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During its 2022 Fall National Meeting, the ������̳ (������̳) honored the ������̳ Consumer Participation Program’s participants and the former ������̳ members who had the foresight to recognize a need and develop a solution to enhance consumer participation at the ������̳. In 2022, the program celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the first Consumer Representatives being selected and starting their terms in 1992. The program continues to be a model for other organizations wishing to improve consumer engagement.

������̳’s Consumer Participation Program provides travel expense reimbursement to ������̳ meetings for individuals selected to participate as funded consumer representatives. Other individuals, including those from organizations with sufficient resources to participate without financial assistance for travel expenses, are selected to participate as unfunded consumer representatives. The ������̳ waives meeting registration fees for all ������̳ Consumer Representatives. The ������̳ Consumer Participation Board administers the program.

“Collaboration has always been at the heart of the ������̳’s approach, and I’m grateful for those who have shared their insights, perspectives, and priorities with us through our Consumer Participation program. For 30 years, ������̳ Consumer Representatives have played an invaluable role in our state-based system,” said ������̳ President and Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance Director Chlora Lindley-Myers.

“State insurance regulators work hard to put consumers first, and coordinating with the ������̳’s Consumer Representatives is essential to doing our jobs well and effectively. As we celebrate three decades of the program, I want to thank each representative and the members of the Consumer Board of Trustees for their dedication, advocacy, and passion for their mission,” said Colorado Division of Insurance Commissioner and 2022 Consumer Participation Board of Trustees Chair Michael Conway.

“While the ������̳’s Consumer Representatives are most visible at the National Meetings, they tirelessly serve all year through an ongoing dialogue with our Consumer Liaison Committee and other ������̳ committees. It’s a privilege to work alongside them to protect consumers and help make our state-based system of insurance regulation more effective,” said Oregon Insurance Commissioner and Department of Consumer and Business Services Director Andrew R. Stolfi, Chair of the ������̳ Consumer Liaison Committee and 2023 Consumer Participation Board of Trustees Chair. 

The ������̳ set the Consumer Participation program’s initial budget in 1992 at $50,000. The 2022 annual budget was $140,000, reflecting the program’s success and growth in the number of qualified consumer representatives over the last 30 years.

Bonnie Burns, a long-time member of the Consumer Participation Board of Trustees, is the only active ������̳ Consumer Representative who was among the original group of Consumer Representatives. Brenda Cude, who completed her 26^th year as an ������̳ Consumer Representative, has the longest continuous tenure among the current Consumer Representatives and has served on the Board throughout her tenure with the ������̳. Birny Birnbaum, Brendan Bridgeland, and Karrol Kitt all have been ������̳ Consumer Representatives for more than 20 years.

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