Originally from the suburbs of Philadelphia, Doug graduated Cum Laude from Gettysburg College double majoring in Economics and Management.
After working for a financial planning firm in Philadelphia, Doug decided to move to Florida in 2002. With experience at both State Farm and Banker’s Life, Doug took time in developing Strategic Insurance and opened the independent agency in 2006.
Doug enjoys working with clients to help solve the wide array of insurance and financial challenges that clients face today. His goal is taking time to educate clients on their options and choices to better protect their families and businesses. Being an independent insurance advisor allows Doug to choose from a wide variety of companies and coverage’s to help his clients make the best decisions on their insurance needs while finding the best price for their hard-earned dollars.
In 2016 Doug was named one of Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Up Top 40 Under 40 Up & Comer’s. In 2016 Doug authored his first book entitled Surviving the Insurance Jungle, to help educate individuals & families on how to get the best value for their insurance dollar. Doug takes great pride in creating a company culture where his team members are encouraged, treated like family & can grow in their careers. In 2017 Strategic Insurance was fortunate to be named one of Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Best Places to Work, which was quite an accomplishment as well as recognition to the culture that has been created at Strategic Insurance.
He is married to his beautiful wife Amy Levi, and they are blessed with 3 children. Abigail Grace Levi is 6 years old, Asher James Levi is 4 years old, & Avery Gwen Levi is 2 year old (at time of this update)! Doug doesn’t sleep much, but who needs sleep?! He loves his family & his “wifey for lifey” as Doug affectionately calls her, they enjoy their weekly date night without their kids! In his spare time, Doug enjoys going to the beach, exercising, boating, golf, tennis and spending time with his friends and family. Doug is also committed to his faith as a follower of Jesus Christ & reads the Bible regularly. Doug is also actively involved in the Big Brother Big Sister of Pinellas County program and enjoys spending time with his little brother Matt for the last 8 years.
Volunteering and giving back to the community are a big part of what Strategic Insurance stands for. Currently the Agency is committed to assisting the Florida Youth Ranch once a month to serve the kids meals, Prison Fellowship and Angel Tree Ministry, and Paint Your Heart Out Tampa for the last several years.
Brooke is originally from Chillicothe, Ohio. Graduated from Chillicothe High School in 2002. Brooke continued onto Cincinnati, Ohio to attend Antonelli Design School majoring in Interior Design. She also studied online for her Wedding Planning Degree and became an Ordained Minster while attending college in Cincinnati. After college she relocated back to her hometown Chillicothe, Ohio and opened her own business “The Ashley House” specializing in weddings, catering events, birthday parties, and so on! In 2008 the economy took a hit and set Brooke onto a new path, she relocated to St Petersburg, Florida taking a job as a recruiter from 2008-2015.
In 2015 Brooke decided to investigate the insurance world and landed a job working with State Farm, that later promoted her to Office Manager. Brooke decided to take a leap of faith becoming her own agent moving to Strategic Insurance Services in June of 2020! February of 2021 Brooke was promoted to Operations Manager of Strategic Insurance Services.
Brooke resides here in Florida with her husband Andre, her stepson Braxton and their 5 year old daughter Preslei. She spends her spare time with her family, cooking, and enjoying the outdoors!
Joyce was born in Brooklyn, New York and moved to Baldwin, Long Island when she was five years old where she lived until leaving for college. She went to the State University of New York at Albany where she received both a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Communication. She relocated to Florida from New York in 1993.
After moving to the Tampa Bay area, Joyce and her husband Mitch soon bought a home in Feather Sound. Joyce worked as a Compliance Officer for North American Mortgage Company. After many years in that field, Joyce became a stay at home mother with her first child, Jacob and then with her daughter, Amanda. She has recently returned to the work-force as the Operations Manager for SIS. She is enjoying the challenge of re-entering the work-force. At SIS she is learning about the world of insurance and is responsible for accounting, monthly reporting, updating and creating policies and procedures and human resources.
