Leadership team

Chip Terhune
President and CEO

Chip Terhune became SAIF’s president and chief executive officer in July 2021. 

Before SAIF, Terhune served as senior vice president and general manager of government programs and accounts for Medicision, a healthcare technology company.

Earlier in his career, Terhune was chief of staff for former Oregon governor Ted Kulongoski; an assistant executive director of Oregon Education Association; a director of environmental and public affairs at Schnitzer Steel in Portland; and had multiple vice president roles at Cambia Health Solutions in Portland.

Terhune has a bachelor's in international studies and a master's in public affairs from the University of Oregon.

Ian Williams
Chief Operating Officer

Ian Williams joined the SAIF leadership team in 2019. As SAIF's chief operating officer, he leads corporate operations and oversees the claims, safety and health services, human resources, and corporate services divisions. 

During his time at SAIF, Williams has set important strategic initiatives in motion to improve SAIF's project management, change management, business intelligence, and process improvement capabilities.

A graduate of the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom, Williams began his career in fashion retail before holding a number of leadership roles for global high-tech brands, including senior director of global HR at Symantec and vice president of HR at Belden.

Williams is a native of the U.K.; he relocated to Oregon in 2011.

   

Todd Graneto
Chief Financial Officer

As vice president for finance and chief financial officer, Todd Graneto is responsible for the financial services division, which includes financial reporting, budgets, corporate accounting, and billing and collections.

Graneto came to SAIF in 2016 as a financial strategist before becoming the controller in July 2017. During that time, he has also served SAIF’s strategy team. In all, he has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, including financial planning, pricing, reporting, and analysis.

Graneto holds an MBA from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southern Oregon University. Before he joined SAIF, he served as the vice president of finance for Health Net, a Fortune 500 company.

Pam Ahr
Chief Safety Officer

As chief safety officer, Ahr leads SAIF's Safe and Healthy Workplace Center and our team of more than 70 safety professionals across the state. The team includes safety consultants, industrial hygienists, ergonomists, project managers, innovation specialists, and data analysts. 

Ahr has been with SAIF since 2003, primarily as a field safety consultant. Ahr has volunteered in many capacities with the American Society of Safety Professionals, both at the regional and national levels. 

She graduated from Arizona State University and has a master's degree from the University of Oregon. She also has an associate degree in risk management and is a certified safety professional.

   

Ken Collins
Vice President of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

As vice president of information technology and CIO, Ken Collins ensures that SAIF's information technology investments and resources are aligned with strategic business objectives.

Collins has over 25 years of experience in the information technology field. As SAIF’s senior technology architect and technology services manager, he has helped develop SAIF’s application development architecture, technology infrastructure, and IT strategic plan. The focus of many of his projects has been improving communication and collaboration, and leveraging innovation to create business solutions.

In addition, he has contributed to major company initiatives, including telecommuting, recruitment and retention, and the customer service component of the corporate strategic plan. Currently, he is leading efforts to renovate SAIF’s core insurance systems and to leverage advanced analytics to better serve its customers.

Prior to SAIF, Collins spent four years as an economic analyst. He earned his degree from Willamette University, where he studied economics and computer science.

   

Brigitte Hamilton
Vice President of Claims

As vice president of claims, Brigitte Hamilton is responsible for the SAIF regional and critical claims teams as well as SAIF’s return-to-work services program, claims projects and operations, medical services program, and investigations.

Hamilton has been at SAIF for more than 20 years, starting as an administrative assistant in claims. Since then, she’s held many roles in IT including lead web designer and developer, business services manager, and director of portfolio and project management. Most recently she served as the director of business and software solutions.

She received her associate degree in business from Tafe University in Australia.

   

Olivia Keefer
Chief Actuarial  Officer

Olivia Keefer is SAIF’s chief actuarial officer. She manages the reserves process, oversees ratemaking and the rate filing process, maintains the economic capital model, and makes recommendations to the CFO, executive team, and board on surplus levels, among other duties.

Keefer joined SAIF in 2012 and most recently served as SAIF’s actuarial director. During her time as director, she developed strategies and tools to transform the actuarial function and contribute to various strategic priorities including the evolution of SAIF’s data and analytics work. Prior to joining SAIF, she worked as an actuarial analyst in the leadership development program at Travelers Insurance.

