From CIC Student to Alliance Faculty: Why I Love Teaching and Serving as an EC
My journey with The Alliance began with a lesson in humility: I failed my first CIC exam.
In 1989, fresh out of college and confident in my business education, I attended my first CIC Institute: Agency Management. I answered the exam questions based on what I had learned in school rather than what was taught in the course. The result? A failed exam and a valuable reminder that learning requires an open mind.
What makes that experience so meaningful today is that I now teach Agency Management, have helped rewrite the curriculum multiple times, and serve as an Educational Consultant (EC) across CIC programs. It’s a full-circle moment I never could have predicted.
Over the past 30-plus years, I’ve worked in commercial underwriting, owned and managed my family’s insurance agency as a third-generation owner, and built consulting and coaching businesses focused on helping agencies improve performance and productivity. Those experiences, including both successes and mistakes, allow me to bring practical, real-world insights into every classroom.
One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is helping participants understand why the material matters. Agency Management principles aren’t just for agency owners. They apply to producers, account managers, carrier professionals, and industry partners alike. Once participants connect the concepts to their daily work, learning becomes more relevant and impactful.
As an EC, I often spend extra time reviewing exam concepts because I remember what it felt like to struggle with the material. My goal is to help participants make connections, gain confidence, and succeed. At the same time, I love challenging experienced CICs with fresh perspectives, practical tools, and new ideas they can immediately apply in their organizations.
The moments that stand out most are the conversations after class: seeing someone grasp a new concept, discover a better way to lead, or leave energized about their future.
Teaching isn’t simply about sharing knowledge. It’s about helping people grow, strengthening agencies, and elevating our industry. That’s why I love this work, and why I’m grateful every time I step into a classroom.
Connect. Learn. Own Your Potential.
Click below to dive deeper with Sara and other Alliance Faculty!
Sara Bradshaw Ray, CIC
With nearly 40 years in agency ownership and management, complemented by a background in company commercial underwriting and cluster creation/management, Sara brings a wealth of industry experience and knowledge to the table. Her vast experience, coupled with a keen sense of the dynamics of efficiency and its impact on productivity, uniquely suits her to meet a variety of operational, management, and marketing needs in agencies today.
The founder of SynerDynamics Group, Sara, is also an executive coach and heads up the consulting firm, which has come to be known as an “agency asset maximization resource” in the insurance industry today.
With a lifelong passion for developing female leaders in the insurance industry, Sara founded MyNetwork, an international network of facilitated mastermind groups. MyNetwork provides leadership, management, personal and professional development, executive coaching, training, and network facilitation on a high-impact virtual platform throughout the United States. Cutting-edge leaders join MyNetwork groups to leverage peer perspectives in an invigorating environment for growth.
Sara is a seasoned speaker and writer on leadership and various organizational productivity and effectiveness subjects.
