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Effective April 2026, Cori Medrano is the President and CEO of WSRB. We sat down with her for a brief discussion on her past experience in the insurance industry, her time at WSRB, and her hopes for the future. Explore specific topics: |
Believe it or not, I actually started out going to beauty school.
I very quickly decided it was not for me.
By the time I was 20, I landed my first insurance job in claims and realized I found my passion. While claims wasn't exactly what I wanted to do, I fell in love with the insurance space.
From there, I progressed from a data entry role to a rater, then to a Workers’ Compensation Underwriter, a P&C Underwriter, and eventually a P&C Manager.
That’s when a big opportunity came along. Having spent my entire life in San Diego, when an opportunity opened up in a place called Enumclaw, Washington, my first reaction was, “Enum-what?” But something about it stuck, and I decided to take a chance.
from San Diego, CA to Enumclaw, WA
I ended up falling in love with the community and the culture at Mutual of Enumclaw, where I spent 17 years continuing to grow my career, working my way up to Vice President of Underwriting and Product Development.
That eventually led me to WSRB, where I saw an opportunity to be part of something bigger - an organization focused on delivering real value to the insurance industry and the communities we serve.
I've been able to accomplish so much because of the great people I've worked with and because of my passion for the work I do.
I joined WSRB as the Chief Operating Officer, responsible for Public Protection, Inspection Services, and our Technology Solutions department.
As a bonus, I was also asked to lead professional development for WSRB. This was a welcome surprise as I have spent many years dedicated to growing my own leadership skills and helping others.
I was also very fortunate that in my role as COO, I was able to work with other departments, and we had a shared vision around how we can bring more value to our subscribers and stay relevant to them.
Bringing the Innovation Advisory Council (IAC) to fruition in collaboration with Bryan Stanwood.
The IAC is a group of representatives from subscribing insurance companies that we meet with three or four times a year. They come from different disciplines within insurance companies, so we get a nice, diverse set of perspectives. The group evolves over time as people move roles, bringing in fresh viewpoints and new ideas.
It’s been a great resource for us as an organization to hear firsthand from our subscribers - what challenges they’re facing and how we can help.
I think there are a few key areas I’m really focused on as I step into this role:
When I joined, I was familiar with things like a commercial property report and a protection class, but I didn’t fully understand the complexity behind them. We have a great story to tell about what we do and why it matters, and I want to make sure we’re telling that story clearly and consistently.
There are aspects of what we do that can feel like a “black box,” and they don’t need to be. Providing more clarity into the “why” behind our work - why certain factors matter, how decisions are made - helps build trust and strengthens our relationships with subscribers and partners.
I don’t want that responsibility to sit with just a few people. I want everyone in the organization - whether you’re a part of the Dev Team or in Customer Service - to have a deep understanding of what we do and why it’s important. That clarity helps us better serve our subscribers and strengthens the value we bring.
We need to keep finding ways to make decision-making easier for underwriters and ensure we remain relevant. That means staying focused on the problems we’re trying to solve, why they matter, and who they matter to.
Internally, that means continuing to create an environment where people feel comfortable asking questions and understand what’s expected of them. Setting clear goals and expectations leads to better long-term results.
It also means continuing to strengthen collaboration across the leadership team. Every leader has a responsibility not just for their department, but for the entire organization. That’s been a big driver behind initiatives like the quarterly all-leaders meetings, bringing together supervisors, vice presidents, and executive leadership to align, collaborate, and learn from each other.
Outside the organization, I'm focused on building deeper relationships with the communities we serve. The work we’ve done with the fire service has created meaningful momentum, and I’d like to expand that same level of engagement across other areas.
I want to ensure leaders are working closely with their teams to understand career goals, identify growth opportunities, and help people prepare for what’s next. That includes mentoring, developing future leaders, and, whenever possible, promoting from within.
At the core of all of this is a simple philosophy: really understanding the problem we’re trying to solve. When we’re clear on that - why it matters and who it impacts - we make better decisions, build better solutions, and ultimately deliver more value.
One of my personal goals to help everyone at WSRB be better tomorrow than they were today. That starts with our culture which is built on trust and respect.
Even when things are going well, I think there’s always opportunity. That continuous improvement is so important to me. “We’ve always done it that way” is not a good answer for anything. There are always opportunities to do things a little bit differently and find ways to improve.
The people closest to the action generally have the answers more than the leaders. So, bringing them along in the journey and getting them to collaborate on what problem we’re trying to solve and how we can make things better is critical.
As a leader, I don’t feel like you need to have all the answers. You need to hire the best people for the job and rely on them to do the right thing in the moment. Starting out at WSRB, it was really about building relationships. Everything starts with trust.
I'm incredibly proud of where we are as an organization and with the team that we have. The sky's the limit. There's so much more we can do and I'm excited to see what the future holds for the organization.