Joyce also gives her time back to the community in multiple ways. She volunteers and participates in many community programs and fundraisers including, Relay for Life, Meals on Wheels, Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, the Adopt-a-Mile program, and the Parkinson’s Foundation. She is also a Board Member at her Temple, Temple B’nai Israel, and volunteers on planning committees there.
In her free-time Joyce enjoys running and training for local races, including accomplishing her first ½ marathon in 2013. She loves to play tennis, exercise, read and travel, and most of all loves spending time with her family and friends.
Shelby is a Florida native and has her bachelor's in psychology from the University of South Florida. With experience in administration, marketing, and onboarding, Shelby pursued her dreams to become a reality at Strategic Insurance Services.
At SIS, she is learning about the world of insurance along with different administrative tasks, marketing, and onboarding. She loves working with people and building great relationships with her colleagues and clients. In Shelby’s career, she is known as a “ray of sunshine”, and her goal is to bring positivity and high energy to SIS.
In Shelby's free time, you can find her pursuing her passion for photography, crafting, spending time with her friends and family, and going for nature walks.
Cindy Drahota was born and raised on a farm in Southern Minnesota and lived in the Midwest until moving to Florida in 2018.
She was married and raised two sons who are now married and each have 2 fantastic children that are grandma’s love of her life.
Her degrees first led her into a Certified Registered Dental Assistant career followed by Accounting which has been her passion.
Her office experience led her to positions as Executive Assistant and Business Office Manager. This involved accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, and other office duties using Word, Excel, Access, QuickBooks and other accounting software.
She was an independent contractor for the last 10 years as a Vehicle Data Analyst and continued this position when she moved to Florida.
She came to Strategic Insurance Services just recently to be able to use her business office skills. She is enjoying expanding her knowledge into the insurance industry.
Some of her hobbies are reading, walking, riding bike, enjoying the outdoors and visiting with friends.
LeeAnn graduated from St Petersburg College in Dec 2010 with her Associates Degree in Business Management. She began her insurance career in 2000 as a temporary file clerk at Bankers Insurance. After spending some time at a local Auto insurance agency, where she earned her 220 license for Property & Casualty and her Life/Variable Annuities license, she went to Insurance Resources in the Pasadena area. Her time at Insurance Resources taught her the importance of building client relationships and giving back to the community through various projects contributing to Hospice, CASA, Interfaith Food Pantry, and Voices for Children, a Guardian ad Litem program.
LeeAnn found her knack for leadership when she became involved with the National Association of Insurance Women (NAIW) in 2005. She completed and enjoyed the Communicate with Confidence (CWC) course, and soon became the Treasurer for NAIW. It was in 2006 when she joined the Florida Association of Insurance Agent’s (FAIA) Young Agents Council (YAC), in its earliest stages. She has served as Zone Coordinator since 2007, completed the Florida’s Future Insurance Leaders (FFIL) program in 2009, assisted in creating the executive committee positions and roles, and then earned the First Annual “Young Agent of the Year” award in 2011! LeeAnn has served on both the Events and Membership Task Forces for YAC. Young agents in Pinellas and Hillsborough have contributed to the Interfaith Food Pantry, Voices for Children, and CASA over the past five years with LeeAnn’s countless efforts in leading various canned food drives and back to school drives, including the Annual SmartStart4Kids back to school drive with the Young Agents Council!
LeeAnn recently joined Toastmasters International in May 2012 at the local Suncoast Caring Community Toastmasters Club in Clearwater. She has already proved herself a model Toastie, by holding many roles at the weekly meetings and she has already completed several speeches in her Competent Communicator manual as well as working her way through the Competent Leader manual!
LeeAnn joined the SIS team in Jan 2012 and brings a strong work ethic, a high level of integrity, and a great way of serving our clients in an empathetic manner, giving them peace of mind when they need it most. She has a reputation for her drive, her independence, and is known for always going above and beyond. She has a passion for giving back to our local communities in any way she can as well as encouraging others to do the same as she has shown us not only through her accomplishments with NAIW and YAC, but she has also contributed to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life!
