Our Story

Vice President, Communications. Roni began her career as a college grammar teacher, but moved to the publishing industry as communications director for an international newspaper industry association and editor-in-chief for a marketing magazine. After a long stint as a volunteering-mother-cum-communications-consultant, she joined the insurance industry and has spent a decade on the A Team. An eternal English student, she owns dozens of grammar textbooks and dictionaries, including an unabridged, multivolume edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, complete with magnifying glass. roni@Aartrijk.com 

Writer. Kevin is president of the Florida Insurance School of Continuing Education (FISCE) and the CE Partnership. He started his insurance career as a marketing intern before pounding the pavement as a commercial lines agent in Orlando, Florida. He is a national faculty member for the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research’s CIC and Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) programs. As an industry journalist, his articles have appeared in a variety of trade publications. His insurance television career, short-lived but glorious, once saw him serve as the expert adviser on an insurance-themed infomercial (yes, you read that correctly). info@Aartrijk.com 

Managing Editor & Account Executive. Maureen began her career out of graduate school at the Defense Intelligence Agency before leaving to raise five kids. Her second career started in 2000 with Aartrijk, the result of wifely conversation over cantaloupe frappés in the backyard. She’s been editing and writing for financial services, travel and Catholic theology publications ever since. In her home life, Maureen likes to keep it simple, with a love of anything outdoors (above 65 degrees, that is) and a deep appreciation for everything Virginia. She’s a person without any goals but with a thousand aspirations. If you want to define her, just say she’s an undeserving recipient of Divine Mercy. mbrody@Aartrijk.com 

Brand Strategist. Cindy is a marketing and sales strategist with more than 25 years in the industry. Considered an innovator and thought leader on personal and company branding, Cindy’s strength is creating “buzz” and excitement for industries that traditionally didn’t have to do outbound marketing and sales, such as insurance, financial services and health care. Prior to launching her marketing and branding firm, Red Barn Consulting, in 2013, Cindy worked as director of marketing and sales for a large CT agency. During her tenure, she gained national recognition for the agency’s social media marketing, branding and sales efforts. Cindy quickly became a go-to in the insurance industry for marketing and sales strategy and was asked to sit on several carrier marketing think tanks. She is a member of the Agents Council for Technology and previous board member of PIA CT. She holds her Connecticut  property and casualty insurance producers license. cindy@Aartrijk.com 

Strategist & Writer. Dave is a frequent author and speaker about employee benefits and financial literacy. He started his career with a large national insurance carrier in advanced underwriting and sales, then joined a national employee benefits consulting firm in NYC before co-founding his own firm in upstate New York. He has authored over 200 articles and is co-author of The Practical Agency Planner. He testified before a congressional committee overseeing 401(k) plan legislation following Enron’s collapse. As SVP of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America Inc.,  he managed the Trusted Choice consumer brand, company relations, education and research; he also was publisher of Independent Agent magazine. He holds property-casualty and life-health insurance licenses. Dave has been quoted and featured in broadcast and print media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and the Washington Post. He has been a guest lecturer at the Washington & Lee University School of Law on the subject of employee benefits. Dave is also well known for reciting college sports team names, colors and mascots. 

 dave@Aartrijk.com 

Writer. Nancy Germond is a second-generation insurance professional and teaches sociology at Estrella Mountain Community College. Nancy has authored scores of risk-management related articles and is a frequent humorous presenter on topics ranging from risk management for small business to managing police liability to emerging demographic trends. She founded Insurance Writer, a risk management consulting and training firm, in 1997. She earned a master's in sociology and a bachelor's in communication. In insurance, she earned the Associate in Claims, the Associate in Risk Management, and the Insurance Training Professional designation. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources and is a Society for Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional. She's also a reliable breed advocate for the family guardian, the German shepherd.
info@Aartrijk.com 

Creative Director. Fiona is an explorer in life and work. After 20 years of living in the U.K. and working globally, she packed her bags for the U.S. and emigrated to Washington, D.C., where she can be found kayaking on the Potomac when she's not adding value as a brand and creative strategist. Fiona likes making things happen. Agile in her approach, she brings creative and design-led thinking to problem-solving, delivering exemplary solutions as part of the Aartrijk team. We truly adore her British accent, and we know you will, too.
fiona@Aartrijk.com 

Writer. Emily has been writing and editing since 2012. She has worked in market research, project management, and the production side of the wine industry. She began freelancing in the insurance industry in 2019. She has a degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland, and studied Italian in Siena, Italy. Before COVID-19, she traveled extensively to dance Argentine tango. Post-work, she can be found experimenting with photography, cooking and baking, or wine tasting. She loves snails and has had several as pets.  egrazier@Aartrijk.com 

Art Director. From small town beer breweries to global big brands, Virginia creates digital and print design for virtually every industry imaginable. She's an Insurance Marketing & Communications Association award winner, and she has been effectively problem-solving since 2004. She practices her craft deep in the woods of southern Mississippi (let’s hope it’s not raining for internet’s sake). She's a mom who loves to cook, she’s a gamer, a gardener and a Survivor enthusiast, but she especially enjoys writing about herself in third person.
virginia@Aartrijk.com   

