Meet Our Associates

Emilio Fernandez, President, has been in the real estate industry for over 15 years. Prior to joining North American, Emilio was a partner in the international law firm of Holland & Knight LLP, where he practiced in the real estate group and routinely issued title insurance policies on complex commercial real estate matters. Emilio is a member of the Florida Bar and numerous real estate industry organizations – most recently, RESPRO, a trade organization that brings together a cross section of providers in the real estate/financing industry. Emilio works from our Eastern Region office in Miami, Florida.

Jeffrey P. Brown, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, has practiced law since 1982, and has been in the title insurance industry since 1985. Jeff received a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and he received his J.D. from the University of California at Berkley’s Boalt Hall. Jeff considers it a privilege to be involved in the title and escrow industry, and feels it is an honor to be part of the process in which people acquire their own homes and build their futures. Jeff works from our Western Region office in Concord, California.

Margery Q. Lee, Executive Vice President and National Claims and Litigation Manager, has been a member of the California State Bar Association since 1980. Margery oversees all of the title insurance and escrow claims and litigation matters for North American’s national operations. Prior to joining North American, she was in private practice. Additionally, Margery was in-house litigation counsel for a major national title insurer, actively engaged in trial and appellate defense of title insurers and underwritten agents in California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Reed College, Portland, Oregon, and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco, School of Law, San Francisco, California. She currently serves on the Legislative Committee of the California Land Title Association. Margery works from our Western Region office in Concord, California.

John A. Fries, Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Counsel, is an accomplished real estate attorney who brings over 33 years of underwriting experience to North American Title Insurance Company. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University and the Duquesne University School of Law. Prior to joining NATIC in 2011, John spent 3 years as Vice President, Business Control Manager for the title services division of a major national bank. There, he managed a team providing operational and transactional title underwriting guidance for the company's title operations. John has been an underwriting counsel for over 20 years and has held the position of Senior Vice President, Underwriting Counsel for a leading national title insurance underwriter for over 15 years. He also spent the first 16 years of his career providing legal and underwriting support in private practice and for various banks and title insurance companies. John works from our Eastern Region office in Miami, Florida.

Robert N. Meyers, Vice President and Senior Underwriting Counsel, provides expert residential and commercial underwriting guidance to independent agents and affiliate operations in the Eastern Region. Bob also handles both routine and complex title insurance claims in the Eastern Region. He has over 31 years of title insurance industry experience.  Prior to joining NATIC, Bob held underwriting, commercial and managerial positions for a major national underwriter. He earned a BBA degree from Western Michigan University and JD and LLM degrees from Wayne State University. Bob is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, the Florida Bar, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and the Dade County Bar Association. Bob works in the Eastern Regional office in Miami.

Geoffrey Ginn, Vice President, Independent Agency Division, has 11 years of experience as a real estate attorney within the title insurance industry. Geoff previously owned a multi-state law firm and title agency which operated throughout New England, and also has corporate experience in sales, management and operations. Geoff is a member of the Massachusetts Bar and the North Carolina Bar. He earned his JD and his MBA from Suffolk University Law School and Sawyer School of Management in Boston, MA. He is primarily responsible for building North American's Independent Agency Division, but also provides underwriting support in the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Geoff works from our Independent Agency field office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sunny Akins, Vice President and Agency Operations Manager, Eastern Region, had spent fifteen years at the corporate office of another major underwriter before joining Lennar’s title operations in 1993. She is responsible for making the agency network operate smoothly by addressing agents’ questions, needs and obligations. Sunny attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Miami. Sunny works from our Eastern Region office in Miami, Florida.

Jessica Silverman, Vice President and Agency Operations Manager, Western Region and National Claims Coordinator, has been with North American since 2001 as Claims Administrator for the Western Region. In 2005, she expanded her claims handling expertise to our Eastern Region states and took on her current national position. She works closely with the legal departments and management teams to establish procedures and train on claims administration. Jessica works from our Western Region office in Concord, California.

Heather Chavous, Field Operations Manager, has been in the industry for over 14 years, including three years as the state auditor for another major underwriter.  Heather provides both field and sales agency support. She is a key part of our marketing and compliance programs. Heather also manages internal processes between our Charlotte and Miami offices.

Regional Underwriting Associates:

Ginny Abiassi, Texas
Eugene Berkes, Illinois
John Graham, Arizona and Nevada
Stephanie Marcello and Ron Maas, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and South Carolina (MA, NC and SC as to Ron Maas only)
Robert Meyers, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee
Gytis Nefas and Kent Pelt, California
George Sutherland, Colorado, Minnesota and Utah
Michael Waiwood, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin