2026 Award Announcements

Al Gross/Jim Long Rookie of the Year Scholarship

2026 Recipients

• Alexis Lamm – Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

• Jared Holshouser -- Vermont Department of Financial Regulation

• Jinping Qu (Sherry) -- California Department of Insurance

• Sara Ayha -- Colorado Division of Insurance

Background on the Award:

The Al Gross/Jim Long Rookie of the Year Scholarship is named after two long-serving insurance commissioners who passed away shortly after retiring from their positions: North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long and Virginia Commissioner of Insurance Al Gross. Both individuals demonstrated steadfast dedication to serving their respective communities. They exemplified commitment, leadership, innovation, and effective mentorship. Neither hesitated to address complex challenges and employed creative strategies to develop solutions. Both individuals earned recognition from colleagues and subordinates for their outstanding leadership qualities.

Recipients of this award demonstrate outstanding promise and professionalism in representing their respective states as regulators.

Alexis Lamm

Alexis Lamm became a member of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Property and Casualty Market Regulation Business Unit on May 13, 2024. She is responsible for conducting examinations and investigations of property and casualty regulated entities regarding business practices and patterns of alleged violations of the Florida Insurance Code.  

Alexis serves as an Investigation Manager supervising the work of another supervising manager and seven insurance analysts.  In this leadership role, Alexis is responsible for monitoring completion and accuracy of market conduct examinations, investigations, and informal inquiries as well as evaluating consumer complaints referred by the Division of Consumer Services. In addition to these responsibilities, over the last year, Alexis has lent her examination skills to the Life and Health team by conducting market conduct examinations of pharmacy benefit managers.  

Alexis received her Master of Business Administration from Capella University and holds multiple professional certifications, including a Market Conduct Management designation from the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society and an Associate Professional in Insurance Regulation designation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.  

Jared Holshouser

Jared Holshouser joined the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation in January 2025 as a Market Conduct Analyst. Before that, he was at Norwich University, where he was an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department. He has a Ph.D. in Mathematics, experience in data science, and has completed some of the training to become an actuary. Jared still actively publishes mathematical research, now as a hobbyist instead of a professional. He grew up in the military and has lived in different places all over the United States. Now that he has settled in Vermont, Jared enjoys going to local movie theaters, attending film festivals, and playing trumpet in a couple of community bands.

Jinping Qu (Sherry)

Jinping Qu is an Insurance Rate Analyst with the California Department of Insurance, Rate Regulation Branch, where she has served since July 2024. She holds a bachelor's degree in Data Science from the University of California and earned her CPCU designation in August 2025. Since joining the Department, Jinping has shown a strong commitment to professional development through continued study and engagement with insurance regulatory education. She values thoughtful analysis, collaboration, and public service, and looks forward to continuing to grow as a member of the insurance regulatory community.

Sara Ayha

Sara was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio and attended The Ohio State University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. After graduation, she moved to Colorado in 2013 and later earned a Master of Public Health with concentrations in Health Systems, Management and Policy and Global Health from the Colorado School of Public Health in 2020.

Following graduate school, Sara contributed to Colorado’s COVID-19 public health response before transitioning to health services research focused on the economic impact of a cancer diagnosis. In 2025, she joined the Colorado Division of Insurance as a Behavioral Health Parity Analyst, where she reviews carrier documentation to ensure compliance with nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) parity requirements.

She lives in the Denver area with her husband and daughter. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, hiking, and traveling with her family.

Thomas L. Reents Memorial Scholarship

2026 Recipient

• Holly Lehman -- Pennsylvania Insurance Department

Background on the Award:

The Thomas L. Reents Memorial Scholarship honors the first President of the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (“IRES”). This award was established in 2016 by IRES and the IRES Foundation. The inaugural scholarship was presented in 2017.

Mr. Reents had a distinguished insurance career, mainly in regulation, serving with the Nebraska Department of Insurance from 1974 to 1997. He conducted market conduct exams, investigated consumer complaints, and created a senior counseling program. Before that, he worked in both personal and commercial lines in private insurance. After leaving the department, he became a compliance consultant and earned his Certified Insurance Examiner (CIE) designation in 1988.

Recipients of this award demonstrate outstanding potential and professionalism in fulfilling their responsibilities as state regulators.

Holly Lehman

Holly Lehman is the Health Market Conduct Chief for the Bureau of Market Actions in the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.  She started her career with the Department in April 2017 as an Administrative Management Trainee for the Bureau of Consumer Services, Property & Casualty.  After a successful year learning how to assist consumers with complaints about their insurance issues, she was promoted to Insurance Investigator I, followed by a promotion to Insurance Investigator II.  Ms. Lehman has served in Health Market Conduct since February 2022.  During her tenure, she has demonstrated strong professional growth and technical expertise, leading to her promotion from Market Conduct Examiner I to Market Conduct Examiner II in June 2023, and her recent promotion to Health Market Conduct Chief.

Ms. Lehman has played a key role in the execution of complex market conduct examinations. She has also cultivated specialized knowledge in the review of behavioral health claims, with a particular focus on autism-related services.  Her analytical skills and subject matter expertise have contributed to meaningful regulatory findings, enforcement actions, and restitution for Pennsylvania policyholders.  Ms. Lehman is recognized for her initiative, adaptability, and commitment to continuous learning.  Her calm demeanor, combined with her ability to analyze complex health regulatory issues, has made her a valuable leader and a trusted resource within the organization.

Ms. Lehman has been an active member of the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES) since 2022.  She has completed several IRES and professional development programs and contributes to national regulatory initiatives through her participation in the Pharmacy Benefit Management (D) Working Group and the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) (B) Working Group