In the fall of 2024 United Insurance hired its first ever female Chief Financial Officer Tammy Volock, and Chief Operating Officer Deb Wentworth, who brought years of insurance experience, deep community roots and a passion for inspiring other women to succeed in a competitive, historically male-dominated industry.

We sat down with them to hear their inspiring stories of how they overcame gender equality issues throughout their careers, how they empower other women in the insurance industry, and what their plans are to “Accelerate Action” for women’s equality on International Women’s Day (IWD) and throughout the year. 

Q: What got you to where you are today in the world of insurance? 

A: Tammy – My path to the insurance industry wasn’t direct and came about organically throughout my career. After working in various other industries, I found Turner Barker Insurance and started officially in the insurance industry in May of 2006. I was fortunate to have been raised in a family with strong, independent, outspoken women. I knew I would have to work hard to be successful in all aspects of life, but I also knew I had a supportive network around me like no other. By age eight, I proudly wore my favorite shirt for all to know; “Anything boys can do; girls can do better.”    

 A: Deb – There wasn’t one event, or action. For me there are four keys to moving forward in my career and in my mind, any career! The first is building trust with colleagues. The second is doing the work that I ask others to do. Third is being willing to take a chance, and most importantly confidence in my abilities. Each of these actions has gotten me a seat at the table and are traits I carry with me. 

 

Q: How do you help empower other women in the industry? 

A: Tammy – I believe there are two sides to this. First is how I live and push myself. I put myself out there for others. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. I move forward everyday with integrity and confidence. I’ve gotten to where I am through hard work, persistence, resilience, and determination. I was raised with the mantra; “if you want something enough, you need to work for it.” At times, this career path has been a lot of work. I’m here to say, it’s worth it!   

Second is how I encourage and uplift others. I’m the ultimate cheerleader for the women around me. I give other women the guidance, support and help needed to get them to push their own boundaries. There is no “can’t” in my vocabulary.  There’s always a way, and I’m willing to help work through the challenges to find that way. I’m not going to do it for them. Instead, I’m going to work beside them, so they gain their own independence, confidence, and greater sense of self-worth. When the hard work pays off and it all comes together, I’ll be the first one to congratulate them personally and publicly.   

 A: Deb – We all must do the work. Don’t sit idle thinking you can’t get to that next level. Take actions to advocate for yourself even when it’s scary or looks out of reach. Mentoring and helping others build their network is another great way to help women gain confidence. Finally, make sure to share what you are doing.  It makes a difference if women can see you’re making changes and progress, they see it’s ok to take a leap of their own. I recently took my own leap in making this big move. Two other women reached out to me who were stuck in their careers and after seeing me take this step, they felt confident and empowered to take their own leap and make a positive career change. At the end of the day, it’s about supporting each other and sharing our experiences.   

 

Q: Why did you decide to take your own leap recently and join United Insurance? 

A: Tammy – When this opportunity came along, I had to do quite a bit of self-reflection. I had to ask myself, “where do you want to be and what drives you?” Through that process, I came to this conclusion: I want to work for a local company who values and gives back to their employees, their neighbors, and their communities. This is exactly who United Insurance is, and this makes me feel good about what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with!   

A: Deb – I wanted to challenge myself and bring my experience to a team I knew I could make an immediate positive impact on. It helped that United Insurance is a large local organization that has strong connections to the local communities I live in as well.       

 

Q: What is your Action on this IWD? 

A: Tammy – On this IWD I’ll be leading a group run around the Portland peninsula with an optional cold plunge add-on at East End Beach. We will take these as casual conversational miles to check in with each other, express our needs and challenges, and create paths forward to achieve successes. 

I encourage anyone to join; I know we are stronger and better when we work together! Why a cold plunge add-on? It’s hard, exhilarating, and instantly gratifying! Also, why not?   

 A: Deb – Make a connection! I want to offer my help as a mentor as well as take a minute to ask for help from a mentor. Just a short conversation at times really can make a difference.  

 

Q: What is your advice to someone looking to make a move to join United Insurance? 

A: Tammy – We need to keep the conversation of the importance of women in the workplace alive and growing. With emphasis on celebrating all our accomplishments, inside and outside our office walls and the industry. When people think about United Insurance, I want them to think about how amazing we are in all the aspects of our lives! We’re daughters. We’re sisters. We’re mothers. We’re nature enthusiasts. We’re animal lovers. We’re athletes. We’re mentors. We’re neighbors. We’re coworkers. We’re freaking amazing, and together we have no limits!    

 A: Deb – I’m excited to see several young professional women growing and moving into new expanded roles. The growth our organization has experienced over the past few years has really opened many new opportunities for women in sales and support roles. I hope more women in the industry will follow us and take a chance on United Insurance. 

Women have always thrived at United Insurance, and we’re especially proud of Deb and Tammy. They excel in their critical roles and set new standards for our entire organization to strive for.

In addition to Deb and Tammy’s inspiring stories, check out some of the other talented women at United Insurance who are “Accelerating Action” on this IWD.

If you’re interested in joining the United Insurance team, check out our open positions on our careers page.