LeeAnn is a proud mother of one, she enjoys running, swimming, biking, as well as spending her weekends on our wonderful beaches and at local parks with her daughter!
Phyllis found her genuine passion for insurance in 1996. Phyllis is a fully licensed 220 General Lines Agent. Phyllis has extensive experience with Personal and Commercial lines of insurance. She currently specializes in managing and maintaining Commercial Insurance for many local businesses.
As a member of the SIS team, Phyllis brings with her a wealth of experience, and she brings enthusiasm and compassion for making sure her clients have the best possible protection and that all their needs are met.
In her spare time, Phyllis is a patron of the Arts. Phyllis loves to play piano, attend concerts and spend time with her friends and family. Phyllis is a nature lover and enjoys outdoor activities and supports her local state park by volunteering in cleanup efforts and fundraising activities.
Sherrin is experienced in the financial industry and finds the world of insurance fascinating, challenging, and rewarding!
After growing up in Lakeland, FL, this native Floridian moved to Seminole where she studied computer programming and accounting at St Petersburg College, before becoming a stay at home mother and raising two daughters. When the second daughter entered high school, Sherrin became an administrative assistant at a financial firm for several years, transitioned to back office banking at a local credit union, and is now enjoying the exciting world of insurance at Strategic Insurance Services!
Sherrin enjoys being a Big Sister with Big Brothers Big Sisters, having the same “little” since 2011. Another community activity she enjoys is playing clarinet in local bands, including, the St. Petersburg Community Band, Dunedin Community Band, the Awesome Original Second Time Arounders Marching Band, and the Select Second Winds, which includes community choruses in a highly regarded Christmas Concert.
In her spare time Sherrin loves to walk the beach, read, do yard work and cook for her children. She now is living in Clearwater near her lovely daughters and she has extended family in Lakeland and visits often.
Amy Young grew up in St. Louis, MO. After a successful career with Citicorp Financial Services, where she gained expertise in mortgage loan origination and mortgage collection services, she relocated to sunny Clearwater in 1985. In Florida, she accepted a position as financial manager with Solarmax, Inc., where she gained knowledge and expertise working with local banks and lending institutions on the different underwriting guidelines for Florida mortgages.
Amy explored her love for creativity and independent entrepreneurship as a designer working in the Salon industry from 1988-2001.
She made a leap of faith and joined Dollar Rent a Car in 2001-2009 seeking a long term career with one of the most successful companies in the industry. There she held positions as an operations manager later to become Sales and Marketing Manager, clearly defining her passion. She further pursued her proficiency in car rental operations as an Independent Operator for DTAG in Clearwater, exceeding boundaries of success in the Clearwater market.
Amy made a decision to further pursue her passion for sales and marketing in March 2014 when she obtained her 20-44 insurance license. She joined the team of Strategic Insurance Services in February 2015 where the agency provided her the resources to assist her and help her clients with all their personal insurance needs. She currently specializes in home, flood, automobile, umbrella and other personal insurance products.
Amy loves spending time at the beautiful gulf coast beaches and enjoys the many amazing outdoor activities the area has to offer. She attends local art shows and music venues and attends almost all of the amazing seafood festivals. Amy is an early riser and spends her mornings in the gym before the rest of the world is awake and loves getting an early start on the day. She thoroughly enjoys biking to shop the local outdoor food markets and cooking at home. Amy also likes basking in the sun for therapeutic down time and relaxation.
Anthony “Tony” Mella is a born and raised Floridian from St. Petersburg. He has lived in St. Pete his entire life and has even lived in the same house since he was born. Graduating from St. Jude’s Cathedral School, St. Petersburg Catholic High School, and cum laude at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, Tony is no stranger to St. Petersburg or Florida. He traveled as far north as Tallahassee, as south as Key West, and many places in between. While he and his younger brother Andrew are native Floridians, the rest of their family are native New Yorkers. His family spans Brooklyn, Long Island, The Hamptons, and the Bronx. This is where his love of the Yankees, the Giants, and the Rangers comes from. Despite this, he has been known to visit the Trop now and then. At USFSP, Tony majored in Business Management with an international business minor. Business has always been something Tony has found passion in. He has held various management roles from a scooter dealer, taxi company, and in the service industry as manager of Feola’s Italian, a local favorite.
