Rebekah Ratliff, an international mediator and arbitrator with the Judicial Arbitration Mediation Service and former complex insurance claims professional, is the winner of the 2023 Alonzo Herndon Award.

The award, which is presented by Business Insurance’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Institute, recognizes an individual dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion efforts in the insurance industry.

Board members of the DE&I Institute select the award winner from nominations received from individuals and organizations across the insurance sector.

Based in Atlanta, Ms. Ratliff spent 25 years evaluating, negotiating and settling casualty claims at various global insurers before founding Capital City Mediations LLC, a mediation, arbitration and consulting firm, in 2016. She joined JAMS in 2020 as the first non-attorney African American to join the panel.

Ms. Ratliff also founded CCM Consulting Associates LLC, an executive level DE&I consulting and training company.

Among other affiliations, she is a member of the National Board of the National African American Insurance Association, 1st vice chair of the National Bar Association’s Alternative Dispute Resolution section and an adjunct professor at Howard University School of Law. In addition, she founded HBCU IMPACT, a nonprofit created to attract educate and employ students at historically Black colleges and universities in insurance, risk management and the law.

In 2021, she was named one of the Business Insurance Women to Watch.

The award is named in honor of Alonzo Herndon, a visionary businessman who, more than 100 years ago, founded what would become the Atlanta Life Insurance Co., one of the United States’ largest and most successful Black-owned businesses.

Mr. Herndon was born into slavery in 1858 and worked as a laborer from a young age. With almost no schooling and no money, his perseverance and entrepreneurial spirit drove him to great success, opening service businesses in Atlanta that were joined to form a landmark company. Today, the Alonzo Herndon Foundation honors his legacy and supports programs and policies in keeping with his vision.

Ms. Ratliff will be presented with the award at the annual Business Insurance Diversity & Inclusion Conference on Sept. 13-14 in Chicago. Learn more and register for the conference here.