Contact Us
PHONE | 407.894.3797
Address : 1011 E Colonial Dr. Ste 500, Orlando, FL 32803
Doug Head
Executive Director
A veteran of the life settlement industry for almost 20 years, Doug Head serves as Executive Director of LISA. From 1999 to 2001, Doug served as president of LISA’s Board of Directors. Doug’s contributions to the life settlement industry cannot be overstated. Entering the secondary market in the early 1990’s Doug is widely recognized as an expert in secondary market legislative and governmental affairs. As one of the earliest advocates for the passage of strong consumer-oriented legislation, Doug regularly speaks on behalf of LISA in state capitols and before regulatory bodies throughout the United States.
The meteoric rise of the life settlement industry has brought much acclaim and criticism. As Executive Director, Doug plays an essential role in shaping the public discourse on life settlements, regularly fending off unwarranted attacks in the media, legislative rooms and elsewhere. Doug is proud to lead LISA in its mission to educate consumers, investors and policy makers on the benefits of the secondary market.
During Doug’s tenure as Executive Director, LISA membership has increased ten-fold. From a small group of dedicated companies to a membership base of over 140 life settlement entities, LISA stands today as the largest and most diverse association in the secondary market. This growth brings substantial gains to the association’s reserves. In turn, Doug’s capacity to lead the fight to preserve the legally established property rights of consumers is substantially increased. On a daily basis, you will find Doug advancing the strategic goals of this vibrant industry, LISA members and the consumers that they serve.
Will Menezes
Business Manager
Since 2005, Will Menezes has served as LISA’s business manager. During this period, Will has helped oversee a tripling in LISA membership, the largest expansion of membership growth the association has ever experienced. As daily leader of a small but talented work force, Will performs a variety of duties crucial to the daily success of LISA. These include, but are certainly not limited to, marketing for LISA and our members, materials and information technology production, programmatic development as well as other ongoing projects. Additionally, Will effectively manages the association’s human resources needs, oversees its technology and accounting, and supports the Public Relations Department.
As business manager, Will has helped develop some of the industries’ most important working committees to include the LISA Political Committee, Best Practices Committee, and LISA involvement with the Insurance Educational Council. In response to the growing need for state by state legislative support, Will helped implement the newly formed LISAPAC, the governmental advocacy arm of this association. On behalf of LISA, Will continues to offer innovative initiatives and ideas to LISA members in the service of the association and the industry at large. On a daily basis, Will connects with our membership base to maintain the outstanding progress the association has made to date.
Daniel Harris
Director of Government Affairs
As Director of Government Affairs, Daniel provides indispensible leadership to LISA’s regulatory and legal endeavors. Working closely with the Executive Director, Daniel supports the association’s efforts to create a sound and transparent regulatory structure for an industry undergoing extensive legal changes. Daniel performs vital legislative and regulatory analysis while managing LISA’s official position on a variety of compliance and legal issues. As the legal and political landscape shifts, Daniel regularly attends relevant industry events to remain abreast of the latest developments, research and emerging issues. In addition to his regular duties in our home office, Daniel provides integral support to the LISA Legal Committee and LISAPAC. In the past two years, the secondary market’s political and regulatory environment has shifted considerably. The market is now under the watchful eye of the federal government. Multiple new laws were enacted in 2009 and new rules are presently being contemplated. LISA’s ability to continue to positively influence these developments is critical to the long term viability of the industry. Daniel’s ongoing service to the association, its members and consumers is invaluable.
Michael Kreiter
Legislative and Regulatory Liaison
Core to LISA’s mission is the advancement of a transparent and sound regulatory structure. As Legislative and Regulatory Liaison, Michael is supporting a fundamental aspect of LISA’s efforts in the industry. Michael’s regular duties include tracking all currently proposed legislation and regulation, researching emerging developments among state regulators and industry associations as well as maintaining communications with state legislative/regulatory staff. In addition to his regulatory duties, Michael is responsible for much of the internal website content to include the daily posting of all industry news, regulatory documents and any supporting materials. Michael is the author of our weekly Life Settlement E-newsletter covering the latest news, events and legislative notes. On a daily basis, Michael diligently supports the Executive Director and the Legal Department. As a member of a small staff, Michael is an integral part of a cohesive team working to advance LISA and the members that we serve.
Karla Ortiz
Conference Manager / Events Director
The growth and success of LISA is inextricably tied to the success of our Events Department. As head of this department, Karla provides critical leadership in every aspect of the planning, marketing and execution of LISA conferences and specialty seminars. Since 2005, Karla has guided the growth of all LISA events as the industry has seen a dramatic surge in interest and participation. As a result, the secondary market has experienced an equally dramatic rise in conference and events competition. Anticipating these trends, Karla has more than tripled the events on LISA’s calendar, going well beyond our traditional bi-annual conferences. The calendar now includes a broad range of specialty seminars, summits and forums for professionals from every industry segment. Karla has significantly advanced our events planning process creating the Conference Committee whereby members are afforded the opportunity to serve in the critical decision making process of content development. The importance of our continued success in the events arena cannot be overstated. Each year, our events represent the best and the brightest of the secondary market, regularly drawing record attendance. Revenue generated by these outstanding forums significantly supports our efforts in a variety of other arenas essential to the success of the secondary market. Our members are strongly encouraged to contact the Events Department to learn more about what we have in store for 2010 and beyond.
Shannon Leigh Fleshman
Conference Services and Product Sales
With the rapid growth of the secondary market, the need for additional leadership in our Events Department has dramatically increased. To this end, LISA welcomed Shannon Fleshman aboard in 2008. Shannon has proved invaluable in our efforts to respond to the high level of interest in life settlement industry events. With Shannon’s help, the Events Department has appreciably increased and maintained robust attendance in LISA conferences. Indeed, in recent months, the Events Department determined to enter the online webinar arena and Shannon has led our efforts. From research, to organization, to marketing and execution, Shannon has managed our efforts in this new medium from the start. As a result of these efforts, the depth and scope of our events calendar has expanded considerably. In addition to events outreach and preparation, Shannon is instrumental in marketing and promoting the many opportunities offered by LISA. Event exhibit space, advertisements and sponsorships have all benefited from her promotion and guidance. Shannon has enthusiastically embraced her responsibilities and has consistently employed a variety of creative approaches to further advance LISA events throughout the nation. LISA members seeking to get more involved in our many yearly events may contact Shannon in our home office.
Madeline Garcia
Accounting Services
Maddy serves as our Accounting Services Manager. Maddy brings a wealth of experience having worked in the banking sector for fifteen years and the non-profit sector for 7. As the preeminent life settlement association, LISA commands a broad array of proceeds, revenue and expenditures. Daily, Maddy combines tremendous organizational and administrative skills to manage all LISA financials, including member dues, operational expenses, committee funding, and events. Maddy is responsible for the accuracy of all association accounts and, on a monthly basis, generates the association’s financial reports for the official record. In addition to managing the association’s financials, Maddy is a significant factor in our efforts to maintain open lines of communication with our members – a point of pride for the LISA office and its staff.