Tony realized that as passionate as he is about business, there was an area of business he could excel in even further. And this was insurance. While at St. Pete Catholic, Tony was a participant of InVEST, a national program that gives students a taste of the insurance world. Tony managed an agency in the program and even finished number 2 in the nation!
In 2016, Tony’s InVEST instructor, Gary Preston, put him in touch with SIS. It was this meeting when Tony became part of the Strategic Family. He started as a production assistant in January 2017 and in January of 2018, is now a licensed 2-20 Risk Management Advisor! Tony has a broad knowledge of homeowners, auto, umbrella, and commercial lines as well. Designated the “SIS Flood Geek,” Tony is very experienced in the world of both National Flood Insurance as well as the many private market options available as well. Outside of the world of insurance, Tony finds many ways to put his free time to use. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Whether it is sitting down to a nice dinner, going to Disney, collecting timepieces, or going to car shows, Tony has an amazing time as long as he is with the people he loves.
Craig Balco was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. In 1999, he relocated to South Florida to attend Barry University and moved to Clearwater, FL to complete his bachelor’s degree in business management at St. Petersburg College.
In 2003, after spending most of his teens and early twenties in the hospitality industry, Craig started working with a computer and office supply company located in the Tampa Bay area. Over the next 9 years, he consistently set company sales records helping the company grow from 15 employees to over 55, eventually becoming Vice President and minority owner.
In 2011, Craig decided to take his passion for sales and service and embark upon a career in insurance, obtaining his Property and Casualty Insurance license (220 license). Over his nearly eight-year career in Insurance, he obtained additional professional insurance designations, adding Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) and Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) to his impressive credentials. He is currently on the board of PAIA (Pinellas Association of Independent Agents), in line to be the next board President.
Craig is currently married to the love if his life, Anastasia. They have three beautiful children: Nicole (12), Shawna (9) and Craig III (6), or Trey as he in known by those close to him. In what little free time that a family with 3 children allows, he loves golfing and fantasy sports.
Originally from the Dominican Republic, Carmen has lived in Florida for over 25 years residing in the Port Charlotte, FL area with her husband Alex. Carmen has owned a bookkeeping business for over 10 years & wanted to broaden the scope of services she could offer her clients. Carmen focuses on commercial insurance, home & auto insurance. Carmen is fluent in Spanish. When Carmen is not working with her clients, she can be found in her garden as well as spending time with her friends and family.
Francesca Alonso was born and raised in Bronx, New York and her family moved down to Florida when her father retired in 1996. She attended the University of South Florida from 2003-2009 earning her Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders as well as her Master’s in Speech Language Pathology. Francesca is a Board Certified and State licensed Speech Language Pathologist. She has worked with children and adults but with primary focus on geriatrics.
After the birth of her son, Anthony, Francesca changed career paths and pursued her license for Personal Lines Insurance. Her mentor is her husband, who has been in the insurance industry for 15 years. Her experience with the medical industry has provided her with patience and diligence to work in any line of business.
Francesca and her husband are “foodies” and enjoy eating “everything and anything.” Even more than that, she loves spending time with her toddler and watching him grow and learn.
Michael joined the Strategic Insurance Side Hustle Team in early December 2019. Given his vast experience in Risk Management, this is a natural fit for him. At Strategic Insurance, Michael is selling home and auto insurance in a part-time capacity. As these are products needed by most, Michael is able to reach out to his own network and offer this added benefit.
Michael is currently a Risk Manager for a large private real estate owner and manager where he is responsible for the analysis of property and casualty risks and the procurement of insurance programs in coordination with international agents and carriers.
Prior to his current position, and since 2003, he had steadily forged a successful career as a commercial insurance agent, most recently in Neace Lukens’ (now AssuredPartners) Southfield, MI office, where he developed his real estate insurance expertise and improved his skills and knowledge of most Property & Casualty insurance products.
