.

Kim Skipper - Senior Aviation Underwriter

Kim Skipper – Aviation Sales & Service Underwriter Senior
Having been with Avemco for over 22 years, Kim says there's nothing she can't handle. "I love the fact that my experience combined with being a direct underwriter allows me to deliver immediate answers to the customers. Plus, I get to develop a one-on-one relationship with many of them. For me, it's like talking to your best buddy." During Kim's tenure with Avemco she spent nights and weekends earning the designation of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), the insurance industry's highest achievement. When Kim isn't helping Avemco customers, she's helping the needy by knitting and crocheting items for donation through Project Linus.

Luke Barnette – Aviation Sales Senior Underwriter
Right out of college, Luke began working in the insurance business as a personal claims representative. That responsibility was a superb learning experience for him, but he wanted a new challenge. So he joined Avemco in 2007. "What I love about Avemco is the great diversity of people you get to deal with. There are the young folks just starting out in aviation, the people who fly for business, and the older pilots who've been flying for decades. It's a wonderful mix." When not at work, Luke devotes his time to hunting and fishing in the woods and lakes of Maryland.

Stephanie Brown – Aviation Sales Underwriter
Stephanie first began working at Avemco in 1992 as a service underwriter. And the one thing that drew her to the position is what still motivates her today: "I like the problem-solving aspect of being an underwriter. Every call is something new. It may be a different aircraft or a different set of circumstances, and my goal is always to figure out how to help the person on the other end of the phone." Outside of work, Stephanie is a scrapbooking enthusiast and yearly visitor to the Reading Air Show in Pennsylvania.

Helen Davis – Aviation Service Underwriter
When Helen started at Avemco in 1991, she was nervous about working as an aviation underwriter. But that didn't last long. "I love it! I've always loved aviation, yet I wasn't sure I was the right fit for this position. But the pilots turned out to be such a fun group of characters." Helen's energetic and glowing personality even motivated one customer to ship her a package of fresh salmon from his home state of Alaska. "I couldn't accept it, of course, but it was such an honor to think I had made that kind of connection with a customer."

Matthew Jones – Aviation Sales Underwriter
Although Matthew is one of the newest members of the Avemco team – coming on board in 2010 – he's a longtime aviation enthusiast. In fact, he graduated from Penn State with a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering. "With a life-long love of aviation and a professional background in sales and service, being an underwriter with Avemco seemed like the perfect fit." When not helping customers with their insurance needs, Matthew is an avid Washington Redskins fan and an active participant in mixed martial arts.

Gayle Palm – Aviation Service Underwriter
"Aviation is my career." Since 1981, Gayle has been helping Avemco customers get the best coverage around. "I really enjoy what I do. My main goal is to be a good listener and try to provide people with exactly what they want. My motto is 'Be quiet and listen,' and it has served me well for all of these years." In addition to being a great listener, Gayle has a knack for fluently explaining to pilots the value of Avemco in comparison to other insurance offerings. And pilots have heeded her advice for more than three decades.

Bryon Schwartz – Aviation Service Underwriter
Bryon has been an aviation buff his entire life, and even considered becoming an astronaut. He settled for making astronomy a hobby, but refused to settle when it came to becoming a pilot. He earned his commercial rating for both single- and multi-engine aircraft in 1990, and joined Avemco in 1999. Bryon considers his aviation background invaluable when it comes to helping customers. "Being a pilot is really helpful in this position because I can understand exactly what customers' needs are, and I can hopefully provide pilots with proven sources of loss prevention strategies."

Patrick Smith – Aviation Sales Underwriter
As a lifelong aviation enthusiast, Patrick began flying in 2004 before attending Liberty University in Virginia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics. Since then, he's gone on to log more than 2,000 hours, in addition to gaining his commercial single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. Patrick has even worked as a flight instructor, helping introduce new pilots to aviation. But his greatest passion is aircraft of a different kind. "Flying hot air balloons is probably the most rewarding type of flying for me, and I love having the opportunity to take people up for their very first ride."