The Office of Superintendent of Insurance (OSI) announced Jennifer Catechis as the new deputy superintendent of insurance. Her employment with OSI began Jan. 9, 2021.
Catechis replaces Robert Doucette, Jr. who held the position for the past six years. Catechis will be the first woman and the first Hispanic/Latina woman to hold this position for the state of New Mexico.
Catechis has more than 15 years of senior management experience, including more than a decade as the district state chief of staff for former Assistant Speaker of the House Rep. Ben R. Lujan (D) N.M. Catechis previously worked for the Department of Insurance, when it was under the Public Regulation Commission (PRC), as the chief examiner of insurance.
“I’m proud to welcome Jennifer Catechis to the OSI family. I want OSI to be representative of our community,” said Russell Toal, superintendent of insurance. “Ms. Catechis has dedicated her career to ensuring New Mexicans have the support and services they deserve and will be an asset on our team.”
“As a life-long New Mexican, I am both honored and humbled by the responsibility of this position and how it impacts every resident of our great state.” Catechis said. “OSI has made significant changes to improve transparency while creating a focused vision toward consumer protection. It is an exciting time to be rejoining the OSI team as they continue to progress in these areas and I am honored to work with Superintendent Russell Toal and the entire OSI team.”
As the district chief of staff, Catechis successfully managed six remote offices across 47,000 square miles, oversaw the management of over 10,000 constituent cases, managed the budget, developed all policies and procedures, and performed multiple national trainings for other member offices on best practices and organizational development. Prior to working for Congress and while working as the chief examiner of insurance for the PRC, Catechis developed and implemented the first policy for the electronic filing of insurance financial reports and made them free and accessible to the public.
Catechis was raised in Santa Fe, N.M. after her father retired from the U.S. Navy and her family returned to her mother’s hometown. She is a 1992 graduate of Santa Fe High School, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Mexico in political science and art history, and earned an MBA from Webster University, St. Louis, Mo. (Kirtland AFB branch). She is married to Chris Catechis and has one daughter, Ziadora.