Before his tenure at Neace Lukens, Michael was a Senior Account Representative with Liberty Mutual Group in Farmington Hills, MI. In this role, he twice earned Top Performer’s Club and Liberty Leader status (2007 and 2008) for excelling in new business development and client service. When Liberty Mutual changed their distribution strategy from direct to agency-based, he transitioned into a similar position at AJ Gallagher and continued to service the Liberty Mutual clients he had developed relationships with, as well as other Liberty Mutual customers. These clients worked in several different industries and, as such, he gained significant experience as a generalist when it came to insurance expertise.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from The University of Michigan. In addition, during his career in the insurance industry, Michael has earned the designations of Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Property Risk Insurance Specialist (PRIS), Certified Workers Compensation Counselor (CWCC) and Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP). Michael has served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Transportation Club of Detroit and served as the Vice President of the Transportation Club of Detroit’s Scholarship Fund.
Kayla Lamb was born in Oshkosh, Wisconsin and was raised as a cheese head. After she graduated high school in 2006, she and her family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where she attended USF for a couple years while working at Publix and Homewood Suites by Hilton. She then decided to become a Dental Assistant and attended Sanford Brown Institute of Tampa and received her certification in 2010. While job hunting, she took a simple receptionist position at an insurance agency. Kayla was learning so much at the insurance agency that she decided she wanted to become an agent and help people with their insurance needs. She thought it would be much better than looking in people’s mouths all day! She obtained her 4-40 license right away and has since received her 220 General Lines Agent license in order to have more knowledge to help others with their insurance needs. Kayla joined the SIS team in April 2019 and currently specializes in home, flood, automobile, umbrella and other personal insurance products.
Kayla has a small family but is extremely close with them. Her mother and younger sister live here as well. She visits and plans fun activities with her mom, including church on Sundays. It has always been them against the world! Just like her family, her love for animals is like none other, especially dogs. Hopper is her first “baby,” a beagle that she’s had for more than 10 years. She rescued her second “baby,” Sophie at the age of 12 weeks, who is now 3 1/2 years old. Her dream is to own a million acres and be able to rescue and help all dogs in need. You can also find Kayla on Rover.com, a dog sitting site, as she loves to watch dogs on the side.
Kayla and her family take yearly trips to Los Cabos, Mexico where they own a timeshare at a beautiful resort. She absolutely loves the outdoors, warm weather, tropical trees and is outside any chance she gets. That includes beach days with the pups, craft fairs, morning markets, or any place that allows dogs. As well as her love for dogs, Kayla has an enormous passion for fitness. She’s up and in the gym at 5am and even goes back for a second day workout in the evenings. She tries to maintain a healthy diet but will never turn down a donut or a burger! She would say her top three obsessions are dogs, fitness, and food.
Dan Rhoads grew up in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania and was raised on the Upper Perk swimming team. After graduating in 1996, he studied biology at Lehigh and Cornell Universities with the plan to go to work in biotech or pharma at some point. Life took a detour and he ended up living in Cyprus, an EU-member country and island in the eastern Mediterranean, for 8 years. He returned in January 2016, living in Pinellas Park, Florida for 15 months. During that time, Dan joined the financial services industry and began selling life insurance. In Spring of 2017, he moved back to his hometown of Pennsburg and began selling health insurance alongside life insurance. In Spring 2020, Dan joined Strategic Insurance Services and began offering auto and homeowners insurance, also. His motto is, “Help people get what they want first, and then everything else will take care of itself.”
Dan is divorced with 2 daughters who are the light of his life. He works hard to support them and enjoys the flexibility to visit them regularly, in spite of the fact that they still live in Cyprus. He visits them up to 4 times a year on extended trips. On the side, Dan also enjoys birdwatching both in the US and in Europe. He is his family’s historian and enjoys researching ancestry online and in the local community, where his family has lived since immigrating from southern Germany over 280 years ago, and since fought in the Revolutionary and Civil wars and in WWII.