Keefer holds a master of science degree in mathematics from Oregon State University and a bachelor of arts degree in mathematics from Hamilton College. She is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

   

Shannon Rickard
Chief Legal Counsel and Strategy Officer

As chief legal counsel, Shannon Rickard oversees legal services and procurement to ensure operational efficiency, effective use of resources, and compliance with laws and regulations. As the strategy officer, she is responsible for overseeing government relations, identifying corporate strategic needs, establishing strategic plans and objectives, prioritizing areas of focus, and tracking goals and performance.

Rickard joined SAIF after working in private practice, where she focused on employment issues. Before that, she worked at SAIF from 2007 to 2015, most recently as the vice president of legal, human resources, and strategy. Before SAIF, Rickard worked as an assistant attorney general for the Oregon Department of Justice.

Rickard received her law degree, with honors, from Chicago-Kent College of Law and has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from College of Idaho.

   

Rachel Shepherd
Vice president of premium audit and underwriting services

As vice president of premium audit and underwriting, Rachel Shepherd oversees selecting and pricing SAIF's customers, premium audits, and underwriting services. 

Shepherd joined SAIF in 2022 as the director of project and change management. She has more than 15 years of experience across multiple organizations, including the Oregon Lottery.

Shepherd holds a bachelor's degree in management and organizational leadership from George Fox University, as well as a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Colorado State University Global, both with honors. She has professional certificates in customer experience, project management, and change management.

   

Holly Tindall
Vice President of Corporate Services

As vice president of corporate services, Holly Tindall is responsible for administrative operations, facilities, and corporate programs.

Tindall joined SAIF in 2020 as the administrative services division director and was instrumental in SAIF’s pandemic response and shift to flexible work. Her previous experience includes more than 25 years in management, facilities, HR, office administration, and finance. She served as a vice president of support services for PH Tech, a third-party administrator serving Oregon Medicaid and Medicare plans. Most recently she was president and owner of a facilities consulting business, Ideal Planning.

She received her bachelor of science degree in leisure studies and minor in architecture from the University of Oregon.

   

Christine Vrontakis
Vice President of Policyholder Services

As vice president of policyholder services, Chris Vrontakis is responsible for all regional operations and is charged with providing superior service to SAIF’s customers from its regional offices and Salem headquarters.

Vrontakis joined SAIF in 1995 and has held a variety of positions in claims and policyholder services since then. Most recently, she served as the regional operations director in Portland, managing safety, return-to-work, and service delivery in SAIF’s largest region. In addition, she was, and continues to be, responsible for leading SAIF’s service center, which provides insurance to 42,000 small businesses throughout Oregon.

Vrontakis graduated with honors from Oregon State University with a degree in business administration with a focus on marketing.

   

Christy Witzke
Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Communications

As vice president of marketing, sales, and communications, Christy Witzke leads these functions to support a strong, integrated, market-facing brand that connects with customers and drives business. Witzke also manages SAIF’s relationships with appointed agents and association partnerships.

Witzke oversees the communication and design team, which creates advertising campaigns, video production, and safety messages, among other communications.

With SAIF’s other states coverage program, Witzke also leads a team that enables Oregon businesses with out-of-state employees/operations to get workers’ comp coverage in every state in which they operate through SAIF’s partnership with Zurich American Insurance and United States Insurance Services (USIS).

Witzke joined SAIF in 1994 and has more than 25 years in the Oregon workers' compensation system, with a background in growing and cultivating agency and association relationships, risk management, marketing, and contract negotiations.

Witzke earned a bachelor’s degree in business management from Oregon State University.

   

Sonji Young
Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer

Sonji Young is SAIF’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer and responsible for SAIF’s enterprise-wide strategies to ensure an equitable work environment for all employees.  

Prior to joining SAIF in 2023, Young served as the global vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Armstrong Teasdale. Young has more than 15 years of experience in diversity, equity, and inclusion and HR leadership, and has been featured as a thought contributor on HR and DEI in Savoy, VoyageSTL, and Brava magazines.

Her work history includes time at Intel Corporation—where her expertise in training facilitation supported the global rollout of the “Managing at Intel” learning series—Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, and the city of Portland, where she served as a human rights commissioner. Young also served on the State of Oregon’s task force on elder abuse. 

Young has a bachelor of arts degree in communications from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a member of the Society of Human Resource Management, the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources, Society for Diversity, and Society of Multicultural Professionals in HR. Her passion for igniting business innovation inspired her to launch “About Her Business,” a virtual network for creatives and entrepreneurs.