Virginia State Claims Association
Events
Upcoming Events
Cost is $25 per person. Preregistration and pay https://www.mid-valleyclaims.com/pay
Select Joint Seminar
Auto Hail Damage Claims – John Shoemaker, AMAM – JSE Consulting, LLC and Anne Baskette, Director of Claims – VAFB
Check www.richmondclaims.com for official date
About Our Speakers
Christine D. Standohar- Alfano, PE, PhD, CCM – ICC Forensics, LLC
Dr. Alfano has been performing forensic evaluations for over ten years starting with her doctoral research when she analyzed damage and researched mitigation techniques for wood-frame construction subjected to tornado loading. Upon graduation, she researched full-scale building performance under wind loads and wildfire/ember exposure in a large-scale wind tunnel. She also worked at Haag Global for seven years and has inspected and assessed damage to hundreds of properties including residential and commercial structures. Dr. Alfano remains involved in research and code committees and is an associate member and secretary of the SEI/ASCE/AMS Wind Speed Estimation Standards Committee. This standard is in development as a joint collaboration between engineering and meteorology communities and will provide a consensus document on the estimation of wind speeds in tornadoes and other windstorms by direct measurements (in situ and radar) or by indirect techniques (the Enhanced Fujita Scale, tree fall, etc.). She has written and published many articles on tornadoes and resultant damage in peer-reviewed literature and she has presented her results at numerous national and international conferences. Additionally, she has participated in several large-scale post-disaster surveys for tornadoes and hurricanes.
Dr. Alfano joined ICC Forensics in 2024 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. However, she performs work across the country and is currently a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in ten states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota. She also received the Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM) designation in 2021, making her the only person in the country who is a PE and CCM. Dr. Alfano’s primary areas of consulting are structural evaluations, general damage assessment, and forensic meteorology.
William “Bill” Burke, Sr. V-P J.S. Held – J.S. Held
Since 1999, William “Bill” Burke has worked in the construction, restoration, and construction cost business, specializing in complex project valuation and construction estimating. His consulting projects include buildings and facilities in the industrial, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, public institutions, transportation, religious, educational, and residential sectors throughout North America.
Bill specializes in dispute resolution. He started his career in the insurance industry and has over thirty years of combined experience in the loss industry.
Bill leads the Virginia Office Building Consulting practice group, overseeing a team covering Virginia, West Virginia, Washington D.C., and Maryland. He also serves as a lead consultant and advisor on complex projects throughout the continental United States and abroad. Bill routinely oversees teams of consultants and provides advice to clients. He has extensive experience in dispute resolution and serves as an appraiser and umpire for matters of all complexity ranges.
John Shoemaker, AMAM – JSE Consulting, LLC
John Shoemaker is a business development coach for the collision repair industry and began his career in the automotive repair industry as a helper in a small body shop in Campbell, California. Entering the military he has been an automotive and body repair technician, vehicle maintenance manager, accident investigator, technical instructor and management system analyst while serving in the U.S. Air Force.
He has managed several dealership collision centers, was a dealership service director, a consultant to management system users as an implementation specialist and as the owner of JSE Consulting LLC has provided best practice training in Damage Analysis, Marketing, Lean Implementation, & Collision Center Management.
John carries the Accredited Master Automotive Manager certification through the Automotive Management Institute, holds I-CAR’s Platinum certification in estimating and is considered a subject matter expert in vehicle damage appraisal.
He develops training programs for the collision industry which he has facilitated at SEMA as part of the Society of Collision Repair Specialist’s Repairer Driven Education program, national trade shows, auto body associations as well as multi-shop operations. As a respected speaker he is asked to present at association meetings and trade schools.
Matthew Dwyer, Crash Data Retrieval Analyst – Accident Technology, Inc.
Matt graduated from the United States Naval Academy and was commissioned in the United States Marine Corps as an intelligence officer. Matt completed one combat tour to Iraq as a Scout Sniper Platoon Commander. He completed a second combat tour to Afghanistan as a Marine Corps Special Operations Intelligence Officer. His focus was on sensitive site exploitation and intelligence tradecraft in order to generate actionable intelligence on enemy forces. Matt was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 2012.
