Brett Odom is the Policy Vice President, Auto & Underwriting for NAMIC. Odom advises NAMIC members on all legislative and regulatory proposals related to automobile insurance and risk-based pricing across property/casualty lines.
Odom entered the insurance industry in 1996 and has worked in the carrier space with a primary focus on auto claims, but also has experience in multiple lines of insurance and also time spent within the life/health industry. Prior to joining NAMIC, he worked at Amerisure Mutual Insurance, spearheading their commercial auto physical damage operation. Odom brings to NAMIC considerable experience in the auto insurance industry, stemming from a variety of leadership roles held within Federated Mutual, Indiana Farmers Mutual, as well as The Hartford Insurance Group.
Odom earned his bachelor’s degree in Insurance & Risk Management from Indiana State University and his MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Alaina Dahlquist is the State Government Affairs Manager at the National Safety Council (NSC). In this role she manages NSC’s state legislative priorities pertaining to workplace and roadway safety. Prior to joining NSC, Alaina was a Senior Government Relations Associate at the Pew Charitable Trusts where she managed the government relations’ external partner program in addition to working on a large portfolio of government performance policy issues including retirement savings and home financing. Prior to joining Pew, Alaina worked as a Legislative Assistant at Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, where she supported four principals and partners on technology, tax, energy, and appropriations work for various clients. Alaina started her career in Washington as a Government Relations Assistant at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), where she aided the government relations team in advancing pro-small business policy on behalf of the Association’s membership. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Alaina completed several government relations, public affairs, and think-tank internships, including time at O’Neill and Associates, Blakey & Agnew, the Pioneer Institute, and on Capitol Hill with her hometown Congressman.
Alaina received her bachelor’s degree from Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts where she majored in Political Science and minored in Public Policy and Public Administration. She recently completed her master’s degree in Legislative Affairs at the George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) where she also served as a student ambassador and Vice President of the GSPM Student Association.
Ian Goldstein is the Vice President of Government Affairs for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, advocating on behalf of victims and survivors of drunk and impaired driving crashes. Ian has spent his 12-year career advocating and lobbying for improvements to public health and traffic safety at the local and National level to ensure all communities are healthy and safe.
Ian previously served as the Director of Government Affairs at Verde Environmental Technologies, maker of the Deterra Drug Deactivation and Disposal System. Ian started his career in public health and served as Government Affairs Specialist at the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) advocating on behalf of local health departments to Congress and the Administration. During his 12-year tenure, Ian hosted and produced the NACCHO Podcast Series from 2013 – 2022, recording over 250 podcast episodes. In 2020, the podcast was recognized as a top 30 public health podcast in by MPHonline.org.
Before serving as Government Affairs Specialist, Ian was the Senior Digital Media Specialist at NACCHO from 2011 – 2014. Ian graduated from Towson University with a BA in Journalism in 2006 and completed his Masters in Legal and Ethical Studies at the University of Baltimore in 2014. He is also the founder of Brothers Music, a musical instrument store in Baltimore, which opened its doors in June 2015.
As National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Probation Fellow, Mark Stodola brings over 30 years of experience working in the field of court management and adult probation in Arizona. Mark worked at the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department for 18 years serving in a number of capacities including division director overseeing drug and alcohol treatment programs, problem solving courts and services for the mentally ill. Mark later became the Court Administrator of the Tempe Municipal Court where he served for eight years managing the day to day activities of the court. Most recently Mark served as Program Services Manager in the Adult Probation Services Division of the Arizona Supreme Court where he had oversight of treatment programs for Arizona’s Adult Probation Departments. Mark has presented training on topics surrounding high risk drunk drivers at national, regional and state conferences throughout the country. Mark also is an adjunct instructor at Arizona State University.
Mark received his undergraduate degree in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University. Mark became a Graduate Fellow through the National Council of State Courts Institute of Court Management.
Tara Casanova Powell is the Principal of Casanova Powell Consulting, an independent traffic safety research consulting firm and the current CEO for the Association of Transportation Safety Information Professionals (ATSIP). Tara is also the Program Coordinator for the Annual Lifesavers National Conference on Roadway Safety Priorities and a Research Consultant for several other organizations including Acusensus, the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), the American Bar Association (ABA), and the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). Tara also serves as a faculty staff member for Impaired Driving Solutions, formerly the National Center for DWI Courts (NCDC), under “All Rise”. With over 25 years of experience in the field of road safety, Tara’s career has spanned several niches within this community. Tara was recently appointed to the Cambridge Mobile Telematics Road Safety Advisory Board.
Tara has been engaged with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine for several years where she currently serves as the Chair for the Impairment in Transportation Committee and was the Chair of the 2021 TRB Drug-Impaired Driving Conference Planning Committee. Tara also founded and Chairs the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) Impaired Driving Behavioral Intervention Working Group (IDBIIIG) and is an incoming At-Large Board Member of ICADTS for 2024.
In 2023, Tara co-authored the Impact of Compliance-Based Removal Laws on Alcohol-Impaired Driving Recidivism for GHSA, and “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Boston, Worcester, and Northampton, Massachusetts”, a collaborative project between Lyft and Uber developed for the National Association of District Attorneys (NDAA). Prior reports include “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; and Fort Worth, Texas” and “Rideshare Volume and DUI Incidents in Target California Communities” in collaboration with Lyft and also developed for NDAA. Through Tara’s judicial experience, she authored “A GUIDE TO DUI PRETRIAL SERVICES Key Components & Best Practice Recommendations” prepared for the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility illustrating Pretrial Services Early Intervention Programs for DWI Offenders.
Tara’s professional experience and network span several aspects of traffic safety, with expertise in impaired driving, distracted driving, speed, occupant protection, and traffic records that transcend barriers that often exist within the silos of the transportation profession. Tara is very passionate about her role in transportation safety and has worked to connect traffic safety professionals including research scientist; federal, state, and local practitioners; law enforcement; and traffic records data professionals to work together to work towards ZERO deaths and to provide equitable transportation for all road users.
Amy Miles is the State Toxicologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene (WSLH) and has over 20 years of experience in forensic toxicology. Amy provides expert court testimony and interpretation of laboratory reports for coroners, medical examiners, attorneys, and law enforcement officers. Amy also provides expert consultation for drug impaired driving cases both locally and nationally. In addition to her work at the WSLH, Amy is also the National Resource Toxicologist and Project Manager for the NHTSA/SOFT Regional Toxicology Liaison program.
Amy has given hundreds of presentations on the topic of drugs, alcohol and human performance, and public health at state and national conferences and in-service trainings and has contributed several articles to national publications. She is a member of several professional organizations and committees that pertain to alcohol, drugs and human performance and public health. Amy is the Past President of the Society of Forensic Toxicologists and is a National Judicial College faculty member. In 2020, Amy received the IACP DRE Ambassador Award, and in 2023 the Association of Public Health Laboratories’ Gold Standard Award, the Governor’s Highway Safety Association’s Kathryn JR Swanson Public Service Award and the SOFT Teaching and Mentoring Award.