Recent years have seen big changes for Dan as he adopted healthier eating habits and joined the YMCA to start swimming lots of laps again for the first time in 24 years. Most days you’ll find Dan working from home or squeezing in some time watching the birds outside his office while helping clients over the phone. And, when he travels, he absolutely loves getting to know a new place through his stomach, by going to restaurants that are packed with the locals.
Leslie is originally from Lock Haven, PA. Her family moved here when she was young girl. They Wanted to enjoy the beautiful Florida weather and forget the cold and snow! Growing up in the St. Pete area, she has watched it grow and expand into the thriving community it has become and the place she calls home. Leslie has a health care background. She has worked from the field of dentistry helping create beautiful smiles to managing an assisted living facility.
Leslie is now embarking on a new venture and worked diligently to obtain her 20-44 License in Personal Lines insurance and now has joined the Strategic Insurance Side-Hustle team.
She enjoys the outdoors by shopping at local markets, camping, paddle boarding, or watching the beautiful sunset.
LeeAnn graduated from St Petersburg College in Dec 2010 with her Associates Degree in Business Management. She began her insurance career in 2000 as a temporary file clerk at Bankers Insurance. After spending some time at a local Auto insurance agency, where she earned her 220 license for Property & Casualty and her Life/Variable Annuities license, she went to Insurance Resources in the Pasadena area. Her time at Insurance Resources taught her the importance of building client relationships and giving back to the community through various projects contributing to Hospice, CASA, Interfaith Food Pantry, and Voices for Children, a Guardian ad Litem program.
LeeAnn found her knack for leadership when she became involved with the National Association of Insurance Women (NAIW) in 2005. She completed and enjoyed the Communicate with Confidence (CWC) course, and soon became the Treasurer for NAIW. It was in 2006 when she joined the Florida Association of Insurance Agent’s (FAIA) Young Agents Council (YAC), in its earliest stages. She has served as Zone Coordinator since 2007, completed the Florida’s Future Insurance Leaders (FFIL) program in 2009, assisted in creating the executive committee positions and roles, and then earned the First Annual “Young Agent of the Year” award in 2011! LeeAnn has served on both the Events and Membership Task Forces for YAC. Young agents in Pinellas and Hillsborough have contributed to the Interfaith Food Pantry, Voices for Children, and CASA over the past five years with LeeAnn’s countless efforts in leading various canned food drives and back to school drives, including the Annual SmartStart4Kids back to school drive with the Young Agents Council!
LeeAnn recently joined Toastmasters International in May 2012 at the local Suncoast Caring Community Toastmasters Club in Clearwater. She has already proved herself a model Toastie, by holding many roles at the weekly meetings and she has already completed several speeches in her Competent Communicator manual as well as working her way through the Competent Leader manual!
LeeAnn joined the SIS team in Jan 2012 and brings a strong work ethic, a high level of integrity, and a great way of serving our clients in an empathetic manner, giving them peace of mind when they need it most. She has a reputation for her drive, her independence, and is known for always going above and beyond. She has a passion for giving back to our local communities in any way she can as well as encouraging others to do the same as she has shown us not only through her accomplishments with NAIW and YAC, but she has also contributed to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life!
LeeAnn is a proud mother of one, she enjoys running, swimming, biking, as well as spending her weekends on our wonderful beaches and at local parks with her daughter!
Phyllis found her genuine passion for insurance in 1996. Phyllis is a fully licensed 220 General Lines Agent. Phyllis has extensive experience with Personal and Commercial lines of insurance. She currently specializes in managing and maintaining Commercial Insurance for many local businesses.
As a member of the SIS team, Phyllis brings with her a wealth of experience, and she brings enthusiasm and compassion for making sure her clients have the best possible protection and that all their needs are met.
In her spare time, Phyllis is a patron of the Arts. Phyllis loves to play piano, attend concerts and spend time with her friends and family. Phyllis is a nature lover and enjoys outdoor activities and supports her local state park by volunteering in cleanup efforts and fundraising activities.