Matt redirected his evidence-gathering abilities to be utilized in Accident Reconstruction. He furthered his education at the University of North Florida and is an Accredited Accident Reconstructionist. Matt has been recognized and accepted as an expert in several states including Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, and Maryland, and has pushed to incorporate the newest technology to help identify key facts in vehicle accidents. His firm has been recognized as the “Best Accident Reconstruction Firm in Virginia for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022” by local attorneys and adjusters.
Special Agent Craig Hudson – Virginia State Police
Special Agent Craig Hudson joined the VA State Police in 2004, after three years of service with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, rising from a trooper to special agent over his 21-year career. In recent years he has worked closely with his colleagues promoting the HEAT (Help Eliminate Auto Theft) initiative sharing his expertise in auto theft prevention and investigation through speaking engagements, radio show appearances, and media interviews with a number of news outlets. In August 2025, Craig had the honor of presenting the 2025 HEAT awards at the VA Association of Chiefs of Police Foundation conference.
Craig holds an Associates of Science degree in Criminal Justice/Police Science from John Tyler Community College and further education in Management Information Systems at Liberty University.
Outside of work, Craig describes himself as a soccer dad and a “cow, goat and sheep whisperer.”
B. Patrick O’Grady, Esquire – Thomas, Thomas & Hafer, LLP
B. Patrick O’Grady is a partner in Thomas, Thomas & Hafer’s Richmond, VA office and a member of the firm’s general liability practice group.
Patrick has a diverse litigation practice including defending individuals and businesses in cases involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, construction defects, and commercial disputes as well as representing insurers in bad faith litigation and insurance coverage disputes. He zealously represents his clients at all stages of litigation from pre-suit investigations though trial and/or appeal. Patrick is licensed in both North Carolina and Virginia. He has tried over 100 cases to verdict and has resolved countless more through alternative dispute resolution.
In addition to his litigation practice, Patrick frequently gives presentations to his clients and teaches continuing legal education courses for other attorneys on topics related to litigation strategies, developments in the law, and best practices in the claims handling process.
Robert S. “Rob” Reverski, Jr., Esquire – Midkiff, Muncie & Ross, PC
Robert S. Reverski, Jr. is a director and chair of the coverage, property and subrogation sections of Midkiff, Muncie & Ross, PC. Rob is licensed in Virginia, Maryland, DC and West Virginia. Rob practices in first and third-party coverage and liability matters for clients in the construction, automobile, and trucking industries, among others. Rob is listed in the Best Lawyers of America© for Insurance Law.He is a national, regional and local speaker on insurance and legal topics. His speaking engagements include a case study on complex arson and insurance fraud at the Property and Liability Resource Bureau (PLRB) and leveraging technology in insurance fraud investigations at the Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys (VADA), among others.
Rob has practiced insurance defense law for more than 25 years.Before entering private practice, Rob worked as a judicial law clerk to a federal judge in the Western District of Virginia. Before entering law school, Rob served as a private investigator, working on numerous fraud cases as well as other investigative matters.
Diane U. Montgomery, Esquire – Midkiff, Muncie & Ross, PC
Diane Montgomery is the vice-chair of the coverage and property sections of Midkiff, Muncie & Ross, PC. She has practiced in the mid-Atlantic for over 25 years in the areas of coverage, property, and environmental analysis and litigation. She is a frequent speaker on insurance coverage, property and regulatory issues.
Prior to law school, Diane worked as an insurance adjuster. After law school, she practiced in the environmental section of an international law firm and served as an administrative law judge before working in insurance defense. When she is not working on legal matters, Diane is often found enjoying her farm in Highlands County with her husband and children.
Robert “Bobby” Henderson, IAAI/CFI, NAFI/CFEI, CVFI – NEFCO Fire Investigations
Senior Fire Analyst Robert Henderson is a Certified Fire Investigator by the International Association of Arson Investigators and by the Commonwealth of Virginia Fire Marshal’s Academy and the National Fire Academy, as well as a Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator through the National Association of Fire Investigators. He is a court-qualified expert witness. Robert has served over 30 years as a professional police officer for the Fairfax County Police and Virginia State Police. He is a Certified Bomb Technician by the FBI/US ARMY Hazardous Devices School, Certified Hazard Materials Technician by the Department of Homeland Security, and a licensed private investigator in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Robert is a member of the board of directors of the Virginia Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators.