  Research Director. Kevin is a boomerang, plying research skills learned in 15 years at Washington Mutual Bank to work with the Aartrijk team for a couple of years until the U.S. Navy packed him off to Korea. Upon his return home, Kevin led the agent research team at Safeco and Liberty Mutual for seven years, earning the Marketing Research & Insight Excellence Award for Client-Side Team of the Year in 2020’s international competition. He really is certifiable, earning the Insights Professional Certification (Master level) from the Insights Association. When he’s not learning how people (agents, customers, members, employees and other humans) feel about things, he enjoys hiking with the family and responding to the whims of two cats who permit him to live in their home. kevin@Aartrijk.com  

Writer.  Mary Ellen began her writing and editing career in the insurance industry at A.M. Best Company. After a decade of writing about insurance and then the energy industry, she ventured out on her own to start a consulting company. As a writer and editor, she’s covered a range of topics, from analyzing drone data in utility inspections to Generation Z marketing strategies. Along the way, she’s cultivated an interest in how businesses pivot and remain innovative in the wake of rapid change. A lifelong resident of her New Jersey hometown, Mary Ellen is married and the mother of three (mostly) grown children. She most often shares her writing space with a needy Labrador retriever who thinks he’s a beagle. maryellen@Aartrijk.com    

Writer.  Lucie has been writing, editing and consulting for 20 years. Her background includes working for a large human resources consulting firm, a physical therapy association and a giant manufacturer of candy and pet food. When she’s not writing or editing, she is teaching undergraduate communication classes at the University of Denver, her alma mater, and the oldest and largest private university in the Rocky Mountain region. And when she is not doing that, she is raising three children — chauffeuring them to numerous soccer and lacrosse games — attempting to cook edible meals, and training for marathons and ultra races.  lucie@Aartrijk.com    

Writer. Barbara Lyon, who grew up on an Iowa farm, moved to the Washington, D.C., area to work on Capitol Hill in 1987 after earning a master’s degree at Iowa State University. She brings decades of experience to communications projects. 

She previously directed global media relations and industry analyst relations for SAP Fieldglass, a cloud service companies use to help manage external workforces, including outsourced service providers, freelancers, and consultants. Prior to that, she was an 18-year member of Accenture’s corporate communications team, directing global media and industry analyst relations programs for a variety of consulting and strategy practices as well as the government industry sector.

Before joining Accenture, Barbara created an award-winning communications program for Aragon Consulting Group in St. Louis, which relied heavily on original research. The resulting media coverage played a role in the company’s purchase by IBM. 

When Barbara isn’t working, you may find her delving into board projects for her neighborhood’s 557-member homeowner association, enjoying the beach, antiquing, gardening, playing piano or organ, or entertaining friends.

barb@Aartrijk.com 

Finance & Office Manager. Certain her brain had two left lobes at birth, Didi is all about the numbers — budgets, financial reports and points scored by her beloved Nittany Lions. She adapts her considerable experience with spreadsheets to the serious business of professional tailgate organizing for large groups at Penn State football games. Didi has been a Girl Scout for nearly three decades, serving faithfully in volunteer leadership roles. She applies her organizational talents to themed Girl Scout programs and loves to camp in the woods, where she is frequently seen trying to carve pivot tables into large oak trees. didi@Aartrijk.com 

Senior Associate & Account Executive. Jay Morris began his career as a newspaper reporter and editor before moving to the Washington area to practice public relations and marketing at several D.C.-based trade associations. For the last 25 years, he’s worked in financial services, including the life insurance and brokerage space. His stints include director of public affairs for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions and president of Jay Morris Communications LLC, a public relations consulting firm. Jay is an award-winning communicator and loves to work with teams to bring out the best in his clients. He also has been active in the Public Relations Society of America – National Capital Chapter, where he served on the board and chaired the group’s Independent Public Relations Alliance. Last year he received the chapter’s Diamond Award for outstanding service. Originally from Ohio, he now resides in Northern Virginia. In his spare time, he blogs at waywardjourney.com, tries to get in an occasional backpacking trip and volunteers at his church.

jay@Aartrijk.com

 Senior Associate & Account Executive. After 15 years in TV news and 15 in agency PR and corporate communications, John started his own consulting practice and enjoys the challenges and triumphs of working with insurance clients. John and his wife love to be surrounded by natural beauty. After basking in the southern California sunshine for seven wonderful years, they decamped to the mountains of Colorado to be closer to their grown kids in the Midwest. And no, they do not ski. john@Aartrijk.com  

Vice President, Marketing & Client Relations. Laura works with Aartrijk clients to identify goals and create marketing strategies to achieve them. She has nearly 20 years of insurance marketing experience, having previously served as VP, Sales and Marketing, at American Collectors Insurance, where she worked with Aartrijk as a client. She is experienced in growing organizations through client engagement through the use of consistent branding, leveraging content marketing and social media, and articulating brand differentiators. A native and proud New Jerseyan, she lives in Houston where she continues to search for good pizza and fun places to watch Philadelphia sports teams.
laura@Aartrijk.com

Writer. Cat Pontoriero has been producing B2B insurance content since 2011 when she joined National Underwriter Property & Casualty/PropertyCasualty360.com. Her former role as associate online features editor centered on creating myriad multimedia content focused on the P&C insurance industry, including written pieces, online videos, and conference photography. Since 2017, Cat has continued to freelance for PC360 while working in various marketing communications roles for the life insurance/annuities and heavy duty trucking industries. Cat has her degree in English and Journalism from Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ and is fluent in Italian. Outside of insurance, Cat is a big fan of the bands Queen and One Direction and is a self-proclaimed cat lady (the nickname is just a very fitting coincidence).

cat@Aartrijk.com