Born just south of Chicago in Hazel Crest, Illinois, Erica Kneeland grew up with two sisters and played golf in high school. She went to Southern Illinois University (Go Saluskis!*), majoring in History and minoring in Classical Languages.

After college, Erica spent four years working in Advertising at the Walgreens headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, she started her insurance career as a Risk Analyst at Rockwell Automation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During her fifteen years at Rockwell, Erica got a lot of experience in the world of industrial automation and software engineering. She also created life in the form of a son named Miles and a daughter named Stella.

After a two-year stint as a Contract Administrator with a side hustle in Risk Management at Novum Structures in Menomonie Falls, it was time for Erica to head for the west coast. Erica became a Risk Analyst for Alliant Insurance Services in San Diego six years ago and now serves as their Vice President of Risk Management. Alliant is a Top 10 US broker with over $3 billion in revenue and boasts the largest property program in the nation. Alliant deals mainly in high risk markets, like municipalities and tribal nations. Erica is responsible for insurance renewals, ergonomics, property, casualty and E&O claims, and disaster recovery. She also serves as an emergency response coordinator and believes her boss stands behind her and that Alliant is an entrepreneurial company that is great to work for.

Erica chose to serve on the Board of the San Diego chapter of RIM because she was still new to the area and she wanted to be more involved in the community and get a better understanding of her risk partners. When she’s not working and serving on the Board, Erica participates in a great community of competitive pistol shooting with her Sig Sauer 9mm. She is also involved in an ax-throwing league and is up for golf at anytime.

Welcome, Erica! We’re so glad to have you on the Board.

*A Saluki is one of the oldest dog breeds, dating back over 6000 years and is an Egyptian hunting dog. They are sight hounds and can run more than 42 mph. The greyhound, afghan, borzoi and whippet are derived from Saluki. Southern Illinois University’s teams originally competed under the team name "Maroons" from 1913 to 1951. Then the Saluki was chosen as SIU's mascot on March 19, 1951, in part because the southern Illinois region is colloquially known as Little Egypt.